Joined: 22/8/2005 Gold Member
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I'm not trying to throw a spanner in the works, but (!) for the money you are looking at spending, you could get a very decent folding camper. Then your 'kitchen unit or not' and 'awning use or not' choices are much simpler. The kitchen is an integral part of the main unit, the vast majority of the main units sleep 6 and on some the 'under bed pod' is also an option. All can be used without the awning for shorter breaks and when you don't use the awning there's no pegging out at all.
Yes, if you went down this route, even for the top end £3,800 you are thinking of spending on the raclet you would be looking at a unit with quite a few more years on it, but if you look under Conway and Pennine on here or the Conway Owner's Club ads, you will get some idea of what you could get.
It's true that build quality tends to be very high for both FCs and TTs, so a 2010 Raclet/Trigano could last you 20 years (assuming proper care) easily, but my Conway Tardis was built in 1986, and is no-where near close to giving up! There was a Conway Cardinal 2000 or 2002 on the Owner's club site recently £3,400, this unit has a kitchen with running water as standard, 2 burner stove plus grill and fridge and a built in toilet compartment. Set up time is very quick, we can have the unit and awning up on ours (we is me 5' 7" female with quite serious back problems and my 5' 4" 11 yo daughter) and everything set up to 'cup of tea point' in around 40 minutes.
It's all horses for courses, of course. The Trigano Olympe (I think that's the model name) was my heart's desire a couple of years ago,now I adore my Conway. There's no out of date upholstery/curtain issues with most newer models, there's less chance of the running gear needing any money spending on it etc but having owned a TT(the Trigano Vendome, fabulous quality and enough space to chuck a party, but we never got set up or take down to less than 3 hours) and now having the FC, if I could contemplate a budget that went up to £3,800 that you mention for the Raclet, I personally would be searching this site's ads looking through all the folding campers and trailer tents, as well as Ebay, Gumtree, Preloved and all the dealerships that advertise used stuff. There's a huge range of choices available, even at the lower sums you mention for the two Triganos. To me it's all about which compromises are the right ones for you, your style of camping and your pocket.
Finally, last time I looked the new Triganos were still using the kitchen unit that came with my Vendome, it is SERIOUSLY heavy, unless the wheels you attach are caterpillar tracks, you are still going to have to lift it on soft ground. Sorry if i have just added confusion to the debate, but you did ask
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