Alan Stanley

It is very simple to program the Aldi to give you automatic temp changes you can set the clocks as we do for example SWMBO likes to sleep in a fridge so the night mode is set to 12deg. With the hot water switched off. From 11 pm to 6 am ( saves gas / electric) 6am it’s programmed to 19 deg and water on ( warms up van, but not to much) 7.30 am to day time temp. About 21. (Nice toasty showers) these timings are kept in memory (battery back up pack needed) so on arrival we hit the on button and choose. Electric or gas or both Bailey worked very closely with Aldi on the installation design and warm ups are now much more rapid. Our mk 3 Valencia takes about half the time our mk 1 did. Friends with the mk 4 say it’s even quicker. As you you are considering chipping sodbury caravans I have a suggestion. The BAILEY OWNERS CLUB are having their AGM rally on Stratford race course site on 10 to 13 Oct. pop along and ask the members. I guarantee you will get a friendly reception and once experienced ALDI is a revelation SWMBO puts it forcefully. No Aldi no SWMBO

There is a kit on the market see here. http://www.capricorn-controls.com/products.php?cat=15&pid=Water Wizard Very impressed with a fiends van that has fitted it. Very tempted (If we keep the van) to fit this winter. Will be interested in what you come up with.

In the first 30 days you have the right to reject goods that are not of satisfactory quality. Given your description, then a caravan that you can not use from day one is evidently not of satisfactory quality. Give the dealer written notification a.s.a.p that you are rejecting the van and want a refund. Look here. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-statutory-rights-are-there-under-a-goods-contract/enacted If they are like most dealers they will do every thing in their power to prevent this. Many seem to think the law does not apply to them. it does. If you then choose to take delivery of the repaired van, then make sure you have read and know your rights. After 30 days it is a lot more difficult, though not impossible to get satisfaction. Time is of the essence in these matters.

The Alde pipes are well inside the cover which does not get hot enough to burn. Early models of the Unicorn had wooden trunking down at floor level so this did make the 'bed shuffle' a bit tight. Swift had them at a more sensible shin height for a long time Now Bailey have lifted theirs to shin level and it is much easier to pass by. Even easier is the 8ft wide vans that everyone is now doing. Plenty of room but at a price.

The very early mk 4 unicorn had a number of things that were quickly altered. They had a bbq point on the off side. Exterior lockers near the door (later moved to under the window) and interior lighting changes. Wouldn’t expect the 2018 to have any of these but you never know how long it was in stock. They were all changed following talks with the owners club at the factory.

FThe half moon pop up was quickly dropped in favour of the pull out. You would have to check each van from the early production runs. Some of them could have been in dealers stock for months. It was a stupid idea (imho) as it required special bedding, unless you were going to leave the bed out all the. Time. And it made access to the storage difficult.

There is a screw on the inside of the handle. Use a small mirror and you can see it. I can’t remember if it was cross head or an Allen key but the mirror will tell you. Tighten it and the problem is solved. Take it right out and the handle will fall apart revealing the fixing brackets, if it’s like the other concealed fixings I’ve dealt with over the years I’ll have a look at ours next chance I get. Ours was solved in two ticks a couple of years back and remains fine ever since.

To say nothing of the tiny 'Gas' allowance. Weight is by far the biggest bone of contention across all makes. One cause being the outdated 85% advice ( note advice not a rule) So customer A. His cars 85% advice says 1500 kgs. His car is plated for say 1800 kgs. He picks out a van that he likes. It weighs in at 1350 kgs with a max of 1500 kgs. Dealer promptly checks Towsure or similar advisory program. vans max is O.K. for his car. Smiles all round. Identical van still weighing 1350kgs empty, but with an axle to take say 1700 kilos max. Oh you can't possibly tow that van sir it's far to heavy for your car. An correct answer would be Yes you can tow that sir but please be aware of the fact, it will if loaded to 1700 kgs be close to your cars maximum. Then give the Caravans Club maximum advice. But the manufacturers will not market the vans with that amount of payload because the salesmen / Caravan Club / Idiot in the bar say you 'can't tow it with your car'. Result loss of sale, add in the Driving licence (sometimes) weight restrictions and the whole thing is a farce. What it means in the real world is a high proportion of vans being taken out overloaded and illegal.

Yes. Check the filters fitted into the spouts of the taps. (mine just unscrew with finger pressure.)They get clogged up and cause back pressure as well as loss of water flow.

I can remember similar covers being used on continental vans in France and Spain during the 1970s and 80s Their was even one on the market that had a blow up section to 'streamline' the front of the van. Many British vans of that time did not have awning rails on both sides so it was probably not an option here. Many of the vans of that time also had either patterned alloy or stainless steel front lower panels to prevent the inevitable stone damage. Both my 'Silverline' vans from 1980 to 1989 had the 'upmarket stainless' front panels. With the advent of ABS and GRP front panels, with built in gas lockers, they fell out of favour. It was certainly the advent of the mark 1 ` Alu-tech' with it's soft aluminium that sparked the return. Since that time the use has grown ex-potentially, from my observations, across all makes.

As a lifelong ‘Isabella’ fan I will be interested in their new Air Awning. it is being revealed on the continent in a few days time will no doubt be at the NEC. Helping friends with their various makes of Air awnings I choose to stick with my Magnum thank you, but we all have our choices. Using the Magnum as a modular unit we have 1. An annex for storage 2. A sun canopy that fits on it or straight onto the van as needed 3. A cozy corner for SWMBO to shelter in Some purchased new. Some eBay. All will take years of use and still sell for a good price, such is the quality. Whatever you buy, buy quality it will bring a smile long after you have forgotten the cost. We’ve just purchased two Air beam shelters for my archery club and so far they are far better than the heavy ‘gazebo ‘ type we have just binned.

We use the heavy duty padded one. Brilliant if a substantial cost. Tow pro elite type. few years back suffered £1200 of damage plus a ruined holiday when a pheasant flew into front of van. Also had loads of stone damage over the years. Takes less than than two mins to fit (I can do it quicker but why rush). So far lasted 20k plus towing. Prior to this one we had the light weight ones but they only lasted 8 to 10k. So this one has worked out cheaper.

Practicalities 1. Contact Bailey and see if there is a solar input point to the harness. I’ll be surprised if 5er isn’t 2. You glue panels to the roof so no holes there 3. You can fun the cables across and then use the off side awning channel. Disadvantage is the length of cable. But no holes 4. Free standing just plug in and that can be into a socket mounted any where We have the standard roof mounted unicorn 100 w. Plus a 60 w free standing. I can monitor what is generated by each. They both go into a common 30amp controller Free standing far out performs the roof mounted. If you point it directly at sun and keep shifting it every hour or so. Go out for the day and it finishes up doing sod all. Overall the roof mounted actually out performs it during summer months. In winter the free standing, if moved is far better. Put both together like we do and you have a flexible efficient system. But at a cost. Have not needed Sparky the generator for last four years.

Bailey launched new range https://www.baileyofbristol.co.uk/caravans/discovery/discovery-d4-4 Some very interesting features. A different curvy development of the Body an awning rail that allows wrap around awnings. I e side and back of van all in one long front drawbar that allows bikes or storage box etc light weight and aggressively priced

On some of the covers the the latches have to slid upwards to release the covers as on our mk 3 Valencia. Yes they are very fragile things and ruddy expensive if you break them