A friend on another website has one (unfortunatley I can't say the name cos it blanks it out!) - she is very pleased with it though has had a few minor niggles.
------------- 2020 Volvo XC60 B5 R Design Geartronic / 2018 Swift Elegance 580
If you can afford one and your tow car can handle the weight ide deffo go with it against a Bailey or Swift. The German vans are by far better build quality and tend to be more 'Modern' in asthetically than the British vans.
Here in Holland Dethleffs is considered to be one of the better German brands. We have one from 1996 and we've never had any problem with it. German caravans are usually quite sturdy, perhaps because a lot of Germans want to take their caravan with them when they go skiing in the winter.
i have been with dethleff for about 4/5 years now, I have a dethleff DL 520 5 berth before that i had a dethleff nomad . the nomad was a 1982 model and was in excellent condition with no faults at all . we only upgraded as we like to take the grand children away with us so needed the room the old one was only a two berth .
the DL 520 has fixed bunks and a single in a fixed end bedroom "you can put the kids to bed and close the door and relax" it has full cooker and full fridge , and all the other usual mod cons . it is very good towing wise . we had an omega 2 litre cd which pulled it easy but was a bit tough uphill so we changed to a pajero jeep .
You cannot go wrong mate with a german made caravan for instance i have just bought a new german van and when it comes has to have a wash i can climb on top of the van, walk along the top and give it a thorough cleaning. They are so strong.
From what I've seen (not had the chance to live in one) Dethleffs are a very high quality van and I have every confidence in them. Only one condition though: Is there a Dethleffs dealer near you? In case you need warranty work (have a look at Jenny's post under 'warranty, what warranty') it's much more convenient to go with a local dealer. If your nearest Dethleffs dealer is within a hours drive, go for it. But if it's hours away and you have a Bailey dealer 5 minutes away, then go for a Bailey. Bailey have the best reputation for after-sales of the UK manufacturers.
Andrew
------------- Messages are posted as a fellow caravanner, not as a 'professional'. The views here are purely personal to me and do not necessarily reflect the views of any magazine or professional organisation. So there.
we got our van in 2005 and we didn't get a spare wheel . the dealer promised us one then months later told us in 2005 spare wheels where an extra "you get one now with the 2006" we argued that we where promised a spare wheel and he said it was not in the sales contract so we had to pay for one , when we argued it was a verbal agreement we where told we could have one at discount. i emailed dethleff after sales in Germany and told them what had happened and that we where told we would get a spare wheel . they emailed back and explained that in 2005 the spare wheel was an optional extra but they apologized for any inconvenience and 3 days later we got a new spare wheel from dethleff free and delivered to my house.