Senator Series 5

[RodG]

Hi All, I am looking at a 1 owner Indiana at a local dealer, but after reading various postings in the buyers guide I am getting a little concerned about Bailey.

This months report in PC on Bailey seems they do care about there customers but this is not the feeling I get from the forum.Could anybody with a series 5 Indiana give me there personal experience.

Regards

Rod G.

 

[Martin_374323560]

I had a 2007 Series 5 Indiana and it was totaly faultless 'van - so much so, that I have now got a Series 6 Wyoming.

My Dealer tells me that a lot of ex Indiana owners have traded in for the new Wyoming mainly because it's a big Indiana with a full width washroom!

This is my fifth new Bailey - not in a row, I've had Coachman and Abbey in between some of them.

I still come back to Bailey though............'nuff said?!

Go for it mate, is my advice.

Martin

 

[lukebfox]

Hi Rod .im on my third bailey started with a series 5 oaklahoma picked it over the series 5 indiana for 1 reason only the oaklahoma has two 6 foot 2 inch bench seats and the indiana has 5 foot4 and 5 foot 3, after a second season of this the indiana series 6 came out and with the slightly bigger front seats of 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9 and a brighter and roomier feel to it due to the low counter opposite the kitchen we opted to go for this as 2 of us did not need the extra storage space .we have since bought a wyoming mainly for the same reason longer front seats 5 foot 9 and 6 foot 1 and my better half loves the big end bathroom. so to summise ive always liked the indiana it was the seats the made my mind up as im 6 foot 4 i find them uncomfortable to kick back on and when we had friends staying we have found the indiana a bit cramped up front for 4 adults compared with the oaklahoma, if i a bit shorter it would be indiana all the way and as my better half is only 4 foot 10 she has always given out to me for an indiana first day.As for the bailey customer care i live in ireland and we only have 1 bailey dealer in the republic of ireland ,Donal at buckleys (mallow co cork)and he is a gem, and as for the customer care line ive also found helpful, we both have traveled over to the shows in the nec to look at other brands but both feel you get a hell of a lot for your money buying bailey. hope this is of some help and good luck with whatever you pick. luke

 

[lukebfox]

Hi Rod .im on my third bailey started with a series 5 oaklahoma picked it over the series 5 indiana for 1 reason only the oaklahoma has two 6 foot 2 inch bench seats and the indiana has 5 foot4 and 5 foot 3, after a second season of this the indiana series 6 came out and with the slightly bigger front seats of 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9 and a brighter and roomier feel to it due to the low counter opposite the kitchen we opted to go for this as 2 of us did not need the extra storage space .we have since bought a wyoming mainly for the same reason longer front seats 5 foot 9 and 6 foot 1 and my better half loves the big end bathroom. so to summise ive always liked the indiana it was the seats the made my mind up as im 6 foot 4 i find them uncomfortable to kick back on and when we had friends staying we have found the indiana a bit cramped up front for 4 adults compared with the oaklahoma, if i a bit shorter it would be indiana all the way and as my better half is only 4 foot 10 she has always given out to me for an indiana first day.As for the bailey customer care i live in ireland and we only have 1 bailey dealer in the republic of ireland ,Donal at buckleys (mallow co cork)and he is a gem, and as for the customer care line ive also found helpful, we both have traveled over to the shows in the nec to look at other brands but both feel you get a hell of a lot for your money buying bailey. hope this is of some help and good luck with whatever you pick. luke

what i meant to say was if i was a bit shorter it would have been an indiana all the way and as my better half is only 4 foot 10 and she has always given out to me for not getting an indiana first day . i must be a bit on the dizzy side tonight. thanks luke

 

[MalcolmL]

I am on my 5th Bailey - Pageant Cabriolet, Pageant Magenta and three Oklahomas. Very satisfied with all of them. When we last changed, we considered the Indiana but felt that the longer seats on the Oklahoma made more sense to us as we have been known to invite more than two friends for a BBQ etc. Much more space in the Oklahoma, especially if it's a wide Series 6. The extra two inches of width makes a huge difference when negotiating two sleeping Labradors!

 

[RodG]

Thank you to the three of you who replied all positive I am pleased to say, however considering the amount of series 5s sold I thought there may have been more.

Regards to you three, and thanks for your time.

Rod G

 

[cooky1]

Hi Rod, didn't get chance to reply earlier due to work commitments.

We bought our Indiana in May last year. Very pleased with it. We had the bad tasting water problem but one phonecall to Bailey and they arranged to have all the pipes replaced FOC.

We have been away in this country a couple of times and to France last summer - with 5 of us! No problems at all. Van tows well and is very stable. No build quality issues, nothing has broken and everything works as it should.

I phoned Bailey a couple of days ago and asked for a small extension piece for the gas locker door to allow it to open a bit further and it arrived today FOC.

Bailey have an excellent aftersales service and whenever I have dealt with them they have been excellent.

I would recommend the Indiana and Bailey as a firm.

Graeme.

 

[tj_4]

I have a series 5 Indiana 2006, clearly the best van we have had in the last 20 years. And its the first Bailey. Used it in the UK and Spain, we are ralliers so it gets lots of use.

So go for it

Regards

Steve

 

[Dave_374330759]

We had a 1998 ranger for several years and it was a fantastic van, the people that we sold it to still think its a great van, absolutley faultless. We've now got a Series 6 Pageant Provence and we notices that the rear dinette anti-condensation boards were missing - spoke to Bailey at the NEC and they are now with our dealer waiting for us to take the van there to have them fitted. no problems, no fuss just super service

 

[WatsonJohnG]

We had a series 5 Oklahoma for 2 years with no problems and a tick in every good box on the 2nd service

We had to change as we needed a transverse bed layout as my wife was having difficulty getting in/out of the Oklahoma layout

My only criticism of the Bailey (apart from the Alko jockey wheel inside the A frame)is the total lack of fuses where the 12N enters the van so there is nothing to protect the car circuit if a fault occurs in the caravan road lights so the car lighting on that circuit would just fuse

I fitted some myself in the Bailey but the new Ace has an excellent fuse box that covers the 12N as well as other circuits.

 

[Ian_5040589]

We were long time Bailey customers.

We had major problems with our last Bailey and Bailey didn't want to know.

We got rid and bought a Swift. I have to say you can't compare the two. The Swift is much more solid - handles don't fall off etc. Swifts customer service is something that Bailey can only aspire to.

 

[waffler]

We have 2006 Indiana. Lots of problems with it but most with non-Bailey bits. Disappointed with Bailey in that there were some design faults which they did not tell me about until I saw someone else's newer Series 5.

Look to see

bed boards have been fitted to keep cushions off walls and avoid condensation. Bailey agreed to fit ours when I phoned them.

Battery box has got a lip on the top. We kept getting rain in the battery box. Dealer told us it was normal.

Other problems

shower base leaking took three visits to dealer to correct and since last visit leak seems OK but the loo level warning light does not work!!!

Front window leaked

Entry door fouled frame

Gas side of fridge failed- fixed by Dometic

Mains side of fridge failed

Grill gave off carbon monoxide- we have an alarm which alerted us before it killed us.

Truma heater front fell off. New one fitted. It's off again and I'm waiting 4 weeks for the first appointment at my dealers

Handles pulled off drawer.

Apart from all this the van is excellent for use. I'm 6ft 3 ins and I fit in the shower and bed. (I can't lay down on the front bunks but you can't have everything.)

 

[DeliDave]

we had a series 5 Indiana with no probs at all and changed to series 6 last september had a few probs with this one but all resolved by dealer and baileys.We had the opposite to one poster where swift didnt want to know and we got rid of sterling jewel took 9 weeks to buy a new door for it.Baileys turn round orders,in our experience in less than two weeks,reaonably priced also.It is often the case that dissatisfied people post and happy customers go on to another subject.Good luck.

 

[Martin_374323560]

we had a series 5 Indiana with no probs at all and changed to series 6 last september had a few probs with this one but all resolved by dealer and baileys.We had the opposite to one poster where swift didnt want to know and we got rid of sterling jewel took 9 weeks to buy a new door for it.Baileys turn round orders,in our experience in less than two weeks,reaonably priced also.It is often the case that dissatisfied people post and happy customers go on to another subject.Good luck.

Deli Dave makes some good points in his post.

I have now had five new Baileys in total, two of them being Senators from the 5 and 6 series. The build quality on both has been and is top rate.

Contrast that with a new Abbey I had no end of problems with in eighteen months of ownership coupled with a Company that at that time, didn't seem to care less...........

 

[RodG]

Thanks to all who have replied I am now convinced that I am making the right decision in going for the van,and look forward to several years of enjoyment. As the van is a year old all teathing props should have been ironed out.

Regards to all.

Rod G

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Rod

I'm back from two weeks in snow and sub zero temperatures testing out our new Wyoming S6. She faired bette rthis last two weks , particularly in regard to the aluminium frames thanks to Hamers suggestions. More tomorrow.

My last Bailey was a real dish and this one has proved to be excellent apart from a number of minor, niggles and two more serious issues.

Today I left the Wyoming with Tony Voisey at Chipping Sodbury caravans for rectification of the problems. Everything has been repaired / replaced and I must say I am very happy indeed . We have used the Wyoming for year plus one at home so I am confident all the minor , mostly non Bailey faults are fixed.

Would I buy another bailey? Yes!! BUT choose your dealer very carefully. They are the ones who really make the Bailey make stand up and be counted.

Go for it.

Cheers

Alan

 

[Martin_374323560]

That's interesting, Alan!

Not only do we have exactly the same car and caravan..........we also bought our Series 6 Wyoming from Chipping Sodbury Caravans!

Martin

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Martin

So , it just goes to show we got it right!

We very nearly bought the Swift Conqueror . Now , I know more of the in depth problems suffered by some Swift owners I am so glad we stuck with Bailey, and Chipping Sodbury Caravans.

Cheers

Alan

 

[Martin_374323560]

Hi Alan

It was a toss up between the Wyoming and Swift Conq for us too. Having had bad experiences at the hands of the Swift Group in the past and nothing but good things to report about the five new Baileys we have had, that's what swung it in the Wyomings favour.

Love the Wyoming - just wish there had been a 'Silver Sides' option!!

Martin

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Alan and Martin,

We have Series 5 Wyoming from Chipping Sodbury too, our first Bailey after 5 Swift Group vans, it is our best van so far, least problems and the few minor faults have been dealt with by CS under warranty with no quibbles.Maybe we have been lucky or perhaps CS really are better than some other dealers.

 

[MrsMothy]

Hi Rod

Our first caravan in 2005 was a new Bailey Pageant Monarch. We have no idea how customer service panned out as we had absolutely NO problems at all. We did however decide we wanted a fixed bed layout without having to change the car so foolishly we traded in the Pageant against an new Abbey 317. Handles dropped off; bedslats couldn't take our 11 + 6.5 stone combined weight; the fold down flap between the bed and kitchen wouldn't bolt back up after the first time it was undone and at the first service we found that the sealant around one of the front windows had lots of bits missing resulting in a v.high damp reading in that area. After the repair we quickly sold it through the dealer and are now the very contented owners of a Bailey Seneator Series 5 Virginia which has had no problems since we bought it new.

In summery, two out of three of our caravans have been Bailey caravans. Two out of three have been problem free. Our problem free caravans have both been Baileys.

Hope you find the right caravan for you.

Denise

 

[RodG]

Thanks Denise, far more positive poosts than negative, will go for it

Regards Rod G.