Motorhome and caravan show NEC, anyone going?

[Fuzzy400]

Anyone going or been to this. Me and the wife are going up Friday and Saturday to have a look with the intention of buying a new caravan. We both like the Bailey Unicorn Barcelona but want to see what the whole market has to offer. Does anyone have any tips or experiences on the show. Thanks in advance.

[nagsheadwarrior]

I'm not going,hooray!
Having worked at 20 odd of em I've seen far too much of the Nec for one life.
Friday is busy but Saturday is rammed,quires off after 16.00 if you want to spend a bit of time in a van.
Get the best deal but don't be an eejit and chase prices off different salesman on the Bailey stand which will just put people's backs up, do however ask on dealer home stands and even other manufacturers stands if the salesman who's pestering you in there sells Bailey and get a few prices that way.
You will get good deals at the show due yo competition.
I do motorhomes not caravans but my company are Bailey dealers and commendably cheap too normally,we'll have people on the Bailey stand.
Dunno where you are but best to buy localish if you can to get the best after sales back up

[mart 63]

We are going on the Sunday, to look for an inflatable porch awning.

[geeks]

Might see if I can drag SWMBO along, need some bits for the van...

[MrsFallon]

Not going, but we are awaiting for our dealer to call us tomorrow from there (they are going up at lunch). We are thinking of already upgrading our 2015 Lunar Quasar 482 to a new Bailey Brindisi. Dealer is hoping Black Horse will have a rate cut available as a show offer.

[nagsheadwarrior]

They always have done in the past,new rates and rules this year tho so that could change things as regard show offers

[SwissJonese]

I am thinking of going up Thursday with our 3.5year old twins. Looking at VW T5/T6 campers, will there be much of these to see as mainly want to understand all the different configurations e.g seats, popups etc.

[Rosscow]

SwissJonese said:

I am thinking of going up Thursday with our 3.5year old twins. Looking at VW T5/T6 campers, will there be much of these to see as mainly want to understand all the different configurations e.g seats, popups etc.

A VW Camper with 3 year old twins?! You're a braver man than me!!!

[iiyama]

Thought about it but having just spunked a load of dough on a purchase not sure there's anything left in the tank for goodies!

[MrsFallon]

We've ordered a 2016 Bailey Brindisi via the show today, just awaiting a delivery date.

[Rosscow]

Enjoy!

Where do they get these silly caravan names from though?!

[hornetrider]

MrsFallon said:

We've ordered a 2016 Bailey Brindisi via the show today, just awaiting a delivery date.

That's interesting. I can't fathom buying a new caravan every year, can you give some insight into why you upgraded from the 2015 Lunar?

I bought our 2006 Burstner 3 years ago now I think. It's future proof in terms of berths and we got the layout right the first time, and providing it doesn't fall to bits with damp (it isn't yet!) I can't really see us selling it.

[Rosscow]

hornetrider said:

That's interesting. I can't fathom buying a new caravan every year, can you give some insight into why you upgraded from the 2015 Lunar?

I bought our 2006 Burstner 3 years ago now I think. It's future proof in terms of berths and we got the layout right the first time, and providing it doesn't fall to bits with damp (it isn't yet!) I can't really see us selling it.

Same here - we bought our 2008 Ace 2 years ago and I want to get another 3 years out of it before we upgrade!

[hornetrider]

Yeah same here, no desire to upgrade. For me ours is 'our van' and we've already created lots of memories with it with our daughter. We have another on the way due in spring so may have to take a year off, but I still wouldn't consider selling it.

[Spuffington]

Not a caravan, but I feel the same about my motorhome. I normally change cars with alarming frequency, but I'd struggle to change "Harry" now, in spite of all the difficulties, exactly because we've created great memories in/with him.

[MrsFallon]

Yes basically I was a bit unsure at the time if we were buying the right sized caravan or indeed if we were right in buying a caravan full stop. We actually did 20 nights away in it during the 1st 2 months and only stopped when our eldest Labrador fell ill.

Sadly he's no longer with us and we have been joined by a new pup, who we suspect will be quite a bit bigger when fully grown. With this in mind we decided to bite the bullet and go for a bigger van sooner rather than later.

[Andy Zarse]

MrsFallon said:

Sadly he's no longer with us and we have been joined by a new pup, who we suspect will be quite a bit bigger when fully grown. With this in mind we decided to bite the bullet and go for a bigger van sooner rather than later.

We bought a new 5 berth caravan and quickly realised having a Labrador, even a small and well behaved one, was a proper nightmare in the van. Hairs everywhere and permanently under someone's feet.

So we now keep her in her cage in the (inflatable) awning annexe. We cover the cage in blankets so she's nice and snug and I padlock the cage door at night. She basically doesn't ever come in the van any more, and I can't say it seems to bother her in the slightest.