Hello,
Does anyone here have a Cabanon Malawi? I'd be interested to hear any thoughts/experiences on this TT. We were originally set on the Mercury but after a visit to the showroom were quite taken with the Malawi as it looks a bit more flexible/modular. We are a family of 3 (2 adults + 1 6 year old), so would be looking at getting the bedroom annex.
Quote: Originally posted by iscacamper on 10/11/2017
Hello,
Does anyone here have a Cabanon Malawi? I'd be interested to hear any thoughts/experiences on this TT. We were originally set on the Mercury but after a visit to the showroom were quite taken with the Malawi as it looks a bit more flexible/modular. We are a family of 3 (2 adults + 1 6 year old), so would be looking at getting the bedroom annex.
Thanks!
We've not had a Malawi or a Mercury but have had a Cabanon Manga and a Raclet Moovea (very similar to the Malawi), so can give a bit of a comparison between the 2 and 4 berth models and different pitching styles.
We had the Manga first but rarely used the second bed and found it necessary to use a Quechua base seconds (pop-up utility/day room) as somewhere to put the table and chairs for overnights and short stays, when we didn't want the faff of pitching the awning.
The Manga was relatively quick and easy to pitch with 2 people helping (if you have one person at the front and one at the back, it's not difficult to raise the frame or fold or unfold the canvas on the cabin on this type of TT). Hanging the bedroom inners and roof lining was a bit of a pain (they clip up with metal 'S' hooks) and the benches are better used as part of the beds than as a sitting or dining area. There's virtually no living space in the cabin area so, if you're using this without the awning and get poor weather, you basically have to sit on your beds. We didn't like that the beds sit on 2 metal poles with feet and these can and do move sometimes when you roll over in bed (which can be a bit disconcerting), so we made wooden pads with the middle bit drilled out to try and anchor the feet. I never felt entirely secure on this style of bed.
We then got a Raclet Moovea with side bedroom annex (intended for when the grandchildren came with us) and sun canopy (which fits on the cabin front and/or awning front - we didn't go for the awning). For us, that worked far, far better than the Manga because it was quicker and easier to pitch and provided an immediate, reasonably-sized side awning with ZIG. We could get this unit up and pegged out in around 20 minutes, which was ideal for short stays and overnights (we like to tour, rather than stay somewhere for an extended period). The slatted base bed could be left made up with bedding (bliss!) and no need to hang the bedroom inner as it just folded out with the canvas, as seems to be the case with the Malawi? The underbed storage was another bonus.
The only reason we parted with the Moovea is that, for us, the bed wasn't long enough. And, if I'm honest, the quality wasn't up to Cabanon standard.
Personally, of the two models you've mentioned, I'd go for the Malawi. I do think it's a much more versatile unit and so much better for short stays, when you can use it without the awning. You don't have to use the bedroom annex either, as someone can sleep in the integral awning if you want a quick setup (we did this with the Moovea on a couple of occasions and it worked fine).
Thanks lidds0, that's very useful. We do like the idea that the Malawi is potentially usable without the awning for short trips, whereas the Mercury lacks living space and storage in the cabin. The large storage area under the bed on the Malawi also looks like a big bonus!
Hi, are you still looking for a Cabanon Malawi? We have a 2015 one (red and cream) which we are thinking of selling. Has kitchen, various annexes and extras. Really large, comfortable bed and masses of storage space. It is easy to put up, especially the main bit, but as we are getting older we find getting down on the floor to do the groundsheet and reaching up to put the poles in the awning hard work, especially in the heat. I want to keep it but my husband says it is silly having it and barely using it! It has had very little use and is in excellent condition.
Hi, it hasn't been advertised yet as we have only just started thinking about it and found this post when trying to get an idea of what else is around to compare it to. We would be looking to get at least £4000 as it has hardly been used and comes with extras such as a large clothes storage unit, a Thetford Cube 365 portapotti and other things I can't remember as we haven't used it for well over a year! We are in the Newark area if you are interested.
Sorry, your asking price is too high and we don't really want a model with kitchen (all adds to the set up time). Thanks for responding though and best of luck with the sale.
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Topic: Cabanon Malawi
via mobile 26/4/2021 at 8:09am
