As part of our one year review, we created the Carado and Sunlight owners survey.  We wanted find out how other owners use their vehicles and how they rate them.  This may aid prospective buyers who are looking for reviews of these campervans.

We posted the link to the survey on 2 Facebook groups: Carado Axion and  Carado & Sunlight Owners Group.  Assisted in created the survey: Chris Saeger, Seong Jun Bae, Riccardo  Bulissimo, and Ervin Keczem.   We received responses from 57 owners.

Survey Results

Models Distribution

Banff had the highest representation with 32 owners, 11 Axion, 9 Sunlight 2, and 5 Sunlight 1 owners.

Length of Ownership

Most of the responding owners (51) own their campervan more than 3 months, and 6 owners less than 3 months.  Most of the responses were from owners who had the chance to use their camper over time.

Vehicle Usage

Next we wanted to know whether owners use the vehicle as primary, secondary, or vacation only vehicle.

The majority of owners (37) use the van as a vacation vehicle, while 13 owners use them as secondary vehicle.   Only 7 owners use their campers as their primary vehicle.

Coach Usage

The majority of owners (41)used their unit on multiple trips and therefor had a chance to experience the systems, functionality, and various issues.

RATINGS

Below we present owners overall rating of their campervans as well as rating of the systems, the vehicle, and the coach.

 

Overall, owners rated the quality of the 4 campervan models as 8.2 out of 10.  There were minor differences between the different models, however there were not enough responses from all models to make it significant.

Owners were less happy with the systems in the campervans and rated it 7.1 out of 10.

They rated the vehicle performance as 8.6 out of 10 and the coach layout and comfort as 8.5 out of 10.

Next we looked at owners’ satisfaction by model.  of the Banff, Axion, Sunlight 1, and Sunlight 2.  Banff and Sunlight 1 owners were the most satisfied with their vans.  However,  since the percentage of Sunlight 1, Sunlight 2, and Axion in the survey is very small, this is not meaningful.

AMount Spent on necessary Fixes

We asked owners to identify the amount of money they spent on required fixes and modifications.  The results were a bit surprising:  the majority of owners (37) spent less than $500; several indicated that they spent zero dollars on their campervans.

There was no significant change in expenditures over time and overall less than 7% of owners (4) had to spend more than US$2000.

In summary

We received enough responses that allow us to paint a picture of Carado and Sunlight owners level of satisfaction.  On average, owners are happy with their choice of a campervan, especially after spending some time to get to understand how it works.

The main issues that were identified were lack of consistency of dealers knowledge and support; systems that are confusing at first; and the less than stellar job done by Erwin Hymer North America Group.

A reoccuring sentiment is that considering the layout, systems included, and the price tag, these vans are hard to beat.

Next Steps

We received several comments and suggestions and we are working with a group of owners to aggregate a prioritized list of mods and fixes.  This will assist new owners get through the initial stage of owning a campervan.

There was an overwhelming gratitude towards the Facebook groups’ members who share their experience, knowledge and creativity with others.  Some owners felt that they wouldn’t have been able to do this on their own without this guidance. New owners will benefit from joining such groups and asking questions.

Most of all, take your campervan on the road and have fun!

The survey will remain active for now, so feel free to head over and add your voice to the mix.  If there is a significant change we will edit this post accordingly.

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