Elddis join forces with Marquis for new lightweight Majestic range

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

A new caravan range is hitching up to launch on the touring market after Elddis announced that they had teamed up with Marquis to build a brand new line of lightweight tourers.

Marquis have been in the motorhome industry for almost 40 years, but having only recently moved into the world of touring caravans, were keen to build on their success by adding another range to their garage.

Joining forces with Elddis, they have now created the new Marquis Majestic.

Built exclusively for Marquis by Elddis, the new range is based on the Durham-based manufacturers’ Autoquest brand and brings with it five different layouts.

With many similarities to the Elddis Xplore range, Marquis Majestic caravans offer the same high quality but come with a bespoke design and equipment set-up that is exclusive to Marquis.

Discussing the partnership, Alan Buckwell, sales director at Marquis Motorhomes and Marquis Caravans said that he was “delighted with the opportunity to build upon the already successful working relationship with Elddis”.

“This is a major opportunity for the discerning caravanner to own a high specification caravan at an affordable price,” said Chris Whitham, Elddis’ commercial director.

Marquis excel in all areas which help make retailers successful, including the presentation of their premises and products as well as the quality of their people and services, he added.

“As such, [Marquis] are in a position to offer customers the quality of service they should expect, whether purchasing or servicing their Elddis product.”

The range comes in new and unique layouts and is light enough to be towed by most cars while also boasting a collection of unique features that are sure to make it popular with caravanners.

These include bespoke graphics and upholstery designs, as well as stylish alloy wheels with matching silver skirts, spats and hitch cover.

The new range will launch at Marquis dealerships in Lancashire, Sussex and Northants, but if you’re keen to get a peek at it you can see it at next month’s Caravan and Motorhome Show at Manchester’s Event City, which runs between January 19th and 22nd.

Taking pets on European touring holidays is about to get easier

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

New laws set to come into effect in the New Year will make it easier and cheaper for caravan owners to take their pets on holiday with them.

In the past, many caravanners touring around Europe would have to leave their pets at home because of lengthy and expensive quarantine rules, but an overhaul of the system will remove a lot of the obstacles that existed in the past.

The hugely outdated rules have been amended to make it easier for pet owners to enjoy a holiday with their beloved furry friends and it is thought that it could save Britons as much as £7 million in fees.

As of January 1st 2012, laws surrounding pet movement in the UK will come into line with those in the rest of the EU, which take into consideration the massive strides that have been made in medical science in recent years.

Animals will still require a rabies vaccination before travel, but the quarantine period will be reduced from six months to just three weeks. Blood tests will no longer be necessary, though animals going on holiday will still need their pet passport and a microchip.

Today’s rabies vaccines and treatments are so advanced that the idea of making a dog or cat sit in quarantine for six months, a practice which goes back almost 200 years, is now totally unnecessary.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said that the quarantine system in the UK was designed in the 19th century and is now so far behind modern science that a change is little more than a formality.

“It’s time we changed these outdated rules which have caused hardship to generations of pets and pet owners, and those who rely on assistance dogs, with too many animals cooped up unnecessarily,” she said.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said that the changes will still allow the UK to maintain its exceedingly high standards of protections against animal-borne diseases.

Dealers to receive Coachman’s 2012 ranges in January

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

Caravanners hoping to get their hands on Coachman’s 2012 range of tourers will get their wish in January when dealers begin selling the popular manufacturer’s latest models.

The 2012 models have already been met with a warm reception at shows this year, with retail sales up this year following successful exhibitions at both the Lawns Trade Show in September and then the Motorhome and Caravan Show in October.

Reactions have been very positive to Coachman, with the Hull based Caravan makers already picking up awards for their models.

Now from January, the full 2012 range will be delivered to Coachman’s dealership network and will be available nationwide.

Managing director at Coachman Jim Hibbs expressed his delight at the reaction the new models have been getting.

Announcing that they will hit dealers next month, Mr Hibbs commented that he thinks the success of the four Coachman ranges is down to the company’s commitment to quality and design and a desire to try things that are a little bit different.

“We hoped that our newly designed exteriors which incorporate large panoramic windows would strike a chord with consumers, dealers and the press and we are delighted that this has, indeed, been the case,” he said.

Couple turn caravan into touring art gallery

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

A Portsmouth couple have turned the whole notion of caravanning on its head by converting their vintage 1969 tourer into a travelling art gallery.

Having recently published their third book of photography, Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale spend their time travelling around in the mustard-yellow caravan, taking pictures and displaying them in their caravan.

In their latest book, ‘Is Britain Great? 3’, they use weird, wonderful and bluntly realistic photographs to pose questions about contemporary Britain, the News in Portsmouth reported.

Readers of their book will find photographs of pigeons enjoying a cream tea, graffiti scrawled to amusing effect on billboards and grey photographs of second hand car yards, all of which are designed to get audiences thinking about Britain in the 21st century.

Travelling to an area, Jan and Chris will get a feel for the place, wandering around and snapping photos before returning with their developed images exhibited in their mobile gallery for the locals to enjoy.

“We take it to places galleries can’t reach and get all kinds of visitors,” Jan told the local newspaper.

“If we’re at an art event we’ll have artists and curators coming in, but we might also be at shopping centres or festivals.

“A lot of people come in out of curiosity and end up staying. Some come in just because they like caravans.”

Having bought the caravan for just £250, the artistic couple turned it into the Caravan Gallery in 2000 and have been travelling around in it ever since.

Despite converting the inside into a genuine art gallery, they decided to hold onto the brown curtains and flowery upholstery so that it keeps the feel of a vintage caravan.

Now the Caravan Gallery has become their full-time jobs.

Famous British fashion designer Paul Smith loved the Caravan Gallery so much he flew it out to Japan for an exhibition outside one of his stores.

“We’ve invented for ourselves quite a bizarre job,” Jan admitted.

Jan and Chris are not the only ones taking art on tour in their caravan however.

Currently based in Nottingham, artist and designer Annelise Atkinson has turned her vintage caravan into a travelling ‘zine library known as the Caribou Boutique.

Caravan insurance: Why it pays to spend big on security gadgets

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies
With Christmas looming ever closer on the horizon, and the January sales not far behind, now is a great time to start looking at how you can kit out your caravan for 2012.
And while it’s tempting to cut corners and save money, the insurance experts at Towergate have been explaining why it makes sense to go for top-end products if you can afford to.
It’s worth remembering that several caravan insurers offer tempting discounts for fitting certain industry-approved gadgets. With so many to choose from, it’s often hard to know where to spend your well-earned pounds.
With this in mind Edward Cross, Towergate’s resident caravan insurance expert, told Caravan Times: “It really is worth paying that little bit extra for a premium security product. Look for the Thatcham or Sold Secure label, as this will tell you that you’ve got an industry-approved device.”
He also explained that insurers generally split caravan gadgets into two main categories, with chassis wheel locks (such as the Al-Ko Secure) receiving the biggest insurance discount of 25 per cent.
Other products to get this bonus include the Phantom pro-active tracking device and the Thiefbeater thief deterrent system.
However, these items can cost upwards of £100 each, so if your budget is more in the region of £20 to £30, then it’s worth looking at a basic wheel clamp, a hitch lock, a factory-fitted alarm system, a Mule anchoring device or a Microtag, as these can all get you a significant insurance discount as well.
To read the full list of gizmos that cut the cost of your premium, read Towergate’s article: Premium caravan gadgets get the biggest insurance discounts

You’re Hired? Fifth Wheel looking for apprentices

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

The Welsh caravan manufacturer Fifth Wheel revealed they were looking for four new apprentices yesterday (December 15th).

Based in North Wales, Fifth Wheel have recently expanded their offices and manufacturing plant and need four apprentices to come on board.

In what is clearly a great opportunity for the successful young applicants in the current economic climate, the caravan makers are hoping to recruit three manufacturing apprentices and one sales apprentice.

Adrian Parry- Jones, sales director at Fifth Wheel, said: “We have a strong focus on investing into the local economy as we design, manufacture and sell our tourers and caravans from our head office here in North Wales.”

He added that the apprenticeships would provide four young people with hands-on experience as well as the chance to earn a wage at the same time.

The apprentices will spend four days a week at the 10,800 sq ft Fifth Wheel centre, with the fifth day spent studying for an NVQ qualification at Llandrillo College in Rhos-on-Sea.

If you or someone you know is interested then you can contact Fifth Wheel on 01745 583 000 for more information.

Elddis announces partnership with Suffolk dealership Pentlow Leisure

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

The Durham-based caravan maker Elddis announced last week (December 15th) that it has added a leading dealership in Suffolk to its ever-expanding network of retailers.

Pentlow Leisure will make its first steps into the touring caravan market with Elddis as it looks to expand its successful business specialising in quality used motorhomes and caravans.

Elddis becomes the first manufacturer that Pentlow will stock new, after managing director of the retailer Ben Cutting visited the Elddis plant in the North-East and was impressed by the portfolio of tourers.

In a statement announcing the partnership, Elddis said: “Ben has been familiar with Elddis for 25 years and seen the product and people go from strength to strength, so is confident that Elddis is the way forward.”

One of the reasons Ben gave for choosing Elddis was the extensive portfolio of caravans as well as the unique layouts and great value for money the company’s caravans offer.

Pentlow Leisure will reopen for the New Year on January 3rd and as well as its range of new and used caravans and motorhomes, also offers caravanners specialist service and repairs and a caravan storage facility.

VIDEO: Caravan of the Year Awards announced and competition winners revealed

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies and Marcus Dubois
After two weeks of public voting across seven categories, the Caravan Times 2011 Readers’ Poll has closed. This year’s contest has resulted in a remarkably high volume of votes, so we would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to cast their vote.
In several categories it was all decided by a very slender margin, with the overall winner of Caravan of the Year being decided by just a handful votes. To read a full breakdown of the voting in each category, click here.
We’ve also randomly chosen the lucky winners of our biggest ever prize draw, so be sure to watch right to the end to find out if you’ve won an Amazon Kindle.

Motorcycle firm in frame to take over former Discover Leisure branch

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

A motorcycle company in Cheshire has put in an offer to take over the former Harringtons caravan outlet in Delamere.

The Discover Leisure company went bust in October and now J&S Accessories have tabled an offer to take over the site, the Chester Chronicle reported.

If their bid is successful an element of the caravan business would remain, giving caravanners in the area the chance to use the outlet once more.

Managing director of J&S Peter Cook told the newspaper: “We’ve put an offer in and we’re hopeful it comes our way.

“We’re not looking to develop the site, we’re looking to keep an element of what was there already.”

Meanwhile, a housing development company is also looking to develop the site, though councilor Hugo Deynem has said he would rather the land was used for business purposes.

He said that he would rather some of the area’s brownfield site remains in business use rather than all of it being developed for housing, the paper reported.

Last week, administrators acting on behalf of the stricken Discover Leisure revealed the now defunct dealership had debts of around £35 million.

Local Freemasons award community caravan park £1,000 grant

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

A Lincolnshire caravan park has received a charitable boost from the local Freemasons.

After the popular tourist destination was taken over by the community, Jubilee Park in Woodhall Spa was awarded £1,000 from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lincolnshire.

The donation from the Freemasons Benevolent Fund will be used to help fund a refurbishment of the caravan site’s shower facilities, Horncastle News reported.

Welcoming the donation, Joe Stanhope from the Friends of Jubilee Park, told the local news provider: “The money will enable us to increase the standard of the facilities in the caravan site.

“This year the caravan site has been very popular, but we are aware that the facilities are in need of updating.”

So far this year the Freemasons Benevolent fund has given away almost £60,000 in grants.

Some 103 local organisations and voluntary groups have benefited from the donations.

Jubilee Park sits in the picturesque village of Woodhall Spa and as well as the caravanning site, boasts a playground, picnic area, tennis courts, bowling green, cricket field and cafe.

Introducing Venus Caravans… the new lightweight tourers from Lunar

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies
Lunar Caravans has announced plans to launch the UK’s lightest range of tourers under a brand new name – Venus Caravans.
Weights in the new compact range are expected to start from under 900kg, meaning that a Venus caravan can be towed by almost any family car.
By comparison, a Lunar Ariva weighs in at 995kg, but the company is keen to stress that Venus is a completely new brand that has been designed from the ground up.
Due for launch at the Motorhome, Caravan and Camping Show 2012 at the London Excel Centre, the Venus Caravans range will include four single-axle layouts, ranging from two to four berths, with fixed beds in the larger models.
The company adds that these models have been designed to satisfy the needs of caravanners who want a compact, lightweight caravan that is great for a short breaks and longer touring holidays.
Martin Henderson, Sales and Marketing Director at Venus Caravans, said: “There has been a substantial growth in the popularity of two-berth and fixed bed caravans that are affordable, compact, and lightweight.
“We are, therefore, extremely excited to put 40 years of expertise into this new caravan brand. We are confident that Venus Caravans will be the lightest, most compact and most practical value for money caravans available in the market place.”
Further details and pictures are yet to come, but if you want to look around these new lightweight tourers for yourself, be sure to head along to the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands between February 14th and 19th.

Northumberland caravan park extends opening period

Posted by

by Tom Lowenstein

A caravan park in Northumberland has been given the all-clear to extend its opening period to 11 months per year, despite concern from parish councillors.

The Honeysuckle Cottage Caravan Park in Widdrington had applied to lengthen its season, but councillors argued that the changes were to accommodate nearby workers rather than holidaymakers.

Despite the objections from Widdrington Paris Council, Northumberland County Council’s North Area Planning Committee gave their unanimous approval for the changes, the Morpeth Herald reported.

The caravan park will now open from January to November

During the planning meeting, parish councillor James Grant said that he found it unlikely anyone would wish to go on holiday in a caravan during the winter months.

Raising his concerns that the park would instead by used by workers, he said: “There’s already a specific park which is only for workers within a few hundred yards of Honeysuckle Caravan Park,” the newspaper quoted.

The park did not have any conditions set upon it which prevented it from having its original eight-month season limited exclusively to holidaymakers, however.

Vivienne Robinson, a planning officer at the County Council, explained that 11-month opening periods follow national guidelines which are designed to prevent caravans becoming permanent homes.

Commenting on this, Councillor Trevor Thorne said: “I’m aware of many caravan operators in Northumberland that have this 11-month rule so that they don’t become permanent dwellings as they have to vacate for one month,” the Herald quoted.

“This brings Honeysuckle Cottage Caravan Park up to speed with other caravan parks in Northumberland.”

One councillor, meanwhile, objected to the proposals, claiming that the park had previously ignored the opening restrictions and to allow it to extend its season would be rewarding it for flouting the rules.

Honeysuckle Cottage Caravan Park on Old Felton Lane in Widdrington is a 15 pitch park which has hot shower facilities as well as a children’s playground.