can anyone help with choosing a caravan i am looking for a new van and want a double dinette am looking at an olympus 504 or the sterling europa 545 has anyone got either of these vans any comments good or bad would help please before i hand over my cash at the NEC show
We looked at the new Bailey unicorn,(Barcelona ) last week.compared to our knaus everything seems so plastic looking and cheap.now waiting to see new swifts,were after van with fixed bed.trouble is I think it's going to be hard to find something with the build quality of our knaus.
I think bailey with a high turn over with new people coming into caravaning are just shoving their vans out.Inspection at the end of the line is failing and i find their vans inside are not as well built as the older models want a good van ? then buy german or french.
Hi Chris, we are a Bailey owner family and love it to bits, we went to our dealership the other day and in the showroom was the Sterling Europa 545-(I think it was that one, it has a back to front C dinette at the back but it could be a bed)WOW WOW WOW--absolutley loved it, we liked the idea of the double dinette that if we were away alone-we vould make up the back bit just after tea and leave it as a bed, but you could also leave it as a seating area for reading/crosswording/newspaper readding etc even playing games with the kids. We absolutley loved it and would not hessitate changing our van for this but their is a weight issue where we are concerned-it is near our max, beautiful van, loved the rear washroom too- welikie our Bailey for that, hubby says if our numbers come up on the Lottery we will definatley be changing for one of these and changing the car.. Good Luck in your decision-it is hard but prioratise things. IS it just for you and the mrs? we looked at the new Unicorns-crap! sorry to be blunt, these are for couples of an elder age, no kiddies, and who camp on hardstanding and electric. not for us who are C&CC members and THS camp in fields. Just my opinion I know but when they decide to plan caravans get real people who DO use them for ideas. cheers gary
Let's put things in perspective , there are many satisfied Bailey owners on this forum who never make there opinions known and unfortunately there are a number of Pegasus and Olympus owners who have had problems with there vans and understandably unhappy so voice there grievances but that does not mean ALL Alu-tech Construction vans are plagued with faults .
If your considering a new van either Bailey / Sterling go and look both and make up your own mind and speak to your local dealership and voice your concerns
Quote: Originally posted by Gary Eaves on 19/9/2010
Hi Chris, we are a Bailey owner family and love it to bits, we went to our dealership the other day and in the showroom was the Sterling Europa 545-(I think it was that one, it has a back to front C dinette at the back but it could be a bed)WOW WOW WOW--absolutley loved it, we liked the idea of the double dinette that if we were away alone-we vould make up the back bit just after tea and leave it as a bed, but you could also leave it as a seating area for reading/crosswording/newspaper readding etc even playing games with the kids. We absolutley loved it and would not hessitate changing our van for this but their is a weight issue where we are concerned-it is near our max, beautiful van, loved the rear washroom too- welikie our Bailey for that, hubby says if our numbers come up on the Lottery we will definatley be changing for one of these and changing the car.. Good Luck in your decision-it is hard but prioratise things. IS it just for you and the mrs? we looked at the new Unicorns-crap! sorry to be blunt, these are for couples of an elder age, no kiddies, and who camp on hardstanding and electric. not for us who are C&CC members and THS camp in fields. Just my opinion I know but when they decide to plan caravans get real people who DO use them for ideas. cheers gary
Real people who use them for ideas ? please elaborate ?
all i would say is that the current range has a stinking reputation for quality.if it was me i would avoid bailey like the plague .good luck in making your decision
We bought a Sterling Europa last year at NEC from Kimberley Caravans Notts,cos we liked the spec.V happy with.it.few teething problems or advice well dealt with by Richard at Kimberley Caravans, Also we live in Lancashire so we thought it would be a pain if anything cropped up but its been sorted by local swift dealer.(only a seal on bathroom door)
If you are interested in the Europa 545, be sure to check out the dealer special versions of this van, as well as the Charisma (same layout, different colour scheme).
The dealer special versions will give you a number of extras which do represent good value. We bought a dealer special of the Europa 550 and I wouldn't want to be without all the additional features. If the budget and weight limits allow - I would definitely recommend a dealer special. There will be plenty of these variants at the NEC show.
Thank you all please keep em comin in it's not about who's best just wanted to know if Anyone has any experience of the new models as I already have a 2004 Bailey pageant and want to upgrade.... Thanks for your reply Gary
no probs chris- everyone is entitled to their own opinion -- others help just gives you some guidance, of course you should see both vans and make your own mind up. Good luck in what you choose and we hope you have many many happy caravanning outings in it. cheers gary
We thought long & hard about parting with our hard earned cash and the GT60 ticked all our boxes. The sterling was a contender also but was a little over our budget & would have meant borrowing a small amount of cash to get this but to be honest once we were at the show the bailey was the only one on our list we went back to look at twice & did the deal there & then. Me personally, i love the olympus & could have plumped for this but my OH wouldn't entertain it until its been out on the market for about a year, then all the teething problems are ironed out.
I'm sure there are faults on all makes of caravan but you hear about certain brands more than others, maybe this is because there are more caravans sold by certain manufacturers than others ??
I think you need to have a walk around some & i think you'll know which van is for you as soon as you walk in.
grumbleflick- we too really love the GT60 Ranger, but our money circumstances were not viable to change from our loved bailey ranger 510/4 so we are staying with our original girl--we love her to bits, the only reason we looked at the sterling and like that is better quality--but that comes at a weight issue problem for us with the car, each to their own and how your purse strings stretch. We keep looking at the GT60 whenever we go to our dealers and 'wish' but is it better the devil you know. gary
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Topic: new caravan bailey or sterling
