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hi everyone

myself my husband 2 kids and 2 dogs started touring this summer.We started off with a lovely little bailey ranger 470/4 1999.since the beg of the season our whole family have fell in love with touring and go every wk end without fail..however the only downside has been the van being feeling a little small so we have decided to upgrade.

Today we have found the perfect van for us the bailey ranger 620/6, it is 2010 model and looks brand new as it has had little use.We paid the deposit and cant wait to pick her up.....however one little oversight on our part is that it hasnt got an alko stabilizer on it...is that a major  issue with a large van? we have only noticed this issue tonight looking again at the photos in the advert of van (and havent spoken to dealer about it as of yet)

Also it would be really helpful if anyone has any advice comments or general info they could pass on about this model, as we cant afford to make a mistake in the choice (will be paying for it for 4 yr) owwch!

so please everyone...pass on yr knowledge tonight :) please...lol

thanks for the reply grumbleflick

my thoughts exactly...it is only when my husband was yet again looking at the photos the dealer had emailed to our email that my husband noticed it didnt have one....by that time the dealership had closed,he is now worried as he isnt the most exp tower...and we are stretching it to the limit to buy the van...so the thought of having to pay to get one fitted is gutting...should i attach a photo?? (we arent really experienced in caravans and might be missing something so hubby just said to attach one of front incase he is missing it or being dumb..lol)

thanks for the reply fatbelly

I couldnt seem to find that info any wr (if it was fitted as standard or not) so thanks again

We have an alko fitted to the van we have now (ranger 1999 model) can it be taken off and put on the new one do u think? or does a new van need a new stabilizer..

looking at new costs now of stabilizers and they are around 350...(groan) :(

thanks for looking at info for me grumblewick..much appreciated

ive being searching the net all night on the same thing and coming up with nothing too..we been sat saying to each other surely it has some type of stabilizer on it...unless they just expect people to buy them when they get them new...but saying that it must have something as the van is pre owned and has been used....so previos owner had to tow it with something safe....hmmm...

the dealer will be getting a phone call at 9am...and hopefully our hopes of affording it dont get flushed down the loo...lol...

Thanks for the advice anyway..ill post tommorow on my news after we have spoken to the dealer...

any other good or bad comments about the model would be appeciated too (like any known problems etc)

Its taken a month or searching out the right set up for our family...so just looking for other peoples views on this model to totally help our piece of mind that the choice is a good one :)

yeah i agree grumblwick..its lovely to have a site wr you can ask peoples advice and chat in general about the caravans (see you have a gt60...nice!!!!)...i was originally looking for the gt60 version but couldnt afford the extra just yet because we wr going for the fixed bed & twin dinnett model...it was also very hard to find anyone with a gt60 a yr old for sale (all gone within a wk of advertising...that speaks volumes!!!)

The only dif we have noticed is no fitted microwave alloys or cd player (and now stabilizer..lol)....(and 2000 cheaper of course...so i was like a kid in a candy shop when i saw it today)

we are totally addicted to touring now...and have met some great people along the way :)

nice to meet you claire..im wendy by the way

sounds like yr like us,,every time i have pulled onto a site and seen a gt60 im like...owwww loooook....lol (even my 2 boys do it now..ha ha bless them)

so today when they came in from school they wr so excited to be told we wr getting the bailey (not the gt60...but affordable at the min) ranger..but it is very similar and such a stunning looking caravan.

Hopefully the dealer might be able to sort us a deal out on an alko..very doubtfull he would just put one on and not loose deal as my husband drove a very hard bargin today with him and managed to knock off 750 off a very low price anyway....but hopefully he will come up with a solution (or bang goes my awning order...lol..well for now anyway)

do you use an awning claire? i do on the small bailey we have...and can only imagine we would still need one to store stuff in plus we have dogs so...prob a must with newer van (spinger and a chihuahua...who also has 3 puppies at the min)

thanks for the link hack saw bob

seems the disussion is 50/50 on the need for a stabilizer and safety issues or even the need for one.As my husband is not a very expeienced tower(less than 1 yr) he feels the need for the alko is a must...although some people have posted on the thread it makes no dif and its really all about towing safe..speed..ratio..etc....so maybes just for piece of mind we would have to have one fitted (as if we didnt it would prob make my husband nervous to tow......and me a wittering wreck lol)

I will ask him to read the link tomorrow tho...so he can make his mind up...thanks for the post