woody3 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Had a slight mishap today in that the I obviously did not tighten the jockey wheel adequately and the van slid down the jockey tube causing the wheel to catch the bottom of the plastic surround breaking a small piece off. Can anyone advise if this can be simply repaired by the delear or what would be the cost of a new replacement surround ? Woody3 2008 Swift Conqueror 540 Kia Sportage XS 2. 7 with LPG conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulthomas Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 To be honest I think it's a case of live with it or pay for replacement. Sorry not to be able to offer any quick fixes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwiftGroup Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Woody3, The A Frame cover is produced from a thermoformed ABS. It is possible to repair, but it depends on where the break is, and how clean it is. The most permanent solution is to "skin" the rear of the cover with an additional layer of ABS or a similar material, which is bonded to both the broken and main parts. The skin must be a material with similar properties to the ABS, otherwise, during thermal expansion, you may introduce further cracks on the cover. To bond all the parts together, consider using an Acetone based adhesive. However, there is a risk with this (or any other) type of repair, and you should do some research before attempting this repair. ABS can suffer from chemical attacks, and thefore, selecting the wrong adhesive could cause further damage. Your dealer may be able to assist further. Alternatively, if you PM me your vehicle chassis number, I can get a part number for you, which you can take to your dealer for a price for a new cover. Thanks, Ash Swift Group Website: www. swiftgroup. co. uk Swift Group Handbooks: www. swiftgroup. co. uk/caravans/handbooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedNewman Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 As Ash says repairing ABS can be difficult - ask any biker who has damaged an ABS fairing! Discovery 4 XS SDV6 and Airstream 532 plus 1996 MGF owned since new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD 42 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) Had a slight mishap today in that the I obviously did not tighten the jockey wheel adequately and the van slid down the jockey tube causing the wheel to catch the bottom of the plastic surround breaking a small piece off. Can anyone advise if this can be simply repaired by the delear or what would be the cost of a new replacement surround ?[/quote ABS can be "welded" I had a hole in the rear panel done by my local dealer, Bailey do a ABS repair kit I'm told but i was warned not to use ordinary addesives Edited February 24, 2009 by TD 42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody3 Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thanks for advice. Dealer says new ABS cover for A frame is £140 ( doubled they say since last year ! ) and to fix would give total of over £200. At this price it will be a case of living with it or investigating advice here and a DIY repair and be more careful next time. £140 for a bit of moulded plastic. ..seems excessive, I wonder how much it actually costs Swift to produce ? Woody3 2008 Swift Conqueror 540 Kia Sportage XS 2. 7 with LPG conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulthomas Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thanks for advice. Dealer says new ABS cover for A frame is £140 ( doubled they say since last year ! ) and to fix would give total of over £200. At this price it will be a case of living with it or investigating advice here and a DIY repair and be more careful next time. £140 for a bit of moulded plastic. ..seems excessive, I wonder how much it actually costs Swift to produce ? £200 or £140. Crikey!I'm going to be very careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwiftGroup Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) Thanks for advice. Dealer says new ABS cover for A frame is £140 ( doubled they say since last year ! ) and to fix would give total of over £200. At this price it will be a case of living with it or investigating advice here and a DIY repair and be more careful next time. £140 for a bit of moulded plastic. ..seems excessive, I wonder how much it actually costs Swift to produce ? I can check this out but I dont belive the price has doubled since last year. Hitch covers are thermoformed moulded ABS components as Ash said earlier, which we buy from a third party pre cut and trimmed to size. As vacuum formed components the tooling is less but the piece part more. If these were injection moulded components the piece part costs would be considrably cheaper but the tooling costs is £10,000's typically for these components which is not viable and these tooling costs would need amortising over the life of the product too, Andy Edited February 25, 2009 by SwiftGroup Swift Group Website: www. swiftgroup. co. uk Swift Group Handbooks: www. swiftgroup. co. uk/caravans/handbooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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