new caravan purchase

[williamj]

Thinking of buying a 2006 bailey senator wyoming any advice on this has anyone had problems with wyomings does anyone recommend them any similiar vans worth looking at.

 

[Hamer_5041128]

William,

We have a Senator Wyoming purchased new in 2004. It is not the latest model but it is our third Senator, all purchased new, and except for a couple of pump failures have had no problems with any of them. Our next van will certainly be another Senator. Our Bailey dealer Golden Castle Caravans at Staverton Airport are excellent. We have had nine consecutive caravans from them with excellent service.

The Wyoming is like a flat on wheels. It tows well as all our Baileys have done and is extremely cmfortable to live in. We caravan all year round and the inboard water tank is a boom when the temperature drops below freezing. It is also handy to keep full on site in the warmer months so if the aqauroll runs out after dark or when it is raining you can just flick a switch and still have water. Storage is good and the external shower is handy if you have a dog or just want to wash the sand of your feet.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

HAMER

 

[MikeA]

Took delivery of a Senator Indiana a few weeks ago. Very pleased so far. But on the 2006 Senators it is no longer a "flick a switch" to change from outside barrel to inboard tank - it is now a valve under that part of the front seat that can only be accessed by moving the cushions. I think the external showers have all gone as well, certainly not one on the Indiana. But there are lots of other good features still.

Cheers,

Mike A

 

[farmerdave21]

Hi,

You cant go wrong with a Bailey we have a 2004 Montana & love it to bits. High spec & about

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi William , we are due to collect our new Wyoming on Saturday 20th, we have always had Swift group vans in the past,(5) but we could not justify the extra cost of a Spectrum over and above the Senator, we are not fans of the Swift hot plate on the hob nor do we like their new plastic cupboard hinges, not proper hinges actually. Also the end washroom on the Ace and Abbey with the same layout as the Wyoming has a narrower doorway, and the handle felt flimsy when we looked.The Wyoming is not perfect, the space between the kitchen and the bedroom has cheap hardboard sliding doors a la 1960s serving hatch, where the Swift group have a large drop down flap that increases the work space in the kitchen, like the cheaper Bailey Ranger, mind you how much space do you need for a kettle and a pot noodle, I will let you know how we get on with collection.

 

[Mikey1]

We had a good look around all the caravan manufacturers when we were looking for a replacement for our stolen van.We liked the bailey with the walk in shower across the back and the huge wardrobe.Couple of things didnt like was all the lights are halogen,no soft lights and no vent boards fitted.All put together well though,and looked good value.I didnt like the drop down window in the one piece door,looked easy to force open from the outside.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi William, We collected our Wyoming yesterday, initial impressions very good, dealer spent hour and a half going through the van with us, it was connected to mains and gas so we could check that everything was working. A couple of things you need to be aware of,there are plenty of cupboards but no drawers,apart from the cutlery drawer which is quite small,water system is good but it does look as though you have to run off either outside aquaroll or inside tank, you cannot automatically switch from one to the other, to switch you have to move levers under the front seat. There are mains lights at the front, plenty of small downlighters and 2 round halogens which have a 2 position switch so you can have them on half or full light. The remis roof light is a sliding roof so it does not stick up in the air when fully open. The TV aerial is questionable, as I understand it, you have to push the pole up from inside a cupboard and rotate the aerial to find the best signal, you also have to pull out 2 car aerial type sides and then from inside you can tilt it up or down, and then reverse this proceedure when you want to go home, seems a lot of fuss to me. We also have 2 of the new Alko wheel locks, great idea but how many people are prepared to jack up a twin axle to fit the second lock, we think we will stick with existing clamp on 1 wheel. Hope this helps your decision, we are convinced the Wyoming was the best buy of the vans available in this layout, and with the money saved we are thinking of adding a motor mover. Keith

 

[Hamer_5041128]

Hi William, We collected our Wyoming yesterday, initial impressions very good, dealer spent hour and a half going through the van with us, it was connected to mains and gas so we could check that everything was working. A couple of things you need to be aware of,there are plenty of cupboards but no drawers,apart from the cutlery drawer which is quite small,water system is good but it does look as though you have to run off either outside aquaroll or inside tank, you cannot automatically switch from one to the other, to switch you have to move levers under the front seat. There are mains lights at the front, plenty of small downlighters and 2 round halogens which have a 2 position switch so you can have them on half or full light. The remis roof light is a sliding roof so it does not stick up in the air when fully open. The TV aerial is questionable, as I understand it, you have to push the pole up from inside a cupboard and rotate the aerial to find the best signal, you also have to pull out 2 car aerial type sides and then from inside you can tilt it up or down, and then reverse this proceedure when you want to go home, seems a lot of fuss to me. We also have 2 of the new Alko wheel locks, great idea but how many people are prepared to jack up a twin axle to fit the second lock, we think we will stick with existing clamp on 1 wheel. Hope this helps your decision, we are convinced the Wyoming was the best buy of the vans available in this layout, and with the money saved we are thinking of adding a motor mover. Keith

Hi,

The Senator aaerial is a Status 530 directional aerial. The whole point of this aerial is that it can be aimed straight towards the transmiter.Just as your aerial at home it can be set in the vertical or horizontal position.When arriving on site ask the warden which position the aerial should be in, or if on a C.L. look at properties nearby to see how their aerials are set. The extendable arms are only required for radio reception. I have found they are not required to be extended.These new aerials,because they are directional,are far superior to the old circular status ones which are omni-directional.Also the fact that they can be raised also improves the picture qaulity. These aerials are also a great improvement when receiving digital televisuion. Yes they take time to set up but the results are worth it.

HAMER