Read and Learn.

I am sharing this blog with others who might be thinking about buying a Bailey Caravan in order to make you aware of some of the problems you should watch out for. I also hope that it will in some small way encourage Bailey to improve their Quality Control standards and to stamp out shoddy workmanship.

I collected my new Bailey Unicorn Series 3 Cadiz on 24th March 2015.

Within the first 2 weeks of collecting the caravan I noted a number of quality issues. I wrote to the Managing Director of Bailey but received no response. This is a summary of those issues:

Introduction.

This is my second Bailey. The first was a Unicorn Valencia S1 purchased in 2011.

I was first attracted to Bailey by the 10 year guarantee against water ingress. Sadly there was a significant damp issue around the front lockers in my first Bailey. The floor had to be replaced. I was going to replace the Valencia with a Swift but 2 salesmen explained that Bailey had made significant improvements to address the previous issues found in Series 1 and 2. I was finally persuaded by the arguments and was drawn to the layout and design of the new Cadiz, so I paid my deposit. When I took the old van into the dealers as part exchange they found further damp in the front lockers and in the offside back corner. I was surprised and pleased that I had traded it in.

What follows is a list of quality related issues I have to date discovered on my new Cadiz since I took delivery from Robinsons Caravans of Chesterfield on Tuesday 24^th March 2015.

1. Powertouch Mover.

We had arranged to collect the van on Friday 20^th March. This was further delayed because there was an issue fitting the new Power Touch mover. I was told that because the battery box has been moved to the underfloor locker near the axle the wiring kits provided by Power Touch are not suitable. I had to wait for a new cable to be despatched to the dealer. I eventually collected the van on Tuesday 24^th March.

Given the fact that the S3 has been around for a few months why did this suddenly become a problem?

2. Awning Rail

Before taking the van on a long tow we booked on to a site 5 miles away from the dealer. We checked the obvious things, does the fridge work, how do you control the heating.  We found one immediate major problem. The awning would not slide onto the rail. There were two obstructions both on the two clips. I went back to the dealer and spoke to a fitter. He said that if I took it back to their workshop they would use a knife and if necessary a file to clear the track. I eventually cleared a big glob of sealant from each area and used a small file to widen the track for the awning. After an hour we had the awning on.

Reading various discussion groups I have discovered that this seems to be a common issue. Is it and if so why has nothing been done to resolve it

   

      3.Bathroom Door

The bathroom door brushes against the trim on the back skylight. I did not pick this up during the handover. There is nothing that can be adjusted so I’ll just have to live with it.

Quality control issue

      4. Shower door

After opening the shower door a couple of times we were unable to close it. The reason being to the magnetic strip slipping down its channel on the door thus preventing it from closing. This was quickly fixed by nipping the bottom of the channel with a pair of pliers.

Not a major issue but one which you could easily address.

      5.Wardrobe Hanging Rail

After the first tow with clothes hanging we arrived at our destination with clothes all over the place. The hanging rail had fallen down. This was easily addressed by using a pair of pliers to slightly twist the ends of the hanging rail so that they fit more tightly into the supported at each end.

Once again not a major issue but another example of poor quality control and lack of attention to detail.

      6. Cosmetic finishes

One of the reasons for selecting this van was that I liked the layout and the finishes. Sadly one of the cosmetic features is not as it should be. The mock suede feature above the front window which accommodates the three LED lights is full of air bubbles.

Once again not a major issue but another example of poor quality control and lack of attention to detail.

      7. Radio

Reassured that everything seemed to be working we ventured further afield to the Abbey Wood Site in London. Upon arrival I noticed the radio had moved out of the metal sleeve. I pushed it firmly back in. It fell out during the next two tows. After thinking about it then from close observation I came to the conclusion that the metal sleeve had been installed upside down so there was no way the two dimples would ever engage with the radio itself. So I took the sleeve out, reinstalled it the other way and hey presto the radio is now secure.

This is minor but should not happen if your technicians did their job properly.

      8, Jockey Wheel.

I note that the actual jockey wheel has been swapped for one which is wider and with a rubber tread. I like this. However, with the caravan within weight tolerance and a nose weight of 75kg the jockey wheel has been damaged due to contact with speed humps and the ramp on the Dover ferry. I think this is because the wheel itself is a larger diameter than the last one and it is also slightly forward so easily grounds.

Could you please look into this issue.

     9. Kitchen Tap.

The kitchen tap valve cannot be fully opened clockwise as it hits the trip of the cassette window blind.

Design/quality issue.

      10. Clock

As we arrived in France I decided to change the time on the small clock fitted next to the offside radio speaker. I fought with it for 20 minutes to get it out because it was so tight (it took a long time because I did not want to damage the clock or the aperture.) I eventually got it out but the rubber surround which holds it in place is lost in the void. I remounted it using rubber bands.

Poor design.

      11. Heating System

During our first night in the van we tested everything we could think of especially the heating system on gas and electricity. It coped extremely well with outside temperatures falling to -2 deg C.

Sadly a fault appeared when camping near Geneva. The 6 amps provided was not enough to heat the van on a cold night so we switched to gas which worked well for 10 minutes then we got a very loud vibrating sound. 

I switched off immediately fearing the system was dry. It was not. So we started again and again it started vibrating after 10 minutes.

For info the gas seems to be flowing ok as we have no problems cooking.

After reading page 66 of the handbook I followed the instructions for air lock.

I was surprised to find the heating pump had already been set to speed 5 (instead of the recommended speed 2 for a caravan). After following the procedure to the letter we still get loud vibrations on gas.

a)      Pump set to 5 not 2. Evidence of poor quality control.

b)      Vibrations continue – must be a fault.

      12. Registration Plate

Somewhere between Milan and Venice the registration plate fell off the back of the caravan. Fortunately the Caravan Clubs Red Pennant service were able to dispatch a new one within 24 hours.

Dealer Issue. Not enough double sided tape used.

      13. Electric cables are sagging below the body of the caravan.

Cables are sagging beneath the nearside front and back corners and underneath the tow bar fairing. The back one was held in place by a plastic hook fixed with double side tape which has failed the front ones were held in place using globs of sealant. I have secured with a mixture of double sides tape and gaffer tape.

Poor design and appalling quality control

14. Rear Road Lights

The road rear road lights have not been installed correctly.

I wrote to Bailey Customer Services and the retailer. I got a short and sweet response from the Bailey Retailer Services Engineer:

"I can confirm that the light assembly is correct on the nearside bumper, the offside is incorrect.

Best regards,"

....and that was it so I responded about who was to blame. This is his response:

"I would have to suggest that the lights do need correcting. I am extremely surprised that the retailer did not pick this up during their PDI. I am not sure regarding the legality for travelling on the continent, but I guess that the sooner they are corrected the better."

So, he could not admit that Bailey had incorrectly installed them but... he did blame the dealer for not spotting it. I am still waiting for a response from Robinson's Caravans.

In order to balance this lengthy list of issues I would like to add the following:

1.       We like the layout.

2.       I am 6ft 2inches tall but the large single bed accommodates me albeit a little narrow. (We did however replace the hard mattresses with memory foam ones.

3.       The large fridge is great. Sadly it is not possible to accommodate a 1 litre bottle of soft drink in the door as the shelves are too narrow.

4.       The fact that the gas and battery lockers are now centrally located make it easier to get the nose weight down. Subsequently the caravan tows very well.

5.       We miss the centrally located light ceiling light.

6.       The kitchen extension flap is welcome.

7.       I prefer the smaller front and back skylights to the former larger ones.

8.       Could the pull out table at the front be made a bit deeper?

9.       Good to see that the external gas barbecue point has been moved from offside to nearside.

10.   Kitchen layout much better than MK2.

11.   I can’t see the point of the solar panel. Has anyone ever asked for this? I would prefer not to have this and save the weight.

Summary

I have been towing a caravan for 26 years. I manage risk carefully so the caravan is always loaded correctly.

I have an upgraded weight plate to the maximum 1550kg. The caravan is fitted with the latest Power Touch caravan mover. The caravan was weighed after we had loaded it sadly it was several kilograms overweight so we took out the microwave and now carry heavy items such as gas cylinders, chairs  and the cable reel in the car.

Finally, I appreciate that many of these issues are minor but, they reflect a generally poor attitude to quality control and lack of pride in doing a good job. I now fear for any issues I cannot see.

I paid almost as much for this new caravan as I did for my tow car, a Honda CRV.

I have not had any problems with my CRV. The radio has not fallen out, the cables have never shaken loose, there are no air bubbles in the roof…… you get where this is going.

I would not accept these sort of issues in a car so why should I accept them in a caravan?

If only Honda made caravans!