Caravan Manufacturers claims

G/Day Cruiser

We haven't had any problems with ours as yet, only thing so far we found was the Chrome Wheel Hub Covers are getting rusty, what a lot of prospective caravan buyers dont do is look on top of the van roofs, they should take a step ladder with them and check some of the joints sealed with the magic sikaflex, most are sealed ok but they look very rough, not done in a trademan like manner, when we purchased ours, I got up on the back bumper bar and stood on the spare tyre and inspected the roof, the Millard people made ours along with a lot of other brands, then they just put the Dealers Name Sticker on them.

Cheers

Gday...
Not at all surprised at this "quality van" story. Notice you did not name the offending company/dealer, we have had a horrendous 6 months with our new van. Here is the abridged version of our experience.
Van model - 21 ft Golden Eagle (read Paramount Caravans) sold through Canterbury Caravans in Bayswater in Melbourne.
We ordered in Aug 08 for pickup Dec 08. First hiccup, phone call to say they had not followed our specified requirements and had installed a washing machine in the space we had wanted the extra cupboards/storage. Back and forth phone calls and they decided to leave the washing machine in place at no cost to us - mainly because they said we would have to wait a further three months if we wanted it WITHOUT the machine now.
Advised van ready for pickup on 22 Dec 08. The van they provided us with was NOT the van we had signed up for.
They had included a full wall between 'eating area' and 'sleeping area', microwave in the wrong place - Their response - well this is what you ordered. Also ceiling filled with patches where someone had stuck a screwdriver through by accident, the wrong mattresses (which were too big for the single beds), long dent along outside from wheel arch to past water fillers - we could go on.
Had to wait for after Xmas holidays before they could decide what to do.
Eventually in mid-Feb 09, they agreed to cut the wall out and modify/fix the other issues we had. Van sat in their factory in Campbellfield for four weeks with no action. We finally turned up and after an 'animated discussion' they decided to commence the work. Two weeks later we picked it up and drove it back to Sale.
Just 112km from Melb the van lost the rear kerbside wheel assembly - the lot - hub, brakes etc etc.
Canterbury Caravans sent a tilt-tray truck and took it back to Melb - after dragging the van along the road trying to get it up onto the tilt-tray.
Six weeks later we finally get it back - but still without the "wall remnant" correctly removed and the dinette area replaced correctly.
Also, the shower door and the fridge doors would not open/close, probably due to the loss of the wheel and stress on the chassis.
Since then, we have done two small trips - water leaks where mains pressure enters the van, rear water tank sealant failed - leaks, centre bolts in axles lost nuts and required warranty attention, ensuite window needed replacing under warranty (it would not shut).
The personnel at Paramount Caravans have been most unhelpful with the exception (finally) of their Warranty Manager. The personnel at Canterbury Caravans have been downright rude and unhelpful - if we did not have photos of the van we ordered we would have been helpless as they insisted "this is what you ordered" The only exception at Canterbury Caravans was their Sales Manager and Service Manager, who had not been aware of our problems until the very last. They have been very helpful.
To finish off ...... our confidence in our van is zero, build quality still remains at best just acceptable and faith in the industry is very low.
Sorry this is so long ... but believe me .. it IS the abridged version.
Cheers
Julie & John

Its bound to happen.
Its an over crowded industry with players that pay low wages to remain competative and make all sorts of promises to get the job.

The claims they only employ "qualified tradesman" is a good one.
My mates wife got a job with a big caravan builder and she had no experience with hand tools or any construction experience
Her job was to fit out kitchens.

The best vans are probably the ones at the Caravan and Camping shows.

My new van is being built right now.

We are getting regular construction photos and I am very impressed by the attention to detail, the thought given to where things go, particularly the 12v and 240v wiring, and the cabinet work.

Compared to my previous van it's miles and miles ahead.

G'Day
Speaking to a mate yesterday. He just drove back from the eastern states after having to leave their very near new caravan in Victoria to be dealt with by the manufacturer. First Trip drove WA to SA,Vic & NSW all on the blacktop maybe 30 km gravel, all the cupboards and some of the drawers just fell to bits and the main chassis members cracked 3/4 of the way through. He thought they were RHS but were C section. Foreign brand claimed to be built in Melbourne.

Well I am pleased to say that we have a happy caravan story. We have had our Supreme Territory van now for 2.5 years. It was build to our requirements and delivered exactly as we specified. the dealer we went trough was George Day caravans, they were extremely good in making sure our specifications were as we wanted. There were however a couple of small issues that were promptly rectified. 1. Did not get a jack with the van, this was promptly supplied. 2. the shower door (circular) kept falling off on bumpy or corrugated roads. Supreme provided new rollers and I solved the doors falling off myself. 3. a fair amount of dust inside on gravel tracks, that I fixed myself. Overall we are very happy with the van and it's performance. So, not all manufacturers are bad.

Cheers

Not just caravans, it's everywhere
Bad training, insufficient industry standards, no morals and pride, under financed companies, lazy workers going to work drunk thats what I find all the time.
You can open a business with $2 and no formal qualifications. What do you expect ?

have fun
gmd