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picked up practical caravan as usual this month and was reading the review of the new bailey ranger 2 berth, looks like a nice wee van, very light at 997kg ideal for the older couple that dont have a big car. as I said on here the van for the punter with a 1.6 focus/almera/astra to tow with

but there was a few things that irked me about bailey, no spare wheel as standard, charging £100 extra for what is essential gear is a bit mean also not fitting a alko 1300 stabiliser as standard, are they deliberately doing that so that customers have to bargain with their dealers to get what are IMO essentials

the van itself looked nice enough okay should have a sparkerr on the cooker, and missing the front chest is a bit stingy, yet they go on about domestic door handes and such like...hmmmm I know I am comparing it to my own van and yeah in 97 Fleetwood were top notch vans but in 12 years the vans havent really moved forward

Neat little vans these, used to be the 380/2 dunno what they call it these days though.  We've got used to our 5 birth for the 2 of us though so can't see us wanting to go smaller.

Ali

personally I wouldnt go without a spare on either the car or van as a can of tyre foam only does so much and at build fitting the alko 1300 would only add £100 to the price, bearing in mind the normal alko coupling retails at £45

in that sector of the market sub 1000kg you only have the lunar aviva, baby adria altea plus stuff like freedoms

reckon the bailey looks better than the lunar but is it built better, saw lunars and baileys at glasgow and both seem okay

Ok, so what has this got that my 1994 baby Bailey doesn't have? And that weighs in at a measly 816 Kgs so can be towed by frugal cars like my Seat Ibiza 1.4 which is only £35 per year tax.

Come on Bailey, you can do better.

Quote: Originally posted by bordercaz on 05/3/2009

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Ok, so what has this got that my 1994 baby Bailey doesn't have? And that weighs in at a measly 816 Kgs so can be towed by frugal cars like my Seat Ibiza 1.4 which is only £35 per year tax.

Come on Bailey, you can do better.

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I don't know - where does the extra weight come from?  Possibly from the  huge cooker (the same size as most domestic ones, in fact - and we did see a range in one of the bigger Avondales on one forecourt), a big fridge with freezer, blinds and flyscreens on all windows, 'domestic-style' door handles, and so on..... but surely these days some manufacturer ought to be looking at a 'greener' lighter weight van - perhaps with some things as add-ons rather than standard, so that those caravanners who want to get a greener more fuel efficient car can still tow a caravan.

Come on Swift, Bailey, Elddis (or anyone else still manufacturing) what about the Swift EarthSaver, Bailey Bio, or the Elddis Eco? 

exactly val, they all use glass for hob/sink covers which is heavy, 3mm mdf covered in formica would do a better job as it can be used as worktops and is lighter, use stainless steel instead of ceramic for hobs and sinks, thinner doors on lockers/wardrobes and the loo, yes a heavy door might hide the noise of a good breaking of wind in the loo but at a say 2kg weight penalty

smaller fridges, I know mine is rarely half full how much fodder does one need, big ovens??? a basic halogen oven cooks a meal perfectly well, there is too much grp on the outsides, go back to aluminium as it weighs less and is a bit more durable, okay you cant have a fancy rear panel but you can still have a aerodynamic front end, use aluminium for the chassis

if they could build vans link caz'z 15 years ago why cantthey do it now???

I agree Val \ Alan. OH and I found 2 berth a little limiting so went for a 1999 4 berth Abbey with end bathroom. MRO 996kg and MTPLM 1230kg.

It seems to have everything the lastest models have, with full oven and 77l fridge\freezer but if I wanted a newer model I would have to change my car! Where has all the extra weight come from?