Bailey Unicorn Barcelona S2

[PaulT]

Does anyone know what the CNIT number is for a Unicorn Barcelona S2? This is to do with European type approval.

 

[Dustydog]

I looked up CNIT
And am none the wiser
What is it and how is it relevant to Bailey or Swift et al

 

[PaulT]

The CNIT (Code National d'Identification des Types) number is a number than it issued to manufacturers that have undergone European Type Approval. It makes registering a British built caravan abroad far easier than it used to be. Previously (in France at least) it was necessary to go for individual type approval which involved a great deal of work and various visits to testing stations, prefectures etc. On some new caravans (and I only know for sure that Bailey have this) you get a European Certificate of Approval which includes the CNIT number. Bailey charge about £85 for this but it means that you can register your caravan in France in about 15 minutes as opposed to the 3 or 4 weeks that it used to take. I don't know if other UK manufacturers have undergone the Type Approval that Bailey have. I've registered my new Cartegena in France but I was just curious to know if different 'vans have different CNIT numbers. I asked about the Barcelona because, apart from the bed layout, they are more or less the same 'van.

 

[kerpert]

Did you manage to get your caravan registered? We have a Bailey motorhome which comes with European Whole Vehicle Approval and an "e" number on the certificate of conformity to prove this. However, when we went to the prefecture to register it, the brand Bailey did not appear on their system. I contacted Bailey and it appears that whilst they have European Whole Vehicle Type Approval, they had not registered the Approach motorhome with CNIT which is why the brand didn't show up on the system at the prefecture. They have now done that and assure me that on paying £85 for a CNIT number we will be able to proceed with registering the van in France. My question now is - as you can register any vehicle/caravan/motorhome with EITHER a CNIT number OR a EWVTA number, do I need to pay the £85 or will the Bailey brand now show up on the Prefecture's system against the EWVTA ("e") number? How did it go with your caravan? Did you buy the CNIT number?

 

[PaulT]

Hi, I registered my Cartegena with no problem at all. The CNIT number was all that was needed. I would think that the problem may be that the Approach is a vehicle (rather than a caravan) and perhaps the prefecture database isn't up to date. If Bailey have now gone down the road with CNIT for this vehicle then you shouldn't have any problems - but then again (as we say) this is France!!

 

[kerpert]

Thanks for your reply. I am of a mind to wait a couple of weeks to see if the information feeds through to the Prefecture's system, OH wants to get down there tomorrow! I am quite prepared to ask the nice man in the Prefecture to ring CNIT for the information! Last time we were there they were more than helpful. As I understand it, a CNIT number or an "e" number will suffice, so the info should be on both systems. We are particularly annoyed because Bailey boast in their MH handbook that as the vehicle has European Whole Vehicle Type Approval, it can be registered in any other EU state, they omitted to tell us that they hadn't registered the brand with CNIT so it couldn't actually be registered. They have now paid for that registration and expect owners to buy the number! Ah well...