British caravans
Comments
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Yep, we are very interested in a Dethleffs, especially as the local dealer is within 30 miles of us.....a big plus! And their habitation doors are wider it seems.
MH dealers are thin on the ground up here.
Yes, the Burstner had a garage.
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Yep, we are very interested in a Dethleffs, especially as the local dealer is within 30 miles of us.....a big plus! And their habitation doors are wider it seems.
MH dealers are thin on the ground up here.
I know you can now get an Adria in Irvine and a Hobby in Dumfries but where do you get tge Defleths?
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He'd probably sooner have a professional one.
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Kj Without trawling back xthruogh all the posts have you looked at uk built m/vans ,as they seem to understand what the UK buyers are looking for ,they may not have the "payloads"of some overseas made but then they have a UK kit list that will eat
to any 3500kg base vehicle if fitted0 -
We have looked at quite a few, but had not seen any that could work at 3500kg and give us what we want in terms of layout.
If we are going to consider MHs over 3500kg, we will need to take another look.
The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
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We have looked at quite a few, but had not seen any that could work at 3500kg and give us what we want in terms of layout.
If we are going to consider MHs over 3500kg, we will need to take another look.
The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
...By your posts I thought that was one of the things that continental vans lacked that you have in you c/van?
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We have looked at quite a few, but had not seen any that could work at 3500kg and give us what we want in terms of layout.
If we are going to consider MHs over 3500kg, we will need to take another look.
The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
...By your posts I thought that was one of the things that continental vans lacked that you have in you c/van?
...Ps A Caravan is a Caravan , when it has a cab on the front it a Motor Caravan
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The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
Must be why we like our Bailey m/h, tried and tested 2 berth layout, its worked well for years. Bags of space and comfy. Not what you are after but one of the 2017 models might tick most of your boxes.
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The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
Must be why we like our Bailey m/h, tried and tested 2 berth layout, its worked well for years. Bags of space and comfy. Not what you are after but one of the 2017 models might tick most of your boxes.
For some reason, which I don't quite understand, the original Bailey's were critised for being too much like a caravan. So like TG it was probably why we chose the Bailey to replace our caravan. Very similar in the amount of space it has and just as comfortable.
David
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like many UK manufacturers, Bailey could see the trend for MH growing, so why not make their MH similar to their caravans.
i guess it made them (specifically) attractive to their own customers and an easy choice for a Bailey caravanner making the switch.
i wouldnt have a clue as to how many sales come from previous non-Bailey MHers, as i imagine most sales are from previous Bailey owners, either from a caravan or from another Bailey MH, due a strong brand loyalty and therefore
plenty of repeat busines, in both caravan or MH sales.theyve certainly done very well in their MH business.
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We have looked at quite a few, but had not seen any that could work at 3500kg and give us what we want in terms of layout.
If we are going to consider MHs over 3500kg, we will need to take another look.
The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
Write your comments here...one of the reasons we moved to a MH was the design of caravans, basically 2 bench seats at the front then a variation on a theme for the rest of the van. Then looking at motorhomes we found in general all the British makers had
done was taken the same design and stuck it on the back of a truck, Bailey probably the worse offender because of their alu tec process they can't change the exterior shape so they still even look like a caravan, not even bothering to change the water tank
filling it seems. That's why we bought a foreign van at least it's designed as a motorhome from scratch.0 -
another thing is that a (most) MH wouldnt have the luxury (space wise) of placing a separate two seater dinette somewhere in the van, hence the sliding tables in many continental vans, giving somewhere to lounge and eat, without having to deploy a free standing
table. a side benefit would be the pair of belted seats for those requiring the transportation of extra passengers. so, again multi-funtion for those that need it.we were a bit apprehensive about the 'conti lounge' with this type of table but it works really well, being able to just slide it out of the way yet be there for four (or five) diners when required.
we loved our open side-sofa lounge in the Bolero but getting a table out for meal times became a bit of a chore....we got round it with a small 'coffee table' on a boom arm.....but this got in the way more than our current table when accessing the cab seats.....so,
swings and roundabouts.more uk makers are adopting an optional L- shaped sofa for the belted seats but havent yet made the move to a 'fixed' sliding table.....ill see whats afoot this coming week at the NEC.
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another thing is that a (most) MH wouldnt have the luxury (space wise) of placing a separate two seater dinette somewhere in the van, hence the sliding tables in many continental vans, giving somewhere to lounge and eat, without having to deploy a free standing table. a side benefit would be the pair of belted seats for those requiring the transportation of extra passengers. so, again multi-funtion for those that need it.
we were a bit apprehensive about the 'conti lounge' with this type of table but it works really well, being able to just slide it out of the way yet be there for four (or five) diners when required.
we loved our open side-sofa lounge in the Bolero but getting a table out for meal times became a bit of a chore....we got round it with a small 'coffee table' on a boom arm.....but this got in the way more than our current table when accessing the cab seats.....so, swings and roundabouts.
more uk makers are adopting an optional L- shaped sofa for the belted seats but havent yet made the move to a 'fixed' sliding table.....ill see whats afoot this coming week at the NEC.
Write your comments here...All will be revealed, BB, day after tomorrow! Just make sure you have plenty of money to spend!
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like many UK manufacturers, Bailey could see the trend for MH growing, so why not make their MH similar to their caravans.
i guess it made them (specifically) attractive to their own customers and an easy choice for a Bailey caravanner making the switch.
i wouldnt have a clue as to how many sales come from previous non-Bailey MHers, as i imagine most sales are from previous Bailey owners, either from a caravan or from another Bailey MH, due a strong brand loyalty and therefore
plenty of repeat busines, in both caravan or MH sales.theyve certainly done very well in their MH business.
We never owned a Bailey caravan, funny enough we never liked them, most we had seen at dealers looked a bit flimsy.
We have had Coachman, Elddis, Lunar, Abbey, Rambler, Eriba and way back in the 1980 an Eccles Topaz.
I think Bailey are trying hard to overcome the 'caravan with an engine' look, however the new ones seem to be all around 7.5m
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We have looked at quite a few, but had not seen any that could work at 3500kg and give us what we want in terms of layout.
If we are going to consider MHs over 3500kg, we will need to take another look.
The main impression was that many are very similar to caravan layouts. Just as if the designer had taken a caravan and stuck it behind the cab!
Write your comments here...one of the reasons we moved to a MH was the design of caravans, basically 2 bench seats at the front then a variation on a theme for the rest of the van. Then looking at motorhomes we found in general all the British makers had
done was taken the same design and stuck it on the back of a truck, Bailey probably the worse offender because of their alu tec process they can't change the exterior shape so they still even look like a caravan, not even bothering to change the water tank
filling it seems. That's why we bought a foreign van at least it's designed as a motorhome from scratch.The new Bailey m/h's are much better styled, take a look strangley they look much like your avatar
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Aren't we going a little off topic here? This thread is about British Caravans. Caravans are not motorhomes!
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Lets hope bailey m/h dont leak like there caravans do
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Lets hope bailey m/h dont leak like there caravans do
Write your comments here...I have a Bailey caravan that I've lived in all the year round since June 2015 and so far it has never leaked!
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It would make no difference whether you lived in it or not, Malc. A leak is a leak irrespective of occupancy.
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"I think Bailey are trying hard to overcome the 'caravan with an engine' look, however"...
IMHO, they do have an issue in trying to acheive this and it lies in the width of their caravan bodies....nearly 2.5m wide against the industry 'norm' of 2.35m.
..whilst this undoutedly makes for a roomy van (a big selling point) they are, however, made to look exactly like a caravan on the back of the cab as the bodywork sticks out 15cm more than the current crop of 'semi-integrated' vans...
apart from the lack of 'style' (eye of the beholder, of course) this 'extra girth' is probably noticed on the road....i wouldnt want a van any wider than ours (2.27m) yet the Bailey is another 23cm wider.....and, of course, the rest of the market is 'trying to diet' in order to get slimmer, lighter vans......
have look at the new N+B Smoove to se how to make a semi-integrated van look like ot was all carved from the same chunk of rock.....
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"I think Bailey are trying hard to overcome the 'caravan with an engine' look, however"...
IMHO, they do have an issue in trying to acheive this and it lies in the width of their caravan bodies....nearly 2.5m wide against the industry 'norm' of 2.35m.
..whilst this undoutedly makes for a roomy van (a big selling point) they are, however, made to look exactly like a caravan on the back of the cab as the bodywork sticks out 15cm more than the current crop of 'semi-integrated' vans...
apart from the lack of 'style' (eye of the beholder, of course) this 'extra girth' is probably noticed on the road....i wouldnt want a van any wider than ours (2.27m) yet the Bailey is another 23cm wider.....and, of course, the rest of the market is
'trying to diet' in order to get slimmer, lighter vans......have look at the new N+B Smoove to se how to make a semi-integrated van look like ot was all carved from the same chunk of rock.....
With the earlier vans (like we have) I agree they are not as shapely as some of the current european vans, driving it I've not had a problem even on our narrow Scottish roads. Having the extra width does give a very comfy open feel to the inside. European
style vans of the same size always feel so cramped inside.As I've said have a look at the 2017 models I think you will have to agree they are trying
We have looked at many m/h's for us the high vans like Autocruise, Concorde, N&B and some of the ones that have luton beds, we find ugly more like trucks than the lower style vans, as you say 'eye of the beholder' the model we have is a boxy shape, it is
4 years old now and styles change every year, if you look at some of the vans that are going around from 10 - 20 years ago they too where of a box shape even the european ones
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