I would say better, yes. There's no doubt that when it works it works far better than the folding system. Especially the cruiser, where all you have to do is pull the beds out and the whole thing is up. No mucking about pulling canvas down around the edges, no having to re-hang the bedroom inners every time, just done.
But many Pennine owners would point out that if you don't treat the sliders with a bit of respect then they have a tendency to break or bend.
Canvas, obviously. But also check the seams to see if they are torn or coming apart. This applies to any TT.
Cruisers only: Check the bed sliders. They are bolted to the bed boards by 4 bolts on each side. Are the bolts straight? Also, are the sliders kinked or bent at all? They are £40 a go to replace.
Open the camper out and open and close the door. Has the camper sagged at all? You can see it in the hinges.
Get a screwdriver and poke the floor from underneath. If it is rotten you will fond soft patches.
Ah. I stand corrected. It's just the lifting the beds, unfolding the canvas and fixing it to the sides of the camper then.
Mind you, I sold our Cruiser in favour of a Globetrotter, which suits me much better 'cos it's way faster than any of the above to go up, and is deeply un-posh - no toilet compartments, ariel points, hot water heaters or any of that stuff, just honest TT-style camping.
Makes me feel back in my spiritual home - a TT! And a Raclet at that....
We just bought a 1991 Cruiser and it's in wonderful condition. The canvas has really been looked after and is still it's full color green. The cream has some dirt on it and will try and clean it up a bit in the spring. The beds glide out effortlessly.
The decor is a bit dated but the cabinetry is fine so we'll just update the carpet and redo the cushions and curtains and it will look fantastic.
I feel we really got a bargain and can't wait to use it! We almost bought the globestopper but part of it just didn't appeal to us, plus it was more money.
I loved the sliding beds on our cruiser. The inside is always inside with this arrangement - the fold over beds require a bit more effort to errect (imho). But when packed away, the folders tend to look neater with a level profile to the pvc weather cover and their canvas hangs under the beds so probably has more air blowing about it than the sliders canvas that sits between the bed matress and the pvc weather cover. Plus the folders tend to not trap water on top of their pvc covers whereas the sliders do suffer from this quite badly. Both systems have pros and cons. Personally, i prefered the sliders, but the Pennine group have ditched the sliders in preference to the folders. Perhaps the folders are more durable or reliable, but i recon it is down to production costs (sliders seem a bit more complex and therefore more expensive to produce). We loved our sliding bed cruiser, but we did move to the dark side and bought a caravan so that we could tour all year round without the worry of drying the canvas in the cold damp British winter. We miss our folding (or do we mean sliding) camper and the fun we have had with it. But the pleasure of owning a caravan - thats another story..
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
I do know of at least one delaer who is reluctant to take older Conway's as he's had too many problems witht he sliding mechanisms. The folding mechanism in general is more tolerant to misuse.
Personally I've had both and not thought it's made that much difference (although the sliders were on a Cardinal hard-top).
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Topic: conway cruiser or pennine clubman
