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Subject Topic: Newbie needs help picking a 5/6 berth van
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06/6/2008 at 9:11am
 Location: Stratford Warwickshire
 Outfit: Eccles 640 - BMW 520D Tourer
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Brummygit - if you're in South Staffs you won't be too far from Bromsgrove.

The dealer I'ved used down there for my last 2 Lunars (a 615 and an FB) is called Chichester Caravans - they have a proper workshop and a large number of second hand vans for you to browse round

They're on the A38 between Bromsgrove and J5 of the M5 - near Webbs garden centre if you know it.

They have another dealership on the Hagley Road in Birmingham which doesn't do servicing but may have a 615 in stock.

All vans seem to have quality issues at times - and if Lunar had that many issues would they still be making vans?



06/6/2008 at 11:40pm
 Location: South Staffordshire
 Outfit: Outwell Vermont XL Monty 4 Monty 12
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Hi MadFrank

Thanks for the recommendation. I called into Chichester Caravans on Hagley Road last sunday and whilst they were helpful enough I was concerned about servicing as I couldn't see any workshops. Now I know why.

Unfortunately they told me that they don't have a 615 in either B'ham or Bromsgrove but they are going to call me when stock is due in.

I think you are right - I will look at the Lunar vans myself and not listen too loudly to the "Leaky Lunar" comments as you can always find negative comments about anything if you look hard enough.

I think the decision is looking very much to be between a Lunar 615 and Bailey Pageant at the moment.

Thanks for eveyone's advice so far.



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13/6/2008 at 2:54pm
 Location: Somerset
 Outfit: Swift Escape 694
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We have 4 kids, 13, 10, 2 and 6 months. We swapped our old 5 berth this year. We have a galaxy too. We liked the Lunar 615, but the dealer had none in - 6 berths were few and far between early this year. We settled on the new Bailey Ranger 640/6 which has a similar layout. The dealer offered us a 2nd hand twin axle van with a similar layout, but hubby was wary about towing something near the top end of our weight. The Bailey was only £500 more expensive new, and was much cheaper than the Lunar 615, plus the weight was much less.

When we bought it we asked for some extras - a plug socket in the kids end of the van, wrap around seating (which is great - comfy for lounging when kids in bed,) an external socket to use in the awning, and extra spotlights over the front bed.

Overall it has been great. Hubby thinks it's easier to tow than old van. A few downsides - no blown air heating in the kids end - with the door shut at night we thought it was a bit cold - especially for the baby so we purchased a small fan heater. No microwave, but we take one to use either on the table at the back in the kids end, or outside in the awning using the extra socket we had put in.The socket in the kitchen is in a silly place - right behind the sink, a tiny washroom, but we haven't found that to be a  problem. But loads of storage in comparison with our old van, huge front bed, love the roof light over. Kids love having own space and like the bunks with their own windows although top bunk seems to have less head room than others, our oldest opting to sleep on the bottom. Bottom bunk folds up - storage when travelling, or when all kids not with us. The made up bed at the back is big too. The caravan club reviewed it in their magazine a month or so ago.

So far we love it - it's far more spacious and luxurious than our old van, we can shut the kids off at night and have a bit more privacy, and can use that area to change in too - no need to shut all curtains as before. It suits us, and we would recommend it to others. (Incidently, pitched next to the same van on our last holiday, and that family were happy with their choice of van too!) 



13/6/2008 at 3:24pm
 Location: Doncaster
 Outfit: Bailey Ranger 540 6 and Volvo V70 D5
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Hi macarw.

I agree with your comments. We had additional sockets installed and a door flyscreen put in. This is a great van for a family of 6. Very nice to tow and easy to live with day to day.

Its a good compromise between luxury and weight reduction with all the essentials included and a MTPLM meaning it doesn't need a 4 x 4 to pull it.

 

 



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I'll do it tomorrow


14/6/2008 at 5:08pm
 Location: Norf
 Outfit: Elddis
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One big consideration is the size of the singles in the lounge. On ours we have to make up the beds to a double so we can sleep left to right. The wife could sleep in a single as they go up to 6ft - I am 6ft 2. Nothing major, but the twin axles will likely have a longer single bed. The Swift Charisma 6 berth we nearly got had beds which when left unmade as singles were 6ft 4.

If you have non-couples stopping or big teenagers this will be a big plus if people can get their own bed without sharing a double. Not a problem for us yet but worth a thought. Twin axles arent so easy to manouver by hand so be good at reversing onto pitches. I think id get a moto mover when I upgrade to a twin.

I can recommend our current van - very roomy and a clever use of the space. Good luck.

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*:)



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