Caravan wishlist

[Administrator]

As you read this, caravan manufacturers in the UK and abroad are set to launch their 2011 models...what innovations are you hoping to see in this year's latest caravans?

[Voowar]

Underfloor heating and huge panoramic sunroofs would get my vote ...not sure whether they'd be beneficial to payloads and privacy though! :-D

[Dave225]

Being a bit of an old f..t I woudl like to see quality improved in general. Far too many UK built outfits have far too many problems and use poor quality fittings.

 

However, I suspect that would not sit well with the manufacturers as they could follow the example of Eriba Hymer pop tops where owners kept the vans indefinitely as they were so well bult. Poor Eriba Hymer went to the wall unfortunately.

[Ocsid]

Dave225 - 2011-02-19 8:51 PM

 

Poor Eriba Hymer went to the wall unfortunately.

 

Not so sure that they have, they are still offered by Hymer Europe; -

 

http://www.hymer.com/cms/en/caravans/Touring.html

 

In part I agree with the poor quality dished out by the industry and would like to see it improve.

Unfortunately the buying public though want a low "bottom line" and all the quality makers of old have commercially failed. So even those prepared to pay for quality find it difficult if not impossible to find.

We have a Hymer "S" which is far better than most and its technology is good but still in quality of execution second rate to our earlier Castleton.

[Dave225]

You could be right. Eriba Caravans wer made in France and production was indeed closed down. However, it is possible Hymer have moved some of it back to Germany to keep at least part of it going. If so, i am pleased as they are really cute and very well built vans. However, my wife would not let me buy one as she felt I would always bang my head on the lip of the pop top. Have you noticed that the smallest Puck models seem to have owners who are at least 6 feet tall or more. It does beg the question of how they fit, but they love 'em.

 

My own van was made by Tirus now also gone to the wall, but for a mass produced van was extremely well made, with excellent payload in excess of 300 kg. So far it has shown no signs of damp or any major failures after 6 years of good use. One of the things that attracted us was the fact that there was only a 3 burner hob. No oven or the huge lump of a cooker that dominates UK outfits. I have never seen where anyone could actually store all the saucepans to be able to use all the burners and the only ones who seem to use the ovens are those on non EHU rallies. Their choice, but not mine. I also have the longer A Frame which does allow more stability when towing and gives you room to actually work between van and car. Defi nitely something the UK market should look at. However, they seem to prefer microwaves and other unecessary gizmos.