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NEWS
Latest Baileys toughen up
True blue checker-plate toolboxes help lift top local Bailey above $100,000Bailey Australia has almost completed the ‘naturalisation’ of its latest locally-built Rangefinder caravans by offering a twin checker-plate front storage boot option on its 2017 models that together with other accessories can now lift pricing for a local Bailey van well above $100,000.
Deliberately eschewing the sleek, featureless and aerodynamic Euro front of its parallel UK-built models, the local Bailey arm has deliberately let it all hang out after research showed that male Aussie travellers preferred a more macho external look, while their partners were enamoured with Bailey’s luxurious front lounge with its U-shaped seating and panoramic windows fitted to most models.
To test the market, Bailey Australia displayed its latest local look on a 21ft 6in Comet with slide-out bedroom on the Canterbury Caravans stand at the recent Victorian Caravan Supershow to mixed initial reaction.
Flanking the twin 9kg sitting naked on the extended A-frame of the display Comet were twin black checker-plate storage boxes large enough to house a large top-loading fridge/freezer and a generator.
It’s not a cheap option, with customers needing to first specify an extended draw bar ($1183), gussets for the toolboxes ($260), plus the boxes themselves (2 x $715) – a total cost of $2873.
The front stone-protecting bra and gas bottle covers that are part of the ‘Discovery Pack’, can still be fitted with the storage boxes in place.
However, there was no woodrack atop the boxes, presumably because piles of Mulga might interfere with the opening of the Comet’s top-hinged panoramic front window, or block the 270-degree view from its front ‘entertainer’ U-shaped lounge!
Nor yet has the checker plate so beloved by Aussie caravanners found its way onto the sandwich panel fibreglass front, back and sides of the local Baileys, unlike on some locally-available European vans. Maybe watch this space. . .
The Comet on display at the Victorian Show was also loaded with other extras, showing how far customers can go if they tick enough boxes.
Building on the Comet’s base retail price of $87,375, the display van was also fitted with the dealer-fitted options of Dexter DSC sway control, a Primal mag wheel upgrade, two 150W solar panels (instead of one), a second 100Ah battery, a Harrier air-conditioner upgrade, a full oven, a Truma E2400 gas heater, curtains and pelmets, a fixed central pedestal dining table, Vehicle Components’ CRS independent trailing arm suspension and a bike rack, taking its RRP to $106,135.
According to Bailey Leisure’s Marketing Manager, Gina Stanwell, Aussies are now finally taking to the Australian Baileys in droves after a cautious start, with production of Rangefinders due to rise from the current rate of six per week to 10 per week in the months ahead, while sales of the Bristol-built imported Baileys are gradually slipping back.
“Australians still love the interior layout of models like the Nebula and Comet with their panoramic windows and big front lounge, but they value the higher ground clearance, full chassis and other local features outside,” she said.
She said the best-selling Bailey model in Australia is currently the Nebula, accounting for around 40 per cent of all sales, but the Comet, which is based largely on the Nebula layout but has a 600mm off-side slide-out centre bedroom, is catching up.
“These options, like the storage boxes, may not be to everyone’s taste, but they give customers the chance to tailor their Rangefinder to their travels and specific needs,” she said.
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Written byMichael Browning
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