steamer Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Had a long & hard look at the 5th wheel celtic rambler yesterday - must say very impressed , what are the views of others on her about it & the other makes out there in the market place ? . looking for some feed back proir to taking it that step further . steamer . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljen Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Steamer We had a fifth wheel for a while, a Sun Valley,whilst they offer a lot of floor space and are well equiped, they are big. We had trouble getting onto some sites, although we always confirmed the size of unit. We didnt always get a suitable pitch which was easy to get onto when other units were parked opposite. We also had to be wary when filling up with fuel as some of those filling stations can be a bit tight to get out of. We found it very hard to manouvre at home as we drive in a long cul-de-sac and shunting around was fraught at least, combination of poor turning circle with 4x4 and the unit catching on the bulkhead of the pickup. The Celtic Rambler looks great and they have a different profile at the front which looks as if it should clear the roof of the pickup and that should make things a lot easier. Fit and finish looks superb in the Rambler. Will you find it easy to park at the house? we thought we could. Fraid cant offer advise on whether to buy or not, just be careful regards camp sites and parking at home Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Yes they are big! and I just don’t see the point.........You may as well get a well specified caravan, at least you can then use a vehicle of your choice. I had demountables on pickups for over 6 years, so not entirely prejudiced. I think a motorhome offers a better touring experience and will offer better resale *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-04-20 10:26 AM Yes they are big! and I just don’t see the point.........You may as well get a well specified caravan, at least you can then use a vehicle of your choice. I had demountables on pickups for over 6 years, so not entirely prejudiced. I think a motorhome offers a better touring experience and will offer better resale *-) Hmm so a well specified caravan comes with waste tanks, water tanks, generator, slides etc. Thats the point of buying one and not a caravan I would have thought. Olley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 interesting feedback , had some thoughts about petrol stations etc . had caravans for years & went & bought kontiki last year - great van but would like to have comfort of van & freedom of travel as well - yes we want it all ! (lol) . expensive jump so want to get it right . keep the thoughts coming steamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 steamer - 2009-04-20 1:13 PM interesting feedback , had some thoughts about petrol stations etc . had caravans for years & went & bought kontiki last year - great van but would like to have comfort of van & freedom of travel as well - yes we want it all ! (lol) . expensive jump so want to get it right . keep the thoughts coming steamer Have you considered towing a small car instead? We did, but ended up with electric bikes which fit in our motorhome garage. A combination of cycling, public transport, taxi's and hire cars does it for us....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Yes we have considered that option but if truth be known we in this day & age looking to reduce vehicles standing around , the fifth wheel towing vehicle would replace 2 others & have the advantage of going through the books as a commercial vehicle - this cookie aint giving it all to mr darling & rabble . but - there is a lot of other aspects to consider yet . steamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatterdog Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Celtic rambler lovely van but dont bother unless you are going to use a yank to pull it. Its overweight thats one of the reasons for air brakes instead of the electro-magnetic ones. A european pickup will have to be chipped and have extra leaf springs fitted to compensate the pin weight, and overall weight. Stick with a 5th wheeler that has a pin weight the european pickups can handle, Check out calder leisure.co.uk and niche-marketing.net. Their vans come within the pin weight for a european pickup, also make sure if you get one it comes with either a slider hitch for reversing or an extended pin box both these will give the double cab clearance. My outfit pictured, the van is from niche and is now a grand old lady so to speak as the van is 10yrs old this year, it has an extended pin box and i now pull it with an isuzu 2.5 doublecab, my origional vehicle was a nisan d22 but it didnt have the guts for long hills. this one doesnt bat an eye at hills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow-Chasers Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I suppose as a compromise, compass and i think north star are a couple of make of off road caravans. They are fairly large, and have slide outs. Bit of a cross-over between the two! Luxury caravan with slideouts but smaller and more user friendly for uk roads. That is one draw back over here with a fifth wheel i suppose, is booking a great site and finding it has a tight entrance, or a dodgy road going in! I recall having kittens going to a devon camp when i had my old caravan which was a long twin wheel, when i found it was down 12 miles of single track! Wouldn't fancy that with a a fifth wheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 But the finish and build quality of these USA trailers is very poor IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatterdog Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 might have to dissagree with you there judge, i think youll find the spec on the uk compliant ones good along with the interrior/exterior finish, the roofs have a 12yr warranty, mines 10 years old now and no damp corners or panels what length warranty do european caravan/m.home manufacturers give against water ingress via roof seams etc. At the end of the day its all down to choice, I confess i like my comfort and space and a 5th wheel unit certainly has that, along with no worries about ever being anywhere near, let alone over the payload even with a full water tank, and i dont have to do minimalistic when it comes to loading it for a long trip. No having to decide what item is needed/used more than another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Unless they have improved dramatically recently I found them very poor. Walls that flex dramatically, stuffed with fibreglass and not a proper European sandwich construction. Single gazed windows, cheap domestic style kitchens and an overall cheap interior compared to quality German built motorhomes. The rambler is a much better product but like you say it is big and presumably heavy........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 chatterdog - 2009-04-20 5:34 PM Celtic rambler lovely van but dont bother unless you are going to use a yank to pull it. Its overweight thats one of the reasons for air brakes instead of the electro-magnetic ones. A european pickup will have to be chipped and have extra leaf springs fitted to compensate the pin weight, and overall weight. Stick with a 5th wheeler that has a pin weight the european pickups can handle, Check out calder leisure.co.uk and niche-marketing.net. Their vans come within the pin weight for a european pickup, also make sure if you get one it comes with either a slider hitch for reversing or an extended pin box both these will give the double cab clearance. My outfit pictured, the van is from niche and is now a grand old lady so to speak as the van is 10yrs old this year, it has an extended pin box and i now pull it with an isuzu 2.5 doublecab, my origional vehicle was a nisan d22 but it didnt have the guts for long hills. this one doesnt bat an eye at hills. Now thats what ineeded to hear - thanks , that bit of info certainly opens the debate up , we own our own engineering co with body/coach build previous experience - intesresting to compare prices with welsh & competitors - 30% cheaper . I must admit i was concerned about the weight of the rambler - not that i have driven it yet . as for the looks - rambler wins , interior - pro's & cons , the one they are offering as their demo unit @ 70k includes a nissan adventura 09 ( about to be replaced with a revamped model ) & my mind is there is no deprecation included , so buying it at this moment is debateable . the rambler isn't dead yet - good reviews , so a lot of thinking to do . Steamer as it is the rambler costs are a bit too high for me to continue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow-Chasers Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Check what oil the nissan has been using, and make sure the axle has been done! I am a bit of a nissan man, but the new ones are having probs since they got into bed with renault. Axles pop fairly regularly (so do the drive shafts on the cars because renault make them!) Also the engine runs on it's own oil which is nissan only (7.5) It is that expensive that most dealers don't even use it! Most will use 5w or 10w. This causes problems if you don't change it with the seasons though, or use in conjunction with your areas atmospherics (thinner in colder etc) Which is their main other problem with bottom ends dropping out at regularly intervals. Having said that i do swear by nissan! Just a shame renault stuck their nose in! My last nissan patrol is still going, and when i sold it had done 576,000 with no probs - but that was all jap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 In Germany you can get a 3500KG version of the Nissan pickup....it is imported from Spain I believe. not sure it this would help at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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