Swift motorhome problems: what owners report

What Swift owners report, brand-wide

Floor rot and unsealed side skirts on 2005 to 2010 coachbuilts

The most serious Swift reports concern floors. A new 2006 Bessacarr E725 passed its annual damp checks until December 2011, then on stripping "the whole offside of the vehicle in front of the rear wheel and below the floor was absolutely rotten"; a seal "had not been fitted correctly" at manufacture, Swift refused the claim and the repair was nearly £3,000 (MotorhomeFun, 23 February 2012). One reply: "SWIFT PROMISED this would not happen! They knew of the manufacturing fault". A 2006/2007 Bolero 680FB owner was in dispute over "the non sealing of side skirts when under construction" and the resulting rot, with Swift offering £670 as goodwill (Out and About Live, 14 January 2019).

A six-year-old Sundance 530LP had its electric step bolts pull "straight through the floor" because damp had rotted it; a reply called it "a well known problem" and said a local repairer had seen "about 2 dozen of the same age/model" in 18 months (7 November 2013). A 57-plate Bessacarr E495 had a damp rear floor on both sides; the owner was told Swift "were aware of the problem", and another member believed it was "a bad batch of floor panels" (16 February 2012). A 2008 E495 read "85% - under the fridge" (17 October 2015). A 2010 Bessacarr E520 buyer was advised on 28 August 2026 to "Check all floor areas around the edges" for soft spots.

Warranty declined just outside the period

A Swift Escape at three years six months had damp in the floor around the toilet locker; Swift declined the claim as out of warranty and quoted £2,750 (MotorhomeFun, 13 May 2013). Swift's current terms (below) run six years, or ten for the first owner.

Roof and garage leaks on Kon-Tikis

A buyer asked in January 2024 whether any SMART-construction Swift had leaked. One reply: a new Kontiki 625 from March 2018 had "Major build quality issues, including amongst other things, significant roof leaks." Another: a 2022 Kontiki 884 had no issues "till it's first hab check. they found serious damp in it." On Trustpilot a Kon-Tiki 774 owner (2 July 2026) wrote that "the garage door developed water ingress, resulting in damp" and "The front Swift Perspex panel warped, became detached, and bowed outwards"; a 2022 Kontiki owner (15 September 2026) found a rubber O-ring left in the waste tank at the factory jamming the drain valve. Older Kon-Tikis were nicknamed "Leaky Kontikis" by forum members (20 January 2009 and 14 June 2024).

Long fault lists on some new vans

A Kon-Tiki Grand Prix registered 4 April 2023 was listed by its owner (14 June 2024, thread title "Swift waste of £96400.00") with a failed control panel holder, disintegrating carpet, rear camera, fridge gas function, Alde heating failure, sat nav, electric skylight, cold water pump damage and a warping habitation door window. A new Escape collected 6 March 2020 developed an unresponsive touchscreen that "now thinks it is a caravan", then broke down twice with a faulty fuel pump at 249 miles and was rejected (17 March to 5 September 2020). A Voyager 475 owner on Trustpilot (18 July 2026) described "almost a year of nothing but hassle" over trim, hinges, a fridge alarm and a leaking tap with a long parts delay; Swift replied. Swift's Trustpilot profile also carries many positive reviews and Swift answers some complaints there.

Swift closed its owners' forum

Swift Talk, the manufacturer's own owners' forum, closed in January 2021. A member quoted Swift's email as saying the content had become "a toxic platform for people just to slag the product off"; another replied that it might be "a growing number of swift customers" venting (MotorhomeFun, 26 and 27 January 2021). The domain no longer resolves, so Swift-specific threads now live on MotorhomeFun, Motorhome Facts and Out and About Live.

By range

Escape 664

Two 2010 Escape 664 damp repairs were documented on Motorhome Facts in 2017. One six-year-old van had "damp readings of up to 50% in side rear panel" with water entering "through the near side roof profiles" and some softness in the floor, quoted at £2,600 for a new panel and resealed profiles (26 February 2017). Another 2010 664 had ingress at the rear cupboard; the repair, quoted at £2,262, came to £2,967, and after collection heavy rain ran "down the new ceiling-wall junction into the wardrobe" (17 March 2017). A 2018 thread on the 664 noted its "tiny 75ah battery", an uncomfortable dinette bed and a plastic skirt rail that "started fading after 2 years". Earlier owners praised it: "We have thoroughly enjoyed our Escape for the last 2 years" (25 July 2013). Practical Motorhome's used guide to the 2009 to 2015 Escape (28 December 2021) says to "Insist on a full inspection for water ingress/damage", notes that some early six-speed base vehicles juddered reversing uphill (subject to a recall) and that early 622s have four berths but only two travel seats. DVSA never names the 664 individually; "Escape" appears in the 2013 garage lock, 2013 floor bolt, 2019 awning, 2019 battery clamp and 2019 drop-down bed campaigns.

Other Escapes

An Escape 674 (3 March 2024) had a mystery drip below the fresh-water tap that emptied half the tank in a day; another owner had a John Guest joint come apart behind the washroom. The 2020 new Escape control panel and fuel pump story is above. Escape 604 and 614 vans built June 2019 to September 2020 were recalled for travelling-seat floor bolts (table below).

Bolero

The unsealed side-skirt rot on a 2006/2007 680FB is above. DVSA names Bolero in the 2012 Hartalite entrance door campaign (door could not be opened from inside) and the 2013 missing floor bolts campaign.

Kon-Tiki

Reports above: the 2018 Kontiki 625 roof leaks, the 2022 884 damp at its first check, the 2023 Grand Prix fault list, the 2026 Trustpilot 774 garage door and Perspex panel, and the 2009 669 with damp running from bathroom to kitchen. DVSA names Kontiki in the 2012 door, 2013 garage lock (with Escape, 85 vans built April 2012 to March 2013), 2013 floor bolt, 2018 and 2019 solar panel campaigns.

Bessacarr

The 2006 E725 floor, the 57-plate and 2008 E495 floors and the 2010 E520 buyer advice are above. DVSA names Bessacarr in campaigns from 2002 seat runners through the 2012 door, 2013 floor bolts, 2015 sunroof visor, 2018 and 2019 solar panels, 2019 awning fixings, 2019 battery clamp and 2019 drop-down bed.

Sundance

The 530LP floor rot (2013) is above. A 2013 Sundance 582PR owner posted Swift's recall letter on 25 November 2013: "some floor bolts may be missing from the underside of the vehicle", with an engineer sent to check and fit them; that matches DVSA RSPV/2013/004 launched 11 November 2013.

Edge

No owner fault report was found in any page we could open. Practical Motorhome's used guide (20 September 2023) warns that "Caution needs to be applied with loading on some models, especially with early six-berth examples on the 3500kg chassis", advises checking water ingress around post-production accessories, and notes that automatic models had a compulsory chassis upgrade that "requires drivers to have Group C1 on their licence". Edge is not a model entry on the DVSA service.

Swift recalls on the DVSA register

DVSA lists SWIFT as a make; caravans and motorhomes share the code. From the full recalls file downloaded on 15 September 2026, the motorhome-relevant campaigns are below. None concerns water ingress or body seals; the 2012 water-ingress recall owners discussed at the time concerned touring caravans.

Older campaigns (1994 load-sensing linkage, 2002 seat runners, 2004 and 2006 tyre valves) are omitted for space but are in the DVSA file. Recall status is not part of our £4.99 report; check it free on the DVSA service by make and model.

What Swift says: warranty, SMART construction and notices

Swift's coachbuilt warranty for 2018-on vans (swiftgroup.co.uk, read 15 September 2026) has a Body Shell Warranty that "covers any defect with the panels and seams of the coachbuilt habitation part of the motorhome. This includes body leaks, delamination of panels or floor, water ingress through any permanently sealed seam joints." It is six years as standard, extended to ten years for the original registered owner only and "non transferable". It depends on an annual service "within 90 days before or 60 days after each anniversary of the original date of purchase", and wall and roof GRP sheeting is excluded after 24 months. Swift's SMART construction page describes a "timberless body frame" using "PURe", "a tough, hard polyurethane based product that is totally impervious to water". Swift's owners FAQ lists a current recall for 2017 model-year touring caravans and a Fiat Skyview sunroof customer letter dated 13 August 2024 (motorhomes are not designed to be driven with the sunroof open); its recalls page lists no motorhome recalls.

MOT pass rates: why this page does not give one

Other sites quote pass rates for converter brands. We checked the DVSA anonymised MOT open data documentation on 15 September 2026: the make and model fields are taken from the DVSA vehicle dataset, there is no converter field and no make lookup table, and the guide does not say whether a coachbuilt motorhome appears under the converter or the base vehicle. Until that is settled, any Swift pass rate is a guess, so we leave it out. What you can check for a specific vehicle is its own MOT history and mileage record, free, by registration: see how to check a motorhome MOT history and which MOT class a motorhome sits in.

Before you buy a Swift: checklist

1. On any 2005 to 2010 coachbuilt (Sundance, Bessacarr, Bolero, Escape, Kon-Tiki), meter the floor edges from underneath and inside, especially ahead of the rear wheels and under the fridge; press for soft spots. Ask whether the side skirts were ever resealed.
2. Ask for every annual damp report. Swift's own warranty requires the service window to be met, and the ten-year extension dies with the first owner, so a second-hand van is on six years at most.
3. On an Escape 664, check the rear side panel and roof profiles on the nearside, the rear cupboard and the wardrobe wall; on a Kon-Tiki, the garage door and front Perspex panel.
4. Test the control panel, the drop-down bed (2016 to 2019 builds were recalled) and, on a 2012 to 2013 build, the garage door lock and floor bolts recall history.
5. Check the weight plate and licence category on six-berth and automatic models: some carry a chassis upgrade that needs C1. See can I drive this motorhome on my licence.
6. Confirm any solar panel or awning fitted before 2019 has had its recall inspection.
7. Run the £4.99 history check on the registration before a deposit: finance and write-off records do not show on a viewing.

Check the vehicle's own record

Whatever the brand, the paperwork side is the same: the vehicle is UK-registered, so a motorhome history check (£4.99) shows stolen, finance, write-off, mileage, plate and keeper records from Experian AutoCheck, DVLA and DVSA. It does not inspect the habitation body, and touring caravans are not covered (they have no registration). More on what the check shows and does not in the motorhome and caravan FAQ.