Hi we are a family of four looking to buy a new van and have never had a van before and know nothing about this process?! My hubby wants new I'm not as sure! We are looking at a Bailey Pursuit 560-5 because it seems to have a flexible layout and we have been told alutech is important vs Sprite major6TD!! Any comments to help our decision would be appreciated!!
What to buy?!
- Thread starter partridgefamily09
- Start date
Hi and welcome 
Here are a few things for you to read ..... the Bailey pursuit 560 - 5 has a MTPLM of 1441kg
Choice of towcar
Are you licensed to tow
Guide to help with matching cars with caravans
Here are a few things for you to read ..... the Bailey pursuit 560 - 5 has a MTPLM of 1441kg
Choice of towcar
Are you licensed to tow
Guide to help with matching cars with caravans
- Oct 12, 2013
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Hi and welcome , we've got the baileys orion 450/5 , the persuit is the newer versoin of ours , the layout is great for us , 3 bunks for the kids , 2 for them and a spare for storage , end off van sitting area and a larger sitting area up the front . But like sprocket says , check your licence to see what are legally entitled to tow , passing after 1997 only allows you to tow upto 35oo KG combined . Like me , so orion was good enough and spot on for us being a light weight .
- May 7, 2012
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Not sure where you are but if you are in the North of England you might want to look at the Ropers special of the Pursuit, the Jive. Lots of extras and to us far nicer upholstery.
As for choosing between the Sprite and the Pursuit there is not a lot in it and for me it is which you like best or the best deal you can get. The one thing I would say is that in the last two customer surveys by PC the Sprite range have been the top British make for customer satisfaction although Bailey were not to far behind.
Lots of dealers have specials based on the Sprite and if a local dealer does one it may be worth looking at.
As for choosing between the Sprite and the Pursuit there is not a lot in it and for me it is which you like best or the best deal you can get. The one thing I would say is that in the last two customer surveys by PC the Sprite range have been the top British make for customer satisfaction although Bailey were not to far behind.
Lots of dealers have specials based on the Sprite and if a local dealer does one it may be worth looking at.
- Oct 12, 2013
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That's where we got ours from Ray , ropers , lots to choose from there , excellent after sales to .
- Apr 20, 2009
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Welcome to the forum, well my take on it is this....
Sit back, bottle of wine in hand and think we are about to spend around £15,000.00 on a van, oh no what if we dont like it ?. You then decide to sell and you have lost thousands of pounds in an instant.
Why not try a second hand one for say £3 to £4k and when you sell you wont lose as much. But if you love it you have a van to trade in. Just tell Hubby how many bottles of wine he could have had Good luck.
Sit back, bottle of wine in hand and think we are about to spend around £15,000.00 on a van, oh no what if we dont like it ?. You then decide to sell and you have lost thousands of pounds in an instant.
Why not try a second hand one for say £3 to £4k and when you sell you wont lose as much. But if you love it you have a van to trade in. Just tell Hubby how many bottles of wine he could have had
Good luck.
- Mar 14, 2005
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partridgefamily09 said:
You will see a lot of reports on forums about "damp" caravans, sadly there are some, but because its someones pride and joy and a significant investment that's been blighted with damp, they tend to shout about it a lot, which is why we see so many reports. It's human nature and what it doesn't show is how many owners have been perfectly satisfied with their caravans and not had any damp issues.
If you are contemplating a second hand van, then be wise, If you use a dealer then you will get some consumer protection and a better chance to have things put right, but you will pay more for it. If you consider a private sale, then its important to ask all the right questions BEFORE YOU BUY, and if you don't get good answers then walk away , there will be another one in the not too distant future. In either case I would suggest if you are not familiar with caravans take someone along with you who is familiar and whose opinions you trust.
You will find there are mobile caravan engineers who do service work who for a fee will almost certainly be prepared to inspect any caravan (private or dealers) for you to give some peace of mind.
No need to worry overmuch, just take the sensible precautions mentioned by the other experienced and knowledgeable folks who have responded to your topic.partridgefamily09 said:
Also tell Hubby to remember that a new van is not immune to damp/water ingress...It happens more often than one might think...
Good luck with your quest.. but I support the noble Sir Gagakev's comments...why not spend just a smaller amount (£2000 or £3000 or so) on a good second hand van....ask a mobile caravan technician to thoroughly check it out for you prior to purchase, and then you can spend your first year as caravanners seeing if you like it!
If you find that caravanning is not to your taste (unbelievable, but I suppose possible!.........
) then you can sell it and the experience will only have cost you a few pounds ( you could even make a profit if you buy wisely!)Regards
paws
Thank you guys this is a great forum for advice!! So much so I've convinced my hubby to go see a van advertised on eBay today!! It's a Bailey Senator Oaklahoma Caravan one owner bought new in 2007! Wish me luck!!
Parksy
Moderator
- Nov 12, 2009
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partridgefamily09 said:
Hi Partridge family, welcome to the forum.
Please take great care if buying from an online auction website.
Accept no excuses for missing documentation, take a torch with you and thoroughlyinspect the caravan inside and out, checking behind blinds and curtains, inside overhead and floor lockers, especially where walls, ceiling and floors join and around windows. Look for bubbling, black mould and any signs of dodgy repair jobs and don't be afraid to walk away because there are plenty of good used tourers for sale.
Click Here to have a browse on the caravan buyers guide and follow the links from the website to help you to avoid the more obvious pitfalls if buying a used tourer.
Good Luck and please let us know how you get on.
Sproket that is it but after long delays on motorway we have not been today!
Thanks also to everyone for the great viewing advice but as we are complete novices I would get an engineer to check it out too!!
Thanks also to everyone for the great viewing advice but as we are complete novices I would get an engineer to check it out too!!
So after more looking at Swindon caravans hubby still prefers new and did not like one used van! He likes the warranty on a new one! Our stand out for our budget is Swift Major 6 TD children loved the bunks too!
Hi welcome to the world of freedom,
if your are worried about damp you can buy a decent meter for 15 to 20 quid from amazon .
check in every cupboard, up the insides of the outer walls, all corners and the floor.
Don't be afraid of taking your time if you find a used van you like.
Buy from a dealer, ask if it has ever had any damp.
Pay the deposit on a credit card and finance at least £1000 over a year or more as extra safeguards.
A good used van can suffer a lot less problems than many new ones as most warranty issues will have been done.
The choice is yours and the enjoyment will be exhilarating.
if your are worried about damp you can buy a decent meter for 15 to 20 quid from amazon .
check in every cupboard, up the insides of the outer walls, all corners and the floor.
Don't be afraid of taking your time if you find a used van you like.
Buy from a dealer, ask if it has ever had any damp.
Pay the deposit on a credit card and finance at least £1000 over a year or more as extra safeguards.
A good used van can suffer a lot less problems than many new ones as most warranty issues will have been done.
The choice is yours and the enjoyment will be exhilarating.
Hi Allison, Welcome to a new world!
We bought a second hand (2004 Eriba puck 120GT). It was also our first caravan, but at just under 7K private (8.5K dealer) it took us over 12months to find one in the right condition that we were looking for (i'm quite fastidious). We also bought it off a well known aution site and I'm not an expert on caravan construction but I do have a keen eye and a good sence of smell. We've had ours now for almost two years and are pefectly happy with it.
You can take as much advise from all the poster's as you like but you'll know what is right for you; your family and your pocket.
Good luck on your first purchase!
We bought a second hand (2004 Eriba puck 120GT). It was also our first caravan, but at just under 7K private (8.5K dealer) it took us over 12months to find one in the right condition that we were looking for (i'm quite fastidious). We also bought it off a well known aution site and I'm not an expert on caravan construction but I do have a keen eye and a good sence of smell. We've had ours now for almost two years and are pefectly happy with it.
You can take as much advise from all the poster's as you like but you'll know what is right for you; your family and your pocket.
Good luck on your first purchase!
Hi well we bought a caravan today, a 2011 Lunar Clubman SB,
We bought from a dealer with a 12 mth warranty!
We have a happy family! Thanks for all the advise!
We bought from a dealer with a 12 mth warranty!
We have a happy family! Thanks for all the advise!
Hope you enjoy your new van, and visit some interesting places.
If you have a moment or two then please post us an update on how you are finding the new van.
HAPPY CARAVANNING!
paws
If you have a moment or two then please post us an update on how you are finding the new van.
HAPPY CARAVANNING!
paws
We will certainly post an update! Collecting our van on May1st and hope to drive off straight away to a weekend pitch?!
Hello all here I am with our update after a weekend in our van at Longleat!! All a big success so many friendly folk to help us new peeps out!! The Lunar was great and bought a kampa inflatable awning too! So easy to put up and down! Only downside was reversing the van into a tiny space at the storage site!! The whole family had a a great time!!
partridgefamily09 said:
Glad you had a good time. Next purchase - motor mover, to help at the storage site?
We do have one but there was a height difference in hard core access road and grass site so could not get it over grass bump!! Had to ask a friendly neighbour to reverse it!!
More hard core for new road being delivered in two weeks!!
More hard core for new road being delivered in two weeks!!
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