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Hi we are looking at purchasing our first caravan, we have been tenters for many years. We are looking at either the bailey pageant bretagne or bailey senator carolina. Obviously 1 is a single axle and the other is twin. What we want to know is the pros and cons of both caravans, if any of you have experience.

We have 3 children and a dog, so this layout is perfect for us, but the senator is winning because of the security, tracker, alarm etc.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

We have a nissan pathfinder

Hi Mandy, Looking at the towcar website your Pathfinder is a perfect match for the Senator Carolina. Without question I would go for the twin axle model....better stability and probably a better choice judging by the number of family members(including pets).

Mandy

          We have just used our twin wheel Bailey senator louissiana for the first time at Easter ,the twin wheel was very stable to tow  just a little harder to manouver by hand .I would have no problem recommending a twin axel van we tow ours with a Range Rover

                                                cheers Blue dog

Thankyou for all your comments they have been very helpful.

just some other questions if you all dont mind? i take it towing a twin axle affects the fuel economy and also is it true that some campsites uk and europe dont accept twin axles.

thanks

We spent 4 months unable to make our minds up if we should go for a twin axle when changing our single axle van earlier this year. We wanted the space of the twin but were concerned about the manhandling and manouvering at home on the drive.

We decided to go for the twin axle and love it, wish we had changed earlier. We had a Powertouch mover fitted and now know we made the right choice. We decided to go for the 4 wheel drive version and I can manouver it at home as easily as my single. We took our 20 year old daughter and boyfriend away with us at Easter and they love the van so much with the extra room that they want to come with us on the next Bank holiday!

When we had the single axle Pageant Provence, they stopped coming with us over a year ago because they 'felt cramped with 4 adults in the van', For a little while longer at least we have our 20 and 17 year old daughters wanting to come with us at every opportunity now with their boyfreinds because they love the extra space. 

You may have also noticed, (we did whilst at Sandy Balls at Easter) the huge increase of twin axle caravans on site now. I presume because of the new family layouts and the increased space they give, coupled with the fact that the movers are so capable now.

thanks!!! you have all been very helpfull.

thanks again

Hi Mandy

http://www.bailey-caravans.co.uk/images/reviews/Test_oct2008.pdf

Have a look at this before you buy any!! I admit i haven't a clue on the difference of the vans. but the price is something else

the Gt 60 rules just look for the coments on here:) hope the link is ok

Hi again, Towing a twin axle opposed to a single axle van will cost you so little extra it is barey worth mentioning.Admittedly there is more road contact with the extra axle but it is so much more worth it for the added stability on Motorways/Dual carriageways etc. As for the other concern regarding being turned away, some parks will not accept large caravans being towed with 'transit' type vans or commercial vehicles. You would expect to be perfectly OK with your Nissan Pathfinder and the Bailey Senator twin axle....(providing the pitches are large enough of course).Happy Caravanning....

Hi Niall 24 thanks for the link, we do like the gt series, but we are worried about space as we have a 10, 8 and 2 year old all are growing very fast and a golden retreiver so space is an issue, i dont want to have to change it in 3 years time because of it. we have spent the last year going from one to another.

Thankyou pink flloyd that is exactly what i want to hear.

thanks again for all your replys you have all been very helpfull. we do look at other makes but keep going back to the bailey and the senator.  looks like we could be making the right desicion.