Water water everywhere. (1 Viewer)

[GWAYGWAY]

My life is shattered,my illusion blown.
I have had a problem with the Hymer again. The first was a leaking garage which I fixed by putting up a gutter over the doors, to divert the stream of water from the roof away from the seals and down the body.
NOW Havea bigger an much worse leak. I went to bed last night and saw a wet patch on the left side of the drop down bed, I thought it was the oleo s trust leaking oil, but it was water, an it kept coming, wiped it up an still it was coming in. There a curtain to cover the arms of the bad which I pulled down and there is stream of water coming down the side of the body from the joint between the main roof and the front panel, water was pooled at the junction on the left where we were parked level, it was coming in through the seam. It looks like there is a water divert or on the roof that is holding the rain there'd leakingin inside.
We are in Northumberland at the moment so it will bee into
Lowdhams on Monday on the way home, it will need to bereseamed completely along the whole joint. I will not stand for a blob of goo on the roof as a bodge, or it will be back at the factory in a week or so.
I am a it upset about this as it is supposedly a premium van and it cost an arm and a leg to buy last year. Had I not used the drop down bed I would not seen it but the floor-by the step is soaking as well.
I could have saved £35000 by buying another make that would not have leaked so badly, but had a worse reputation, albeit not justified.
NOT A HAPPY BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Clarky]

I would be really hacked off too.
I guess that no van is perfect but you don't expect those sort of problems with a 'premium' van.
Here's me thinking that Hymer's were perfect and never, ever went wrong.
Hope you get it sorted quickly.

Richard.

 

[Cleve]

Hi

I am glad you have found this now and if Lowdhams supplied it they can get it put right. I believe you are still within warranty. This is beginning to look like a not fit for purpose and a trading standards issue.

I hope I will hear positive news from you soon.

This is the second report of damp/wet I have read this week on Hymers which from my own very vintage angle have been superb. I think I may just spend money on Helen and forget updating afterall.

Please keep us posted.

Good luck Clive

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[Riverbankannie]

Sorry to read of your problems, your are right, it's a premium product at a premium price and you would think that leaks would have been engineered out of the production process by now! I find it particularly frustrating when new stuff is just not as good as previous stuff.
Hang on to Helen, Clive!

 

[martin2603]

You have my sympathy on this one, I recall you having previous problems with the vehicle. Looks like it was a Monday Lemon. I would just saw that Lowdhams have had some bad press recently with their after sales service and warranty, but did you not import this one from the Fatherland? Perhaps a trip to Travelworld might just be a better choice, after all they live and breath the Hymer Brand.
Good luck with it anyway.

 

[Pausim]

You have my sympathy. As an owner of an ML I 580 of a similar vintage this is a worrying development. I hope you get a quick response next week, I can't imagine that there will be any argument about doing a full reinstatement to your satisfaction.

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[John Stanton]

Sorry to hear of the problems you are having. We had problems with damp on our Hymer B class. That was enough for us to throw in the towel (no pun intended) with the van in question, so we do genuinely know exactly how you are feeling right now. All you can do is bend the ear of the dealer, though I do sympathise with the dealer (sometimes) when the cause is clearly down to bad build by the manufacturer and they have to pick up the pieces at a paltry (to them) warranty labour rate.

Ours was from Travelworld who were very sympathetic, very apologetic and we can vouch for them if your own Hymer dealer isn't so good though I realise distance from you might rule that out.

Here's hoping you get it sorted quickly.

 

[Cat53]

I understand your pain and I really hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

That totally sucks, I hope your issue is remediated under warranty in an expedited manner. The dealer had better be responsive to a habitation failure such as this on a premium brand.

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[Xabia]

I live not far from Lowdham and unfortunately I have to tell you that I have heard a number of less than complementary reports about their aftersales service and very long delays before they can 'fit you in' for warranty work. One chap a few years ago only got satisfaction by parking on the lay by a few yards up the road displaying a large sign detailing his problems, they soon responded.

The advice about Travelworld is worth considering.

Good luck with getting the problem sorted, hope it doesn't take long.

 

[Pausim]

The advice about Travelworld is worth considering

There is also Premier at Chichester, I am very impressed with their after sales service on my Hymer.

 

[B-well]

What a nightmare, hope you get this sorted very quickly and to your full satisfaction.

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[MillieMoocher]

Sorry to hear of the latest problem Graham.

I wish you all the best with Lowdhams. My personal experience post purchase with them wasn't great, it seems they don't have the infrastructure to deal with the servicing etc of the volume of units they shift.

Travelworld do seem very good and get a lot of good coverage on the internet, particularly the Hymer Owners Group on a Facebook. (They are members there too and do seem to take comments on board).

Alternatively we found these people very good for servicing etc http://www.adventurelv.com/ . When we took Millie there for annual damp inspection ( having been told by Lowdhsms they couldn't fit us in etc) they had an Airstream in pieces which had had a ruptured water system. So I guess what I'm saying is they seem able to deal with this sort of job. Problem is of course they aren't very near you.

Hope it all works out for you

 

[138go]

I don't think I would let Lowdhams anywhere near anything I owned after my experiences with them. I found out the hard way that if the Dealer does the work and is paid for it then the manufacturer is not going to pay for the same work to be re-done by another Dealer if the first Dealer failed to rectify the fault. You then have to go back to the first Dealer and argue it out with them. You really need to pick a Dealer with a good reputation for repairs who know what they are doing. If it's an import you may get pushed to the back of the queue while they sort their own customers out. Hope it all gets sorted out without to much agro.

 

[CazPaul]

If its still under warranty then you need a proper fix for the leaking garage door too, cheap stuck on gutter is not a proper job. You either need the garage door ''Keepers'' adjusting, new door seals or the door taken off and re-hanging.

Best of luck with Lowdhams, hope everything gets sorted, sounds like a bit of a Friday afternoon van.

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[Allanm]

That must be so disheartening. With all the talk about the build quality of German motorhomes, the last thing you should expect is a water leak.
I would be keen to get everything that has been damaged or stained by water to be replaced under warranty, and get them to look at the garage too, you shouldn't have to modify the design of the exterior to stop water leaks.

 

[Mr Ed]

Sorry to read about your troubles Graham I hope you get a satisfactory outcome.

 

[normanandsue]

If you have the time to go to Germany take it back to the Factory in Polch they will sort the problem for you properly. We had an old Arto which we took to Polch it was fixed in a day and cost 1/4 of what Travelworld were going to charge me. If it's under warranty then charge will not be an issue but you will know the fault has been properly rectified.

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[funflair]

If you have the time to go to Germany take it back to the Factory in Polch they will sort the problem for you properly. We had an old Arto which we took to Polch it was fixed in a day and cost 1/4 of what Travelworld were going to charge me. If it's under warranty then charge will not be an issue but you will know the fault has been properly rectified.

They don't make the Hymers in Polch as that is the N+B factory as you say, Bad Waldsee I think.

I think the trouble with a lot of vans including German is that they are so busy they struggle to get enough good staff, the vans are all now made on big production lines designed to make lots of profit and the just employ people to put them together rather employing and paying craftsmen.

Martin

 

[138go]

I think the trouble with a lot of vans including German is that they are so busy they struggle to get enough good staff, the vans are all now made on big production lines designed to make lots of profit and the just employ people to put them together rather employing and paying craftsmen

Couple of years ago we took a tour of the Pilote factory in France. They don't really need craftsman as everything is cut by machine to within a tolerance. Once all the parts are cut the whole lot is assembled just like Lego. Lots of people doing small jobs on vehicles each reliant on the last person to put his bits in the right place. The Pilote production line had different models following each other down the line but everyone was trained on each model. Problems come when something unexpected happens because the production line does not stop. It has to be sorted or left.

Our Laika was missing a wire to the handbrake switch. All the wiring was there it was just 300mm to short and did not reach the switch. Biggest problem was you had to take the seat out to get to the handbrake mechanism which on a left hand drive vehicle you would not have had to do. So the harness was made wrong and the guy who was supposed to fit it couldn't. So it just got left.

I talked to a guy at a campsite who had been to one of the British manufacturers. He watched the guy with his hat on backwards applying sealer from a goooo gun. It ran out before he got to the end so he just missed that bit and carried on. No one will notice but at sometime in the future it will leak.

You pay a premium price for what is perceived as a premium product but they do have their off days like everyone else. Just not as many

 

[GWAYGWAY]

Today we dropped into Lowdhams and they set to and fixed it. I had already been up and Sussex the fault. On the left side above the door there is an alloy moulding tha is meant to act as a water deflector to stop drips down on the door when it is open.it is screwed down by about 6 screws but the screws were pulled an not sealed at the point where the strip crosses thejoint water went in as there is pool of water when it rains. I said take it off resealable the whole strip and fit sealed screws to fill the holes. They have done so and it is hopefully sealed properly.There was only a tiny blobs of sealer along the strip. Totally unsatisfactory but they are working with a load of poor quality staff now.
No problem with the dealer, they booked it straight away.it is a fault of the factory probably a Friday afternoon job. The gutter that caused it is pretty useless so I will not bother replacing it, unless I stick some plastic trough from Fiamma over the door itself.

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[MillieMoocher]

Good to hear all us now fixed.

The gutter is a left over from the van's being designed to be LHD.

Its main purpose I think is to stop water that pools on the roof coming in through the open cab window if you set off with the window open after rain.

To test it out, wait until it has rained, open the cab sliding window and reverse. It's surprising how much water can come off the roof . But nothing seems to cascade down the left, where the gutter is....

 

[John Stanton]

Pleased you managed to resolve so quickly ... sounds like your investigation skills helped them quite a bit ... maybe you should offer your services in their after sales team .

Anyway, well done and hopefully you can go back to enjoying your purchase !

 

[peterc10]

Graham, glad you have it sorted.

My Hymer has the same water deflector. Seemed well sealed when I have checked the roof in the past but I will keep an eye on it in the future.

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[swanseajack13]

every month we read on a thread about a problem with a m/h and the poor standard of finish this will go on for ever until a body is set up to take the manufactures on how much are the dealers making on these m/h 's and how much is built into the cost for call backs I LOVE MY GERMAN M/H SHIT ray xx lol still lol when they smile and take your MONEY and kiss your ass at the point of sale remember a kick in the bollocks is only a short time away my mister dealer

 

[138go]

every month we read on a thread about a problem with a m/h and the poor standard of finish this will go on for ever until a body is set up to take the manufactures

I thought that is what the likes of the Caravan and Motorhome Club was supposed to do but as they rely on the manufacturers for advertising they are hardly impartial.

Websites like this one do a good job of informing people about problems. The section on different manufacturers is useful but you are always going to get that Friday afternoon MH.
The one that seems to have all the faults that have ever been reported. It's just down to human manufacturing. If we took the humans out of it and put the robots in charge as they do in the motor industry we would get a better product.

As for profit. Well every business has to make a profit. The good businesses are the ones that look after staff and pay decent wages. They have a good reputation earned over the years by looking after customers and treating them correctly. So perhaps the buyer is at fault for pursuing the cheapest deal he can get and then moaning about the service he gets as a result.

 

[jockaneezer]

Motorhomes are vastly overpriced for what they are, a delivery van with a caravan nailed on the back. Most of them are sold as premium products and that's how the manufacturer justifies the price, but they have a massive responsibility to build them to a standard that reflects the price. Even if you do "pursue the cheapest deal" and logically, why wouldn't you, given the price paid doesn't seem to reflect the goods received, the seller will still make a substantial profit, regardless of whether there's enough mastic in a joint or some screws are left out. I'd be gutted if I bought a brand new van with the faults that people have mentioned, the manufacturers should be made more accountable.

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[hilldweller]

Sorry to read of your problems, your are right, it's a premium product at a premium price

So what else but premium leaks.

 

[swanseajack13]

@QFour is £90,000 a cheap deal GERMAN DETHLEFFS MAGIC EDTION I should be a happy chap ray xx lol still lol they bombed my granny's fish shop a well

 

[johnp10]

So what else but premium leaks.

Brian, it seems many products nowadays, German ones included, are manufactured down to a cost, when they used to be manufactured up to a quality.
Hymer have obviously suffered this if current reported problems on here are to go by, as have Mercedes vans.
Quite a few van operators I know are changing or have changed from Merc to Iveco, which are they consider a better product.

That's not a pop at anyone / anything, just observing a sign of the times.

We do get what we pay for, but shedloads of cash layout for anything is no guarantee of quality in this modern age.

(Look at the Severn Bridge...you pay £6.70 and what do you get?...Wales!)
Sit back now and wait for @ShiftZZ and @Chris .

PS.
TVs have got better...strange, that?

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