Bailey Adamo

d95gas

d95gas

Joined
Jul 1, 2024
Posts
75
Likes collected
162
Location
Co Durham
Funster No
104,239
MH
Ford MS-RT PVC
Hi Everyone,
I have been looking over the last few weeks at coachbuilt motorhomes with a view to upgrading early 2025. There is only myself and the dog, and I didnt really want something too big. I will be doing Europe, so need home comforts.

I "think" I am settled on the Bailey Adamo 69-4, not to sure whether to venture to the 75-4. Anyhow, the main question I had, is for those who either have, or have had the Bailey Adamo. Whats the build quality like?

At the moment there doesnt seem to be a massive difference between the 2024 & 2025 model, so would possibly opt for the 2025.

Sorry, there was one other question relating to the electric drop down bed. Can this be left made up when you put it away?

Many thanks
 
We have a 2024 75-4DL bought in April. Had a few problems with it, the main being a poorly fitting door to the washroom, a couple of attempts to change it haven't worked and its now due to go in to have the whole panel replaced. Use has shown up a few other glitches, the overcab roof light blind is very difficult to close, there's a small water leak under the washbasin, the Truma control panel loses it's setting when mains power is disconnected and the Seattle control panel has problems. Initially it was showing the outside temperature as 280C, this was cured, it's now being difficult with the water level. It shows the tank as being full then rockets down to empty as soon as some water is used despite still containing about 90 litres. Pretty sure that these can be rectified when it goes in for the door panel. We find the electric table a bit of a gimmick and would have preferred something free standing, the latest version doesn't have it.

Overall build quality seems to be OK, there are a few noticeably cheap items such as the screw cover caps but we can change these ourselves. The cushions aren't very well supported over the travel seats, but I think this varies between models, and again it's something we can deal with ourselves.

There's room to leave some bedding on the drop down, but not pillows. It looks as if you could leave the bed at a lower height as I can't see a locking mechanism, but you'd likely crack your head on it moving from the cab.

The only thing on the latest Transit version I would like is the electric handbrake, I find the "flyoff" type fitted to ours a pain, literally, as I have arthritis in my right hand.

Best of luck with the search.
 
I thought the build quality on our 2023 75-4 was shoddy.

The exterior trims that cover the skirt joints look like an apprentice cut them out and shoved sealant into the joints.

Internal carpentry is poor.

Flooring in shower area lifted and has been stuck down.

washroom door catch failed.

Seal on over-cab vent needed replacing with a newer one to stop wind noise at speed.

Various other faults, some of which I fixed, some done under warranty.

I would inspect any Bailey I wanted to buy way more thoroughly than I did this one.
 
Purchased a new 75-4 in 2019. A number of issues but nothing major and a couple that I have just learned to live with but I can be a little finicky.
There will be issues with any new Motorhome you buy in my opinion.
My advice would be to be absolutely confident that the dealer you buy from would be happy to resolve any possible faults. To be honest the dealer I used was atrocious and I think the frustration they caused me made my relatively small problems seem out of proportion in real terms.
I regularly look at other Motorhomes and do not often see one I would want to change over to.
Good luck with your purchase and Happy Travels 👍

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4b2b2b said:
Purchased a new 75-4 in 2019. A number of issues but nothing major and a couple that I have just learned to live with but I can be a little finicky.
There will be issues with any new Motorhome you buy in my opinion.
My advice would be to be absolutely confident that the dealer you buy from would be happy to resolve any possible faults. To be honest the dealer I used was atrocious and I think the frustration they caused me made my relatively small problems seem out of proportion in real terms.
I regularly look at other Motorhomes and do not often see one I would want to change over to.
Good luck with your purchase and Happy Travels 👍
Click to expand...
In my opinion buy German and no finicky issues,! My dealer was great unfortunately Bailey not .
 
Bailey build quality, panel fit and quality 'feel' are terrible.

Spares are a silly price, look on the web site and delivery months, three months for a bumper sticker!

They won't let me have a wiring diagram so my upgrades become much more work.

No, never again!

Tony
 
We had a autograph new in 2020, sold it 1yr later. Most things were put in a bag and left. These were all the parts that had fallen off or broke. Also water issue, again water tank was full but registered empty so pump shut of and no water. Rubbish build, and rubbish customer support from both dealer ( Cambell's) and manufacturer. Bought German like someone before. Pity cause they do look good imo.
 
We have a 3 year old Adamo 69-4 bought a year ago. We are pleased with it and I guess the previous owner may have had any faults rectify. Don't leave the bed up for long periods as mould may develop with no air flow.
I don't like the water filling system but have got used to it. The Seattle control panel is not my favourite. The load capacity is not great but this can be improved by removing the fold down travel seats.
The comments regarding build quality are interesting as we have found ours to be good, certainly compared to the brand new Dethleffs we had previously.
The Ford cab is better than previous fiat ones we have had. We did have an injector problem which was covered by Ford.
 
Bognor Saint said:
We have a 3 year old Adamo 69-4 bought a year ago. We are pleased with it and I guess the previous owner may have had any faults rectify. Don't leave the bed up for long periods as mould may develop with no air flow.
I don't like the water filling system but have got used to it. The Seattle control panel is not my favourite. The load capacity is not great but this can be improved by removing the fold down travel seats.
The comments regarding build quality are interesting as we have found ours to be good, certainly compared to the brand new Dethleffs we had previously.
The Ford cab is better than previous fiat ones we have had. We did have an injector problem which was covered by Ford.
Click to expand...
Tell me hat issues with Dethleffs?

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Forgot to mention I had 2012 740SE for 5 years, damp issues.
 
Tbh, i think its generally a lottery.

We have automotive quality expectations, but in reality coach builders (of whatever version, A,C or PVC) dont really meet those standards.

You could get a great Bailey, or go for an european brand and have loads of snags.

Perhaps we should set our expectation levels more British Leyland, than Merc, BMW, Toyota, Volvo et al?
 
We had a second hand Adria that had a lot of build quality issues as did our brand new Burstner so I guess once we have sorted our Adamo issues we will just see them all as about the same.
 
Jenka said:
Tell me hat issues with Dethleffs?
Click to expand...
The main issue was with the poorly fitted cupboards/lockers. Broken hinges. We had to put wedges in all doors to stop the rattles. I know there are always rattles and bangs but it was much worse than previous motorhomes. Kitchen sink trap disintegrated, pump gave up after a year and the plastic bathroom sink surround had multiple vertical cracks. Hab door difficult to close.

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Carado. Cheap (or good value!). First van we have ever had that has no issues. None. Not a single one. Had it 5 years now. I thought issues were just something you had to live with until we got this van. I would never ever ever ever buy a Bailey. I would give up motor homing rather than do that. You have been warned repeatedly on here. Just my view :unsure:
 
Jenka said:
In my opinion buy German and no finicky issues,! My dealer was great unfortunately Bailey not .
Click to expand...
Looks like mine was one of the better ones then. Not often I’m that lucky 😀
Interestingly the Dealer I bought it from told me they had stopped selling Swift Motorhomes due to the poor quality of build.
I think they embellish when it suits them🤷‍♂️
 
got a 2017 autograph and the habitation side so far has been OK. Had a few issues and yes getting parts from Bailey is virtually non-existant. But god are the parts fragile.

However, the Peugeot Boxer van part is a nightmare at the moment with Adblue and Eolys system failures which are proving almost impossible to fix. Peugeot dealers are useless. All independants just throw their hands in the air and say to delete the system. I don't want to do that but it ruined our German holiday in September and I now have 2 weeks to get it sorted otherwise our Spain holiday will have to be cancelled too. Oh and it has an intermittent coolant leak but garage cant find where from........
 
Oh dear, looks like I need to keep walking passed the "Baileys", I expected some comments about poor fitting doors, as I had come across them in other chats, however didnt expect so many people advising "Stay away", well thats what I have taken from all your comments, and I very much you being honest.

Its a lot of money to put up, to then have to spend time going back to dealers for warranty work, and no good if you are in the middle of Europe somewhere.

And yes I wish Ford would put an electronic handbrake on. My current campervan has the Flyoff on the left of the drivers seat, and its gets in the way of the pooch getting between the seats so she can keep an eye on dad :-).

Thanks for the feedback on Bailey, really appreciate it.

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Despite the comments on the "Bailey" I keep getting drawn back to the Adamo, seems to fit my needs perfectley. The thing that sways me is the Ford Cab, which is exactly the same as my current PVC, which I really like. Its just like being in a car, comfortable driving position, all the toys, good radio/navigation screen.

And no matter where you are in the world, you can always gets spares for a ford. Same engine as mine as well, which goes like a rocket (not that you want that on a MH) but its nice to know you have the power and torque to get out of trouble if the need arises.

My alternative was to have a Pop-Top on my van, but having listend to various comments, I dont think its worth me spending that small fortune..... It still wont give me the other comforts I desire; Toilet & Shower in the main.

Thanks for everyone's comments.
 
d95gas said:
Hi Everyone,
I have been looking over the last few weeks at coachbuilt motorhomes with a view to upgrading early 2025. There is only myself and the dog, and I didnt really want something too big. I will be doing Europe, so need home comforts.

I "think" I am settled on the Bailey Adamo 69-4, not to sure whether to venture to the 75-4. Anyhow, the main question I had, is for those who either have, or have had the Bailey Adamo. Whats the build quality like?

At the moment there doesnt seem to be a massive difference between the 2024 & 2025 model, so would possibly opt for the 2025.

Sorry, there was one other question relating to the electric drop down bed. Can this be left made up when you put it away?

Many thanks
Click to expand...
Hi,

Well, where do I start!?

I'm an owner of a shiny new 2025 Adamo 75-4T. If it's just you and the dog, then my guess is the 69-4 is probably fine. The 75-4's are BIG, but there are a few things to be made aware of regardless of the model:

1. The build quality of the interior for mine is cheap. The finish of mountings and so on, both internal and external are poor at best. I have had to re-work most of them (I couldn't be bothered to drive an hour to the dealer etc to get them covered under warranty). What you are paying for though is Bailey's signature extruded shell and the Ford chassis. More importantly, the driving part is lovely. Reading the various forum runes, it seems most folks buy Ford based motorhomes for this very reason.

2. There are, however, some modification that are needed to prevent engine coil corrosion due to water ingress, and also another mod under the steering column to prevent moisture build-up on the engine management system. These are known on-going issues that are due to be resolved when Ford release their Mrk 10 model next year or the year after.

3. Good news! The market is saturated with motorhomes at the moment. Second-hand market should be dirt cheap, but I only found out after my purchase. You are also in a strong position to buy new for exactly the same reason. A friend tried to sell his 2024 motorhome to a well known online dealer recently, and the response was: "Sorry, we have all models of motorhome and are not interested in buying additional stock at this time. Apologies".

Finally, remember that regardless of which motorhome/caravan/campervan you decide to purchase (both lower-end and upper-end of the price range), you will almost certainly always have snags/issues. It comes with the territory, so be prepared to either take your new vehicle back to the dealer or roll-up your sleeves and do the work yourself.

Happy travels!
 
I cannot agree with statements on issues being part of territory, I have a German van and no issues what's so ever I had a brand new Bailey with 56 faults some you would call niggles others more serious. The alutech was in 2010 a game changer but the competition have caught up and offer better quality build and construction methods etc.
 
We have a 2024 69-4. While it's not been perfect, I certainly don't see the poor quality many people have mentioned. Yes, a couple of doors needed adjusted and tightened up, and some of the external silicon needed replacing, but that's about it. The transit is far nicer to drive than the ducato we previously had, and the layout and the space the 69-4 offer us is perfect for us. We take the pillows off the bed, but leave everything else on it for travel and during the day. I do wish bailey would think about modernising their electrical system, as it's not really designed with upgrading to lithium in mind, but it works and if you're not off-grid a lot then it won't cause any concerns.

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