British vans pass true blue test

British-built Bailey caravans have proved they can handle rough dirt roads almost as well as the bitumen, after recently surviving a challenging five-day trip through South Australia’s dusty Flinders Ranges.

Organised by local Bailey importer, Caravans Australia, the media event “designed to establish Bailey Caravans’ true blue credentials” involved two of the latest, Australian-spec Bailey models, a single axle 18ft 8in Verona GT65 and twin axle, 20ft 5in Unicorn Cartagena S2.

To provide a comparison Caravans Australia, which also owns Melbourne-based Regent Caravans, brought along two, similarly-specced Australian-built touring models; a single axle, 18ft 6in Regent Cruiser and twin axle 19ft 6in Regent Monarch.

In contrast to the new age British vans with their lightweight Alu-Tech construction, the Aussie models featured traditional Meranti timber frames and aluminium cladding, making them up to 600kg heavier than their similar-sized British rivals.

The British vans rode on Al-Ko independent suspension with telescopic shock absorbers, whereas the Aussie models benefitted from the latest Cruisemaster Country Road independent coil suspension.

Since being introduced to Australia in late-2011, Bailey models have been subject to more than 50 changes to make them suitable for the Australian market as well as local conditions, including adding more road clearance, extra water carrying capacity and stronger axles for bigger payloads.

And the changes seem to have paid dividends, with the British vans able to negotiate, relatively unscathed, all the graded gravel roads and lumpy campgrounds tackled by the checker-plate-protected Aussie models during the trip.

In fact, the just-arrived Verona GT65 proved one of the most adept at clearing obstacles, fitted with two new slimline 65 litre water tanks located fore and aft of the axle, which are now available across all Bailey models.

The Baileys’ made-for-Australia padded front stone guards also proved up to the task, despite taking a beating; as did their 15inch alloy wheels shod with light truck tyres, which withstood some sharp gravel sections that caused punctures on Nissan Patrol and Pathfinder tow vehicles.

There were minor issues on all vans, including front wiring working loose on one Bailey, and exposed underbody plumbing copping a beating on a Regent.

The Baileys proved more robust internally, with some cupboard catches failing to hold doors, and mounted digital displays working loose, on the Regent models.

However, dust ingress was a major issue on all vans, although the Bailey GT65 probably fared the worst, with dust pouring in around compulsory gas safety vents particularly around ovens and fridges.

All up, the convoy travelled around 1370km of bitumen and mostly graded dirt, gravel and lightly corrugated roads around the Flinders Ranges, from Adelaide up as far as Maree, while taking a detour to Arkaroola via Blinman, Wilpena, Parachilna and Leigh Creek.

While Bailey Australia boss Adrian van Geelen wasn’t surprised how well the British vans held together in the rugged conditions, given the extensive durability testing Bailey caravans undergo in Europe, he said the problem of dust ingress could not be easily resolved given the tough new gas appliance regulations.

“Dust was certainly something we knew was going to be an issue on all of the vans because of the new AGA Gas Codes, with through-floor venting, you can’t keep the dust out. It’s a fact of life.”

He said he would consider introducing a remedy to the problem, such as a ‘pressurised’ roof vent or vent ‘flaps’ that could be manually activated when travelling, as long as it complied with regulations.

“If you want a caravan for off-road you’d still go Australian, but I think we’ve proved that Bailey can go everywhere an Australian touring van can go,” he said.