Bailey Rangefinder II Nebula 2019 Review

Educating Australians to appreciate British caravans was a challenge that Bailey Australia embraced nearly four years ago in 2015.

It hasn’t all been smooth travelling, but nearly four years on, the latest Australian designed and built Rangefinder Series II that has just gone on sale, makes a compelling case for change.

More ground clearance and water storage

Previewed at the recent Sydney Caravan Supershow, the Rangefinder II is described by Bailey Australia as a ‘facelift’ of the heavily Australianised version of the first Rangefinder that were in turn developed from the original Bristol, UK-built Baileys.

While many Australians fell in love with the cosy drawing room decor, panoramic windows and light towing weight of the imported Baileys that brought mid-sized family cars back into play, they fell short of most buyers’ expectations in some important areas.

Fresh water storage was an area that needed to be addressed, as was ground clearance for our less than smooth roads. Two piece ‘barn’ doors were also weird to our tastes, while a touring caravan needed a roll out awning, a pair of gas bottles and stone protection.

But above all, no matter how strong the British original’s swiss cheese AL-KO chassis and rubber torsion suspension was, Australians needed to see a solid, visible ‘Aussie’ chassis with crude, but effective leaf springs, or an accepted local trailing arm, coil spring and shock absorber independent option.

Bailey Australia addressed all these ‘shortcomings’ and more when it launched its Rangefinder at the 2015 Melbourne’s Leisurefest, but they swung the local pendulum too far.

While all local Rangefinders got a beefy local chassis, wider 2490mm (8ft 2in) bodies (compared to the narrower 7ft 6in British/European bodies), locally-moulded poly water tanks, greater ground clearance with larger 15-inch wheels, leaf spring suspension, a one-piece solid Dometic entry door with fly screen, twin exposed gas bottles on the A-frame, an awning and a zip-off front body stone bra, their interiors were slightly underdone.

It was a worthy long-distance touring van, as Bailey Australia’s trans Australia West to East promotional trek, achieved on and off the bitumen with no technical issues, proved conclusively.

However, the women who loved the ‘Home Beautiful’ ambiance of the British Baileys, found the bland, ‘packing case’ décor of the first Rangefinders too ‘blokey’. So after withdrawing the early Rangefinders from sale for a couple of months , Bailey Australia bounced back in early 2016 with new high-gloss cabinetry, optional leather trim and improved dust sealing.

Lightweight winner

Now, with the Rangefinder Series II, Bailey Australia has raised the bar another notch. Visual enhancements aside, the latest 22ft 6in Nebula we reviewed weighed in empty at just over two tonnes. While heavier than the original Nebula it can still lay claim to being one of the best lightweight touring caravan options on the market.

Perhaps sad for Bailey is that light weight in a caravan today is less of a selling point than it was four years ago, thanks to the current popularity of 3.5 tonne tow rated crew cab utes, but with the growing availability of full electric (EV) and hybrid PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric tow vehicles), light weight may again become important.

You’ll need to be a keen Bailey spotter to pick a Series II Nebula coming. The refreshed exterior styling – currently only rolled out to the Lunar, Capricorn and Nebula models – features new black plastic side skirts, black corner bumperettes, black front and rear body handles, new LED marker and tail lights, black arms for the standard roll-out awning, new-design blue decals that emphasize the Nebula’s length and the size of its double-glazed hopper-style windows, and new-design black and polished 15-inch alloy wheels.

I still think the twin 9kg gas bottles and their appendages on the A-frame look crude and unattractive on what otherwise is a stylish, albeit square-cut caravan, but Bailey will sell (or dealers will give) you a padded gas bottle cover if this is an issue.

Two full tunnel boots at the front and rear and a 500kg payload allow you to take plenty of stuff on your travels, even allowing for a class-leading 210 litres of water in the twin 105-litre tanks.

Twin 140-litre tanks and a separate 110-litre grey water tank are optional if you plan plenty of free-camping. And if you’re doing that, option a second 100AH battery and second solar panel on the roof (although at its mid-$70,000 pricing we believe some if not all of these features should be included as standard.)

Bigger, better cabinetry

Inside, there has been a similar detail upgrade, with huge new top-hinged glossy timber-grain upper cupboard doors that now lean inwards. When opened, each reveals a matrix of smaller inner shelves.

Large drawers and cupboards below the new stone kitchen benchtop, reveal a generous pot drawer and a slide out pantry, while a microwave and a full 3+1 gas/electric cooktop, with grill and oven, share the remaining under-bench space.

A (too?) large mixer tap overhangs the recessed square stainless steel sink, as does a  smaller tap that delivers only filtered water.

Bailey’s signature panoramic ‘sky’ window bathes the Nebula’s interior in light, making its optional plush leather ‘pillow’ finish U-shaped lounge look even more inviting.

Up to four berths

Designed for couples – or a family of four – the Nebula is unique in offering two separate entertaining/sleeping zones.

To create an extra double bed, you access the folding slats that lie out of sight beneath the front centre lounge cushion and pull them back between the two side lounge sections, then re-arrange the cushions.

That’s handy, but there’s no permanent table here to enjoy coffee or dinner on. Instead you have to relocate a folding table from its travelling position in the rear master bedroom if you want to enjoy something inside that other caravanners take for granted.

The upside is that the table doesn’t get in the way when you don’t need it and can be taken outside for use under the Nebula’s large roll-out awning.

Without the table, the combined lounge/kitchen area is large by caravan standards, even though it shares the space with the standard 2.5kg top-loading washing machine that’s located in a cabinet to the right of the entry door and its adjacent two-door 185L three-way fridge/freezer.

The Nebula’s ensuite is in the centre of the van, with the cassette toilet and wash basin located in a room with a full-length mirror door on the left as you approach the rear bedroom, and the shower cubicle on the right.

Depending on how you fold the ensuite doors, you can annexe this area to the front lounge in daytime, or to the rear bedroom as its ensuite at night.

The only downside here is the concertina door that closes off the bedroom. I know it weighs less than a solid sliding door, but it looks a little low rent in what otherwise is a quite luxuriously-appointed touring caravan.

Having said that, the rear bedroom is compact, bur completely adequate and light-filled, thanks to its large windows and roof-hatch that provides ventilation when required. There's good storage space in the flip-up cupboards above the bed and half robes and twin USB points in small hutches on each side.

Finally, a separated TV arm allows you to watch your favourite shows in bed, but you’ll need to buy two TVs to have one in the lounge area as well, as unusually, a TV is a dealer-fitted option on the Nebula.

Summing up

With its size and relatively manageable 2650kg ATM, the 22ft 6in Nebula still plays the lightweight game... just!. Also, be prepared to pay extra for options that are standard in most caravans in its price bracket.

2019 Bailey Rangefinder II Nebula 

Travel length 8500mm (27ft 10in)
Interior body length 6870mm (22ft 6in)
External body width 2490mm (8ft 2in)
Travel height 2880mm (9ft 5in)
Internal height 1960mm (6ft 5in)
Tare 2150kg
ATM 2650kg
Ball weight 150kg
Body: Alu-Tech interlocking aluminium extrusion clad with fibreglass
Chassis: ARV Duragal 100mm x 50mm steel
Suspension: Roller-rocker 7-leaf spring tandem
Brakes: 10-inch electric drum
Stability Control: Dexter DSC optional                                                                      Wheels: Alloy 15in with 205/70R15 LT tyres
Water: 2 x 105L tanks
Battery: 100Ah deep cycle AGM
Solar: Roof-mounted, 150W panel
Air-conditioner: Belaire HB3500 reverse cycle
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: 23L Swift gas/electric
Washing machine: Sphere 2.5kg top loader
Cooking: Thetford Caprice cook-top with 3 gas + 1 electric hob, plus grill and oven
Fridge: Thetford 2 door 185L 3-way refrigerator/freezer
Microwave: 900W standard
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Full-height one-piece moulded fibreglass
Lighting: LED
TV: Dealer-fitted option
Price: From $78,500 (delivered in Victoria)
Supplied by: City Caravans, Loganholme Qld
More info: Bailey Leisure, Campbellfield Victoria