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New Swift Leisure Group dealerships for 2004

Thought I would break this press release down a bit as it was a bit long.

Basically it's new dealerships for 2004, the good news being for those wanting to have a look at Ace Motorhomes in Scotland as they have previously been without a dealership there.


Brian Fuller Caravans has recently been appointed as an official Bessacarr dealership by the Swift Group – Bessacarr’s parent company – and the UK’s largest manufacturer of caravans and motorhomes.

Situated just off the A12 in Saxmundham in Suffolk, Brain Fuller’s is one of the largest dealerships in East Anglia. An impressive outdoor display shows off their many caravans.

http://www.brianfullercaravan.co.uk

Caravanland has recently been appointed as an official Sterling dealership by the Swift Group – Sterling’s parent company – and the UK’s largest manufacturer of caravans and motorhomes.

Situated just 2 miles from Banbury, Caravanland serves the M40 corridor and attracts customers from all over Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. An impressive indoor showroom houses up to twenty five caravans, whilst the outdoor display area holds many more.

http://www.caravan-land.co.uk/links.html


Ace Motorhomes has recently appointed S & D Harper Ltd, the only Scottish-based dealership for the brand.

Founded in 1964, the family-run dealership now has two branches one in Elgin and the other in Inverness. The premises are well equipped with workshops, accessory shops and a large outdoor display area for caravans and motorhomes which is one of the largest in the Northeast and Highlands.

http://www.harperscaravans.co.uk

If anybody wants to view the full releases give me a shout

Posted by: Tenaki at 21:51 | link | comments

Motor caravans celebrating their centenary

There was one made in 1902, for £3,000 by Panhard et Levassor of Paris for Dr EE Lehwess. Powered by a 25hp petrol engine, it was painted canary yellow. It was called Passe-Partout, and Dr Lehwess hoped to travel around the world in it.

With an Argyll car as pathfinder, he set off from the Agricultural Hall Motor Exhibition, but only got as far as Gorki before the cylinders cracked and it was abandoned in a snowdrift.

It was 1903 before motor caravans got moving, as it were, when Marshall of Manchester, who made Belsize cars, produced the first British motor caravan. Based on a 20hp engine, it had five bunks, but was derided for its sloth. The Motor magazine thought it suitable only for "misguided folk who imagine motoring has something to do with carrying your home about with you".

Marshall made a more ambitious one in 1908 on a 40hp forward control truck for JW Mallalieu of Liverpool. It was 6.7m long and 3.2m tall.

The following year, Austin showed a caravan at Olympia, on a 40hp chassis, for £2,000. It was designed for two, touring with their chef and chauffeur, whose sleeping accommodation comprised bunks on the roof under a canvas canopy.

Motor caravans prospered in America on Model T Fords. The Automobile Telescope with expanding bodywork, the work of Gustav de Bretteville, had a roof-level water tank that could be connected to the car’s cooling system, providing campers with a hot shower.

A big demand came from American travelling evangelists, from whose services the eccentric de Bretteville might have benefited. His Automobile Telescope seems to have been used as a ménage à trois by the inventor and two lady friends.

In 1923, a former naval architect, Melville Hart, built a double-decker motor caravan on a Renault military chassis. The upper storey was wound up on a ratchet. He also made a motor caravan and trailer for the Maharajah of Givalior, and one designed for hunting.

But the prototype of today’s motor caravan was probably the creation of monocled Noel Pemberton-Billing, motoring and aviation adventurer.

Stoker, tram driver, chauffeur, garage owner and a horse trader in South Africa, he learned to fly in a morning at Brooklands and designed and built his own flying boats. His Pemberton-Billing Aircraft Company used the telegraphic address "Supermarine", which was adopted by the company as its new name when he left to become an MP.

Joining the Royal Naval Air Service, encouraged by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, he planned the first-ever bombing raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen by four Avro 504s.

Pemberton-Billing went into parliament to protest at the conduct of the war. Supermarine prospered to make the Spitfire in the 1930s, and he went to Australia with his latest invention, long-playing gramophone records.

In Britain he published aeroplane magazines and a weekly called The Imperialist, and set up Pemberton-Billing Economic Homes for returning servicemen.

In 1927, according to Jeremy Bacon of the learned Society of Automotive Historians, Pemberton-Billing established the next milestone in the history of the motor caravan.

He called it the Road Yacht. Based on a 17hp American Erskine, stretched to a 3.66m wheelbase, its ovoid body had a galley, shower and lavatory, and was very properly divided into a gentleman’s cabin and a lady’s cabin, complete with dressing tables.

The gentleman’s had a wardrobe, the lady’s a three-panel mirror, and both had carpets, curtains, bedding and feather pillows. In the front was a chair for the driver, bench seats over the front wings and a table on top of the engine, which was inside the cabin. The Land Yacht was 5.49m long and 1.98m wide.

Pemberton-Billing described it as a portable hotel and put it on the market for 375 guineas (£393.75), complete with wine bins alongside the engine (not good for your Chardonnay perhaps), a bookcase with 50 books, an electric glow fire and dinner service for six.

Even with a radio and gramophone, however, the Road Yacht did not catch on. With an ice machine, oil gas cooker under a hinged white sink, hot and cold water, and electric lighting, it was cumbersome, with a top speed of 45mph.

Pemberton-Billing did take it to America in 1930 - where he was trying to sell another invention, a forerunner of the jukebox - but it was perhaps just as well he never got his Land Yacht to the West Coast. At 45mph he would have spent a lot of time looking in the mirror.

Posted by: Tenaki at 12:22 | link | comments

Win tickets to the NEC - Boat Caravan and Outdoor show

To enter follow the link http://www.touringandtenting.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1114

Posted by: Tenaki at 17:40 | link | comments

Whats new for 2004 then?

I thought the show was excellent again, although I was a bit dissapointed to see less eye catchers than last year, not counting Tara Palma Tomkinson of course.

The all new Geist is one to watch out for and with luck we will be doing a special on them later on. They combine European build quality with UK interiors and fittings at a reasonable cost. The Senior management team have a long track record in manufacturing so they know what they are up to and I suspect they know what we want!

Airstream as we said about earlier looks set to hit the UK soon, with luck. The new UK legal versions will be at the more expensive end of the market. Look out for more on this subject soon.

Avondale have again worked hard to promote their new models and I am sure this will show in their new sales this year. The new motorhomes were very impressive. You can see their full range on gallery.

Again this year the talk is about the quality of the continental vans and the sales of the these will increase over the next couple of years unless the UK manufacturers can pull it round and get people thinking about their vans.

Bailey caravans were impressive, especially the discovery budget model at under 8k

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by: Tenaki at 21:56 | link | comments

NEW LAUNCHES AT THE CARAVAN AND OUTDOOR LEISURE SHOW 2003

Earls Court, London - 4-9 November 2003

Big, funky, posh, expensive – and new. This is what the caravanning market have in store for visitors to this year's Caravan and Outdoor Leisure Show, which opens at Earls Court on the 4 November.

The caravan market is growing in more ways than one. While more and more people are discovering the delights of caravanning, the newest models of caravans and motorhomes are getting decidedly bigger – and posher!

 

Take the eye-catching funky German mini caravan Tab, launched at last year’s show. Tab, now has a big brother, larger and even funkier than the original version. See it on stand 144, Moorland Leisure.

 

Money no object? Transleisure, on stand 260, are importing Chinooks from the US with a price tag of between £99k and £150k.

 

Retro style is becoming caravan chic. Dandy is a model not seen for years at the Show but which was once very popular. Riva Leisure, stand C60, are revising it and re-launching it.

 

Brownhills are exhibiting a brand new Hymer motorhome – the Exsis. Each of the three models – the Exsis, Exsis Sport and Exsis Elegance - are four berth and available in silver, white and a sophisticated deep red. So important is this initiative, Hymer have built a dedicated factory for the Exsis in Germany to cope with expected demand. See them on stand 210.

 

The Caravan and Outdoor Leisure Show is at Earls Court, London from 4 - 9 November and offers an unrivalled selection of caravans, motorhomes, holiday homes plus camping gear and outdoor accessories from leading UK and European manufacturers and suppliers.

 

ACCESSORIES R US. Their revolutionary Monterey Quartz heater provides the perfect solution to extending the time you can spend outside under the awning –even when the sun has gone down. The design is easy to assemble, sliding onto an awning or gazebo pole. Once situated it can be left for as long as needed, never having to worry about the damp ground.

Stand62

 

AUTOSLEEPERS will be launching two new vehicles – the Midas and the Inca. Midas is the first ever Auto-Sleeper to be built on an Al-Ko chassis. New features include an L-shaped lounge. The Inca is the first wide-bodied Auto-Sleeper to be manufactured – nearly 20cms dier than the Pollensa on which it is based. Stand 124.

 

AVONDALE has a range of must-see caravans especially the Bianco models. These feature innovative modern designs both inside and out with a round porthole window in the kitchen area giving a unique visual impact. Stand 114.

 

BAILEY is taking a clear view of the caravan scene. The company is launching all-new Discovery and Ranger models, very competitively priced and featuring a new one-piece front window which offers a superb panoramic view once on site. Stand 182

 

BRADCOT AWNINGS are launching a new porch awning called the Portico XL. This is in response to repeated requests from customers who have made it clear there is a demand for such an awning. Stand D30

 

COACHMAN has a completely new model in their upmarket VIP range. The new addition is the four berth VIP 530/4 which features a permanent double bed. Stand 128.

 

CONWAY LEISURE (which is under new ownership) is launching a full range of exciting new folding campers and trailer tents. Stand D60

 

DOMETIC – Every home on wheels needs a fridge and refrigerator manufacturer Dometic will be introducing their new series models which have been installed in some of the caravans and motorhomes on show at Earls Court Stand G82

 

EXPLORER GROUP has revised its Elddis, Compass and Buccaneer ranges for 2004. Their luxury Buccaneer range also features a permanent double bed, this time on their Caravel model. Stand 154

 

FIAMMA – To complement the existing very popular Fiamma Zip Awning this leading accessory firm is launching the Caravan Store Zip for the 2004 season. Stand G10

 

IH MOTOR CAMPERS displaying a new selection of topline motorcampers plus an unusual left hand drive version of one of their most popular models, the medium wheel based Baby Tio. Stand 227

 

KC LEISURE is a brand new name in the caravan market having only been launched in September. Among the products they will be exhibiting will be KC Steps, a unique design for caravans and motorhomes, and KC Leisurewear, excellent quality jackets and raincoats by Jack Murphy. Anyone spending more than £75 on the stand receives a free golfing umbrella. Stand H62

 

LOWDHAMS LEISUREWORLD will be unveiling the first new ‘A’ class models from Knaus and Laika since 2002. The new Knaus ‘A’ sunliner 658 KG, for example, features a fixed rear bed and dinette area plus a sexy smooth front exterior. Also on display will be two new six wheeler tag axles from Dethleffs. Stand 247.

 

MEMO is a Dutch firm who will be showing three new products to help make driving your motorhome easier –the newest ‘reverse gear’ lock, and new alloy wheels and new electric jacks specifically designed for motorhomes. Stand G38

 

P & P CAR AND CAMPER SALES are thinking small but with big expectations. It’s a first time appearance for Nu-venture at the Show, the smallest product of its kind in the market. Described as similar to Romahome in size but amazingly fresh and different inside and out, it’s hoped to generate big sales. Stand 282

 

ROMAHOME are displaying a new concept vehicle – The Silver Fox, a vehicle based on the Duo Outlook but with silver paint work, new stylish upholstery, rear shower and additional storage. Stand 215

 

SHOREFIELD HOLIDAYS are involved in a £2m leisure development at Oakdene Forest Park at St Leonards, Ringwood in Dorset. At the Shorefield site at Milford on Sea, Hampshire there is a new gym extension being built with a pampering therapy spa which will have 12 – 14 treatment rooms when completed. Stand 160

 

SWIFT GROUP manufacturers five different caravan ranges under the Swift, Abbey, Ace, Bessacarr and Sterling brands. For 2004 the company has concentrated on its mid and upmarket models and has introduced a new and particularly stylish curvy furniture style previously only seen in their motorhome ranges. Stand 122

 

TORBAY CAMPER CONVERSIONS - first time exhibitor offering the McLouis range which are well priced budget motorhomes imported from Italy but with chic Scottish styling. Stand D68

 

WESTCROFT MOTORHOMES. The German motorhome manufacturers Euramobil is one of the best and Westcroft will using the show to launch their new ‘KARMANN’ range built on the new revamped VW T5 Trident chassis. Stand 265

Press release to Touring and Tenting 03/11/03

Posted by: Tenaki at 21:37 | link | comments