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Hello all,

Anyone heard of Harringtons caravans? with a special called a Blakemere? found one for sale looks great except it has a bike rack on it - that puts me off a bit what do others think? Its a long drive for us so don't really want to go all that way and not want it - himself will go mad.

Thanks

Harringtons is our closest dealership but is now part of the Discover leisure group. It was a highly respected family owned company when it was Harringtons and it ran this range of caravans for many years. Harringtons is situated in Delamere an area of Cheshire renowned for its meres. Hence the name. Sorry I cant help with which model Swift the Blakemere is but it should be on a plate on the van so perhaps the owners can help. I only know that we had a 89 Swift Silhouette in the early 90's and and the mere range at Harringtons was also the "ette" range at the time but I dont know if it was the same for later models.

I am not a cyclist so I wouldnt make use of a bike carrier and probably wouldnt buy a van with one fitted for that reason. It cant be removed and the bodywork repaired without going to great expense and the rack would just be extra weight on the back of the van and we are already restricted weight wise.

Carol

The Swift Blakemere was a dealer special created specifically for Harringtons Caravans - based on the Allouette model apparently.  Google shows there are a few around ...

I did not think bike racks were a good idea on caravans (assuming it is on the back) as unlike motorhomes, caravan sidewalls do not generally have the rigidity or strength to support the weight of a rack and the bikes (they are only a thin piece of ply, polystyrene and even thinner aluminium or GRP after all).  In addition the weight would also potentially unbalance the van when towing.

Nice looking caravan (we have an older Swift) but the bike rack would put me off I'm afraid ....