Did you go tho the NEC???

[brenda_374246826]

Hi all, we travelled over from Dublin on wed to the show with 2 of our kids. What a fantastic day had by all. Met lovely people, bought a sunncamp ultima at a great price, sat in a yacht worth 1.1 million, I could go on!

What interested me is the fact that alot of the vans on display are twin axle so a large car is needed to tow. We own a seat alhmbra and a Bailey Pageant bretagne. We have 4 kids under 8. What kind of cars are people driving to be able to tow these big twin axle vans? We fell in love with the new bailey senator carolina but would have to upgrade our car (and extend our driveway) and the cost involved is too great

Anyway rant over - take a trip to the show if you can, the kids will have a great time and you never know what you might buy!!

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Brenda you have hit the nail firmly on the head with your last statement. I am definately NOT going to the show because I never know what I might buy. I am happy with what I got and don't want to fall foul to temptation. However I am glad that you and the family enjoyed it and regarding the yacht - well we can all dream for a little while. If you bought the yacht how much work would be required to alter the drive for that and how woukd you tow it? LOL

 

[Bigfoot]

Yes, we went. had a great day out. bumped into our next door neighbours at Towsure stand and went 'n had a beer.

we bought a shed load of stuff and spent the last 30 minutes sitting in a swift challenger. We made the right decision, it felt like home...we get ours in March. Happy caravanning !!!!

 

[brenda_374246826]

Congrats on your purchase Bigfoot,are they the vans with the grey sides? You are doin well to get it in march. We spoke to Fleetwood salesman who told us they have no vans to sell because demand has excedded supply - Do we believe??

Colin isn't it great to be happy with what you have just like ourselves. Thanks for the laugh!!

 

[Parksy]

Glad that you enjoyed your visit to the show Brenda. We went today and saw some tv personalities taking part in a quiz hosted by the Caravan Club. We bought a wheel clamp at a good discount and some caravan cleaner, and had a good walk round.

As it happens we took delivery of our Abbey Vogue 620 last September and it is a twin axle caravan, but we already had a 4x4 to tow it with, otherwise we would have opted for something smaller.

I agree that some caravans are getting bigger and heavier, but I imagine that this trend will reverse as fuel and motoring costs rise.

What interested me the most was the level of equipment in the entry level caravans, they have advanced a lot recently.

 

[GeorgeB]

Brenda,

Not untill tomorrow! SWMBO says that I must give her all the credit & debit cards plus the cheque book, can't think why, I'm a boy & I must have my toys!

 

[BeemerMal]

Bigfoot wrote:

we bought a shed load of stuff and spent the last 30 minutes sitting in a swift challenger. We made the right decision, it felt like home...we get ours in March. Happy caravanning !!!!

Well done is all I can say Bigfoot. Lets hope you get your new van in March! Have Swift finally got their act together?

In 2004 we ordered an Abbey (Swift variant) in September for February 2005 delivery. After dozens of calls to Swift, who were less than helpful and totally uncaring by saying they had decided to put back the production run of our caravan until late April we finally took delivery in mid May.... some eight and a half months after we placed the order.

The Swift customer service was diabolical and all they would say was that no delivery dates were guaranteed by them.

 

[Sue_374348830]

have you looked at the new bailey ranger540/6 we just bought one at the NEC great layout for 2 adults two 13 yr olds and a 11 yr old great price too also the MTPLM is only 1300 KG it's a 6 berth van single axle to tow with a FAMILY saloon

 

[mealsonwheels]

Hi Brenda,

We didn't go, but really glad to hear that you had a great time, especially as you travelled all the way from Dublin.

Hey, Bigfoot - we take delivery of a Challenger in March too! Like you, we know we have made the right decision.

Swiftgroup have been very good keeping us up to date, even confirming the date it went into build and when they will be delivering it to our dealer. Once the dealer has done the PDI, we shall collect it. Are you going on one of the Swift factory tours, that are being held in April and June?

Mrs Meals on Wheels

 

[brenda_374246826]

Hi Sue what a great van, sure isnt the layout exactly the same as the carolina although I didnt realise how much lighter it is.

We love our pageant and have heard that bailey are changing the pageant next year so if its that same layout and still single axle then we might consider changing.

Best of luck with your new van..

 

[ThePlotter]

Parksy ,I have not been to the show even though as you know it is only about 15 minutes away,puzzled to see that you bought caravan cleaner,I ask why, I have my daughter and you have Carole!

 

[Surfer]

We had a quick peek in a Fleetwood and a browse around a Willerby static otherwise the rest of the time we looked at the accessory stands. Don't think we will ever go there again as they only cater for the disabled in a very minor way. The bare necessities.

After half an hour I needed to sit down and there was no place to sit down and there was no ways I could sit on the floor like the more able bodied as I would not be able to get up.

At the end of the day or 4 hours later we had only gone around the hall 5 and a quick visit to Towsure for a trolley and then had no choice but to leave.

On the upside, got a few things that made up for the entrance fee.

 

[willo1]

Went to the show and trailed around fo 4 hours looking.

After we had weeded out all of the flimsy, poorly made overpriced caravans, we went home and put our

 

[S-MaxJon]

I took my family on Friday to look at maybe upgrading our 3 year old Coachman.The one I liked was the Coachman Amara 640/6 which seemed reasonably priced however it would mean changing my car so decided maybe in a couple of years !!

What I did notice,as has been mentioned on here,is the flimsy materials used and workmanship - We compare all vans to our Coachman is very well made and solid.We went inside the new Bailey Carolina ?? only to find very poor materials.You could literally push your fingers through the overhead locker doors and the worktop was I think made of cardboard and all this from a van costing

 

[S-MaxJon]

We always look at the large mobile homes - the

 

[Parksy]

Plotter, the reason that I ended up buying caravan cleaner is that when we were looking at the nice new shiny caravans I said to Carole that it was about time she got the step ladders out and gave our caravan a good clean. It was a bit noisy in the hall but I'm sure she said ' Muc Off!' so I thought I'd better buy some for her.

Ian, its a shame that you didn't know and its not really signposted but close to the main entrance and hall 5 are some stairs, a lift and a long ramp to an upper level that is called the Piazza. The central area here is filled with metal tables and chairs that are free to use where you can sit and relax or eat a packed lunch for as long as you wish. Round the edge of the Piazza are various food outlets, places who will sell you a cup of tea or coffee, and even a Witherspoons 'pub' where they do pub grub. a little further along are doors that lead to a garden area with seating and a water feature. I saw many people sitting round the edges of the halls and on steps but like yourself I need a proper seat every now and then.

The upper area and Piazza are easily accessible for disabled people, its a shame that it's not well signposted.

 

[GeorgeB]

Brenda,

Well we went on Saturday to look at the Autosleeper panel van conversions as we are looking to replace the tow car with a campervan so that we can use it as a day van, but as usuall we got a bit side tracked & ended up looking at the Compass group Avantgarde range & agreeing on, strange thing that, we don't usually agree first time round! either the 115 or the 120 coach built vans, still

 

[STEVE_5041381]

Saw Jonathans note about Bailey/Swift and his Coachman I didnt think the lockers were thin at all and the table tops sink tops

were real wood on the Pageants so not sure what he was looking at - my friend has a coachman a few months old and already has a leak. The idea I thought was to make a caravan light so we dont have to all have 4x4's to pull them with. Especially as we are heading into an Era where we all have to think of the environment etc.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

We tow a large TA (1710kg mtplm) with an Alhambra around 95% ratio if we loaded the van fully - no problems.

Mind you I have an idea that they still do a 90ps version in Ireland - ours is a chipped 115ps (around 135ps).

 

[S-MaxJon]

I tow my Coachman with a humble Mondeo.The wood I was talking about was the overhead lockers where you can actually move the "wood" with your fingers in an out.I expect a bit more for the best part of