Compass Rallye caravan feedback

We have owned two Elddis Crusaders,  first one no problems, the last one was SOLID construction and every skylight had to be resealed because of leaking in water, due I was told by the repairer that the roof had very Little roof cross members so the roof twisted when travelling, we also had a new front panel due to cracking

I also have a Compass Rallye 574 with the single beds 2016, i purchased it from new my problems at first service have been damp around the front window and had to be completely stripped out, although covered by warranty. Second service damp around the front window again on the other side and also damp around both wheel arches, this time went to the caravan clinic up north to be stripped under warranty. The dealer is great and seems to be concerned this is happening but Compass just keep saying your getting it done under  warranty, but in real time there van is not fit for purpose warranty or not. However its finished well inside now selling as don't trust it any more.

Did you buy the Compass? 

We have an Elddis Affinity 550, bought new in 2016. We bought this caravan because we liked the layout, but also crucially because of the SOLID construction and the 10 year water ingress and body integrity warranty. As pensioners we have limited income and as we don't want any hassle we thought we would get 10 years of good trouble-free use out of this caravan with peace of mind.  I have to say that the quality of the interior units, cupboards, drawers etc. is excellent and we didn't get the minor niggly settling-in problems that you may expect, apart from a dodgy Alde pump that was quickly replaced direct from Alde whilst we were on a winter break.

The problems we've had were major (to us), involving warranty claims with all the worry and hassle of having to empty the van, take it in for repair, be without it, then chase up progress, tow the van home after repair then put all our stuff back in it.  As this has happened several times during our 2 year ownership we've been left wondering what's next to go wrong?  We read of CC members having cracked end panels that turn out to be NOT covered by this "comprehensive" warranty.  We've not yet had a cracked end panel but if we do then we're told it'll be a £3000 fix (and what's worse may subsequently crack again!  And when you're on holiday and you have to continuously mop up the damp it does take the shine of your break!

So we're now faced with a decision - whether to trade in and take the financial hit (and face this same risk with a new van), or to keep the van and continuously live with the risk of "what's next", or just throw in the towel and give up caravanning!

We've been CC members for 35 years now and had damp in every caravan we've owned, except for our first - a 1980 Piper 1400, which turned out to be better than all the subsequent newer ones!

Decisions decisions !

Please be aware that the Alko axle problem is not exclusive to Bailey. It only shows up more quickly due to the flat top wheel arches limiting clearance. Other brands using alko also have the same issue. It seems to affect late 2014 through to early 2016 vans. 

My axle was changed earlier this year FOC.

 Hi we brought a new compass Rallye 634 in 2008 .And in 2018 a few months after its ten year warranty all the windows leaked by the rear one .And the front nearside window 3 out of the four corners of the window had splits outwards !!! After contacting Eldiss caravans I was told nothing they could do as warranty out . So keep away from Eldiss caravans who make compass !!!!!

I was discussing a warranty issue with my Coachman dealer who also deal for Elddis, I was at that time thinking of changing the van due to a problem with the dometic toilets fitted, his ad ice was stick with yours now it’s fixed, and it would be a lot worse if you’d bought an Elddis

Trev.You managed to get ten years out of your van before issues.I would guess many owners would have loved to have been in your position.

Would any other manufacturers honoured a fault after the guarantee had expired,I doubt it.