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NEWS
Global launch for Aussie slider
Three countries in four weeks for new lightweight, Aussie-built Rangefinder slide-out vanBailey Australia’s new Rangefinder Comet slider will be launched in an unprecedented International show blitz spanning two Australian states and three countries over a hectic month from mid-September.
First up for the first-ever Bailey slide-out will be the Penrith Caravan, Camping & Holiday Expo from September 9- 11.
A week later it will make its New Zealand debut at the Camper Care NZ Motorhome, Caravan & Leisure Show in Hamilton from September 16-18.
The spotlight then moves to Melbourne Leisurefest from October 6-9, where the new Comet will be joined by two other new twin single bed variants of other Rangefinder models and finally shifts to Birmingham Motorhome and Caravan Show in Britain from October 11-16.
In the latter, the Australian-designed and built Comet will make ‘coals to Newcastle’ history, becoming the first Australian-built caravan to be displayed at a major European show.
Based on the wider (2450mm wide) Australian Rangefinder platform (rather than the narrower 2350mm wide UK Bailey models), the Comet also marks
the first production application of Lippert’s new flush-fitting, cassette-style 600mm slide-out that according to Bailey Australia adds just 60kg to the van’s total weight.
Whether the Comet will be sold as a niche, additional model in the UK and Europe will depend somewhat on the reaction it attracts in Birmingham, but Bailey UK Marketing Director Simon Howard told caravancampingsales that there was a fascination both in the UK and in Europe with macho-looking Australian caravans that the Comet could tap into.
Unlike the majority of British and Euro vans, the Comet is equipped as standard with twin 105 litre water tanks, full reverse cycle air conditioning, a pop-up 32-inch TV at the foot of its slide-out queen-size bed and a top-loading washing machine.
Priced here at $82,000, the Comet has some formidable opposition on the Australian market, with most of Jayco’s Silverline slide-out models undercutting it in price.
However the Comet’s ace card is its weight. Uniquely for a luxury slide-out model, the 6.6 metre long tandem axle van officially weighs in at just 2125kg and has a ball weight of 190kg, making it ‘Prado-friendly’, even when loaded with 375kg of its 475kg permissible payload.
A ‘Discovery Pack’ consisting of Cruisemaster CRS trailing arm independent coil spring suspension, a DO-35 hitch and a vinyl front ‘bra’ for stone protection will be offered on Comet models, as with other Aussie Rangefinders, where it has enjoyed a 50 per cent take-up with purchasers.
Bailey Australia has high hopes for the Comet and other slide-out models it has in the wings for 2017, expecting it and its new brethren to increase current production of five Rangefinders a week at the company’s Campbellfield, Victoria HQ to rise to 13 a week within the next 12 months; the Comet by then accounting for approximately 40 per cent of total Rangefinder sales.
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Written byMichael Browning
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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