Sportex wrote:

Noddy, what an awesome looking unit buy one now

On the bright side they don't seem to depreciate anything like a car.

Just over three weeks now, can't wait to get hooked up!

Who has a touring Caravan then?
No















Well its not mine its my dads but I do get to borrow it . 2008 MY Supercharged
Rimini Red / Jet
four zone climate
remote park heater
and no ugly kid windows.
magnus satis quod turpis satis

axle wrote:

Well its not mine its my dads but I do get to borrow it .

now thats more like it - very nice indeed (what a great picture! - a little piece of paradise)

Fab boat.

2 weeks to go and then six weeks in the Van'........

Yep that boat looks alot of fun! I've always said if I win the Lottery I'll go work for a day in a Fish mongers, get over my fear of slicing and dicing fish and then go sea fishing and cook up my own catch.. Yum!

For now its fish fingers

I've talked the wife into it. We went looking at caravans yesterday and there were some real nice ones.

In he world of Caravans, what is classed as a good make? We look at BMW, Merc, Bentley, LR etc as premium brands, but what is the caravan equivalent? Not a model, just the company that make them. 2010 MY Vogue SE TDV8 3.6 Stornoway Grey- fully loaded

Bailey, Bessacar (mainly campers) , Swift, Stirling to name but a few. I'm sure there are many more equally deserving. We have a Bailey Senator Carolina. Senator being the top of the Bailey range, now replaced by the Pegasus range with alutech body Basically a new way of fixing the pannels together to prevent leaks / damp.

Elldis are another nice brand too.

Quite a few are run by the same company, for instance Ace no longer produce vans but are owned by the same company that make Swift. Many vans were much of a muchness inside even with the same layouts just different window configurations at the front... some three, some one... some recent ones with none!

Again trim changes from van to van, with lower spec coming with steel wheels and trims as opposed to alloys.

Basically spend time figuring out the ideal layout for you. We have gone from the last van having an end bathroom which was better than the house to one with a mid bathroom which is smaller BUT the kids get there own room at the back... with a door... I'm sure the kids see it as shutting out the adults

I love it... can't wait to hook up for the big hols in a few weeks! But we get lots of other weekends away / landrover events through the rest of the year.

I've also got a Bailey Senator Carolina.

Looked at a few with fixed bunks, a must with kids, and it came out Tops.

Explorer group do several different brands
You can find the same body shell used across the range, the more money you pay means a different label with more features. Buccaneer is the top. I have a Buccaneer four berth with a fixed end bed, very nice.

Bailey Caravans - a good make with good a...ss methods


Swift Group - same methods as Explorer group on the brand/price
They no longer make Bessacarr caravans, they keep that name for luxurious motorhomes. Bessacarr used to be made by Arnold Laver group - timber company, and sold to Swift in 1997, Laver group made the best vans IMHO.
I have had both a proper "Bessie" and a Swift Bessie, I would buy a Swift "Bessie" again.


If you are not trading in, find a model you like and hit the phones, it is amazing the deals you get right now on new.
Glossop Caravans pile em high and sell em low
WHen I was picking up my Buccaneer I heard the salesman pick up the phone and ask Explorer group what did they have left (July 2008) what deals would they give on these vans if they took the lot. September time is when the model changes so you could get a stonking deal on a late build 2010 model which has been made speculatively and is sitting in a compound.

Hope this helps.

Thats a great help, thanks guys!

The Bessacar name - I saw one at our local caravan dealer and it was nice inside. I'd never heard of it though, so I assumed it was a cheapo!  2010 MY Vogue SE TDV8 3.6 Stornoway Grey- fully loaded

Bessacar a good van, as are Swift and Abbey, think you may find that they are now all made in the same factory and all the models and layouts for most of the brands will be exactly the same, only the quality, trim, furnishings and finish different across each marque No body told me there would be days like these

L Reg dark purple/burgundy sort of Disco
R Reg very red disco
Bright Silver disco TD5
Sort of bright girly powder blue disco TD5
Gone (a while back) 1999 P38 4ltre Autobiography. 13 miles to the gallon, 10,000 miles to the engine
Gone MY06 RRS HSE Rimini Red
Gone MY10 RRS HSE Purple
Gone 2007 TDV8 Vogue OF Stornoway Grey (In Love again)
2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue Baltic Blue
MY66 VOGUE TDV6 3.0 Red

been looking at one of these today:



If I can get the dealer to drop the price, it'll be ours in a couple of weeks! 2010 MY Vogue SE TDV8 3.6 Stornoway Grey- fully loaded

wow! Long Vehicle Stickers please No body told me there would be days like these

L Reg dark purple/burgundy sort of Disco
R Reg very red disco
Bright Silver disco TD5
Sort of bright girly powder blue disco TD5
Gone (a while back) 1999 P38 4ltre Autobiography. 13 miles to the gallon, 10,000 miles to the engine
Gone MY06 RRS HSE Rimini Red
Gone MY10 RRS HSE Purple
Gone 2007 TDV8 Vogue OF Stornoway Grey (In Love again)
2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue Baltic Blue
MY66 VOGUE TDV6 3.0 Red

Bessacarr are still available as dealer specials from Swindon Caravans, based on the Conqueror with some upgrades.

Top of the range in Britain is Vanmaster, every one is custom built to order and you specify almost everything.

Also available are Airstreams if you fancy seeing all the rivets that hold the unpainted panels on.

Ian