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Hi Val

i'm so sorry to bother you but google has destined me to track you down after searching for infomation on the swift speedbird!

a swift speedbird 4 berth 2002 with door on opposite side to most models, a fixed bed and no oven!

we have just put our deposit down today on one of these wonderful vans but can find little or no infomation! and i hope you might eb able to help us with a bit of owners advice!

how do you find things when it comes to pitches in the uk with the door on the opposite side?? do you have any idea what the awning size is for the van i can find no listings and our van will not been ready for 3 weeks so i can not measure at the moment

this is our first ever caravan and we are parents of 2 toddlers and a baby so any advice we would be very greatful of!

i hope this message finds you well and your having a lovely trip at the moment!

Emma and Simon

Hi, there is a forum for these vans at

http://www.swift-talk.co.uk/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swift-talk.co.uk%2Fforum%2Ftopics%2Fi-love-my-unusual-swift%2FshowLastReply

hope this helps till you get a reply from Val

thanks so much for the link!! that thread was also started by val!

guess we will have to wait to see if val see's this thread! we complete on the van tomorrow and pick up next thu the whole family is very excited!

Just seen this thread.  We can't fault our Speedbird - it's done us proud for 11 years, and is obviously the same model as the one you're looking at.

We had an initial problem with the Alko suspension, which was sorted out within days by Alko and Swift (the van being taken down to the Alko works in the Midlands for replacement) and we've had two shower trays, both replaced under warranty.  Aside from that we had a little water ingress due to a badly done repair (dealer dealt with it) and that's been all.  Everything else is working perfectly, we've had no bits fall off, doors sag, or anything stop working.  We love it - and the very strangest thing is that on the site we're on at the moment there is an identical van (but Dutch).

As far as the door being on the wrong side, we haven't had problems.  Sites have always managed to find a way to fit us in, even Caravan Club regimented sites, jockey wheels to the spot, type places!  Most sites accept holidaymakers from Europe and their door is on the 'wrong side'.  Just let the site know when you book.

Awning size, is 900 - but I'd wait until you get the van to check.  We use a mini-oven, bought from Lidl or somewhere like that.  It's not the very mini pizza warming up type ones, but will take a full size chicken, and has two proper removeable shelves, and a cooking tray.  We use it in the awning, with the site electricity which we've paid for anyway.  We had an outside electric point fitted, which is very useful - and worth having if the van doesn't already have one.

If you need anything else specific then let me know.  We're just on the border between West and North Yorkshire, so if you need some 'on the spot' advice just let me know.

Please can someone keep bumping this until the original poster has seen it!  We're away and it's too hot and too expensive to keep using WiFi!

My OH has just seen this and pointed out that if the van does need anything in the way of spares, you can order them from Swift (via a Swift dealer) and part numbers are based on the Swift Toscane 490 (Dutch model - which is listed in their spares catalogue).  Lowdhams at Huddersfield were able to get parts for us, and now  Dickinsons in Bradford are also Swift dealers.

It's really strange, Simon, but we've only ever seen two other Speedbirds like ours - one which had been customised and had leather recliners fitted at the front, and another in a very remote French hamlet, in the garden, with English number plates, but we knocked at the door and there didn't appear to be anyone in!  This holiday we saw the Dutch version - the Toscane, same year, same model as ours, and it was quite a spooky experience having a look inside, to find they'd replaced the front wrap-around seating with a chest of drawers, just as we have!

Where did you buy your van?  Is it all still original upholstery, etc? 

Anything else I can do to help, just ask!

Yes, identical to ours - except for the modified towel rail on the bathroom door!

What a shame about the cushions - we took ours out, and I gave them away on Freecycle.  Does the caravan still have the carpet?  Ours is still the original, eleven years old, and still (almost) as good as new!

I'm not suprised your wife fell in love with the van - they are so spacious because of the extra body width!  I did the same!  At the time (Spring 2000) we tried to make a deal with Barrons, who sold the whole batch, but the P-Ex they offered was very poor, so we didn't go ahead.  Later in the season, and after we'd been on holiday twice in our old caravan, we went back and the van was still there, but reduced by £2,000.  We'd put ours on the road outside the house (time of the fuel strikes so we couldn't tow it back into storage) and we stuck a For Sale notice in the window and sold it for the asking price the following day.  So in the end, we got a really good deal, and we've loved our van ever since. 

The exterior of yours is smarter - our graphics have faded badly as a result of twenty-two hot holidays in France - but, hey, that's part of the history of the caravan!  You can see I've replaced the rooflight with a mini-Heki, which gives more light in the bedroom area, and we've replaced the upper locker handles since this photo was taken, to make them all match the front chest which we installed.

For some reason my other photos are too big - despite being exactly the same as this one.  I'll try to post them later, when I've more time.

Quote: Originally posted by Speed bird on 17/8/2021

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Just bought this, clean it now. Small footprint but fixed bed

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