New Bailey Unicorn

[MichaelE]

http://www.baileyunicorn-s2.co.uk/
Very different! what do others think?

 

[Martin24]

In a word Hideous, looks very flimsy inside too as usual, still we'll have a look at lawns and see if it looks any better in the flesh!

 

[woodsieboy]

The main "improvements" seem to be a bigger front centre window,Baileys answer to Swift and Coachman,gas locker on the side, and GRP used on the sides,appearance will be to personal taste,not mine, and no island bed layout,strange that given that they were only launched at the last NEC show in October last year.

 

[MichaelE]

A few things i first noticed were the cheap and flimpsy looking sink in the bathroom,the electrical sockets fittings behind and at sink level, the use of a button handbrake ( i thought the idea of a lever type was the handbrake was always fully on and easier to release?) and the fitting of the jockey wheel on the outside of the A frame makes the front look low cost?
And what no led's in the grab handles anymore?
The fitting of the gas locker above the wheel will eat into low level cupboard space ?

 

[woodsieboy]

Had another look and they have copied the Coachman front bed system,pulling the slats out from the side,having read the worrying times post below,this doesn't seem to me to be the answer,GRP sides were on Abbeys 10years ago,side gas bottles were on Avondales years ago,almost loks to me like Bailey are admitting the original Unicorns were not thought through properly,and they have seen what other manufacturers were doing and copied them. Nothing very original in the new Unicorns and the prices must have been set to offer either deep discounts or high trade ins surely?

 

[Mel]

Not exactly a variety of layouts. All have end bathrooms.
mel

 

[Dustydog]

Two mains electric powerpoints directly next to the kitchen sink doesn't look good to me

 

[ANDREW_374368566]

For more details check out my review of the Unicorn Madrid 2 - some more pix - must admit the Belfast sink was a good feature in washrooms, shame its been replaced really by a more conventional design- Review on www.caravanblogger.com

 

[Dustydog]

Thanls Jenko.

Oh dear what have Bailey done

The beautiful swan has been turned into an ugly duckling

 

[Raywood]

From the photos I am not sure about the appearence and will wait till I have actually seen one. The load allowance looks minimal but the weight saving has to be commended. The chassis is now 1500 rather than 1600 kg so |I hope it is up to the job. All in it looks a good effort but I think I would need the load allowance increased as it looks less than my wifes wardrobe.

 

[otherclive]

Load allowance would totally rule it out for our use. Weight savings are being achieved by reducing MTPLM but this is often at the expense of payload so it's a false saving. You the user are the ones being squeezed.

 

[xtrailman]

We don't like the front window, why is more light required, our mk1 unicorn already has plenty of light and good views out, two large roof lights along with two small ones, surly that's enough??
Simply a desperate copy of a Swift, but with out the same visual impact.
Its good to see a weight reduction of 70kg, while the load allowance is only 2kg less, hardly going to be noticed me thinks.
Unfortunately the on board water tank has gone, so not sure how winter caravanning is expected to happen?

Grp roof and sides I'm not sure about, but Bailey say its lighter and more impact resistant and has superior thermal properties

Also it good to have an electric hob, although i would have preferred two, and two gas, but unfortunately the built in hob has now been replaced by a push in oven, IMO its lost its style.

Another two improvements are the new wheel carrier, and the Avondale side gas locker.

Nose weight ex works has now been reduced to 75kg for the Valencia from 88kg, so a step forward.

Also getting shut of those stupid front pull out bases in the lounge is a set forward, we have never used them!

A step backwards is the shorter front chest, we use ours to dine off, and have never used the stored table!

If Bailey had simply covered the lower front and left the windows as they were, i could have been tempted to change early.

 

[Martin24]

Why on earth do you need an indoor water tank to caravan in the winter?? Just cover the aquaroll and pump or pop it all in the awning over night and use a jerry can. Managed down to minus 15 quite happily without an onboard tank.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Nose weight ex works has now been reduced to 75kg for the Valencia from 88kg, so a step forward.

The exworks nose weight value is largely irrelevant. How many people tow a caravn in ex works condition? Very few, and even when they do it's up to the driver to ensure the distribution of items inside the caravan trims the nose weight to an acceptable value, even if this requires the addition of balast.

 

[Sedo]

We'll reserve judgement until we see in the flesh so to speak.
Personally, though I still really enjoy our Pegasus 524 it's a case of once bitten twice shy with Bailey.
The move to GRP clad sides and I'm sure I've read GRP clad roof are quite new besides the mechanics of that huge one piece central window.
I'll be interested to see how the roof is now formed if it's GRP clad as previously they 'bent' the one piece section to form the roof and frontal area. As far as I know you can't just bend GRP to shape.
Methinks we'll be sitting on the sidelines for a while with this one and wait for the new owners to road test and report on the new model as lots of people, such as we did with the original Pegasus.
Like what I see to a point but..........................................................................................?
Sedo

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

Looks like something out of Ikea - and those ghastly soft furnishings!

 

[Gybe]

We can live with virtualy any furnishings/dark wood/light wood/side gas locker/front gas locker/front end big window/little window. Does anybody have family or visitors strolling past their bed at home on route to the toilet or shower? A new twin axle Bailey Unicorn could have been on our new caravan to buy list, there's no way my better half is going to have family or friends wandering through her budoir in the middle of the night after a few glasses of vino

What good is an end bathroom in the bedroom area in anything bar a 2 person caravan?

 

[Dustydog]

We can live with virtualy any furnishings/dark wood/light wood/side gas locker/front gas locker/front end big window/little window. Does anybody have family or visitors strolling past their bed at home on route to the toilet or shower? A new twin axle Bailey Unicorn could have been on our new caravan to buy list, there's no way my better half is going to have family or friends wandering through her budoir in the middle of the night after a few glasses of vino

What good is an end bathroom in the bedroom area in anything bar a 2 person caravan?

Fleetwood solved this problem some years ago by building in screens around the main bed allowing strangers to pass your boudoir without seeing you on their way to the end bathroom. Sadly they no longer produce caravans.
I do agree with you regarding the rear end washrom. That suits us fine as there are only two of us plus two dogs.

How about something like a Lunar Lexon 560 or the Elddis Crusader Cyclone?

Have you thought about a custom built caravan?

 

[Gybe]

THANK YOU Dustydog. We'd looked at the Elddis web site but missed the Cyclone model. Has to be twin axle and long bed. So Lunar no good, but the Cyclone is heading our to see list now!

 

[xtrailman]

Why on earth do you need an indoor water tank to caravan in the winter?? Just cover the aquaroll and pump or pop it all in the awning over night and use a jerry can. Managed down to minus 15 quite happily without an onboard tank.

That really sounds like a great holiday.
Who gets the job of going out in the cold?
I'll stick to using the onboard.

 

[xtrailman]

Nose weight ex works has now been reduced to 75kg for the Valencia from 88kg, so a step forward.

The exworks nose weight value is largely irrelevant. How many people tow a caravn in ex works condition? Very few, and even when they do it's up to the driver to ensure the distribution of items inside the caravan trims the nose weight to an acceptable value, even if this requires the addition of balast.

Its not largely irrelevant as it gives a good indication of the weight distribution unloaded.
Avondale also use to publish such data, well done Bailey.
I have yet to meet anyone who collects a carvan new from a dealer loaded for a holiday.

Or anyone who takes and collects a loaded caravan to service.

Many owners of the early Valencia had nose weight issues, some were over (according to the owners )100kg.

When i collected my caravan new, it had one gaslite in the locker, a 110ah battery in the battery locker, and a Reich mover behind the axle.
The nose weight was tested on my milenco at 92kg.

 

[Sedo]

Don't really have a big problem with our Pegasus, getting the noseweight to 85kgs.
As said previously with sensible weight distribution when loading and using a gauge to bring the noseweight into the right area for us.
Of the rear toilet issue, a lot of caravans have this layout so I don't see where it's a purely a Unicorn problem.
I must applaud Bailey for their efforts to move forwards but as I said previously we'll sit on the fence for a while on this one and anyway our Peg is only 3 years old this December and it's got a 10year warranty.
If we were looking for a new caravan then yes we would definitely look at the new Unicorn.
We've an excellent dealer with North Staffs Caravans and I think that's one of the most important issues when buying a new caravan.

 

[Gybe]

Of the rear toilet issue, a lot of caravans have this layout so I don't see where it's a purely a Unicorn problem..

We think it's a designer problem, if architects designed homes with the toilett and bathroom accessed via the master bedroom who would buy them?
Any caravan we buy will have to have an inboard water tank or have one fitted. Couldn't do with cosy covers for aquarolls or wrapping in an old quilted jacket and suffing the connector tube up the arm in winter. Also, on quick one night stops there's no messing around with the aquaroll. A quick top up with a few litres with a hose and no messing around in the morning.

 

[Dustydog]

Of the rear toilet issue, a lot of caravans have this layout so I don't see where it's a purely a Unicorn problem..

We think it's a designer problem, if architects designed homes with the toilett and bathroom accessed via the master bedroom who would buy them?
Any caravan we buy will have to have an inboard water tank or have one fitted. Couldn't do with cosy covers for aquarolls or wrapping in an old quilted jacket and suffing the connector tube up the arm in winter. Also, on quick one night stops there's no messing around with the aquaroll. A quick top up with a few litres with a hose and no messing around in the morning.

Gybe

Caravan layouts ae all about compromise. If we all wanted the same or thought a design was that bad then there wouldn't such a selection available.
I've had had two caravans with side toilets and showers in the past. They don't suit us because of the lack of space. Ok so as you know there are only two of us but that's why so mnay varying layouts are available.

To aquaroll or not?
Mmm where's the tap for the hose; unless all your one night pitches are fully serviced.

 

[Gybe]

We have adult kids with husband and partners, we're oldy kitesurfers and canoe these days and often have friends and family camping with us. If you have younger kids, may be all the end bathroom jobs are ok. For us and our 'straw poll' caravanning friends end bathroom for multipe berth caravan's is a no. Sorry we just don't get it.
Lots of sites have motorhome service points or a water point on route to the pitch if we're not on full service deal. If we're on an over nighter we just stop on route to our pitch and stick in a few litres of water for the night. A few litres moving at walking pace is not a problem and saves time and hassle with getting out the aquroll. Inboard in winter also make far more sense