Family devastated by ‘brazen’ caravan theft

A family caravan holiday has been ruined by opportunist thieves who took the caravan during a stop at a motorway service station.

The caravan was parked at Clacket Lane services which can be found on the M25 in Surrey near the Kent border. A distinctive-looking 2002 edition Dethleff caravan worth around 5,000 was unhitched in broad daylight. The vehicle was filled with items including bottles of Champagne as well as a laptop and a digital camera worth £500.

Detective Constable Julian Knowles of Surrey Police has described the family as ‘devastated’ in the wake of the theft.

“It cannot be underestimated how brazen this theft was. The caravan was unhitched from the family’s car and driven away within a very short amount of time. We do not know which direction the caravan was taken which is why we are appealing for information.”

“This is an incredibly unusual theft to occur and I am sure someone will know where this caravan and contents are or who was responsible.

He also added an appeal to potential caravan buyers to be wary of the likelihood that the vehicle will eventually be placed on the market.

“I am appealing to caravan enthusiasts who may be offered a white Dethleffs for sale at a heavily reduced price to contact us immediately as it may belong to this family.”

Surrey Police have launched an appeal for information following the incident. Detective Knowles noted “With your help we can reunite this family with their possessions and hopefully they can salvage something of their summer holiday together.”

If you were at Clacket Lane services on Monday, 3 August, between 9am and 10.30am, anyone with information is urged to contact detectives at Reigate CID.

The number to call is 0845 125 2222 and ther reference is TD/09/4179.

Alternatively you can of course contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Caravan enthusiasts treated to classic model from Lunar Caravans

Caravan enthusiasts visiting the National Boat, Caravan and Outdoor Show in Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre were recently able to view a classic model.

Lunar Caravans celebrated its 40th anniversary by restoring one of its earliest products – a 1972 Lunar Venus Mark II – to its former glory.

The vehicle was first bought for £501 from Basildon Caravan Centre 37 years ago by George Garrard.

The former owner and his son Matthew attended the event and were astounded by how accurately Lunar had renovated the mobile home.

“It was an excellent effort by your apprentices involving all the craftsmanship of earlier years, which we thought bodes well for the future,” Mr Garrard told the manufacturer.

He also praised the show, commenting on the wide range of models on display and the pleasant atmosphere created by the genuinely interested visitors and exhibitors.

The firm also used the show to celebrate its anniversary by giving away 40 bottles of free champagne to one lucky winner.

Lunar Caravans celebrating 40th anniversary

Lunar Caravans is marking its 40th anniversary by taking on a special project involving an old-school mobile home.

The UK-based firm has acquired an early model from its range, which was launched in 1969, and intends to renovate it as part of its celebrations.

Bought from the Garrard family of Suffolk, the caravan originally cost £505 and was purchased almost four decades ago.

The 37-year-old Lunar Venus Mark II is set to be restored to how it would have looked when it was bought from Basildon Caravan Centre in 1972.

It will be used as a display model at the upcoming National Boat, Caravan and Outdoor Show 2009.

The firm is planning to entice attendees to join its anniversary celebrations by asking them to fill out a competition entry card at the event.

One lucky winner will walk away with 40 bottles of free champagne to enjoy on caravanning trips, courtesy of Lunar.

The Bailey Pegasus – “Durability, comfort and style”

Brits looking for a mobile home that offers reliability, comfort and looks all in equal measures may wish to check out the Bailey Pegasus.

The recently released model features an Alu-Tech body shell that is guaranteed for ten years, as well as Grade III Classification of Thermal Insulation.

According to the manufacturer, the units offer a combination of “performance, durability, comfort and style”.

It is described as “a caravan that defies convention, without concession or compromise” – a real “passport to adventure”.

Aside from its revolutionary outer shell, the Pegasus comes with a spacious interior with a market-leading 1.96m of headroom throughout.

Elegant and practical, the inside of the caravan offers plenty of storage, as well as three contemporary soft furnishing schemes that include sculpted arm and back rests.

In terms of technology, the Pegasus comes with a 15-inch flat screen TV, DVD player, TRACKER Monitor Stolen Vehicle Recovery System, TRACKER alarm and AL-Ko Secure portable wheel lock as standard.

Meanwhile, Bailey Caravans has teamed up with insurance provider Saga to offer caravan lovers the chance to win a free Senator California model worth over £15,000, plus free insurance for a year.

Bailey unveils new Pegasus range

Bristol-based mobile home manufacturer Bailey Caravans has chosen the International Caravan & Motorhome Show to unveil its newest range of products.

The Pegasus series helped the firm double its retail orders at the event, marking its best ever sales performance at an exhibition.

A large proportion (65 per cent) of the sales were down to the newly released range, with a number of senior caravan journalists choosing the models.

The range was popular among the judges of a number of competitions at the event. It scooped the Practical Caravan Magazine Tourer of the Year gong for the Pegasus 534, while the Pegasus 624 won Which Caravan Magazine’s Caravan of the Year title.

Furthermore, Bailey’s Alu-Tech body shell construction system won Caravan Industry Magazine’s Best innovation prize.

Meanwhile, Bailey recently supplied the caravans used in the Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Competition testing for the 11th consecutive year, with ten different models used in the process.

Win a Bailey Senator Series 6 California

British caravan enthusiasts are being given the chance to win a brand new model worth more than £15,000.

Bristol-based manufacturer Bailey has teamed up with Saga Caravan Insurance to offer one lucky family a Senator Series 6 California, as well as free cover for 12 months.

The new addition to the Bailey Caravans range has been popular since its introduction and features a range of attractive inclusions.

An AL-KO ATC Trailer Control System and TRACKER Monitor Stolen Vehicle Recovery System are just two of the items that should give owners peace of mind.

Meanwhile, holidaymakers should never be bored with a state-of-the-art home entertainment system included.

This features a radio, CD player, MP3 and DVD player, which connects to a 15-inch flat screen digital TV.

Furthermore, a Dometic 115-litre fridge with removable freezer compartment should help keep caravanners’ bellies full while on the road.

Those wishing to enter should get a quote for caravan insurance from Saga or visit the saga stand at the International Caravan & Motorhome Show.

Meanwhile, Bailey has demonstrated the strength of its Pegasus model’s Alu-Tech shell by having 14 people – including the entire board of directors – stand on the roof of the caravan.

Bailey Pageant Bretagne caravan of the year

Brits planning on investing in a new caravan could opt for the Bailey Caravans Pageant Bretagne Series 7, which scooped a prestigious gong recently.

The mobile home was awarded the title of Which Caravan Magazine Caravan of the Year for 2008.

Featuring a self-contained end bedroom capable of sleeping up to four people, the model also has a triple fixed bunk and parallel bed front saloon, which further extend its capacity.

This is combined with a three-seater L-shaped rear dinette and a central kitchen to create an ideal living space for exploring the country in.

Which Caravan Magazine editor Sally Pepper praised the unit, noting that it scored maximum points in two-fifths of the ten categories in a recent test conducted by the publication.

“Despite a price tag £2,000 less than its nearest rival in this test, Bailey’s unbeatable Pageant Bretagne amassed a grand total of 90 points out of a possible 100,” she said.

The caravan, which starts at less than £14,000, also scooped the gong for Best Family Van.

Earlier this year, it won recognition from Caravan Industry Magazine, which awarded it Tourer of the Year status.

Bailey caravan competition winner announced

Participants in the My Bailey Van Caravan Design Competition were today (October 14th) able to discover who had won the contest.

Mobile home specialist Bailey Caravans chose the International Caravan and Motorhome Show as the stage to unveil the Bailey Brambler.

Designed by Ian and Julia Bramble, the prototype model was on display at the event in Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, with visitors able to admire its “flexible layout” and “very well though-out design”.

Featuring two dedicated living and sleeping areas, as well as an L-shaped kitchen and a washroom, the caravan will be collected by the Brambles later this year.

They were presented with the keys by TV presenter Rowland Rivron and will be the only family in the UK to own the vehicle

Rivron himself launched the competition by unveiling his Ranger Rivron in February this year.

Earlier this year, the Bailey Pageant Bretagne Series 7 was awarded the title of Which Caravan Magazine Caravan of the Year.

AL-KO helps prevent caravan snaking with ATC Trailer Control

Caravan enthusiasts may recognise the difficulties often experienced when towing their beloved motorhomes to their favourite destinations.

Fortunately, firms like AL-KO exist to make life a little easier, by creating products like ATC Trailer Control.

The anti-snaking control system helps ensure the driver has power over the touring caravan at all times and is a direct response to proposals to limit who can tow a mobile home in Europe.

AL-KO explained that it identified snaking as a rare, but publicly damaging occurrence for the caravan industry and set out to address the issue.

The ATC Trailer Control system works by detecting when difficult driving conditions are experienced and prevents snaking by temporarily taking control of the mobile home’s brakes.

Examples of these situations include having to take evasive action, dealing with high winds and overtaking larger vehicles.

Another product on offer from AL-KO is the secure wheel lock, which helps protect mobile homes from theft.

Bailey Ranger – A ‘ten-star’ caravan

A caravan from manufacturer Bailey Caravans of Bristol has been named the best family mobile home in the UK.

The Ranger 620/6 was given the Which Caravan Magazine Best Family Caravan of 2008 gong after impressing judges.

Launched in February 2007, the unit has proven popular with the publication in the past, gaining an unprecedented ten out of ten stars in its first review.

Measuring just over 21ft in length, the product is ideal for a couple or smaller family but is flexible enough to be capable of sleeping up to six people.

The lightweight model is also cost-effective, with prices starting at £11,875 meaning even those on a budget can afford an award-winning caravan.

Which Caravan Magazine also honoured the Bailey Senator Series 6 Carolina, which came second in the Most Innovative Caravan and overall Tourer of the Year categories.

The same product also scooped two awards from Practical Caravan Magazine earlier this year, with the Vermont given Best Caravan for Rallies and the Best Caravan for Small Families bestowed on the Arizona.

Bailey Senator Series 6 scoops awards

Caravan enthusiasts may be more inclined to look to Bailey Caravans for a new model after its Senator Series 6 range scooped two prizes at a recent award ceremony.

The Arizona was named Best Caravan for Small Families, while the Vermont was recognised as the Best Caravan for Rallies by Practical Caravan Magazine.

Part of the former’s appeal stems from the security provided by the AL-KO secure wheel lock and ATC stability system, as well as the tracker that is fitted as standard.

The same features appear on the Vermont, which also impressed judges with its design and equipment.

“As with all the best caravans, there are plenty of obvious things to recommend it, but it’s spending more time in the van that makes you fully appreciate it,” the magazine noted.

Such is the popularity of the Senator Series 6 range that Bailey has increased its production volumes just a few months after its launch.

Earlier this year, the grandson of Dr William Gordon Stables – the world’s first leisure caravanner – retraced the route he took using a Bailey Ranger Series 5 620/6.

Epic route retraced in Bailey Ranger

The great-great-grandson of the original leisure caravanner Dr William Gordon-Stables has retraced the journey taken by his ancestor more than a century ago.

Alan Gordon-Stables set out in a Bailey Caravans Ranger Series 5 620/6 to retrace the steps his forebear took in the Bristol Wagon Works Company’s horse-drawn Wanderer 122 years ago.

He and his family travelled from Twyford, through the Midlands and Yorkshire, up the east coast to Berwick-upon-Tweed and into Scotland, where they enjoyed stopovers at Edinburgh, Stirling and Culloden Moor, where they completed the epic trip.

They saw a number of sites described in Dr William’s The Cruise of Land Yacht Wanderer and Alan explained he was surprised by how many were still in existence.

“After 122 years, we were delighted to find that so many buildings and places not only still existed but were readily recognisable from their descriptions in my great grandfather’s book,” he told Bailey.

The Bailey Ranger Series was released a decade ago and has recently been updated with a twin-axle layout.