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Well got back a few hours ago from Oxford caravans having collected our new (to us) Bailey Provence 2008! Bit of a squeeze getting it onto the dirveway for the night as its a lot longer then the old 4 berth ranger....all I can say is thank god for the motormover. Sadley tomorrow its off to storage for 2 weeks until we bring it home again for its first outing over easter in the Cotswolds.

We have spent the last few hours loading all our stuff back in after cleaning the cupboards out and so far are loving the extra space and extra storage (OH loves having a microwave and built in radio!). The van was serviced prior to collection and they also fitted 2 new tyres which was a nice surprise as we hadn't expecting this (it also had a new back panel fitted a few weeks ago after I noticed the common cracking on one back corner!).

So tomorrows job is to try fitting the new ALKO secure wheel lock, as we used the old one tonight for speed and as we haven't added this to the insurance yet. The 100ah Numax battery I got 2nd hand off ebay is currently charging in the garage so I will switch this for the 75ah in the morning as well. Also need to try the suncamp porch awning that a friend has kindly given us....this will need to see us through for a few months till we can save up for something bigger!

Only one question at the moment and that is with the Whale Filter. This van has an on board pump with a filter that drops into the Aquaroll......I just wondered how long these last and should be changed? Its a new one on there that was used today for our handover but we won't now be using again till the easter weekend. I assume we just leave it in the sink in between uses and this won't be a bacteria risk?

The van came with 4 yrs warranty via MB&G but I will also be sorting out transfering the remaining 2 yrs bailey ingress warranty next week as for £25 is probably worth having a bit of "dual" cover in the event of any problems.

All in all we were very impressed with Oxford Caravans (same company as Reading / Swindon Caravans) and would return to buy from them again.

So remaining on my shopping list once we can save up are:

Kampa Awning (330 or 390 Rally , just need to measure and see which one would fit best tomorrow)

Cadac BBQ

We've got a Provence too, they're lovely family vans aren't they. Which have you got, the series 6 or 7? I hope you enjoy it.

BB

Quote: Originally posted by Basilbrush on 18/3/2012

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We've got a Provence too, they're lovely family vans aren't they. Which have you got, the series 6 or 7? I hope you enjoy it.

BB

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We had the L shape lounge layout in our first Provence which was a Series 5. It was a great van & as far as things to look out for I'm afraid I can't say muvh on that one. Ours did have a new rear panel on its second service but this was picked up by the service centre at our local dealers who are first class. We got rid of ours after it was stolen/recovered. We couldn't take to it after it had been stolen so it was sold as soon as we got it back.

We then wanted a Series6 but missed the last production run so we waited a while & then bought a new Series 7 which is a lovely van.

Enjoy your van, they're lovely family vans IMO.

BB

Hi,

Looks like the rear panel was an issue for a few years as we noticed a crack on the one we were buying (up on the rear panel corner where it joined the side panel) before agreeing to purchase and the dealer replaced the whole panel via Bailey under warranty. Hopefully this will now last for the future! We have now left it at our storage site for the next 2 weeks but can't wait to get away for easter in it!