Leaking roof on swift (1 Viewer)

[david price]

What a year so far.
My wife is all for giving it up,says it costs to much and a lot of hassle.
Broke down in france on 30th march and only got the van back last friday.Having a battle with fiat but not going to give in.
Planned to go to stratford the weekend,all packed and ready and then i ended up having to work.Plenty on but profit is down so cant really turn anything down at the moment.
Even had to go on a job today(my birthday,big 45).Buried a close friend and the brother in law this year.My mum was in a coma and in hospital for 10 weeks and the father in law came out of hospital last friday after a triple heart bypass.Could go on but would run out of ink in laptop
Anyway,finished work and decided to take van out for a good run after it was layed up for so long and also wanted to check the new clutch.Good news is it drives well,still a slight judder in reverse but much improved on previous judder.
Got in van and my wife noticed the duvet on the island bed was wet,pulled the duvet and bed sheet back and the mattress is ruined,soaked through.Checked rooflight above bed and could not see anything so i took the inner cover off.There is a leak on the corner so the sealant has gone.
Not a problem for me to fix but to say i am not impressed is an understatement.2 years and 2 months old and now ruined a mattress which is going to cost a small fortune i would imagine.Surely there must be better sealants swift could use?We can get sealants with 10,15 and even 20 year guarantees.
My main question is for andy at swift,Could you please tell me
1.Can i get a new mattress off you for a bessie e769 island bed?
2.How much including vat and delivery to the midlands?
also would like to thank Andy and swift for my new hab door which is being fitted next week and also for having a presence on this forum,which without i would have give up by now.Dont really get the time in the day to chase up on phone calls etc,making most of my calls after 6 pm.Just glad i got a swift because no other manufacturer seems to be on the forums.
Dave.
Ps. i dont think this year can get any worse Although the way things are going at present i will probably take the van out,come across a road accident and then be forced to reverse up an incline by police and burn the new clutch out in the process

 

[haganap]

Wow Dave, that's a pretty catastophic chain of events.

Keep ya chin up and keep at it, Im sure the worm will turn at somepoint.:thumb:

 

[Wildman]

One of the problems that has shown up with the swift Kontiki is a leak caused by comunication break down, let me explain, the buyers purchased a new size of roof light, workshop were not informed so the holes were cut for the old size resulting in insufficient lip around to seal to. So I'd take it back and get them to remedy the problem as well as replacing the matress etc. Good luck

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[SwiftGroup]

Hi david,
I am sorry to hear about the problems you have had with your van. Would you mind emailing me your details and your dealers name and I will look into this for you and get back to you,
Thanks
Andy
aspacey@swiftleisure.co.uk

 

[haganap]

Hi david,
I am sorry to hear about the problems you have had with your van. Would you mind emailing me your details and your dealers name and I will look into this for you and get back to you,
Thanks
Andy
aspacey@swiftleisure.co.uk

there you go Dave, things are already looking up

 

[david price]

Andy thanks for quick reply.
Have tried e mailing but it fails to send.Dealer is marquis tewksbury,bessie e769 reg hx07 fdp.My mobile is 07970047936.
Thanks dave.
Would have sent a pm but not sure how to,daughter not in so cant ask her how i send one.

Roger,what are you doing out of chat?

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[david price]

Haganap,did you play any darts the weekend
Dave

 

[dylan]

Just to say Happy Birthday but I guess it wasn't for you ! Chin up

 

[haganap]

Haganap,did you play any darts the weekend
Dave

No Dave, I wasn't drunk enough to win

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[ourcampersbeentrashed]

Chin up xxx and dont give up

Belated birthday wishes to you that your 45th year is better than last year xxxxx

 

[david price]

thanks all for your replies.
dave
ps good news for tomorrow,no rain forcast for tomorrow by us so hopefully can take rooflight out tomorrow after work and get it resealed.rain forcast for tuesday so will then get it tested

 

[staging lady]

Sorry to hear you are having tough times but I hope things will get better.
Happy Birthday for today .
Lucille

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[davetthedon]

Chin up mate, it could be worse, you might not be a brummie!! Any road up, if you don't get a result with your mattress try this chap, he sorted us out when it became apparent it was either a new mattress or a new back! Link Removed (see recommendations area on this forum.) Oh and happy birthday, all the best people were born in june (1958 though).
DaveT

 

[Baggins]

what the eye doesn't see...........

One of the problems that has shown up with the swift Kontiki is a leak caused by comunication break down, let me explain, the buyers purchased a new size of roof light, workshop were not informed so the holes were cut for the old size resulting in insufficient lip around to seal to. So I'd take it back and get them to remedy the problem as well as replacing the matress etc. Good luck

Sad to see that this fault was not better fixed by Swift during manufacture - perhaps by gettimg re-supplied with a few ealier model rooflights.

Sometimes I think there is a deal of 'what the eye doesn't see...... from manufacturers. I was very disappointed when I took the rooflight off my old '91 Kon-Tiki and saw how carelessly the aperture had been hacked out. On the other hand no complaints about the quality/style of the visable fittings.

Co-incidently I had to remove the rear light cluster on my Duetto and on putting my hand through the inspection hole behind the shower room I found the small hole hacked in the lining was mis-aligned with the release screws. This would have been a nightmare had I been away and needed to replace a bulb but - being at home - the trusty Dremel had it done in a flash.

On the other hand it says a lot for modern light bulbs as the van is 11 years old!

BW

 

[dshague]

just look on the bright side david ,it will soon be march and you and your family will be on the beach at Santa Susanna and all these problems will be in the past.:thumb:

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[david price]

Took rooflight out and refitted today (rain forcast for tomorrow).
On two of the corners there are cracks,one about 20mm and the other about 80mm long.
have sealed for now but will need further investigation.
I have not been on the roof since last year and always walk to the edge.I keep a close eye on the van for leaks and damp and would spot any problems quite quickly.Got van back last friday and not been in possesion since march 30th,so im thinking someone has walked on the roof,but for what purpose?
there is a ladder fixed to the back so i would imagine they allow for this when building,otherwise why fit a ladder.
on the other corner where the skylight is fitted there is a slight indent so at somepoint this will also crack.It looks like there may be to much flex in roof when moving has the grp is a good 4 to 5mm thick but the wooden battens do not look up to much,if we keep this van i may look at fitting aluminium box section at somepoint but will see how it goes for now.No problems with front skylights.
Dave.

 

[Douglas]

Took rooflight out and refitted today (rain forcast for tomorrow).
On two of the corners there are cracks,one about 20mm and the other about 80mm long.
have sealed for now but will need further investigation.
I have not been on the roof since last year and always walk to the edge.I keep a close eye on the van for leaks and damp and would spot any problems quite quickly.Got van back last friday and not been in possesion since march 30th,so im thinking someone has walked on the roof,but for what purpose?
there is a ladder fixed to the back so i would imagine they allow for this when building,otherwise why fit a ladder.
on the other corner where the skylight is fitted there is a slight indent so at somepoint this will also crack.It looks like there may be to much flex in roof when moving has the grp is a good 4 to 5mm thick but the wooden battens do not look up to much,if we keep this van i may look at fitting aluminium box section at somepoint but will see how it goes for now.No problems with front skylights.
Dave.

Hi Dave, I am sorry for you troubles, I too have made the mistake of buying a Swift!! but I am getting philosophical about it, "You make your choice and pay the price" but I resolve never to make the same mistake again.

Good luck.

Doug...

 

[david price]

Hi doug (dougcuminsky).Sorry to hear of your problems as well.
This is our third van and we have had trouble with them all.I think it is par for the course.Our worst van was an autrotrail chieftan g and getting things done with them was a nightmare.But there are alot of faithful auto trail owners out there.I can only speak from my experience.
Of course i do not want these problems,no one does but i have found that swift do respond and deal with things quite quickly.With these modern vans there is alot more kit and therefore more things to go wrong.
Would i buy another swift?Yes(but hopefully on a different base ).Whilst when the fiat is working it does drive like a dream but i feel we have been treated appallingly by them and for that reason alone i will not be giving fiat anymore of my hard earned.We have commercial vans as well,one of them is a fiat but any new vans in the future will not be.When we change our car it will not be for any fiat unless they do a u turn and pay for what they should of in the first place,so for the sake of £720 they have lost alot of future business from us.I know on the great scheme of things it will mean nothing to fiat we are just a number but at least with swift we are a customer.
Dave

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[david price]

Forget to mention,took rooflight out yesterday and resealed.Had heavy rain through the night.Checked this morning and no water or damp.
Dave