On site looking at a Bailey Pegasus Bolognia. 8 foot wide! My Wyoming is 7’6”. Wide by today’s standards. Anyone fancy tugging an eight footer? Will it be hard? Looks the business 👍
How wide will you go??
- Thread starter Dustydog
- Start date
We tow an 8foot wide Buc-no issues at all-we prefer sites with wide access but haven't had any issues yet though i had a few sleepless nights about the Jasmine Campsite Sutton on SEa-single lane track to it-tight entrance not much verge-we were fine! Only touched hedges onces-Norfolk narrow lane with a lorry coming toward me who wasn't prepared to slow down!! Absolutely no issues for us!
DD, we have just sold our 8 foot wide Bailey that we had on a seasonal pitch. Sold it back to the dealer we bought it from and they have already sold it, a week later for an advertised price of more than we paid for it. We got a good deal, they made a bit of profit, everyone happy. We never towed it. It was delivered to our seasonal pitch and collected from there; so can’t help you on the towing; although I am sure confident folks would get used to it.
What I would say from our experience of the 8foot wide Baileys is that they are FLIMSY. Bailey have tried to increase the size but not the weight and so everything feels like it is made of cardboard ( which I think it is). We were constantly sticking bits back on. The roof leaked in two different places, the gas regulator failed. The van was bought new in 2019.
We loved the look and the layout, but there was a lot that wasn’t great when you used it. Condensation in the end bedroom for instance.
We are sticking with our under 5m, under 1000kg MPTLM Elddis 302 for now. And loving it.😀
Hope this helps. Love to you and Terri
Mel
What I would say from our experience of the 8foot wide Baileys is that they are FLIMSY. Bailey have tried to increase the size but not the weight and so everything feels like it is made of cardboard ( which I think it is). We were constantly sticking bits back on. The roof leaked in two different places, the gas regulator failed. The van was bought new in 2019.
We loved the look and the layout, but there was a lot that wasn’t great when you used it. Condensation in the end bedroom for instance.
We are sticking with our under 5m, under 1000kg MPTLM Elddis 302 for now. And loving it.😀
Hope this helps. Love to you and Terri
Mel
My new caravan is a 8ft wide swift.
Noticeably wider than the 7ft 3" Lunar the we had before when towing . I've even had to buy new towing mirrors as i could barely see past it in the old ones (they are cheap ones that only fit the part of the wing mirror closest to the car).
Road positioning takes a bit more care, there was a vibration coming from the back of the car on our first outing. It was the caravan wheel driving over the cats eyes, despite the car being positioned normally on the road.
I'll get used to it!
On the plus side, the interior of the caravan seems cavernous in comparison to the Lunar!
Noticeably wider than the 7ft 3" Lunar the we had before when towing . I've even had to buy new towing mirrors as i could barely see past it in the old ones (they are cheap ones that only fit the part of the wing mirror closest to the car).
Road positioning takes a bit more care, there was a vibration coming from the back of the car on our first outing. It was the caravan wheel driving over the cats eyes, despite the car being positioned normally on the road.
I'll get used to it!
On the plus side, the interior of the caravan seems cavernous in comparison to the Lunar!
Just collected 8ft wide Adria from Oxfordshire, mtplm 2000kg .400 mile round trip, I tow with Mercedes ML 320 cdi, did not seem much different than Sterling Elite, just used bigger towing mirrors.
No. Life has moved on, as life does , and while the seasonal pitch saved our sanity while we were working full time and fostering, these things no longer apply. We have decided to just tour for now. We were almost at the end of the season and so didn’t renew.
mel
Regarding towing mirrors, dont know make as they came with van, previous owner stopped towing, but the mirrors are large teardrop shaped if thats any help.
I was curious. For me the Wyoming is 7’6” so I guess 6 inches, 3 each side won’t make much difference. My main concern is Mel’s first hand experience with the build quality. Maybe they are more suited to seasonals rather than touring.
We have been waiting for the right 8ft. Adria because of the build quality, and in our opinion it is so much better than our other vans i.e. Sprite, Sterling, Elddis, although the Elddis was better than Sprite and Sterling.
I repeat, only in our opinion
I repeat, only in our opinion
Very happy with our 8ft wide Buc-feels v solid so far. (get my pun there-SOLID construction as per Elddis?!!)
Though if you would have missed something solid, like a passing lorry's trailer, by less than 6", it undoubtedly would. It is not the amount each side, but the overall width that ultimately dictates passing clearances.
In respect to towing, it predominately depends on the nature of the roads we tow on, and our particular fortunes in what we meet on them.
We predominantly are users of rural 5 van sites and rallies. Our 2.3 m. though 14 years old is well scratched along the nearside though otherwise unwounded, a now maximum legal 2.55m one, some 10" more would I suspect have fared far worse.
Another of those "horses for courses" situations.
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We are on a CL at present and turning in was a bit tight with 2.4m wide caravan. Our big concern is leaving as there is a tree and turning to the left the concern is the rear end greeting the tree. Will have wife standing on right at front to give me the all clear but I will need to ride up on the pavement of the layby to get out.
Would anyone like to see longer caravans like continental caravans that can be towed by a noraml SUV like a Toyota Landcruiser etc? We are happy with our length, but some people are petitioning for caravans with body length up to 8m.
Would anyone like to see longer caravans like continental caravans that can be towed by a noraml SUV like a Toyota Landcruiser etc? We are happy with our length, but some people are petitioning for caravans with body length up to 8m.
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I do appreciate there may be some problems with narrow lanes and do remember our trip to Plymouth Sound with the Argente. Quite hairy in some spots but the locals were used to it and even the HGV's passed safely. The entrance to the site was difficult as the hedges at the turn had not been cut back and possibly the extra six inches of a full width model could have been difficult. I would emphasise the hedges were not the sites, but the properties on the road in.
There is nothing stopping longer caravans being constructed, but they would fall under a different trailer category, and would need to be pulled by vehicles with a an ulw of 3500kg or greater.
I am told that those have a special exemption and you need to apply for it.
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