Hello from Berkshire

[Perlican]

Just joined having been a subscriber for some years.

Joined because I read in the latest PC magazine of the "now defunct Stealth" - which is the first I've heard of it, and cannot find any reference to it either online or, indeed, in my past issues of PC ! Can anyone shed light on this? I'd considered this briefly as a replacement for our Challeger 530 but my wife wasn't keen on the styling, though I rather liked it.

We have a Conqueror 570 twinned with a BMW X535 (the twin-turbo version) - if anyone wants a recommendation for a tow car, I'd happily plug the X5 - it's our second and you can tow all day without even knowing there's a van on the back....not the world's most economical, mind, but we love it. The van is about 18 months old, the odd niggly problem - we had to move quick to buy it as Swift have, for some reason, gone down the route of the slide-out central table and the latest ones are FAR TOO SMALL - will somebody, somewhere, please tell Swift that they should re-instate the old "folding version" or, at the very least, enlarge the size of the slide-out section !

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Welcome to the Forum. I don't know the answers to your questions, but somebody will be along soon who will know.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Perlican, welcome to the Practical Caravan forum.

This is the first I've heard about Stealth stopping caravan production ( I haven't had chance to read through the April issue of PCv magazine properly yet) and although I can't find any reference to it online I can't get the Dunster House Stealth Caravan website although their other products can be found with no trouble.
Stealth caravans are like Marmite but their later offerings looked to be more in line with buyers expectations. The caravan market is shrinking and overcrowded so I wouldn't be surprised if Dunster House have decided to concentrate on their core business in these difficult times.
You raise a good point about the central table in the latest Swift models, I sometimes wonder if the designers of caravans have ever actually used one for a family holiday

Enjoy the forum.....

 

[Perlican]

Thanks - you were right ! - I'm impressed...

 

[Perlican]

Parksy - if you check out page 87 of the April issue - the Live-In test on the Bailey Pegasus GT65 - in the "Lounging and Dining" section - it quotes the wide shelf at the base of the front windows as having been used by Lunar "and the now-defunct Stealth Caravans."

As to the central table, Swift aren't the only culprit - indeed, they seem to have followed a trend. The central chest used to have a hinged top and both "halves" were a good size - so that two people could easily use the table that resulted without having to erect the main dining table. We were led to understand that the "pull-out" versions were popular because you didn't have to lift everything off the chest to open up the table (which we can see might be occasionally useful) but if you pull out the new version, the jolt as it does so means that glasses or wine bottles (the two most likely occupants !) are unsteady and have to be removed anyway ! Not only that, but any pressure towards the rear of the section tips the thing up - making it unsafe too. The latest 2013 versions of the Swift are absolutely hopelessly small - it's virtually impossible for anyone not built like a stick insect to slide up underneath the table to use it for breakfast or whatever. I've mentioned it to our sales chap - Andy at Swindon Caravans - who tells us that lots of customers say the same thing.
In general, I think Swift have a tendency to cut corners on things like this - it must save them a few pence per unit but causes untold nuisance - we've thought the same on their light clusters and on the t.v. dropdown clamps (which we've just had replaced under warranty) - unnecessarily cheap and, bluntly, completely unfit for purpose - and the dealers generally seem to agree that penny-pinching of this sort is counterproductive.

 

[Parksy]

Yes, I've just seen the line which mentions that Stealth are 'now defunct' and I'm sorry to say that I'm not altogether surprised. In the same issue the new Eterniti caravans are featured with the pull out sides but they are very heavy and don't look to be anything special which will make them a niche caravan in the way that Stealth were. I've never seen a Stealth other than at the NEC caravan show and I wasn't terribly impressed then

.
We have the fold over table in our Abbey which of course is a Swift product, we never use the full sized table and I've only ever taken it out of it's slot in the end washroom once to check that it's ok.

 

[Mel]

Hi Perlican, welcome to the forum.
mel

 

[Sproket]

Hi Pelican,
Welcome to the Pcv forum

Can anyone shed light on this? I'd considered this briefly as a replacement for our Challeger 530 but my wife wasn't keen on the styling, though I rather liked it.

You can read about Stelth Caravans here

 

[Beachball]

Hi Perlican welcome to the practical caravan forum nice outfit you have got but you will get and answer to your question they are a great bunch on here ...............

 

[Mel]

Hi welcome to the forum
mel

 

[Gagakev]

Hi Perlican welcome to the forum, bet you dont want a Stealth now.

During the course of my work one day I met a Stealth owner and he was pretty greived as well but he wouldnt give me details except to say "too many faults" and a 300 mile round trip back to there base.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Pelican,
Welcome to the Pcv forum

Can anyone shed light on this? I'd considered this briefly as a replacement for our Challeger 530 but my wife wasn't keen on the styling, though I rather liked it.

You can read about Stelth Caravans here

I missed that on Caravan Talk!
I feel very sorry for anyone foolish enough to buy one of these caravans and I must say that I'm surprised and somewhat disappointed that little or no mention had been made of alleged serious problems with warranties by caravan publications who were so quick to trumpet the so-called new approach when DH entered the touring caravan market.

Sorry Perlican, didn't mean to hijack your introduction but I'm shocked and saddened by what I've read on other forums so far.

 

[Perlican]

Not a problem - I was just intrigued because I thought their design was rather odd (though it did LOOK pretty good) and then they started to put in a "normal" frontage - and at that point I began to consider them as a contender.

I too have read one or two other items on them since I started trying to track down the story of their demise and it seems they really did make a mess of their PR and also of their after-sales service. A great shame as any innovation is always welcome.

Meanwhile, the Eterniti caravans - we went in one at the Newbury Showground and there's no doubt there is more space - but I have to say that we didn't really like the "feel" of the thing - too much like an American Recreational Vehicle - and in fact the report in Practical Caravan shows some of the most garish accessories - particularly the leather seating and the bedroom finish - that I believe I've seen!

I have to say how impressed I am with how friendly everyone is on here - numerous "welcomes" etc - thanks to all - wish I'd joined years ago !

 

[Parksy]

You've hit the nail on the head with regard to Eterniti caravans Perlican, when I saw one I wondered why they didn't name it the Eterniti Elvis because of the lack of taste with the interior styling

Over the years this forum, like many others, has had it's ups and downs, but since it was revamped a while back it's a nice, helpful forum with a good mix of experienced and relatively novice caravanners but always friendly as forum users and I hope that you will enjoy exchanging tips ,ideas and gossip with all on here.