Bailey Unicorn Pamplona 2018 Review

Bristol, UK-built Bailey caravans are no longer being factory imported into Australia, but it’s far from a complete ‘Brexit’.

In their place we're getting a limited range of ‘Australianised’ models cosmetically based on their English equivalents, but sitting on sturdier true-blue Aussie chassis and equipped with many of the items deemed essential to happy local caravanning.

The first of these new locally-built ‘British’ Baileys to go on sale here is the Unicorn IV Pamplona that hits the market in the New Year at $69,990 – $5000 cheaper than its 6-inch wider, slightly longer and slightly heavier Rangefinder Nebula locally designed and built stablemate that has been a favourite of the Bailey Australia line-up since it was introduced three years ago.

Brit van with Aussie twang

The first question you might ask about the Pamplona is ‘why bother?”

Rangefinders have already established a strong Australian following with their combination of strong and lightweight full composite body panels, Alu-Tech construction, appealing, light-filled modern interiors, smart décor, class leading fresh water capacity, generous payloads and their proven ability to cope with harsh Australian touring conditions.

According to Bailey Australia, there has always been a cache of Australian customers – many of them retired couples – who miss the Pamplona’s cosier British layout, with its timber and fabric décor, panoramic ‘Skyview’ front loungeroom, central bathrooms and rear bedrooms.

Bristol-built Baileys are also 15cm (6-inches) skinnier than Australian Rangefinders in order to squeeze down narrower British and European B-roads and through small villages, making them easier to manoeuvre and less dependent on extension rear view towing mirrors.

Some of these features are finding renewed appeal amongst Australian buyers, who are gravitating towards smaller tow cars and hence lighter caravans. While ‘off-road’ branded models remain buyer favourites here, most travellers stick pretty much to the bitumen, only leaving it for small side trips to tourist sites or free-camps.

For these caravanners, the new Unicorn Pamplona IV ticks many boxes.

Assembled in Australia

From the moment they arrive in Australia, their British umbilical cord is cut. Unlike their Unicorn predecessors that were fully imported by Bailey Australia, Aussie Pamplonas now arrive as knocked down bodies for assembly and completion on robotically-welded Austrail RV Duragal steel chassis at the company’s Campbellfield, Melbourne headquarters

This chassis, sitting on tandem axle AL-KO independent rubber suspension and crowned by the latest AL-KO off-road ‘click-lock’ pin coupling, gives them a more reassuring and tougher look to Australian eyes than their British counterparts, which sit on pressed steel skeletal ‘Euro’ frames.

Twin locally-formed 120-litre poly-formed fresh water tanks give the Pamplona a class-leading 240 litres of fresh water capacity, while thanks to their Aussie underpinnings, they can carry a payload of 500kg on top of their 1900kg tare weight, making them ‘Prado-friendly at their ATM.

A light ball-weight of 125kg ensures that the load capacity of most tow cars is barely compromised.

Stands out from the crowd

Visually, the Unicorn Pamplona IV stands elegantly clear of the crowd at any major caravan park.

To gauge reactions, we took the review Pamplona to the popular Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park that sits on the Tallebudgera Creek, a short sandy walk to the adjacent ocean beach and the Burleigh Heads National Park with its famous adjacent surf break, while the Burleigh Heads shopping village with its many restaurants, eateries and shops, is a five-minute drive away.

When we returned from a walk, we found the Pamplona being admired by a neighbouring couple and their teenage children. They were originally from South Africa before now calling Australia ‘home’, so let’s call them the ‘Krugers’.

They loved the Pamplona’s look and interior, particularly its ability to sleep a couple at one end and children at the other with a shared central bathroom, and were also impressed by the size of its standard 190-litre Dometic fridge and 2.5kg Sphere top-loader washing machine, concealed in a master bedroom cabinet.

“We could easily live in this,” they ventured, although being South Africans with a love of outdoor cooking, they would have liked a slide-away BBQ, something that is not an option on the Pamplona because of its front lounge layout.

They were also concerned that the caravan’s front with its large panoramic windows, could be vulnerable to stone chips, but this concern disappeared when they heard that a zip-off padded front bra is an option on all Baileys.

They had clearly done their caravan homework, as they guessed its value correctly at $70,000 and left doing sums at how to upgrade their existing Jayco camper trailer. A tow vehicle wasn’t a problem, as they already had a Toyota Prado, which with its 2.5 tonne tow rating, was an ideal tow tug for the Pamplona.

More sticky beaks...

We were visited later by a ‘Grey Nomad’ who had previously owned a 5th-Wheeler caravan and wanted to down-size. He had already looked at Bailey Rangefinders, but didn’t like their modern white walls and high-gloss cabinetry, while the lack of an oven as standard was also a turn off.

But when he stepped inside the Pamplona and saw its plush woven cloth upholstery and smart combination of timber veneer and cream cabinetry with chrome strip highlights, he exclaimed ‘This is more like it”.

Other features of the Aussie Pamplonas appealed to all who visited it.

Unlike its UK counterparts, which retain split ‘barn doors’, you enter via a one-piece Dometic security door that fastens at four points for added security when free-camping or just out for the day.

The familiar UK-style layout incorporates a front lounge that converts quickly to a queen-size bed, a bathroom with a separate shower and toilet in the middle, and sleeping quarters with a north-south, walk-around queen bed and a coil-spring mattress up back.

The kitchen boasts a 3 + 1 gas/electric cooktop with an adjacent stainless steel basin with fitted cutting and draining boards, while bench space can be increased in seconds by flipping up a bench extension. The microwave oven is set on the upper wall, next to cavernous cupboards, but is low enough to be used safely by even short people.

As with other Aussie Baileys, there’s a lot of storage in the aircraft-style overhead lockers, with virtually no waste space anywhere.

The only major equipment item missing in the Pamplona ‘Brexit’ is the gas central heating beloved by Europeans who enjoy winter camping, although a roof-mounted air-conditioner is included. A Vario gas heater is an Australian Pamplona option.

Free camping ready

Behind the scenes, the Pamplona is ‘Aussie-ready’ for our long distances and free-camping. A 100Ah battery in a recessed box and a 150W rooftop solar panel managed by a 30A regulator are standard, with optional upgrades to a 120AH or second 100AH battery and an additional 150W solar panel if the purchaser desires.

On the road, the chunkier local chassis and suspension settings combined with 15-inch alloys shod with 207/70-15 tyres (instead of 14-inch), deliver much improved ground clearance over their British counterparts – particularly at the rear, where British and European caravans often drag their tails on our steep driveways and gutters.

Summing up

Priced from $69,990, the new Bailey Unicorn Pamplona IV is a niche model that's expected to attract a small, but dedicated following, primarily from older Australian couples. It will be joined by other ‘Oz-Brit’ models in the future, including lighter single-axle models.

For Aussie buyers who prefer the combination of Bailey’s Euro layout and lighter, narrower body on a stronger, taller Aussie chassis, the new locally-built Bailey Unicorn Pamplona IV it’s an appealing proposition.

Spend the $5000 you save over a Bailey Rangefinder on a bigger battery, a solar upgrade and a gas space heater and go see Australia in comfort and style!

2018 Bailey Unicorn Pamplona IV

Travel length: 7908mm
Internal body length: 6840mm
External body width: 2280mm
Interior height: 1960mm
Travel height: 2886mm
Tare: 1900kg
ATM: 2400kg
Ball weight: 125kg
Body: All fibreglass composite with Alu-Tech interlocking construction
Chassis: AusTrail Duragal steel
Suspension: AL-KO tandem rubber independent
Brakes: 10-in electric drums
Wheels: 15in alloy with 205/70 tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 120L
Battery: 1 x 100Ah
Solar: 150W roof-mounted panel with 30AH regulator
Air conditioner: Belaire HB3500, reverse cycle, roof-mounted
Hot water: gas/ electric instant
Gas: 1 x 9kg and 1 x 4.5kg
Cooking: 3 + 1 gas/electric cooktop
Microwave: 700W
Fridge: 190L Dometic 3-way
Bathroom: Separate shower and toilet
Washing machine: Sphere 2.5kg top-loader
Lighting: LED throughout
Price: $69,990
Supplied by: Bailey Queensland, Loganholme, Qld 
More info: Bailey Australia