Never visiting a caravan dealer again

Flatcoat to date and I may have missed the odd minor thing.   Warped Entrance Door Frame, Flooded kitchen Cupboard from disconnected waste, Dented Speaker, non opening Omnivent, Bathroom door handle locked in closed position, broken TV point, squeaky bed slats, loose cooker knobs, Squealing brake pads, replacement squeling brake pads, damaged bedroom edging trim, loose drawer front, dropped bedroom lighting pelmet, over sensitive ATC, fallen Heiki surround, Jammed Shower Door - once, twice, trice, translucent roof, detached window stays, broken draining board retainer and finally a suppresor needed for the water pump so the lighting wasn't knocked out!  

Apart from that it was fine, but every time we went out in it, something would develop a fault which was a great shame as we loved the layout and enjoyed every trip away.  That little lot required 4 visits and a total of 240 miles.

We looked at the RI, but decided that the front bunks were too short as we like the TV to be on the front chest of drawers.  Also the space between side of the transverse bed and the wall was far too narrow.

Another thing is that the caravan did not seem as spacious as the TI.  BTW on the demo we looked at the mirror in the bedroom had fallen down as it is only stuck on with velcro.

The ALKO is limited to 100kgs however has a safety margin of about 50kg or more according to their specs.  We found that the best tow was when the nose weight was a couple of kgs over the 100kg.  BTW a rough calculation used to determine nose weight is that it is approximately 7% of the MTPLM therefore the TI has a lower nose weight than the RI!  Why do you think the RI has a lower noseweight?  If your vehicle can handle a 100kg nose weight then it is better to have it at 100kg than at 95kg.  If you are not sure ask the Expert on this website.

Killer for us was of course that the roof could not support an air con or a sat dome.  I am sure you will enjoy your new caravan as they are well built and look quality.

I recall you having the ATC issue. Have you thought about posting this on Swift Talk for Swift to hopefully respond and at least be aware why they are losing a customer? We had some early problems with our Sprite Quattro EW based dealer special, the worst being the leaking shower due to lack of sealant ( a common fault), what factory QC and PDI?  A few other odds and ends, some of which I am simply repairing myself. 

I am not sure what we would have done with your faults, probably tried for a rejection and refund or replacement. 

Your comment on another thread about not having an oil temperature gauge on your Audi, it will probably be on the computer, look in the handbook and if it is available it will tell you how to access it. My A6 had it as does my Passat. 

Hi FC, they do know.  I've had multiple letters from their customer care team and behind the scenes all sorts of PM's with a number of Swift staff.

Thanks for the tip on the Audi, will have a look when it returns from the bodyshop.  A 38 ton arctic of foreign origin decided to remove it from the M4 onto the hard shoulder yesterday.  £4,000 of damage later it is now the subject of a non fault accident claim.

The noseweight ex works on the RI is 27 kgs less than a TI.  That's a 2017 model year confirmed in writing by the factory.  

The calculation I used is one used by Swift and I assume the rest of the industry.  If the nose weight of the RI is lighter than the TI I would have a concern as that indicates that there is more weight towards the rear which could cause the tail to wag the dog resulting in a severe snake.

Of course I may be wrong but that raises the question of why a heavier caravan has a lighter nose weight that another same size caravan?  Does this mean all the weight is to the rear of the axles?  Of course it being a twin axle helps.

If we found our TI MTPLM uncomfortable tow with a nose weight of 85kg, we would be worried about towing the RI.  Does this indicate that one has to load the front of the RI to increase the nose weight to make it a comfortable tow?  Try some other caravan forums to see if any one else has a RI and how they find towing it with a low nose weight. Example click here. 

The Lunars are well built, look good and there is no issue there.

Yes likewise, our Sterling spent more of its time either at the dealers or Factory than with us. Nice caravan pity about the build and fittings. Now have a Bailey, not perfect but far better and a better contact response with the factory CSU.

went in to a dealers we were passing just to look you know the thing just a nosey round the vans . we had a folding camper then , wife like the look of a bailey senator Vermont, that was it mind you we got a good price on fc. just a couple hundred less than we paid and we had bought it brand new.