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We had the 542UK and loved it so much we bought the 542DT. This looks a lot more modern and has polyester sides. The fixed bunks are great!  How many children do you have and how old are they?We love the adria. It is so family friendly

We have a triple bunk newish caravan and we are only planning to keep it for 4-5 years maximum.  Personally, I think that if you are looking for a new caravan to last you 10 years you may be better (depending on number of children) with a double bunk layout such as Coachman Amara 570/6 although this would probably be too heavy, as although the bunk width is important, as the children get older they will appreciate the added headroom too.

Between the two vans you mention the Ancona would win hands down for us.

Quote: Originally posted by Andy R on 05/3/2011

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I find Adrias a bit basic inside and not as luxurious as the Pegasus

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I was going to say that Andy but thought I might get lynched!!!

We love that Coachman and were all set for buying it at the NEC this time around but then we saw the private sale of our 2009 Lunar in July which turned out to be a complete bargain complete with awning and mover and our plans swiftly changed. Definitely the right layout for us and never regretted any part of it for a moment.

I would imagine that after buying a brand new caravan which you intend to replace at some point that after a number of years it may make better economical sense to trade in for a replacement whilst its value is fairly high than maybe wait for 10 years and probably worth very little towards its replacement.

Our Lunar Zenith has the rear two bunk lay out.  We did look at the vans with three bunks, but the lack of space between the bunks put us off a bit, however our two bundles of joy are now 8 and 10, so a bit different.  The third ground floor level bunk would have just been used for storage, so in effect a two bunk solution with more space, and storage under the lower bunk made more sense.

There is no cupboard at the end of the Zenith, which is good because both bunks are full length.  A  mate of mine has the Bailey Ranger with the rear bunks and the cupoard attached to the bunks which shortens the lower bunk.  The smallest of his two daughters can still fit in the shorter bunk, but for how much longer, who knows?

Tony B

Just to add to points already made: we have two boys now 11 and 9 and started out 4 years ago with a bailey pageant bretagne whihc we loved.  But, we go 600 miles south in France and we weren't happy with towing it with our bmw touring and the bunks started to feel small for the boys last year.  We swappped for an Adria 532UK last year - great value, we sold the baileys fir 9400 and bought the adria for 8600 and it was a year newer.  The compromise is that, yes it does not have a microwave or outdoor socket, but inside it feels like a room rather than a corridor.  The double bed is a challenge at first to put up, but everything feels much more solid and the fixed bunks would be suitable till the boys are too old to come with us.  This was a major thing for us.  The windows are much bigger - a single front window and it is flooded with light.  As it has suspension (or the equivalent I don't pretend to know the technical term) it is a dream to tow and we breeze through any distance with a lot less stress.  My oh who drives thinks that we would never go back to a van without independent suspension as we like to do long distances.  We will keep this van now till the boys go off in a tent and we can have a nice little two berth on the drive.  Lots of people love Baileys, but we found towing ours quite stressful even with even weight distribution and our car was fit for purpose.  I thought that I would never buy a second hand caravan, but if you get the right one, you can get a real bargain - why go for new if you could find a nearly new van much cheaper?  Most vans for sale of only one or two years old are like new as they are being sold cos they're not being used.

Anyway, excuse my ramblings and enjoy your search!

Lindsey