Hi, we've been fancying an Olympus (525 or 534) for a while now but we have a few concerns, How efficient is the lighting at night due to a lack of mains lighting? How good is the u shaped seating? ( I dont fancy paying £280 for an optional chest). Is there a problem with high noseweights?
Personally, I like the layout of the 534 - we have a Sancerre and the layout is similar. One thing that concerns me personally about the Olympus 534 is that it is about 4" narrower than the Sancerre and the Pegasus 534. It seems to me that the 4" reduction has basically been achieved by cutting down the 'practical floor space'. This means that the passage through to the rear washroom, between the fixed double bed and the wardrobe is about 4" narrower. IMHO this makes it quite a tight squeeze (in my case!!!) and would be the main reason I would not choose the Olympus as an alternative to the Sancerre or the Pegasus (or Unicorn equivalent). Have a careful look at this before you decide - compare the Olympus and the Pegasus versions of the 534. You are less likely to find a Sancerre now. See what you think, but check it out.
If the U shaped seating is what you want, then, again check it out. I find the front (across) bit of seating a little narrow for an adult, but may be OK for a child. Taking the back cushions off makes more room for sitting but is not comfortable for the back. Although the Sancerre (and the 534 equivalent) are a 4 birth van, they are more ideally suited as a two birth. We use it as a 3 birth and is perfectly OK, but we like our space and always put an awning up.
Noseweight is fine when the van is loaded, but in any case, it is always a good idea to invest in a good quality noseweight gauge - we have the Millenco one and are very pleased with it. We have also upgraded the MTPLM of the van so we can legally put more stuff in it without being overweight. (Possible to do by payment of a fee and by putting a little more air in the caravan tyres.)
Thats very interesting David, I had no idea that you can alter the MPTLM
Stew
There is a little leeway in the weights of vans and the manufacturers tent to quote a lower MTPLM that is 'possible' in order to make the van easier to market. I does depend on how much the manufacturer has 'under-valued' the weight of the van. We were allowed to upgrade ours from 1435kg to 1500kg. There are some vans where the manufacturers will not allow an upgrade. I seem to remember there was someone on here whose van was something like 1495kg, but as the manufacturer could only allow 1500kg (because of the caravan chassis), they wouldn't allow an upgrade. If you are interested, you will need to contact your dealer and ask what is possible. It does cost - surprise, surprise!!) Bailey tend to be expensive and charge about £60-70 (but they do supply a new weight sticker, new NCC document, and two largish special decal/stickers for the van to say that you have upgraded). Some are much cheaper, and from what I remember at lest one manufacturer were offering a free upgrade if done within the first year of purchase from new.
On our first Bailey we were able to upgrade the mtplm from 1179 to 1250, but our last two have had factory mtplm figures of 1482 & 1480 respectively so have not been upgradable.
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Topic: Bailey Olympus
