More on caravan versus motorhome

My take on it is that the c/van "issues" are it seems, that some are "historical"(past models) by some trying to justify?a change, whereas the motor caravan has only in the past few years "taken off"so there are maybe fewer as yet "problems" to surface,when it is noted for instance Bailey produce is it 7000 units a year?how many have had a "problem" and Swift group produce even more,

MHs tend to be more robustly constructed as they can travel thousands of miles in all weather conditions on various road surfaces at higher speeds than most caravans are towed at.

At the build stage, weight is more important in a caravan and this can only be kept within limits with a lighter construction. Most caravan faults seem to be due to poor construction methods and lack of supervision on the build line.

MHs have to comply with the motor vehicle construction regulations while caravans have no official build regs. The NCC recommendations are not enforceable as it is a trade body formed mainly for the benefit of the caravan industry.

Caravans tend to leak from the top down whilst most MH damp problems are mainly due to poor sealing between the floor and vehicle body and they can suffer water ingress due to road spray.

Very interesting comments and all new to me.  

I agree that the only real dampness problem experienced on a coachbuilt motorhome is the seal between the walls and floor. ( A couple of our aquaintances have had to have small sections of the damp floor replaced )  However this phenomenon is not experienced on a PVC which uses the original van bodywork and floor.  

Caravans on the other hand are built down to a price and are not subjected to the stringent testing and standards of Motorhome construction, so dampness can occur anywhere from ceiling to floor. 

It is a choice we all have to make. Caravan or Motorhome  !!

K 

Extreme damp in our Bailey Caravan was one of the reasons that we switched to a Motorhome. Three out of the four caravans that we owned over a 25 year period had damp.  I am sure motorhomes are more robust for the reasons stated above, however, you will see from other forums that there are problems albeit not so severe.

Of course, damp in a Motorhome costing up to £70-80k new might be considered more of a worry than a caravan at a quarter of the cost. Extended damp warranties in motorhomes are quite usual which might indicate the level of concern.

If you can afford it, buy something new or nearly new.    The modern, in the last two years with the big firms, dont use any wood anymore in the construction, its all modern poly plastics and specialist sealing of joints, so damp is a thing of the past.    Our dealer told me that most damp in the past was found in the woodwork of vans.   Thats both caravan and MH.

However, given the difference in the cost of buying a caravan and a MH, I am surprised that damp is the main reason for changing.

If you go to the Swift-Talk web site you will find plenty of whinging about modern MH build quality and that follows in most brands.  This is covered more conprehensively on other parts of this site.

BillC

Hymer's PUAL build technology has been around in their MHs for 25 yrs or so....its so good that even Carthago have their own version in their timber free construction....

just look at the (very) long term touring vans trundling around Europe and there will be many a 20 yr old plus A-class Hymers.

for evidence of different MH/caravan build, if you check the Swift website youll see that walls (31mm v 25mm) and roofs (36mm v 32mm) for MH (kontiki) are considerably thicker than top line caravan (elegance)

no mention of the floor thickness for the elegance yet the kontiki has 44mm floor.

TW posted "Caravans tend to leak from the top down whilst most MH damp problems are mainly due to poor sealing between the floor and vehicle body and they can suffer water ingress due to road spray."

our two Boleros were typical of the breed, with no mudflaps and poorly (if at all) treated plywood (or was it chipboard) floor...the edges of which were totally exposed to any road damp and dirt, with rotting an inevitible consequence...the number of 'soggy floor' stories was huge..

Caravans can also suffer from this.............!  Our caravan showed some damage to the ply floor at the rear not too long after we bought it.  There were wet areas, and some 'flaking' at the edges of the play, so my OH modified it to prevent further damage - mudflaps, 'underseal' over the whole floor area, and a plastic L shaped trim 'drip' inserted between the body of the caravan and the floor to ensure that water running down the walls didn't run on to the floor but dripped off.  Sixteen years later the floor is still in good shape with no signs of any further problems.

We realised it was a Swift problem when we looked at the caravan on the next storage pitch and realised that his rear floor had almost rotted away (probably unseen)!

well done Val, but it shouldnt take a caravan genius (us customers) to realise that exposed plywood (what else) will rot in wet weather...

cheap, cheap, cheap.....but only in the short term.....like their thinking