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 Topic: Swift Base camp
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25/5/2017 at 8:10pm
Location: Leicestershire
Outfit: Swift Basecamp 2017
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Joined: 20/5/2017 Standard Member
Forum Posts: 2
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Hello all
Just pitching in (excuse the pun) with a review of our Basecamp. Ours is called Brian, as before we joined the world of caravanners, we always called them ‘snail people’ (slow-moving with their homes on their backs). And who is the most famous snail in the world……?
You may guess that as I remember the Magic Roundabout clearly, we are also not Swift’s target age range for the Basecamp, being in our late forties and mid fifties.
We had been tent campers for some years, and although we thought we would get a ‘van at some point in the future, we didn’t expect it to be so soon! But then we went to the NEC Show back in February – just looking for bits ‘n’ bobs for our tent – saw the Basecamp and just loved it. We ride a tandem bike, so the first thing we saw was that we could get the bike in through the rear door and transport it! Not something we had ever considered before, and it opened up a whole new world of possible adventures. We loved the clean, uncluttered look, no chintz or frills or carpet. I almost signed there and then, but hubby is more cautious, so we went home, pondered and decided that it was perfect for us – and life is short after all!
A search on the internet revealed not too many available local to us, but we found one in stock in Lincoln – and collected him on 4th April. We have had a couple of trips out and of course have made mistakes and hit snags – but this is all part of the fun and we just love this little ‘van.
We decided to look for a porch awning too, and by coincidence have also gone for the Sunncamp Envy 200. It has arrived today, just in time for our Bank Holiday trip. We realised the vertical rear edges would be a problem around the bumper mouldings and had wondered about somehow adapting Kampa’s Limpet system? Will also report back if we find a solution.
So, just to echo the general feeling on here – these are brilliant little ‘vans. If you are considering one, just do it. We are so pleased we did.
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28/6/2017 at 11:50pm
Location: Southport
Outfit: None Entered
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Hi NS
We too noticed the bouncing and shunting on picking up the Basecamp as complete nubs. Unfortunately, you do have to get to grips with the nose weight issue by buying a nose weight gauge. We found on measuring the nose weight that it was around 30kg when we first drove the van. We worked out that with the nose weight needed to be nearer to 75kg for our a Basecamp Plus with leisure battery and wheel/towbar locks.
So when we loaded up crockery, bedding, water containers, walking gear, food, tv, and that heavy awning etc we distributed more of it towards the front. We then checked the nose weight using the gauge and it was 70kg-ish, and the ride was a lot smoother but still a bit of shunting. I guess that is just caravan towing for you...
Check out caravan info sites for how to work out the van weight, the car-van train weight together, and the nose weight. You will need to weigh or estimate the things you commonly take away in the van or car as a one-off exercise and stick it on a spreadsheet or similar. Then consult the internet and the caravan club documentation to see about weight options. Note that because we did this in advance we asked for a weight plate upgrade to the Basecamp which is just a little plastic plate saying the increased weight it will take, and I think affects how big the tow car needs to be. If you need to do this afterwards Swift charge £25.
We also found that the tires had been pumped in error to the higher pressure of most single axle caravans by the dealer, whereas the Basecamp uses a different pressure to other caravans. Worth investing in a pressure gauge and pump.
Can't help with the 7/13 pin I'm afraid, we had our tow car (2015 BMW Series 1) fitted with a removable 13 pin by an excellent towbar workshop in Wigan. BMW wanted to charge £1500!
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