by Caravan Times member Martin MacDonald
New and used caravan reviews can often be misleading if the writer hasn’t spent more than a few days inside the tourer. But here at Caravan Times we regularly receive live-in reviews from owners who have spent months with their second home and have truly spotted all their foibles.
Coming from a long line of caravan enthusiasts, Martin MacDonald knows what to look for in a quality tourer, and has spent months using his new Bailey caravan with his wife and young son.
My wife and I decided to upgrade from a trailer tent to a caravan earlier this year, after having our first son two years ago, and based on the amount of equipment we might “need”.
After a few visits to dealerships we kept returning to the Bailey Pegasus Ancona, the new single axle six-berth layout. We had three stipulations with a new van; a fixed bed for our son, an end bathroom, and it had to last the test of time.
The Ancona boasts three fixed bunks and a good size end bathroom. At 1,499kg max load, it is a little daunting to some and does require a mid-range 4×4 or a big estate to pull.
Exterior
The front of the van consists of the belly locker and two side lockers. The front locker is smaller than other ‘vans and houses two gas bottles, a few smaller items but not much else. The two side lockers are wet lockers with a drain, and are deceptively big.
The front legs are easily accessed; however the back legs are a little tricky to do. The nut is set quite a bit back from the edge of the van, so you have to get on your knees and poke around under the van to seat the winder.
The rear lights on the van are built into a unit that is attached to the corner of the van. This makes it simple to replace if anything goes wrong with the unit and doesn’t compromise the shell, reducing the chances of water ingress around the lights.
You can tell that sacrifices have been made though. For example, all the lights are bulb lights and I was expecting on a new van that they would be LED lights. But I guess they have to keep the cost down, and save something for the Unicorn models.
Interior
Moving inside, as a parent I look at things by means of child friendliness – and as this van is aimed at the family market, hopefully it helps.
