Anyone got any advice/ views on the Trigano Alpha trailer tent, just sold Trigano Oceane 315 GL had it 15 years, too big now sons grown up and kitchen heavy to lift. The kitchen on the Alpha stays put looks much easier. Comments appreciated.
Hi, we have a Combi Camp which is very similar. We did consider the Alpha and had a look at it at Black Country Caravans, who were very helpful. Its even bigger than the Combi Camp so we could have only housed the model without a kitchen, and it only had the option of one extra annex, so we bought a second hand Combi Camp instead, but we were very taken with it. It's got some nice features like water and gas piped through from the front box and mains electric sockets.
Given that it's very similar to ours I'll give you some pros and cons.
It's big. And heavy for a trailer tent. The fixed kitchen is great, but levelling is critical if it's not to be wonky. Levelling is tricky because you need to maintain enough clearance to open the hard top, so you have limited front to back adjustment. Regarding side to side levelling it's heavy, so hard to get up a ramp. We're seriously considering adding 12v electrics and a motor mover in the future if we continue to struggle.
Pros, well we love it. It's so flexible, we can add two annexes and an awing for a family holiday, or just use the cabin and awning roof to shelter the kitchen for a couples weekend. The Combi is designed so you can fold back half the roof and use it as a kitchen shelter, I don't know if you can do that exactlywith the Alpha, but it will have some form of sun canopy option. The awing (on both) uses telescopic poles, which makes it really easy to pitch, and it goes up very quickly. It's a really nice design, very comfortable and easy to pitch.
Hi
We had a Trigano Alpha which we got rid of this year (more to do with the fact that we should never have gone back to a tt after owning a caravan - but that's another story)
We chose the Alpha mainly because of the fixed kitchen and the ease of set up. After having a tt with a kitchen that wasn't fixed and weighed a ton and wasn't easily maneuverable (even though it had wheels!)the fixed kitchen was a big bonus, it's a nice little set up with good storage, running water etc and was so much easier for us. But it does make the trailer rather long - and as Alison said not the easiest thing to manhandle on a campsite (We're quite fit in our early 40'ies).
The quick set up was a little disappointing as once again as Alison mentioned the levelling is a crucial part of a quick set up. I don't think there was a time when we unfolded the camper to find that the pitch was as level as we thought and had to close and move position. Although having said this my oh could easily open and close the unit on his own if required (for drying etc).
Once the levelling us done the awning is really easy to erect as the poles are indeed telescopic and just extend from the main unit - but if weather is poor you do need the awning roof to shelter the kitchen (or possibly a sun canopy or tarp?) Otherwise you're cooking alfresco in the rain!
The bed is massive and really comfy with a great storage space underneath,and the hardtop floorspace is a good size when just the main unit is in use.
We had the rear extension which we used as a dressing room/bathroom and thus made the unit huge - possibly too big for two lol.
One thing we found disappointing was the poles in the main unit that extended up to tension the roof (hard to explain but you will know what I mean if you look at a model in the flesh). They weren't the strongest,they seemed to bend quite easily in tough weather and made it difficult when packing the unit up as it made releasing the poles quite hard.
Hope this helps
Rachel
Thank you for your comments, very helpful. We sold our Trigano Oceane 315 GL because it was too big and kitchen heavy. However it was a sturdy tent, it was interesting to see your comments on main unit, we had poles bend after a severe windy night so will take that on board. Have looked at the Camplet but you have to crawl into the bed from the end, so that puts me off, I had knee replacement when I was 43 so crawling is not an option! Looking forward to the NEC in October to see them "in the flesh" Shame our car has a 1.6 engine I think a caravan would be better.
We also looked at Camplet's but I preferred the Alpha as the main sleeping unit could be all sealed in to keep out the beasts lol. We can highly recommend dealing with Chris from Black Country Caravans who has fantastic knowledge and patience and is very honest and helpful.
I notice you mention the engine on your car, have you actually looked at the kerb weight etc on your car? There are quite a few lightweight caravans out there than can be towed by cars with smaller engines. What towcar.com is a good website to look at towing capabilities
Rachel
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Topic: Trigano Alpha advice wanted please
