Unicorn 3 Cartagena thoughts please
Hi ALL,
I am looking to buy a larger caravan and particularly like the Baily Unicorn 3 Cartagena.
Could someone tell me what years the " Unicorn 3" were in production, what are the plus and minus of this caravan, and if any, are there any weakness?
Many Thanks
Stephen Radford
Comments
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I believe that the Unicorn 3 was launched Sept 2014 and was replaced by the 4 in Sept 2017. We have a Barcelona which is a similar layout and love it - to the extent that whilst looking to replace this year, we haven't come across anything we like better. Although we have had some minor warranty issues, nothing serious, although some have had problems with a leaking roof seal. Love the feeling of spaciousness, the big fridge/freezer, large bathroom, the amount of food preparation area and the amount of storage which I think has been reduced dramatically in the 4. It tows like a dream although you will need a large 4x4 - we have a Touareg. Contrary to some comments on here. I have found the build quality to be as good as most other makes and haven't experienced anything breaking or dropping off in three and a half years of fairly heavy use.
Only real downside we have come across is the poor quality of the foam in the seat bases, but this seems to be a common problem across most makes. I resolved this by getting a local upholsterer to replace the foam at a cost of £250 rather than have Bailey replace it with the same stuff. There is a weight penalty, though!
There have been reports of damp problems with some, although we seem to have got a good one and all the readings have been around the 10% mark (in November) over its last three services.
Hope this helps.
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I have a U3 of that era from new, pros: Good interior design and utilisation of space, heating good. Good value for spec. Cons: Make sure roofstrap at rear has been replaced or at least resealed. Mine leaked! apparently when they changed from aluminium to polyester skin they used the wrong glue / sealant which did not account for the difference in expansion of the materials. The fit and finish of furniture is a bit iffy lots of sticky discs covering screw heads etc, but I can live with this. With the twin axle you should avoid the"relaxed" axle issues. In summary nice interior design with average build quality.
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Thank you for the responses, I think the overall feeling is quite positive and the thing you have pointed out are easily over come, so thank you, as far as the vehicle weight to caravan weight goes.
Maximum allowable weight is: 1554 kgs or 30.5893468761 cwt / hundred weight. for the U3
With my current vehicle my max permitted weight is 1850Kg, so I am not really sure if a big 4x4 is required.
Any thoughts?
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Big 4x4 usually means big Diesel engine and lots of low down torque which makes for easy relaxed towing. I sometimes have to remind myself that the van is on the back!
We use CLs and CS’s quite a lot and a 4x4 gives peace of mind that you are unlikely to get stuck if the weather turns wet. That aside, I am an off-road enthusiast and my Treg is built for that, so it wasn’t much of a decision for me.
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The max permitted towing weight of a car as stated by the manufacturer is a weight the car is capable of shifting in certain circumstances and is not necessarily a safe or sensible weight to tow on the road.
If the MTPLM of the van is indeed 1717kg, as a guide you'd need a tow car with a kerb weight of around 2000kg. Personally, I wouldn’t want to tow a van of that weight with anything less than a big beefy 4x4.
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