Innehållsförteckning för May 2017 från Practical Caravan

1 The late, late shows Take a free culture crawl through Newcastle when more than 70 arts, culture and heritage venues – including The Baltic and the Laing Art Gallery – open late with tours, workshops and more. When? 19-20 May Web www.the lateshows.org.uk Stay at Old Harley Caravan Club Site Web www.caravan club.co.uk 2 More than Fringe appeal Brighton’s ‘month of madness’ will host plenty of festivals, including the Fringe’s hundreds of events across the town. Don’t miss the impressive walkabout performers in Fringe City. When? 5 May-4 June Web www.brighton fringe.org Stay at Brighton Caravan Club Site Web www.caravan club.co.uk 3 Shiver me timbers! Watch out for marauding pirates if you plan to head to Gloucestershire Tall Ships Festival. Their stories of life at…

‘Approaching the van, I could have sworn I saw herons on the roof, beaks poised over the open skylight, eyes surveying the abundance of aquatic life below’ OOOPS! SO, HERE’S the thing: is it okay to assume that one’s caravan will survive the winter months without too much attention? I mean, unless it’s sitting there on the drive, how many times during the down period do you need to check that all is well? If you’re replying “every week or so”, then I hate you. No, not hate perhaps, but... No, actually, I do. A surprisingly aggressive and un-called-for stance, I hear you scream. Well, to be honest, I’m happy to alienate the lot of you right now, because I’m not in the best of moods. “I’ve just been to…

Try to keep as normal a routine in the caravan as you would at home; take their toys, beds and treats. Lorna Hyde Now that we have a fixed bed, our dog sleeps on the front seats on his blanket. We have some puppy-training mats in the caravan; we don’t use them, but if our dog had an upset stomach they would certainly come in handy. Karen Wilson We waited until ours were house-trained before we took them on tour. We all just pile onto the bed at night and they are never left alone, so we have no need for a crate. Joanne Yeoman Put the pup in a cage at night and when leaving it alone. We did this until the dog was nine-months old. Neil Holdstock I…

When to go The obvious routes across the Channel would have meant more time on the water and less on the road, but the timings into Brittany didn’t suit us. Instead, we sailed with DFDS between Newhaven and Dieppe, a route typically favoured for trips to Normandy. We had 350 miles of driving on the other side. The ferry was fine and we claimed a cabin to grab a few hours’ sleep. Facilities at Newhaven are pretty limited, but we checked in for the night crossing without drama and, with careful juggling of the fares, you can get car-and-caravan tickets with change from £300. Follow DFDS on Facebook or Twitter for details of special offers for caravanners. Web www.dfdsseaways.com Food and drink • Le V There’s fine eating on every…

100km of dedicated cycle paths – the same as the distance between London & Brighton How big is the island? The 650ha of vines are mainly in the south of the island, and produce 35-40 hectolitres of wine per year – that’s 2 million bottles ! White gold Salt workers harvest the ‘white gold’, one of the island’s natural resources, over an area of 460ha . Each worker harvests around 40 kilos of salt every other day . Today, 2500 tons of salt are produced each year. At the start of the last century it was 30,000 tons . 1988 the year…

1 Muckross Abbey Once a Fransciscan Friary, Muckross Abbey was founded in 1448. Walk among the cloisters and admire the ancient oak – rumoured to be as old as the Abbey – that grows in the courtyard. Stay at Killarney Flesk Caravan and Camping Park Web www.killarneyfleskcamping.com 2 Muchelney Abbey Wander the hallowed ruins of the second-oldest religious foundation in Somerset, which was demolished in 1538. You can still visit the beautiful abbot’s house and the cloister. Stay at Thorney Lakes Caravan and Camping Park Web www.thorneylakes.co.uk 3 Holyrood Abbey One of Scotland’s most spectacular ruins, Holyrood has been used as a royal residence, and its stunning architecture has seen its fair share of coronations, births and burials of heads of state. Stay at Mortonhall Caravan and Camping…

THE EXPLORER GROUP – the firm that was initially the name behind Elddis, but over the years has acquired both Buccaneer and Compass – has itself been taken over. The County Durham-based company’s previous owner, an investment firm called the Constantine Group, has agreed to sell it to Germany’s Erwin Hymer Group. That means it will sit alongside other caravan brands including Hymer itself and Eriba Touring, although Erwin Hymer’s reach in motorhomes is much wider. Erwin Hymer Group chief executive Martin Brandt said that his company was keen to benefit from opportunities in “the second-largest European caravanning market”. Joerg Reithmeier, an Erwin Hymer Group board member responsible for caravans, added: “By taking this step, we’re positioning ourselves as [Europe’s] leading manufacturer of premium caravans.” The company name will change…

Where tested Camping les Acacias, 11 Rue Berthe Morisot, 37700 La Ville-aux-Dames, France When tested October 2016 THE CARAVELAIR ANTARÈS 476 from French leisure-vehicle giant Trigano is available in the UK exclusively from Marquis Leisure. The layout is unusual in that it has a fixed double at the front of the van on the nearside, with an offside corner washroom. From the outside this gives the van the appearance of having one eye, like the Knaus Sport & Fun. At the rear are fixed bunks, and at its centre you’ll find a kitchen with a double dinette opposite. There are few frills for daytime living, but the beds are long and the mattresses substantial: it could potentially sleep six, but four or five would be more comfortable. And that’s its…

First drive Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 V6 TDI 224PS Price From £32,865 (excl VAT) Kerbweight 2176kg 85% match 1850kg Towing limit 3100kg Towball limit 120kg DOWNSIZING MIGHT BE a popular trend, but no one has told the people responsible for updating the Volkswagen Amarok pick-up. Instead of the previous generation’s 2.0-litre engine, the facelifted Amarok is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel. With its extra capacity and two more cylinders, the new engine offers more power and performance, but with broadly similar fuel economy and emissions. For now it’s offered in two states of tune, with either 204PS (201bhp) or 224PS (221bhp), with a 163PS (161bhp) version on the way. Even the 201bhp engine has more poke than any Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara or Toyota Hilux. We’ve spent some…

Land Rover Range Rover 3.6 TDV8 I have just bought this car and I am over the moon with the performance. Stunning is the only word to describe it. The Range Rover makes going anywhere effortless, even with a caravan as large as my Sterling Europa in tow. I am one very satisfied caravanner. William Rowe Land Rover Range Rover 3.6 TDV8 The Range Rover is absolute perfection as a tow car; to say that we are ecstatic would be an understatement. Ray Roberts Land Rover Range Rover 3.0 Td6 Other than the mighty Range Rover using slightly higher revs than usual, I can barely feel I have a fully laden van on the back. It is a superb car in all respects and the self-levelling air suspension and towing…

OVER THE YEARS I’ve upgraded many suspension systems on cars, from simple rubber inserts that sit between coils, via changing springs and shock absorbers, to fitting self-levelling units. The latter were the most successful, but of course they came at a significant cost. Soft suspension might give a comfortable ride, but add a boot full of kit and a caravan (ensuring the rear axle load isn’t exceeded) and there can be all kinds of issues. If the car’s rear is low, the jockey wheel ‘grounds’ at every bump, and the car’s suspension ‘bottoms’ constantly. In the worst cases, the steering can be so light that it struggles for grip and the outfit is all over the road. Raising the bar Our test 2016 Ford Mondeo had standard suspension, which was…

Layout Layout finder finder BB K G Centre washrooms – where the facilities cut right across the middle of the van – are all the rage right now, but this remains a popular variant: it features a rear island bed, with a side washroom over the axle. Space is saved by locating the kitchen opposite, meaning that this layout can be fitted onto a van with a shorter footprint. Elsewhere you'll find a lounge up front, with sofas that double as a bed. Pros The island bed is about as close to a domestic example as you can get. The lounge is usually of a good size. Cons Access to the washroom can be tight when someone is cooking. A The side washroom is likely to be on the narrow…

Layout finder AA This is a practical layout that allows you to enjoy the comfort of a fixed bed, while retaining a (usually) good-shaped lounge up front. If that lounge is big enough, you’ll often find that it can be made up into another double bed – handy if you have guests staying over. The kitchen can be on the small side, so make sure that it’s big enough for your needs. However, the washroom will almost certainly offer plenty of space for dressing, because it stretches across the full width of the caravan. Pros The fixed bed should be a good size, and comfortable. There’ll be plenty of room in the washroom Cons The fixed bed takes up a relatively large amount of floorplan A You’re likely to find…

Focus on… Eriba Eribas have to be some of the most recognisable tourers on the road, thanks to their iconic looks and minimal size. Eriba is not, however, a minimal manufacturer. The moniker comes from the first few letters of founder Erich Bachem’s name; he set up shop in 1957 with Erwin Hymer, who went on to develop motorhomes under his own brand. Eriba and Hymer merged as long ago as 1980. Nowadays, Eriba Touring vans come with pop-up roofs, so you don’t have to be tiny to stay in one. On the Continent they sell conventionally sized Eribas, too; however, in the UK these ranges – the Nova S and Nova GL – are marketed under the Hymer name. You can expect superior build quality inside the vans, but…

Caravans up to £3000 Avondale Two-berth, 4.14m, stored in Pornic, France. Includes lightweight awning, gas, Aquaroll, patio set, crockery, BBQ, bike and more. Health forces sale. £700 ono. Mr Andrews, Saltash. (01752 843 930) Compass Lynx 340/2 Two-berth, 2000 model. 724kg unloaded, 900kg max weight. Comes with hook-up cable, motor mover, Al-Ko hitch stabiliser, wheel clamp. Nonsmokers, VGC. Two gas bottles. £2250 ono. Mr Luty, Ceredigion. (01545 561 804) Awnings Porch Isabella Universal 360 All-season, tweed/sky blue, summer/winter, ALC2102400. Curtains, never used, still in boxes. Lining for roof, steel strengtheners. Cost £1200 new, £800 ovno. Mrs Williams, Salop. (01948 664 251) Bradcot Modus XL Like new, easy alloy frame, LH shaped extension, h2.35m, w3m, d2.7m. £250 ono, buyer collects. Mr Hackling, South Wales. (07594 619 510) Kampa Rally Air Pro…

AT LONG LAST, the ‘season’ proper is upon us. Those who prefer to lay up their vans for the winter have been washing off the grime ahead of their first tours of 2017, rejoining those slightly more intrepid caravanners who choose to carry on camping throughout the winter months. If you’re one of the latter, our cover story is likely to be of particular interest, because former PC editor Nigel Donnelly reckons he’s found the perfect getaway for those who prefer touring outside the summer months: France’s Île de Ré. Continuing the French theme, the subject of this month’s Live-in test – the Caravelair Antarès 476 – has arrived in the UK from the other side of the Channel, offering a versatile Continental layout that is likely to appeal to…

WRITE TO Letters, Practical Caravan, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP EMAIL US AT letters@practicalcaravan.com JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AT practicalcaravan.com/forum facebook.com/  practicalcaravan twitter.com/  pcaravan instagram.com/  practicalcaravan The contributors of our Star letter and Star photo each win a pair of Milenco Grand Aero towing mirrors, worth £50. They’re designed to fit all wing mirrors and offer an outstanding view. If you have a top tip, send it in for a chance to win four Milenco Stacka corner feet, worth £14. For further details and a list of retailers, visit www.milenco.com…

‘In February 1987, the NEC saw the first public showing: more than 40 units were sold and 20 dealers signed up’ CAST YOUR MIND back to 1986: the economy was in boom mode, and so was the public’s enthusiasm for buying caravans. It was a period when new tourer manufacturers were emerging following the recession that had hit the early 1980s. One of these was Coachman, and 30 years later the company has ridden the often choppy waters of the caravan market to establish itself as a maker of prestige tourers. The firm’s roots hark back to the early 1960s – another boom period, when touring holidays were popular and the demand for vans led to a manufacturing explosion centred around Hull. One of these new producers was Ace Caravans.…

‘A brisk walk along the hilltops was exhilarating in the sunshine, and made all the more memorable by the stunning views’ SHROPSHIRE WAS ALWAYS a favourite haunt. My dad grew up there, so we spent a lot of time in the area as children. Carding Mill Valley never failed to take my breath away, and the region boasts some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside, as well as historic attractions, fantastic museums, and glorious wildlife havens. There’s loads going on in Shrewsbury town centre, with the annual cartoon festival (22 April), flower show (11-12 August), literary festival (November), and a variety of music events. From the hills of the Long Mynd to the vast lakes of Ellesmere, there are many good reasons to visit this beautiful part of the world again…

READERS WITH LONG memories might recall our first Weekender, which told the story of the maiden voyage in our newly acquired caravan, to Dyrham Park in Wiltshire (Practical Caravan, April 2016). A few things happened as a result of this: • First, the magazine helpfully suggested five alternative deer parks. One of them – Fountains Abbey, near Ripon in Yorkshire – looked particularly exciting, with more than 500 red, fallow and Sika deer. • Second, my old friend from university, Sarah, got in touch to say that her husband works at Fountains Abbey, and that they would love to see us if we made the journey. • Third, our friend Rebecca and her nine-year-old daughter Daisy read the story, came to see our van and longed to have a go…

Engineering rivals come together The American owners of the Al-Ko brand have acquired BPW Fahrzeugtechnik, possibly Al-Ko’s main rival in providing chassis for European tourers. Al-Ko Vehicle Technology chief exec Harald Hillier (above) said the acquisition will strengthen its portfolilo. Truma issues alert over gas outlets Truma says that its quality assurance process has uncovered a potential leak in the external barbecue points that have been fitted to some UK tourers. The fault only applies to gas outlets and valves that have date codes ranging from 01.2016 to 01.2017, but if left unchecked could lead to a significant gas leak. Anyone who is concerned should visit www.truma.com to find out how to check for the code, or ring 08000 388 910. If your outlet is affected, refrain from using it…

Price £21,470 Berths 4 MiRO 1495kg Payload 160kg MTPLM 1635kg Awning 1064cm Contact Swift Group Address Dunswell Road, Cottingham, East Yorkshire HU16 4JX Tel 01482 875 740 Web www.swiftgroup.co.uk Measurements A Internal length 6.27m B Shipping length 7.98m C Overall width 2.23m D Front double bed 2.02m x 1.56m E Front single beds 1.56m x 0.72m F Rear double bed 1.85m x 1.33m Or try these alternatives Bailey Unicorn Cartagena Price £24,749 Longer, heavier and, despite the recent price rise, still dearer than the 645. The Bailey includes Alde heating as standard. Lunar Quasar 674 Price £19,999 The Lunar is a more direct match for the 645. It’s lighter with a larger payload, but again has no ATC as standard. Adria Adora 613 DT Isonzo PC Price £20,495 A fair…

Price £35,845 What Car? Target Price £32,881 Retained value after three years 50% Kerbweight 1949kg 85% of kerbweight 1657kg Gross vehicle weight 2555kg Max towing limit 2000kg Gross train weight 4555kg Towball limit 90kg Boot size 602-1847 litres Payload 606kg 30-60mph 11.8 seconds 50-60mph 5.0 seconds 30-0mph 11.1 metres Test conditions Wet Engine 1997cc turbodiesel Maximum power 207bhp @ 3750rpm Maximum torque 332lb ft @ 2000rpm Official combined fuel economy 48.7mpg Towing economy 26.8mpg CO2 emissions 149g/km Insurance group 30E Euro NCAP overall protection rating…

How much? £8500-£29,000 You could spend as little as £8500 for our preferred TDV8 Range Rover, but it’ll have had a busy life, and could prove to be more bother than it’s worth. Increase your budget to the £14,000 mark and you’ll still have hefty mileage figures, but the cars are more likely to have been looked after. A hefty £22,500 will net you a car that has a thick service history file as well as a lower mileage figure. However, for £29k you’ll get a low-mileage car in mint condition. What will it tow? Kerbweight ...........................2717kg 85% match ..........................2309kg Towing limit ........................3500kg Towball limit .......................... 150kg (Figures for 2007 Range Rover 3.6 TDV8 Vogue from PC test: http://bit.ly/2lgP4h7) How much is a towball? Witter flange towbar ..... £140.64 Witter…

Layout finder G In this layout, fixed twin beds towards the rear of the van are accompanied by a central kitchen and an end washroom, plus a lounge up front. This layout is great for couples who want to relax in the lounge without having to disassemble a bed every morning. You’ll usually find a curtain or screen separating the rear beds from the lounge. Pros The pair of single beds means that you both have access to the washroom at night. The washroom is often quite spacious Cons The side kitchen may not have much space for preparing meals. The fixed single beds cannot be made up into a double A Square showers are more roomy than circular versions B There’s often an external hatch to access under-bed storage…

Practical Caravan’s Reviews editor Peter Baber lives near this Pennine town, which was the birthplace of two Nobel Prize winners and a fair few prog-rock heroes – not that the two are connected! 1 Stay here There’s no caravan park in the town, but you can stay at the Caravan & Motorhome Club-affiliated Todmorden Cricket Club CL, where the price includes hook-up, toilets and showers. It’s open all year, even on match days, and there is a great café called Seventy Two across the road, a gorgeous indoor swimming pool on the other side of the neighbouring park, and the town is just five minutes’ walk away. 2 Eat here The recently opened Blackbird Bar & Kitchen on cobbled Water Street was created by the people who run the established…

Style with substance Price £139 Web www.libratone.com/uk The flexibility of touring life is one of the joys of owning a caravan, and modern solutions such as this ONE Click wireless Bluetooth speaker from Libratone mean that you can take your favourite music and audiobooks with you wherever you travel. Although it is fairly pricey, this stylish speaker has rich sound quality, even at low volumes. It is also robust, splash-proof and extremely versatile: you can position the handles/hook by removing the outer frame and swapping the filler pieces to get the right combination for you. The controls are simple: turn it on with the power button at the back, connect your device via Bluetooth and hey presto! The round disc on the front is the control for volume, play/pause…

Salop opens luxury site I’VE JUST BEEN reading the brochure for a new campsite due to open this spring, and it’s sounding more like a spa hotel complex than a campsite. It calls itself ‘Shropshire’s luxury touring caravan and glamping resort’, and it certainly looks intriguing. Love2Stay is the latest project from Midlands-based Salop Leisure; the new 22-acre site, which cost £3.5m to develop, is adjacent to the dealership. It will comprise 120 touring pitches, and its list of facilities is breathtaking. They include a large natural swimming pool and a sun deck featuring a coffee bar, along with a fitness assault course, a yoga and pilates studio, a spa with treatment rooms, private and communal hot tubs, a boot camp, a barefoot sensory walk, a dog shower room, a…

All over the island, you’ll notice the door knockers in the shape of a lady’s hand. Typically, the ornaments are of a lady’s hand holding a ball, often emerging from an ornate sleeve. Many have bracelets and one or two rings on the fingers. Most appear to be made of iron, and painted. Quick research to get to the bottom of the significance left us pretty much no wiser. Depending on where your faith lies, the door knockers are known as the ‘Hand of Fatima’, or of ‘Miriam’ or ‘Aphrodite’, and are thought to relate to Arabic or Jewish traditions. All are associated with warding off evil spirits. This style of door knocker is widely found in Spain and pockets of southern France where Moorish influences are prevalent, but the…

Camping Les Grenettes is a sandy site, tucked away on the outskirts of Sainte-Marie-de-Ré, in the south-east corner of the island. It shares its grounds with a hotel and restaurant, so it doesn’t suffer the low-season torpor of many French campsites. We were able to rent bikes, get a table in the restaurant and have a drink at the bar throughout our visit. Prices were sensible, too. We used the discount ACSI Camping Card, bought from Vicarious Books (www.vicarious-shop.com), which capped the nightly cost at around €13. That said, Les Grenettes had a distinctly end-of-term look to it in October. The sandy pitches needed tidying, and the lanky rushes lining the site roads were ragged from a season of being clouted with towing mirrors and tourers as drivers negotiated the…

WHEN TO GO Walking in the countryside is obviously more pleasant in bright weather, so spring or summer would be good times to visit. Shrewsbury Flower Show takes place every August, providing great family entertainment (www.shrewsbury flowershow.org.uk). WAY TO GO Oswestry is on the A5, which is also the main road around Shrewsbury. It’s accessible from all directions, with other main roads feeding onto the route. FOOD AND DRINK Our favourite place to eat is the Taverners carvery on Southwater Way in Telford. It has a lovely, cosy atmosphere, and serves excellent food at bargain prices. We usually visit after a day out in Ironbridge. There are loads of other places to eat in the nearest large town, Shrewsbury. Choose from fine dining, to pub meals, to cafés. The Eat Shrewsbury…

The Cud Life Caravan and Camping Site is a Camping and Caravanning Club Certificated Site, offering pitches for five caravans (and up to 10 tents) in a sloping grass field with spectacular views of the Yorkshire landscape. Pitches on three sides of the site have electric hook-up, and the communal fire pit in the centre of the field – with marshmallow-toasting on Saturday nights – is very sociable, though there is a quiet rule from 10.30pm. The site also boasts The Udder Coffeeshop, which serves delicious home- Address Spruisty Hall Farm, Ripon Road, Killinghall, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Big fields offer HG3 2AU Tel 01423 565 855 plenty of spac e Web www.thecudlife.co.uk at Seat House CL Open All year Pitches 5 Price (pitch+2+hook-up) £20…

It’s a Bailey, but not as we know it THINK THAT BAILEY only produces caravans and motorhomes? Think again. These Prima air awnings (left) were launched at the show: they were designed by the Bristol-based manufacturer and made in China. They range in size – offering from one to three front panels – and come in two designs. There’s a Ripstop awning with an angular design (shown here), and a more curved Deluxe range, with individual doors in each front panel, and the option of single-or multi-point inflation. The awnings cost from £399.99 to £699.99, and are available from www.baileyparts.co.uk or your local Bailey dealer. A little Lunar luxury A luxurious central washroom with fashionable ‘salad-bowl’ sink is what you get if you buy Lunar’s new Lexon 590, which was…

Measurements A Interior length 5.75m B Shipping length 7.38m C Overall width 2.18m D Front double bed 1.99m x 1.10m E Rear island bed 1.90m x 1.36m Or try these alternatives Sprite Major 4 SB Price £16,490 Sprite pioneered this layout in a budget model and the 4 SB remains superb, even if it is moving upmarket. Venus 570/4 Price £15,499 At 1360kg Lunar’s affordable brand isn’t the lightest here, but the Venus is the Xplore’s closest rival of this trio. Coachman Vision 575 Price £18,895 Coachman’s entry-level model feels a class above, and the price-tag reflects that. It’s heavier, too, at 1478kg.…

THE OWNER SATISFACTION Awards 2017 may have only recently been revealed, but we already need your help in making the 2018 awards the biggest and best yet. If you’ve bought a new or pre-owned caravan since 1 January 2014, and have owned it for at least six months, then we would love to hear from you – how were you treated during the purchase, how has the van behaved, and would you buy again from the same manufacturer or dealer? Launched in April 2012, the Owner Satisfaction Awards is the only industry scheme that is completely based on owners’ feedback, including both the practicality and reliability of the tourer itself, as well as the buying and owning experience. To have your say, simply head to www.practicalcaravan.com/oss2018 and start giving us…

Price £44,455 What Car? Target Price £42,591 Retained value after three years 41% Kerbweight 1817kg* 85% of kerbweight 1544kg Gross vehicle weight 2400kg Max towing limit 2200kg Gross train weight 4600kg Towball limit 100kg Boot size min/max 560/1526 litres Payload 583kg 30-60mph 8.2 seconds 50-60mph 3.5 seconds 30-0mph 10.5 metres Test conditions Damp Engine 1969cc turbodiesel Maximum power 232bhp @ 4000rpm Maximum torque 354lb ft @ 1750-2250rpm Official combined economy 57.6mpg Towing economy 29mpg CO 2  emissions 129g/km Insurance group 34 Euro NCAP overall protection rating *Listed as running order in Volvo’s brochures Lunar Quasar 674 Perfect partner With a match figure of 1544kg for 85% of kerbweight, you can safely tow a…

HOW DO YOU know how many Amps you’re using? Some equipment will quote the Amps used, but most will quote Watts. Now, who remembers from their school days what all of these terms actually mean? Amps – or Amperes to use the proper name – is a measurement of current, whereas volts is a measurement of electrical pressure, and Watts is a measure of power. To calculate Watts, you multiply volts by Amps – so 2A at 230V equals 460W. The full 16A supply would support 3680W – a little over three-and-a-half kilowatts. The wrong sort of trip But why do caravanners need to know this? Over the New Year break, we stayed on a site and used mains hook-up to provide power for heating, battery charging and running the…

Layout Layout finder finder K G R Flexibility is one of the strongest points of the popular front-lounge, rear-washroom layout: if you're travelling as a couple, you can choose to leave the lounge bed made up during the day, because you can still relax and eat at the side dinette. Those with children, meanwhile, will find that the dinette can often be made up into bunk beds, creating an extra berth over the single below. The full-width washroom is usually large enough to use as a dressing room. Pros A great-sized washroom. Two places to dine and lounge. Cons Shorter vans can sometimes have a smaller front lounge. A You'll usually find a great-sized shower cubicle in this layout B There should be lots of storage room under the front…

Layout finder S With a nearside-rear dinette as well as rear corner bunks, this layout has lots of space for the kids, while mum and dad relax in the lounge. The amidships kitchen is often short on work surface, but the side dinette provides extra room. The washroom, opposite the kitchen, is useful for nighttime visits, but there is not as much elbow room in the shower. Pros Children can take over the rear while their parents relax up front. The rear dinette offers a separate play space, and can usually be shut off from the rest of the van Cons The washroom has limited space, and the kitchen is squeezed between the lounge and the main door A This area may house a wardrobe or dresser unit B Fixed…

Focus on… Caravelair This French brand is part of the mighty Trigano Group. Its Antarès range of lightweight but conventional tourers is the latest to have been introduced to the UK by Marquis Leisure, an 11-strong dealer network that is two-thirds focused on motorhomes, but still has plenty of time for caravans. There are currently six vans in the range, from the tiny two-berth Antarès 335 to the more family-sized Antarès 476 and 496, which feature layouts that are innovative for the UK. They all come with a fairly basic level of specification – although Marquis has added an oven – but it means that they're very keenly priced, making them great for anyone trying out caravanning for the first time. At the moment, even the most expensive in the…

Focus on… Hobby It may have have a relatively low profile in the UK, but German manufacturer Hobby can lay claim to being the largest caravan manufacturer in the world, producing more than 100 caravans a day at its factory in Fockbek, Germany. It makes motorhomes, too. The company will celebrate its 50th anniversary in early 2017, about the same time as its founder, Harald Striewski, will turn 80. He is still very much involved in the business, although day-to-day running has passed over to his son and to Holger Schulz who, having built his career at Hobby, went off to French motorhome manufactuer Rapido for a few years before being enticed back. In 2017, the firm's UK profile could start to improve, too, because Hobby has a new UK…