After 3 1/2yr camping in various tents, we have just made an impulse purchase of an ex display 2009 Cabanon Stratos (in superb condition), including storage box, under bed tents and the extended canopy £3199. Have we done the right thing? any info would be greatly appreciated, as this is our first TT.
I bought an old conway mirage tt as my first move into camping and i loved it. Tips i can pass on are as follows:
1. When setting up and packing away do not bother rushing. Camping is a leisure activity and not a race, so put your tt up leisurely!
2.Always pack beer/wine so you can pour and enjoy a drink while you set up. This way you will not get so upset if you get things wrong and need to re-do them. You will just get to have an extra drink if it takes a little longer!
3.Practice makes perfect. First time i put up the mirage, it took over an hour just to get the bed section errected. By the time i sold her, 1 hour would see the whole thing up and ready to use without rushing (see tip 1).
4.Never leave your tt packed up wet for more time than necessary. You do not want the dreaded mildew.
5.A pitch with electric means you have heat, a kettle, lighting and a cheap supply of power for a fridge, a small electric oven, tv or laptop or whatever else takes your fancy. My favorite camping luxury is electricity - but make sure you connect up to it using a proper rcd protected hook up cable. Electricity is only lovely when it is safe!
6.Most important tip is this one - enjoy camping in your lovely new tt!!!
I've seen that on display and thought it was wonderful. We watched someone pitch one too (my dh calls me an anorak lol) and it was up and done in an hour. It looked brand new too. I'm sure you'll have some wonderful times in her.
Have you got space to do a couple of trial runs at putting her up? You have put up tents before so think you'll soon find the best way that suits you in putting it up.
We pick it up from Camperlands next Monday, they are going to give it the once over, replace all the rubbers and then give us a demo on erecting etc. We've had a Vango Aspen, Sprayway Valley and Zanzibar, all big tents, so am hoping that will stand us in good stead !?!
Thanks so much tonka60, am on my way to that link now.
We have had our cabanon stratos for 4 years now & we find it great, the space is massive, only have one problem with it, you will get lots of people wanting to have a look round, more than often just when you are about to have your meal!!! we also bought the under beds but to be honest our kids were older when we bought it & found they were too big, they didn't like sleeping in a coffin (my daughter,then 19) my son (then 14 but bigger than the average boy!!) kept banging his head on the bed above as he came out, so they now sleep in the awning & the underbeds are used for storage!! DO have a go at putting it up before you go away with it, as it took us 4 hours the first time we used it but have got that down to an hour now, the men make it look easy, & it is if your 6' + !! being only 5'5" i need to stand on a step to do the zips up in the highest part!! the clip i saw above is very usful, it's taught me an easier way of doing it!! we also put wooden squares under the bed legs to stop them sinking if it gets a bit muddy, we don't have the kitchen extention on ours so we have the kitchen outside in the awning then if it rains we open the door fully & bring the kitchen in!! if you would like some pic's of ours get in touch at my email address cos i still haven't worked out how to put them on this site! sitdownshep at hotmail.com
We bought the Neptune last year, which is basiclly the same as the Statos and love it. It's so warm and cosy at night. The space is great, and yes you do have lots of people stopping and wanting to have a look.
It took us a while to get to grips with putting it up and taking down, but I hope you enjoy yours as much as we have enjoyed ours.
Good luck with everything, cant wait for the holidays now!
I dont think you will be disappointed with a Cabanon we have had our Saturn from new , but have had several trailer tents over the years, the big plus with a trailer tent is your beds are off the ground more comfortable then a tent, speaking from experience as no doubt many can confirm under canvas is great till you get flooded out,if you are unfortunate to get water running under the door at least you will stay warm and dry, another plus is it can be kept and loaded up , as it has plenty of storage space parked up ready to go at a moments notice, in the garage if you have one, so..if you feel young enough to stay under canvas...but not quite old enough for a caravan.(lol joke)..an ideal choice.. having said that we have just traded up to a folding caravan.lol...just a thought1....
Little tip..... when you come to zip the awning on, start all 4 zips for about 6 inches to a foot before doing any of them up fully. Otherwise you will struggle to get them started. Saved me about 10 mins on pitching time.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Just bought a Cabanon Stratos !!
