Thread: Windsor Genesis caravans - any feedback?

Windsor caravans are you 'average' australian caravan .... Ie: Complete **** poorly assembled using the cheapest possible labour .... Buy on condition. You want to find one that hasn't even leaked (yeah good luck with that. My brother sells caravan, and I've seen cladding off most of the major name caravans.... The only thing they have in common is how absolutely ****house they are. They are already rotting in the frames within 6months).

I'll add more on the layout your interested in soon (our caravan is that layout)

seeya,
Shane l

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Windsor caravans are you 'average' australian caravan .... Ie: Complete **** poorly assembled using the cheapest possible labour .... Buy on condition. You want to find one that hasn't even leaked (yeah good luck with that. My brother sells caravan, and I've seen cladding off most of the major name caravans.... The only thing they have in common is how absolutely ****house they are. They are already rotting in the frames within 6months).

I'll add more on the layout your interested in soon (our caravan is that layout)

seeya,
Shane l

Hi Shane,

Thanks for your feedback.

The caravan I saw yesterday is in immaculate condition inside and out and underneath. I don't know how you could tell if a 10 year old van has had or currently has rot in the frame, short of removing the cladding - if what you say is true, it should already be rotten to the core - surely it wouldn't have lasted the best part of 10 years with a rotten frame?

Which caravan do you have that is this type of layout and what vintage is it?

Cheers,

Brendan.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Windsor caravans are you 'average' australian caravan .... Ie: Complete **** poorly assembled using the cheapest possible labour .... Buy on condition. You want to find one that hasn't even leaked (yeah good luck with that. My brother sells caravan, and I've seen cladding off most of the major name caravans.... The only thing they have in common is how absolutely ****house they are. They are already rotting in the frames within 6months).

I'll add more on the layout your interested in soon (our caravan is that layout)

seeya,
Shane l

It appears to me, australian caravans have always been poorly made pieces of ****. So just find the best you can. Open every cupboard and shine a torch into them, get under the seats and into all the access spots and shine a torch into them .... look for water damage. Though most australian 'vans are leaking pieces of crap .... They do seem to last ... a long time. But once the cosmetics of the ply are gone, there is no easy way to fix the visible water damage. I don't believe the older ones were much better built.

This is my caravan:



I spent an entire winter resealing this 'van. Its possibly one of the few caravans in Australia that doesn't actually leak (that I know of). I spent literally months removing all the windows, the door, the hatches, the tru-mold and resealing it all myself. The front window cover ... its quite battered, Windsor "forgot" to put a bit of frame behind it when they built the caravan, so it was only screwed to the cladding and fell off all the time. The mudguards aren't sealed... the ply runs down to the edge inside the wheel arch. So obviously its all rotten in there. Caravan have always been made like **** in Australia. This one is amazingly good as it obviously lived undercover all it's life (I'm the 3rd owner from new).


The biggest issue is if anyone has any physical issues with moving around. The bed isn't an island bed. So the person at the back will need to climb over the person at the front to get in/out. The mattress will likely be a sponge mattress. You could it a custom made inner spring mattress. But neither my wife or I are big heavy people, and I really like firm beds. So we find it really comfortable. Big heavy people would probably find they end up lying on the wooden base (as they sink through the foam). The 'vans you are looking at are far more modern than this, so may have a much better mattress for heavier people.

The bed is heavy'ish to lift up. We just use a queen sized quilt and fitted sheet. I let the doona fall down as I fold the bed up (be slow and careful folding it up, "feed" the matress in so your not forcing the hinges). It does work nicely. Make sure you grab your watch/phone/whatever from the shelf beside the bed, as it'll drive you nuts having to unfold it again to get the stuff you left in there

The layout itself is bloody fantastic. The kids LOVE it. we only have 3 kids, so one bunk is kept as a spot for all the crap the kids leave laying around on the floors. The seating is brilliant. No other caravan I've ever been in gives the feeling of "space" like these. There is enough room for us to lay across the couches reading books ... while the kids can also sit at the table. You could easily put a TV mount above the fridge and have it viewable from both the bunk room and the seating at the front (we never bothered, holidays for us means the kids get away from TV ... ).

if you have any specific questions ... Just let me know.

seeya,
Shane L.

I don't know much about caravans, but I do know some things about camper trailers.
There are some pretty ordinary things happening with campers. Problem is it takes time to build a quality product, but the punters don't want to pay for it, so they buy on price and then have to fix them up afterwards.
A relative bought one of the most popular imported campers last year, and has spent the last six months fixing it up. Fortunately he is handy on the tools and can do it himself or else the savings would have disappeared.
Some issues are just poor design. For example, his forward fold camper covers the top of the space for racks and gas bottles at the front, so once setup they can't be reached. You have to decide what to take out before you set up the camper or you are stuck.
He has also had to upgrade some wiring, install better gas fittings, fit 240volt charging and reseal some joints.
He paid $18,000 and has since spent several thousand.
We are looking at a camper that costs $25,000 but appears to have those issues fixed. It's actually possible to pay $40k for a top notch local camper.
I expect to enjoy wandering around the Brisbane 4WD Camping Show on March 17 inspecting what is on offer.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Windsor caravans are you 'average' australian caravan .... Ie: Complete **** poorly assembled using the cheapest possible labour .... Buy on condition. You want to find one that hasn't even leaked (yeah good luck with that. My brother sells caravan, and I've seen cladding off most of the major name caravans.... The only thing they have in common is how absolutely ****house they are. They are already rotting in the frames within 6months).

Think it is the same world over for caravans. Here in Europe they also leak from the day they leave the factory and rot out. Most vans are scrapped at about 6 or 7 years as at this point in their lives they as disolving into the ground through rot and falling apart. Construction tends to be based on the lowest priced component can get away with and they have parts falling off in the dealership even before the customer has taken delivery. Brand does not seem to make much difference.

People we know bought a new van the name of which I won't mention but suffice it to say, it's at the top of the list of vans on the Lemons Caravans and RVs list...
The lady of the house very snootily told us when we said what trouble we'd had both with the dealer and maker of our Goldstream "We haven't had any trouble at all".
Different story a few months later when they found water coming in through the sky light. Dealers response was "Try the maker". Their normal response to any problem is "You've abused it".
Maker not interested, they're in Vic or NSW and we're in Perth and they've got yer money so go jump......
They tried the skylight importer and got so fed up they said "We'll sue you"!
"Get in line with everyone else" was the comeback to that.
Onto their insurer who took on their problem and it cost 6K to fix as the frame was rotten. How long had it been leaking in the yard before they bought it?
I believe the insurer is using subrogation rights to get their money back and being told to get in line by any of those involved won't stop them although of course the majority of owners think it'll cost the earth and can't afford it.
No wonder the above website exists and is taking the problem with the slack attitude in the industry to the ACCC. Problems of course also lie with those consumer affairs people in each state who are out to lunch with the makers/dealers and couldn't care less about the customer as long as it doesn't affect their job....
AlanH.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I don't know much about caravans, but I do know some things about camper trailers.
There are some pretty ordinary things happening with campers. Problem is it takes time to build a quality product, but the punters don't want to pay for it, so they buy on price and then have to fix them up afterwards.
A relative bought one of the most popular imported campers last year, and has spent the last six months fixing it up. Fortunately he is handy on the tools and can do it himself or else the savings would have disappeared.
Some issues are just poor design. For example, his forward fold camper covers the top of the space for racks and gas bottles at the front, so once setup they can't be reached. You have to decide what to take out before you set up the camper or you are stuck.
He has also had to upgrade some wiring, install better gas fittings, fit 240volt charging and reseal some joints.
He paid $18,000 and has since spent several thousand.
We are looking at a camper that costs $25,000 but appears to have those issues fixed. It's actually possible to pay $40k for a top notch local camper.
I expect to enjoy wandering around the Brisbane 4WD Camping Show on March 17 inspecting what is on offer.

Thanks for your thoughts DiscoMick.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It makes me think I should just stay in hotels when traveling. 😨