Swift Sundance- rot in floor where step bolts thro

chrisT70

Guest
i have a recently bought 06 swift sundance 600s. i have noticed the electric step is moving about when stood on and further investigations revealed it is actually pulling thro the floor where its thro bolted. the floor (in a very small area) is actually rotten (altho dry). looks like its been damp there before and rotted the wood, allowing the weight on the step to start pulling the coach bolt heads thro it. stopped using the step for now and using a temp plastic step.
van is from a local small dealer and came with a warranty, and dealer has already said it can be sorted, he has seen it before.

anyone else had this with their sundance/swift?

also any recomendations for a good repairer in yorkshire?
cheers
chris.

(ps love the van despite this hitch , its in lovely nick otherwise , 2 trips already and its spot on for what we need in a van!)
 
I believe that this is a fairly common design fault on this model. Even though it is out of manufacturers warranty, I think there is a fix for it that works. Your dealer is the one who is responsible for the fix as he sold it to you.
 
This is very common on caravans, wet feet walking through the door, over the years it rots the floor.
I have fixed a few my self.
I cover a stainless steel ( normal steel is fine) plate with no nails or any adhisive type stuff, on either side of the floor and glue it together like a sandwich.
Just stick a few nuts and bolts through it until it sets, then refix the step
Its a simlpe DIY job that should take a couple of hours.
I cut the plate to the size of the door mat
One top tip, our local £1 shop sells black plastic trays the size of a door mat I use one of these to put our wet shoes on and help keep the carpet clean, keeps the floor dry too.
 
Chris
I suggest you get your dealer to contact
Swift about this.
They were fixing this under warranty.
may be sympathetic to your case'
They did our 630l under warranty

weez
Tony
 
Wee-z said:
Chris
I suggest you get your dealer to contact
Swift about this.
They were fixing this under warranty.
may be sympathetic to your case'
They did our 630l under warranty

weez
Tony
Click to expand...
Now thats a good point and well worth a phone call
 
Remember that in law, your dealer has the onus to rectify any faults on your van.

The manufacturer has been very good in this respect and as it is not long out of their warranty, they should sort you out.:)

If you have any problems however, go to your local Trading Standards and they will assist you.
 
thanks for this information. I will ring Swift initially to see if they might take it on out of goodwill as i'd prefer the manufacturer to do it if poss, but the dealer has already said they will help sort it if not. I am covered until May 2011 with a warranty i got with the van so hoping this will pick up the cost if Swift wont. (and i can see why they might wash their hands unless it is a design defect).
cheers for help.
 
update

Having spoken to Swift, they may be willing to warranty repair it, subject to an inspection report at an approved Swift repair centre. Have spoken also to Lowdhams who were very helpful and have booked it in for an inspection report £45 next week. If warranty repair is approved i will get the £45 cost refunded, and Lowdhams were aware of similar problems in this step area. Nothing has yet been confirmed though as covered under any warranty or goodwill gesture by Swift so fingers crossed. Lowdhams were very helpful though on phone so heres hoping.
 
floor

any further forward with this one?

weez
Tony
 
Wee-z said:
any further forward with this one?

weez
Tony
Click to expand...

yes and no!
Went to Lowdhams who have been very helpful in trying to get my claim submitted to Swift. I had to pay £45 initially for a report into the rot and they have proved the small area of floor under the mat is 100% damp and needs cutting out and replacing. the electric step needs to be removed along with the lino and all making good. probably a full day repair by the sound of it.
pics and report are ready to go to swift but they are closed for 3 weeks hols with just a skeleton crew on site.
Once they say yes or no we can proceed then and if swift cover it i will get my £45 back as well.
fingers still crossed. in meantime i can still use van but have to use a temporary step rather than the electric one thats all.
 
Swift- closed for holidays

slight (poor) update - Swift appear to be closed for 3 weeks and no one is answering the phones, it just cuts you straight off now when you ring. :mad:

i have to get swift to update their records apparently to show me as the new owner of the vehicle for warranty claim purposes, Lowdhams can't log it onto the swift system without this as its still showing the old owner.
I've tried swift all week and the phone system puts you through to a call helper who doesnt answer before it promptly disconnects you.
looks like i have to wait another 3 weeks before i can event get them to consider the warranty repair itself.
ah well.:(
 
good news- repair approved

Had a call today from Lowdhams to say that Swift have agreed to take the motorhome back to the factory for a repair which is great news.
Awaiting letter of confirmation for date to return it, to Lowdhams who will then liaise with Swift to get it back to the factory.

Many thanks to Lowdhams for dealing with this on my behalf, as i didnt purchase the van from them initially and other local swift dealers were not as helpful. Thanks to Swift also for acknowledging the problem with a van thats only just 5 yrs old and less than 6k miles, good customer service by the look of it.
:)
 
Its good to see Swift are repairing it for free, it goes a long way to find a company who will help out even though its so old, and a dealer who also helped
 
touch wood as i havent actually got the repair done as yet,but i was hoping it would go back to the factory as i would hope they do a sterling job on it, and i would then have confidence its a proper repair.

Lowdhams have been great, considering i bought from a local (small) dealer and not them. the dealer i used, although very helpful, could only point me in the direction of going through the aftermarket warranty route. this might have resolved it anyway but i cant see an aftermarket warranty repair elsewhere being as good as at swift.

one other large swift dealer (no names but local to me in sheffield!) didnt really want to know, were far too busy to even have a look and to contact swift on my behalf, even after i explained that swift had instructed me to go to my nearest local swift dealer for the initial survey to be done at my own cost.
 
now sorted- Thanks to Swift and Loowdhams

just had my motorhome returned from repairs and wanted to publicly thank Swift ( and Amy in customer service was brill) :)

our swift sundance 600s developed rot/damp in the floor where the step is. Swift have repaired the floor and step and also replaced all the bumper seals and waterproofed the floor edges to prevent further probs. Van was with them for 3 weeks, a hire car was given to get us home and Swift have offered a contribution to expenses to get us back to their base to collect it today. all the work was explained and detailed, and a great job done by the look of it so far.

the van was 4 yrs old and 5000m on it when we realised it had a slight problem with the floor going soft under the mat and door entrance area.



great customer service and support, well done Swift group and also Lowdhams @ Huddersfield who sorted it as warranty out for us despite us not buying the van from them.
 
Well done to Loudhams and Swift and a black mark to your supplying dealer, it was his responsibility to sort the problem out.

Peter
 
Another update, and again big thanks to Swift, have received a chq today for petrol expenses covering journeys to/from swift group base! easnt expecting that and hadnt asked, so chuffed to receive it. Very good service all round.


just to note the supplying dealer was only a small outfit and were fully supportive, they had already promised to resolve the issue if Swift declined to do so under factory warranty. :)
 
floor damp repairs

A good result then Chris.

I had to go through a swift dealership as well.local main dealer did not want to
know.
Knowepark Caravans did a excellent job of liasion with swift
Van is going in for a habitation check so I will get an up to-date
report on how the repairs are standing up.

have fun

weez
Tony
 
swift

last year Happened to my van a 2005 590rs Swift repaired under warranty, they were very good, drove van to factory, Swift hired and paid for a car for the return home, then the same for the journey to collect the van Service was excellent
 
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