Anyone going to the NEC?
- Thread starter Parksy
- Start date
Probably, just to have a look around. I'm not sure if I understood the details though on the website where you can buy on-line tickets. It seemed to suggest there was a booking fee if you purchased before Monday but not afterwards. I can't see why if they are e-mailing the tickets, it's only £1 but I object in principal to them hiking up the advertised price so I'll hang on and see if there are still tickets available later.
Looking forward to being there on Thursday.
We've just sold our caravan, so in the market for a replacement.
It will not be a Swift product this time (the previous two were) as they don't do the layout we want with the equipment specification we are looking for. So it could be hello to Coachman, Elddis or Lunar, depending on what we see.
Hard to draw any conclusion from the forums on comparative quality of the different manufacturers as messages tend to polarise into either love em or hate em.
I guess you pays your money and you takes your chance.
I don't think we will do a deal at the show though as too much pressure and I would prefer to buy from a local dealer if the price is right.
We've just sold our caravan, so in the market for a replacement.
It will not be a Swift product this time (the previous two were) as they don't do the layout we want with the equipment specification we are looking for. So it could be hello to Coachman, Elddis or Lunar, depending on what we see.
Hard to draw any conclusion from the forums on comparative quality of the different manufacturers as messages tend to polarise into either love em or hate em.
I guess you pays your money and you takes your chance.
I don't think we will do a deal at the show though as too much pressure and I would prefer to buy from a local dealer if the price is right.
We are going, planning to view but said that two years ago and came away with new van, so never say never. Gave the show a miss last year so be good to see whats on offer.
We are going to go and maybe had the idea of buying a new van, something with the Alde heating, but got a cost to change from our local dealer on our 3 year old Elddis Crusader twin axle at the weekend and they wanted over 11k to change.
Wow could not jusify that, i know we use our van an awful lot but that an awful lot of money, i think they will struggle to sell the big vans this year with all this bad news around.
We will still go but i wont drool ill be smug knowing that my van is still very good and i will be saving 11k.
Wow could not jusify that, i know we use our van an awful lot but that an awful lot of money, i think they will struggle to sell the big vans this year with all this bad news around.
We will still go but i wont drool ill be smug knowing that my van is still very good and i will be saving 11k.
Nothing really we want so we wont be going although if I had the readies I'd like to change trhe van to a Bailey Unicorn Seville. We did enquire how much to upgrade from our 2 year old Bailey Senator Vermont and they wanted in the region of £8k
No chance, we'll keep this one.
Hi Parksy.
We are all going Saturday and Sunday as we don't think we will get around it all in one day.
Being new to this we want to take it all in and ask lots of questions.
We have the tug sorted but no van yet so see this as an ideal opportunity to see everything on offer under one roof.
We know what we want the van to offer so will take it from there.
Regards
Neil
)
We are all going Saturday and Sunday as we don't think we will get around it all in one day.
Being new to this we want to take it all in and ask lots of questions.
We have the tug sorted but no van yet so see this as an ideal opportunity to see everything on offer under one roof.
We know what we want the van to offer so will take it from there.
Regards
Neil
)
We'll be there on Wednesday just for a snout round and feel smug that our 2004 Avondale outshines all the new stuff!
Have a shopping list that only has tent pegs and awning bag on it - mind you friends went last year looking for a new hitchlock and came back with the reciept for a new Bailey Unicorn Barcelona, be warned!
Have a shopping list that only has tent pegs and awning bag on it - mind you friends went last year looking for a new hitchlock and came back with the reciept for a new Bailey Unicorn Barcelona, be warned!
We are going on Friday and are hoping to buy. It all depends on what we are offered for ours. We are still not sure whether to go for a Lunar Clubman SB, or the new Eldiss Avante 574. What we have in our favour is if we don't get a decent price we will just walk away.
Les
Les
- Nov 12, 2009
- 11,904
- 2,400
- 40,935
It looks as though there are one or two who will be taking the plastic fantastic along to pay a deposit then.
We hope to go on Wednesday where I might either buy some Millenco aero towing mirrors or perhap a Floe drain down system , I haven't decided yet but it will probably be the mirrors.
There's no chance of us changing our caravan, we love the layout that we've already got.
We hope to go on Wednesday where I might either buy some Millenco aero towing mirrors or perhap a Floe drain down system , I haven't decided yet but it will probably be the mirrors.
There's no chance of us changing our caravan, we love the layout that we've already got.
My mate and myself will be there also on Wednesday so if you see two mobility scooters charging followed by two wives around it will be us. You can't miss Arthur he is very rotund!Parksy said:It looks as though there are one or two who will be taking the plastic fantastic along to pay a deposit then.
We hope to go on Wednesday where I might either buy some Millenco aero towing mirrors or perhap a Floe drain down system , I haven't decided yet but it will probably be the mirrors.
There's no chance of us changing our caravan, we love the layout that we've already got.
- Nov 12, 2009
- 11,904
- 2,400
- 40,935
We had a wander round the show yesterday - oh my aching feet!
The venue was reasonably well attended but not too crowded and all on one level for a change. I enjoyed having a look at the new entry level caravans and lightweight two berths, the Sprite Lite should prove to be popular with young families who want a new caravan without items that may not be needed by them.
My favourite was the Elddis Explore 302, a compact end kitchen 2 berth with an L shaped seating area and large picture window which provided a feeling of extra light and space. The Elddis 302 is a fully equipped tourer with a full sized cooker on the rear wall, its plated MTPLM is just 930 kgs and if we were younger, and didn't mind making up the bed each night the Elddis would be our two berth choice.
I'm not over keen on the tendency for caravan manufacturers to use darker veneers on their 2012 models but the transverse fixed island bed and end washroom layouts caught our eye.
We don't usually bother looking at motorhomes but we were intrigued by a demonstration specimen model which had clear perspex panels to allow the public to view the gadgets which had been fitted.
The double fixed bed went up to roof level out of the way, presumably by using electric motors on the woven straps attached to the bed corners and the table was then raised into the vacated space and a side cabinet came out of the wall, very James Bond.
We also stopped by the Practical Caravan stand and said hello to PCv Community Editor Stacie Pardoe, I hope that the people wandering past didn't pinch too many of your magazines which they'd assumed were 'give aways' Tracie
My only small criticism is that the show guidebook didn't really give enough information in the right places on the maps provided. We had to keep turning back and forth over several pages of the show guide to find the exhibitors that we wanted to visit and we did a lot of wandering around lost. The names of the exhibitors and the stall number (for accessories) and the hall number would have been better to have been on their respective map pages. We spoke to several people who were having difficulty in navigating arond the exhibition but I look on it as a bit of a keep fit exercise, by the time I'd bought my new Milenco Aero 2 convex towing mirrors (£38 WITH A 5% C&CC dicount from Towsure) I was cream crackered and ready for home.
The venue was reasonably well attended but not too crowded and all on one level for a change. I enjoyed having a look at the new entry level caravans and lightweight two berths, the Sprite Lite should prove to be popular with young families who want a new caravan without items that may not be needed by them.
My favourite was the Elddis Explore 302, a compact end kitchen 2 berth with an L shaped seating area and large picture window which provided a feeling of extra light and space. The Elddis 302 is a fully equipped tourer with a full sized cooker on the rear wall, its plated MTPLM is just 930 kgs and if we were younger, and didn't mind making up the bed each night the Elddis would be our two berth choice.
I'm not over keen on the tendency for caravan manufacturers to use darker veneers on their 2012 models but the transverse fixed island bed and end washroom layouts caught our eye.
We don't usually bother looking at motorhomes but we were intrigued by a demonstration specimen model which had clear perspex panels to allow the public to view the gadgets which had been fitted.
The double fixed bed went up to roof level out of the way, presumably by using electric motors on the woven straps attached to the bed corners and the table was then raised into the vacated space and a side cabinet came out of the wall, very James Bond.
We also stopped by the Practical Caravan stand and said hello to PCv Community Editor Stacie Pardoe, I hope that the people wandering past didn't pinch too many of your magazines which they'd assumed were 'give aways' Tracie
My only small criticism is that the show guidebook didn't really give enough information in the right places on the maps provided. We had to keep turning back and forth over several pages of the show guide to find the exhibitors that we wanted to visit and we did a lot of wandering around lost. The names of the exhibitors and the stall number (for accessories) and the hall number would have been better to have been on their respective map pages. We spoke to several people who were having difficulty in navigating arond the exhibition but I look on it as a bit of a keep fit exercise, by the time I'd bought my new Milenco Aero 2 convex towing mirrors (£38 WITH A 5% C&CC dicount from Towsure) I was cream crackered and ready for home.
Had a good day at the show , seemed alot of people around but all was well laid with much the same stuff and not many offers.
Vans looked quite busy with people in and out,the Bucanneers were very busy and the salemen seemed very happy and said they were flying out the door!!!!
Missus bought a chair and i ended up with some Autoglym bike cleaner.Fiamma had front caravan blockers on offers for £60, wanted one but forgot to go back.
Vans looked quite busy with people in and out,the Bucanneers were very busy and the salemen seemed very happy and said they were flying out the door!!!!
Missus bought a chair and i ended up with some Autoglym bike cleaner.Fiamma had front caravan blockers on offers for £60, wanted one but forgot to go back.
We went on Wednesday and bought a microwave plus the accessory that came with it. Got it at a good deal. Biggest hassle was getting to the show itself when coming up from the south. Followed the NEC signs and they really took us on a merry go round. At one point we ended up driving into the camping site. Leaving was just as bad and ended up on the Coventry side of the A45. Sign posting tio the show is a nightmare!
Hi Parksy - we are indeed having visited Malvern a couple of weeks ago. We're new to all this and have yet to use our Swift Challenger but are going to take it all in at the NEC and hopefully the other half can have a 15 minute go at towing! Taking my parents with us in the vain hope they'll stop saving their money for us kids, and spend it on themselves for once!
Hi All
Just got back from the show, busy was not the word but it was a good day!! Was very good and didn't come away with new van although very tempted!!
Just got one gripe, know it was very busy but waited with others to have a look around some of the vans as people already inside and though give people space and time to look around and on three occasions people just walked up in front of the queue (and yes we were being British and queuing) and went into the vans making it almost impossible for those inside to move. I know we are all eager to see the new vans but “isn't it common courtesy to give those in front of you room, time and space to look around”
All in all it was a good day......
Just got back from the show, busy was not the word but it was a good day!! Was very good and didn't come away with new van although very tempted!!
Just got one gripe, know it was very busy but waited with others to have a look around some of the vans as people already inside and though give people space and time to look around and on three occasions people just walked up in front of the queue (and yes we were being British and queuing) and went into the vans making it almost impossible for those inside to move. I know we are all eager to see the new vans but “isn't it common courtesy to give those in front of you room, time and space to look around”
All in all it was a good day......
We went on Thursday and as per Surfers comments the signage is appalling,followed signs to an entrance that was closed then round again eventually to a carpark that was quite close,N4 iirc.Had a good time tho,very wearing,wife bought nonstick saucepans so had to carry them to car and loppers but no van,liked the Pamplona sleeping and bathroom but not the lounge area.Liked the single axle better but no chest and shorter front seats so having our Indiana recovered by Regal,am putting the old seats cushions and curtains on fleabay.Got a short Morroccan mat as well and bags so broke now,those saucepans hurt my wallet as well as my back lol
Have not been to NEC for one reason, cant afford it, the price of fuel ,the entrance fee etc. If i had gone i would have found it hard to keep my hand from the throat of a Lunar director after the van i bought new in 2009 which is now going back to Lunar to have the delaminated floor fixed, as most of the other 25 faults have been fixed or nearly fixed. Id like to know where they get the price of a new van from as they seem to be thrown together.
We went yesterday (Saturday). Quite a tiring day. Only ordered some fitted bed linen for our fixed bed, we're not in the market to change as we have had so many faults and failures in our 2009 Abbey that there just is not the thrill any more in looking at new vans. Liked the show though and the atmosphere. All in all a great day out. (May I have just two gripes?) One is the dreaded backpack carriers who walk around knocking peoples heads as they turn!! (Especially when it is crowded as was Saturday) Number two are the folks who buy a trolley thingy to carry their brochures around in....must they stand at a sidestall with the trailer across the carriageway? Just call me Meldrew!!
Regards to all
Derek
Regards to all
Derek
We went last Tuesday (only £5.00 for caravan club members & £5.00 train fare).
Almost bought a Hobby but it is just too big to go in the garden
Almost bought a Hobby but it is just too big to go in the garden
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