The 17ft 4in Coastal ‘Bondi’ will come fully equipped with a north-south innerspring queen bed, separate rear bathroom, and the choice of either café dinette of L-shaped lounge seating as well as four décor packs.
A 3.2kW reverse-cycle air conditioner, 164-litre Thetford 3-way fridge, roll-out awning and a microwave oven will be standard, with an exterior slide-out kitchen and a 110-litre grey water tank optional.
A locally-built Austrail DuraGal steel chassis protected by a durable paint system, a windowless front panel (the first on any Bailey caravan), good ground clearance, new double-glazed Finch windows and a wind-down spare wheel, are other features.
However, the new Coastal’s major advantage over rivals in this entry-end of the full height caravan market will be its estimated 1600kg tare weight, as well as the option to upgrade its standard 300kg payload to 700kg, the massive storage available in its large full tunnel boot and the standard 210 litres of fresh water capacity in its twin tanks.
Decade-long cover
Also trumping its immediate price rivals will be the Coastal’s market-leading 10-year water ingress warranty on its Alu-Tech all-composite body, plus a three-year warranty on other components – the same as on other locally-built Bailey models. A 12-month Roadside Assistance package can also be purchased as an option.
The rear entry-door Bondi will be joined at the Brisbane show by the ‘Coogee’, with twin single beds and a front entry door, with further variation ‘Kirra’ and ‘Avoca’ a few months later.
A ‘Discovery’ pack will also be available later for Coastal models featuring larger 16-inch wheels with off-road tyres, Vehicle Components’ CRS independent trailing arm coil spring suspension, a Hitchmaster DO-35 off-road coupling and some stainless steel protective propeller plate on the caravan’s exposed lower front panel.
Bailey Australia’s Managing Director, Adrian Van Geelen, expects the Coastal models to grow overall Bailey sales rather than substitute for any current models, like the similar-sized but slightly cheaper and lighter,
new British-built Pursuit caravans.
“This is a new market segment for Bailey,” he said. “What we're offering is a full-size caravan with all the construction, quality and warranty benefits of our larger tandem axle Australian models in a more compact size and with a weight similar to a European caravan, yet with significantly greater water storage, ground clearance and payload.”
