Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Practical Caravan

‘Coachman knows a thing or two about building upmarket caravans, and the 2018 VIP boasts a raft of refinements’Niall Hampton page 84 Where are we? Tickton Grange Hotel, Beverley, East Yorkshire What’s going on? We’ve headed north for our first sight of the 2018-season Coachman models, and have taken an early peek at the stunning tourer that we’re giving away to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Practical Caravan and 30 years of Coachman Caravans. For a chance to win, turn to page 24 Which outfit? Alastair Clements towed the all-new Coachman VIP 460 with our Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line 2.0 TDI 4MOTION 190PS DSG…

“As caravanners, we are already one step along the road towards better health” AS ONE WHO, a few years back, celebrated the same momentous birthday as your favourite magazine is in 2017, one of the more surprising outcomes of my recent three weeks in I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! was an improvement in my health. If you had told me I’d say that before I started my bug-eating, rice-and-bean-torturing, alcohol- and caffeine-free, calorie-limited adventure, I’d have said your thoughts were dodgy! But here I am, eight months on, still keeping off most of the two stone in weight I lost, and still not using the inhaler I’d previously used to control asthma since childhood. It wasn’t just the personal changes I found startling; it was the relatively…

1 Fill your fuel tank before you hitch and drive down the motorway. Filling up at the service stations with the van attached is much harder. 2 Think of your route. Your sat-nav isn’t particularly friendly when it comes to choosing wide roads in quaint parts of the country. 3 Take snacks and games for the kids. You’d be surprised how long a journey takes when towing. 4 Make sure your noseweight is OK before leaving. Your boot’s already weighing the car down! 5 Take awning pegs. The plastic ones that come with the awning can be useless. Buy metal ones that look like eight-inch nails and use a proper hammer (water on the soil to soften it also helps). 6 Take a watering can. Filling the toilet is much…

Definitely not lovin’ it “Deciding it’d be fine to pull into a McDonald’s car park in Belgium with the van, then coming out to discover it was a lot busier than when we went in… Getting out was a nightmare.” Dreams down the drain “We were looking forward to a stay at Sandy Balls as guests of the park owners. I’d come with a brand-new twin-axle press caravan. It was warm and sunny, and my family and I had high hopes. However, on the first evening, after a very enjoyable tea, I was washing up when I noticed the floor was soaking and a trail of food waste was drifting towards the front locker. I opened the sink cupboard to find that the drainpipe had fallen away and the washing-up…

1 Beer The beer market in Denmark is dominated by Carlsberg and Tuborg, two mega-brands that are sold all over the world. When in Copenhagen, why not take a tour of the factory? Web www.visitcarlsberg.com 2 Lego Perennially popular building bricks enjoyed by children and adults the world over, and also the inspiration for a hugely successful cartoon film franchise Web www.lego.com/en-gb 3 Smørrebrød Also known as the Danish open sandwich, smørrebrød is a piece of rye bread with delicacies like smoked salmon, roast beef, egg and prawn, smoked mackarel, or fennel and apple, heaped on top Web http://po.st/GNgYUV 4 Danish minimalism A movement at the cutting edge of home, product and industrial design. If this particular look floats your longship, then grab a quick fix at Copenhagen’s Danish Museum…

WHEN TO GO September, when you can usually be sure of some warm, settled weather. WAY TO GO The campsite is easy to find because the Pembrey Country Park is so well signed off the A484. FIND OUT MORE Nearest caravan accessories shop 3A’s Leisure Stephen’s Way Pensarn Carmarthen SA31 2BG Tel 01267 234 459 Web www.3asleisure.co.uk Llanelli Tourist Information Centre Millennium Coastal Park Visitor Centre, North Dock Llanelli SA15 2LF Tel 01554 777 744 Web www.showmewales.co.uk/ Laugharne Castle Kidwelly Castle Web http://cadw.gov.wales/ daysout Dylan Thomas Boathouse Dylan’s Walk, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire SA33 4SD Tel 01994 427 420 Web www.showme wales.co.uk Millennium Coastal Park Web www.discovercarmarthenshire.com/millennium-coastal-park/ Millennium Coastal Path Web www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/millennium-coastalpark-llanelli FOOD AND DRINK Pembrey Fish Bar Derlwyn Bungalow, Factory Rd, Burry Port SA16 0DZ Tel 01554 833 914 Excellent takeaway…

1 Between the peaks The Howardian Hills AONB is a rich tapestry of wooded hills and ridges, valleys and pastures in North Yorkshire, with pretty villages and historic houses. Web www.howardian hills.org.uk Stay at Robin Hood Caravan Park Web www.robinhoodcaravanpark.co.uk 2 Coastal retreat The undeveloped coastal area of Chichester Harbour AONB is a haven for wildlife among the tidal inlets and mudflats. It’s also popular for boating. Web www.conservancy. co.uk Stay at Fleet Farm Web www.hayling campsites.co.uk 3 Land of legend Experience glorious moorlands in the heart of Northern Ireland at The Sperrins AONB. The area is rich in folklore and archaeology to pique your interest. Web www.sperrins heritage.com Stay at Sperrin Mountains Caravan Park Tel 02881 662 288 4 Land of bone & stone Dorset AONB is one of the…

A designer who has already sold designs for a fold-up “caravan” you can tow with a bicycle has moved onto the real thing with designs for a pop-up caravan that weighs just 300kg. The Slidavan sits on an unbraked Norauto trailer and can be compressed down to be the same height as the average car roof. The design costs £50. Including two facing settees that can be made into six-foot beds, the Slidavan also packs a corner kitchen with sink and two-burner hob, a corner cabinet which could contain a chemical toilet, and a door at the back. Designer Robin Benjamin says the van, which is made up of panels of extruded polystyrene covered in wood and has a curved cloth-lined roof, is intentionally boxy. “It’s all very well designing…

Elddis Affinity 574 Price £20,899 Elddis’s upper mid-market range has appealing 2018 upgrades, and should be lighter and more affordable than the Pastiche. Lunar Lexon 570 Price £21,499 Lighter than the VIP 565, but with a larger payload, the Lexon 570 has received only subtle changes for the 2018 season. Swift Challenger 565 Price £19,655 Available at a reasonable discount, the Challenger has a lower weight than the Pastiche, bringing a range of lighter tow cars into play.…

Bailey Unicorn Seville (2017) Price £21,199 Virtually identical payload, but costs £2000 less. Lower MTPLM means a wider choice of tow cars. Coachman VIP 460 (2017) Price £22,905 Last year’s VIP 460 was actually lighter than the Conqueror 480. This gap is set to narrow when 2018’s weights are released. Lunar Clubman CK (2017) Price £22,899 Another rival with a lower weight than the 480 (184kg), but 2018’s version of the 480 will shed some kilograms in its new bodyshell.…

We’ve celebrated the past half century of touring and tourer tech, but where could we be in 50 years’ time? Here’s PC’s wish list for the future… Niall Hampton, editor I WAS VERY excited to see the revised Knaus Deseo in June. Its futuristic look, versatility and clever use of interior space (see p67) could attract a whole new generation of caravanners. Claudia Dowell, features editor My caravanning bête noire is hitching and unhitching. Surely there must be a better way of attaching car and caravan. I’ve actually suggested to manufacturers that they could develop a motorised system to drive a jockey ball instead of a wheel, as I think it would be easier to use on tricky surfaces, but so far none of them have called me back… Alastair…

OVER THE PAST few years, more and more cars are equipped with reversing cameras as standard. I find them invaluable, because they not only help me to line up the car and caravan accurately, but also be able to see something or someone small directly behind the car, which I possibly couldn’t do by looking over my shoulder or using the car’s mirrors. A (very) few high-end caravans come similarly equipped, but most factory-fitted camera systems use sat-nav screens as monitors, and many retro-fit systems have a separate screen, often mounted permanently on the dashboard. This can mean that you end up with another semi-permanent fixture in the car, even if it’s only the wiring to operate the monitor. However, there is an alternative: wireless systems, which use your mobile…

1 Token gestures At the 37th annual Durham Beer Festival you can expect a huge range of ales, ciders and perries, paid for by token. Date 31 Aug–2 Sept Web www.durhambeerfestival.org.uk Stay at Grange Caravan and Motorhome Club Site Web www.caravanclub.co.uk 2 Get steaming Combine two greats: railway events and quality ales at Crewe Rail Ale Beer Festival, where there will be mini train rides, steam engines and a vintage bus. Date 8–10 September Web www.southcheshire.camra.org.uk Stay at New Farm Cheshire Web www.newfarmcheshire.co.uk 3 Cheers to Wales Get to know the Welsh brewing scene at the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival, with both old favourites and interesting new brews from across the country. Date 21–23 Sept Web www.gwbcf.info Stay at Cardiff Caravan and Camping Park Web www.cardiffcaravanpark.co.uk 4 South Devon knows best…

IT’S HARD TO believe that the UK’s top-selling caravan magazine has been going this long, but it has – a testament to the team both past and present. In an ever-changing world Practical Caravan has always been at the forefront of caravan news, offering the reader all the latest views and reviews. So let’s dust off the archives and take a look back over half a century of giving caravanners what they need to enjoy their touring holidays. How did it all begin? The story starts back in the late 1950s when Caravan Life, based in Manchester, was published to cover the booming caravan industry from that part of the UK to the north of Scotland. It grew from a pocket-sized publication to the magazine you hold in your hands…

Azure by name… Phil Russell, freelance photographer “My pick is the incredible scenery on our 2015 tour of the Côte d’Azur.” Under the spell of Slovenia Al Clements, group head of content “Some of my very favourite caravanning tours have been close to home, when a short drive leads to a relaxing break. However, for me one of the greatest joys of touring is creating memories for my kids, so I turned to them and the verdict was unanimous: Slovenia. To be fair, they’ve got a point – the scenery was magical, and there was a real sense of adventure in visiting a place that we knew so little about.” Wild beauty in Scotland Jacki Buist, former editor  “One trip I particularly remember is a tour around Scotland that I…

Camping Ostseestrand Address Strandstrasse 21, DE-24257 Hohenfelde Tel: 00 40 (0) 4385 620 Web:›info@camping ostseestrand.de Open: 28 Mar-11 Oct This campsite is only a few minutes away from the beach, with stunning views across the Baltic Sea. Most of the pitches are grass and the sanitary facilities are excellent. There is also a good-value restaurant and a small shop and the campsite staff are very helpful and speak good English, too. Vejers Familie Camping Address Veyers Havvey› 15, DK-6853 Vejers Strand Tel: 00 45 7527 7036 Web:›ftj@vejersfamilie camping.dk Open: All year On the outskirts of the village and just a short walk to the beach, all 156 pitches are hard-standings. The campsite has an outdoor swimming pool, modern toilet blocks and a small shop that serves freshly baked bread and…

GERMAN MANUFACTURER KNAUS Tabbert clearly has its sights set on the UK, because for the 2018 season its budget Weinsberg brand is bringing out a range specifically for the UK market. The Weinsberg CaraOne UK line-up will be available with four models. The 390 QD, 400 LK, 550 UK and 740 UDF have layouts switched for the UK, plus an oven and larger windows than standard. The CaraOne UK range will be built on Al-Ko chassis. Also for 2018, Knaus is bringing its Travelino lightweight caravan into volume production. Designed to be around 40 per cent lighter than a comparable four-berth, the van also looks distinctive on the road. Knaus says its low weight makes it more environmentally sustainable, too , as it should be capable of being towed by…

WHEN A 1967 credit squeeze provoked a glitch in the UK economy, Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson devalued the pound. In Newmarket, Suffolk, major manufacturer Sprite Caravans held large storage compounds full of unsold stock. A massive boom in caravan manufacturers from the very early 1960s had seen sales climb as the average British family of four, with its Mk2 Ford Cortina, hitched up a tourer and headed off for a holiday or weekend break. A used tourer could set you back just £150, while site fees cost around 12p a night in today’s money. You were more likely to get on a site than not. In most cases you just turned up; there was no phoning ahead or going online in those days to book your pitch! Caravan sites…

Coachman Pastiche 565 Price £22,145 (2017) A tad dearer than the Affinity, but the MTPLM and payload are almost the same. See p82 for a first look of the 2018 Pastiche 565. Lunar Lexon 570 Price £20,699 (2017) Lighter MTPLM and larger payload than the Affinity 574, but retails for a similar price. Floor plan has the washroom at the rear. Swift Challenger 565 Price £19,655 (2017) Last year’s model was offered at a discount over the 574. The 565 is slightly lighter, with a higher payload, and a rear washroom.…

Bailey Pursuit 570-6 Price £16,499 (2017) The Pursuit’s price is now all-inclusive: no obligatory option pack here. The side-washroom 570 feels roomy, if a bit dated. Venus 590/6 Price £16,499 (2017) Light, at 1380kg with a 187kg payload, but not cheap – you’ll also have to stump up for the Plus Pack. No sunroof option. Xplore 586 Price £15,899 (2017) One of our favourite lightweight family vans, packing a lot into its 1350kg. Good value, but not as upmarket as a Sprite.…

Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCI 180 Titanium Tested by Niall Hampton Price £29,195 Kerbweight 1838kg Towing limit 2000kg Towball limit 90kg IN A NUTSHELL Our versatile tug shows its non-towing prowess FRESH FROM ITS SUCCESS at the Tow Car Awards ceremony, where it picked up our Best MPV gong and took pride of place alongside the other class and category winners outside the stunning Woburn Sculpture Gallery (after a much-needed valet), the S-Max has been busy. Our Motty borrowed the gold MPV for the week of the ceremony, and the keen cyclist marvelled once again at the big Ford’s ability to swallow his bike whole, without having to remove the front wheel. The S-Max proved its fantastic flexibility during the madness of tourer launch season, effortlessly switching between acting as a…

Škoda Superb 2.0 TDI PD 140 The towing ability of the Škoda is very good. There are normally only two of us plus a dog, so we never use the maximum payload allowance, making the van lighter than 1480kg. As always, careful loading of the van is required to achieve a stable drive, making use of the available space inside the car for luggage, TV etc. The whole outfit is fairly long because the Škoda is quite a lengthy car. Jac Škoda Superb 2.0 TDI 170 DSG Our experience of towing our Bailey Ranger 550/5 with this car for the past two years is excellent. We’ve just returned from a trip to Oban from the north-east and back. This included some fairly long sustained climbing and lots of twists and…

On the side of every caravan are some details that are essential to understand and which ensure the caravan is both safe and legal. Commonly referred as “the plate”, the information can vary from each manufacturer, but details such as the correct tyre size, tyre pressure, recommended noseweight and even the awning size can be displayed here. No two manufacturers display the same information in the same way. However, as a legal minimum all caravans will have the following information clearly displayed. Broken down into two areas, the plate will include weight values and the VIN (vehicle identification number). I will revisit the VIN in a future article, but for now let’s focus on the weight values. All the weights displayed are measured in kilograms (kg). Two weights appear on…

‘Look after your toilet and it will serve you well for the life of your caravan – a wide range of products will keep your loo clean” ONE MEMORY OF camping as a child was the ‘bucket and chuck it’ style toilet, which was better than having no toilet, but not a particularly pleasant experience. Fortunately, thanks to companies like Dometic, Elsan and Thetford, toilets have progressed at such a pace that we are now lucky enough to have water-flushing toilet systems and ‘holding tanks’ or ‘removable cassettes’ to conceal the effluent and smells. An external hatch allows the waste to be removed easily without having to intrude into the caravan’s living space. Just like the loo in your house, caravan toilets also need cleaning. However, you cannot use the…

Caravans up to £3000 Swift Archway Denford, 2003, two berth caravan, end washroom, good condition, many extras, £2500. Mr Foster, Luton, Beds. (01582 658651) Awnings Porch Star Camp 260 air porch awning, £250. 2 hand pumps, free with awning. 1 electric pump for awning, £60. Mrs Holmes, Pontypridd. (0788 106 7579) Telt Larsen 716 50000 poles, pegs, curtains, beige/brown, £100 ono. Mrs Milnes, Sheffield. (0114 248 8000) Ultima Aspire 260, praline colour, one pole slightly damaged, bag, pegs, draught skirt included, little used, good condition, £85, buyer collects. Mrs Tucker, Somerset. (0778 059 9387) Isabella Future 220 Sleep, suitable older Magnum (not Coal) and Ventura Marlin, awnings little used, £250 ono. Mr Cook, Solihull. (0121 744 6085) Isabella Magnum 250, carbon x poles, removable front and side panels, used for…

50 years of the best in caravanning CONGRATULATIONS to us for reaching our half-century, and a big thank you to all our readers for making it happen. To mark our 50th birthday, we’ve produced a bumper golden jubilee package that looks back over the magazine’s story so far. Plus, we’ve got together with Coachman – itself celebrating its 30th birthday, so more happy returns are in order – to offer our readers the chance to win a fabulous VIP 460 two-berth worth £24,000! Turn to page 24 for more details. It’s also hello to me – back from a shift on our sister title Practical Motorhome – and best wishes to Alastair Clements in his new role as our group head of content. Big thanks to Al for editing the…

Words of wisdom Price £189.99 Web www.kobo.com An eReader such as the Kobo Aura ONE is a convenient way to carry all of your favourite books with you and keep that payload down on tour, without reducing your choice of reading material – it has a storage capacity of 6000 books! This new model features ‘ComfortLight PRO’ technology, which is designed to reduce the blue light from the screen, something that can affect your sleep patterns, and it also claims to have the largest premium E-Ink display on the market, at 7.8 inches. You can even read while you float around on your lilo, because a coating on the Kobo means that it is waterproof for up to an hour, to a depth of up to two metres. The Kobo…

Dogs welcome in Cumbria GREAT HOUSES, GORGEOUS gardens and fascinating museums are often off-limits for our canine companions, but umbrella organisation Cumbria’s Living Heritage has now highlighted some dog-friendly places that pets can share with their humans. Among them is the 250-acre estate of Brantwood – home of Victorian art critic John Ruskin – where dogs are welcomed in the café with water bowls; and the Lake District Visitor Centre at Brockhole, where they are allowed on the Windermere Cruise boats. Water bowls and dog biscuits are available at National Trust property Allan Bank; they can also visit the walled gardens at Hutton-in-the-Forest and Mirehouse, the tearooms of Dove Cottage, and the Lakeland Motor Museum. For further dog-friendly venues, visit www.cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk. The social side of caravanning Club President Julia Bradbury…

“France’s enormous variety played a big part in my favourite trip – we took in rural Normandy, scrumptious treats in the Loire, the swirling waters of the Dordogne and finished by soaking up northern Spain’s culture.” Bryony Symes, staff writer “I loved my tour of the Alps with Rob [Ganley, former editor]. Salzburg and the Grossglockner mountain pass were breathtaking, with epic scenery and fabulous campsites. The cake in Austria was very good, too.” Liz Paterson, former art editor “Our trip to St-Émilion was a revelation for me. Seeing the wine cellars carved out of limestone beneath the vineyards was astonishing. There was even a whole church carved out beneath the town itself!” Simon Mortimer, art editor “My most memorable tour was to Norway around 1995, filmed for Channel 4’s…

When to go Visit between May and September when the days are longer and the temperatures are milder. Way to go We travelled on the Hull-Rotterdam crossing with P&O Ferries. The service is daily. • www.poferries.com Booking through the Caravan and Motorhome Club, caravans travel for free at the weekends. Find out more • Danish Tourist Board Tel 020 7259 5959 Web www.visitdenmark.com • German National Tourist Board Web www.germany.travel/en/index.html • U-995 Submarine Museum/ Naval Museum Address Strand Str 92, 24234 Laboe Tel 00 49 434 349 484 962 Web www.deutscher-marinebund.de Open All year Cost U-Boat Museum €4.5 (Combi Ticket €9.5) • Ribe Viking Centre Address Lustrupvej 4, Lustrupvej 6760 Ribe Open 23 April-19 October Charges Adult 120DKK (£14.17), Child 60DKK (£7.08) Tel 00 45 7541 1611 Web www.rvc@ribevikingcentre.dk • The…

Coachman back at Flintshire Wales-based Flintshire Caravans has taken on the Coachman franchise again after a break of many years. The four-acre Deeside dealership already sells Bailey and Swift and retails its own line of Swift-based dealer specials. Said sales manager Ray Beddows: “We were looking for something of quality, something you can shout about, and Coachman is certainly that.” The first Coachman vans are due to arrive on Flintshire’s forecourt this September. Newbies area at Caravan Salon The organisers of Düsseldorf’s Caravan Salon, which runs from 27 Aug-4 Sept, are including a special ‘StarterWorld – Discover Camping and Caravanning’ section which will offer advice and tips about travel routes, touring equipment and on-board tech. The largest leisure vehicle show in Europe, Caravan Salon is a great day – or…

Elddis Crusader Mistral Price £23,399 (2017) Lighter weight, virtually the same user payload but available for less than 2017’s VIP 575. Crusaders get new silver sides for 2018. Lunar Clubman SI Price £24,399 (2017) Sharp-looking outside and in – and now with added sunroof – the SI costs fractionally less than 2017’s VIP 575, and weighs 150kg less. Swift Conqueror 580 Price £26,750 (2017) Largely unchanged from the previous model, but still more expensive than 2017’s VIP 575. Changes are afoot for 2018, though – turn to p90.…

Elddis Affinity 554 Price £21,949 (2018) It’s a metre shorter, and so is only a single axle, but this caravan has been updated for 2018 with a stylish interior that looks the part Adria Adora 613DT Price £21,910 (2018) This slightly longer Isonzo now comes with a smart silver bodyshell as well as the desirable Alde heating as standard Swift Challenger 645 Price TBC This twin-axle in a range that has been a staple of the Swift line-up for years is just a few inches shorter than the Lexon 660…

First drive Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer YOU DON’T ALWAYS get what you pay for – every once in a while you get more. Take the new Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer. Despite being the same size as an Audi A6 Avant, it’s priced from just £18,685. Even the 170PS (168bhp) 2.0-litre diesel tested here is priced from £21,485. These are rock-bottom sums for a car of this size, which might lead you to think that Vauxhall has cut corners. But there’s little evidence of that from inside: the standard of finish has taken a definite step forward. Vauxhall admits that the old car sold less well than expected, partly because of cramped rear seats and disappointing luggage space. The new car has improved in both areas. With a 92mm longer wheelbase…

How much? £2500-£16,000 Early cars are almost a decade old now, and as we’ve mentioned already are popular with the private-hire business, so tread carefully at the bottom end of the market. Prices start from around £2500, but such cars will have high six-figure mileages. Upping the budget to around £6k will get you a well-appointed SE or Elegance in fair nick, but it’ll still have a mileage of more than 75,000. If you can spend £10k you’ll get a lightly used, high-spec example with sensible miles, while £15k will land you a much newer one-owner car. What will it tow? Kerbweight .......................... 1740kg 85% match...........................1480kg Towing limit........................ 1800kg Towball limit.............................75kg (figures for 2014 2.0 TDI 140) How much is a towball? Westfalia swan-neck towbar .........................................................£110.16 Westfalia detachable towbar .....................................................£209.52…