Great to see everything fine with your new caravan. Only had minor issues my self with same caravan as yours. Just an idea about your bathroom skylight, I’ve had the skylight from kitchen fitted into the bathroom it cost £150 because they make the hole bigger. This gives you better ventilation and has the blinds fitted. I’ve got same caravan and year as yours and had same air conditioning fitted. Works out brilliant for us looks better. Just have to buy a new skylight if I wish to keep the air conditioning in the future. Good luck Graham
Sandra Westley we have just got a brand new Bailey Alco Grande Porto and and love it, sold our double axle Swift Challenge to our son, and we much prefer our new Bailey. I don’t like the charging points in the back of the chest of draws, just such a mess when charging all the iPads. We had the plugs on the Bailey chest of draws turned round the other way so the iPads can charge down the side of the chest of draws, unseen. We love our barn door, it’s great with the dog. We absolutely didn’t like the dividing door between bath room and kitchen opening into the kitchen, especially if you were cooking at the cooker. They’ve changed the door in the bedroom now anyway. The large window in the Bailey we had open the whole of the time we were away, because it was the week it was 30. Those draws in the beside cabinets are useless. We also love our Wembley stadium lights😂 there all LED anway so don’t use much battery. Also our seat we had only had the Swift 18 months and part of that in lock down but it was going all saggy where we each sat, the new Bailey they are all sprung and so comfy. Also the Bailey Bed is better for my back Swift’s was too firm.
Thanks Graham I find your Vlogs really helpful and always entertaining! Just bought a new Bailey unicorn cabrera (series 4) and delighted with it so far, really enjoying the luxury and comfort! Keep up the good work, and enjoy the caravan!
Hi Graham, we had a Series 4 Unicorn Pamplona, like your Cartagena it had the long 6ft front seats but also had the rear bedroom like you have now. The reason the Baileys have longer front seats is because of no front locker not to do with the beds 👍👍
Could do with letting your viewers know to make sure to fully retract the main door flyscreen before shutting the door or else the door breaks it off the lower runner.
Your challenger is the same layout as our swift henbury, but the henbury is single axel .. lovely van but I'd like the bed a bit longer as I'm a 6 footer ... Great layout though 👌
Great to see you enjoying your van. We got the 850 around the same time. Been my first caravan I've been a bit surprised by the build quality of it. Listening to your honest thoughts and opinions I'm guessing that's kind of the norm for the industry 🤣. I've had a few problems my sink poured water into the cupboard, the battery locker door lock barrel broke on the first day. For some reason swift use masking tape to fix the cables between the bedroom doors and they all came lose and got cought up but all fixed now. My feelings on the blinds are they are going to brake. They feel very flimsy. You have to be careful when closing them. In the morning when hot they seem to flex and bulge when you try and close the large front one. I've banned the kids from touching them 😂. We also have one on the toilet skylight so it's odd you don't. All in all we love it tho. I think the swift's are the best looking van's out there at the minute and as soon as we walked in it we knew it was the one for us. Keep the great content coming 👍🏻
That clip pops off and then breaks! I’ve got three broken now! Don’t be surprised if the sliding door comes off. My dealer said it was common and was a bu**er to put back on! I love my Challenger though.
Good review, Graham. We have the 2020 Challenger with the glossy cupboards. I wasn’t sure about them at first but having lived with them for 18 months we now quite like them. Personally I don’t have a problem with the window blinds. They do let light in through the holes where the cords go, though, which I wasn’t expecting. The blind on the door window isn’t as good quality as the window blinds. Looking forward to seeing your review on Command. Steve
Thanks for watching. Don’t get me wrong we would have been more than happy with the 2020 one. At the time pre loved ones were in short supply and it wasn’t a great deal extra to have a new one. We’re getting used to the blinds now I think because they were different to Bailey it felt less premium at the time.
Really enjoyed the owner perspective format of this video Graham, thanks for doing it differently (not that I am in the market for a Swift) it’s always good to see how the other half live!)… ✅ 👏🏻 Enjoy your new ‘van and current break in Cornwall (?)… 👍🏻
I agree with others about the blinds in the bathroom. I've had the sprite version of this caravan and both blinds are fitted as standard (along with every Swift I've owned). I suggest you get in touch with Swift about it. Also, we have a 2021 Swift with the same reading lights. I only noticed recently that you can dim them by twisting the rotary part at the back of the light. Tada!
Great video Martin. I had to rewind and watch again just to check you said you weren’t that keen on the Bailey infinity window!!! As a Swift owner I have said the same to a couple of Bailey owners, you would have thought I’d insulted them personally!!!! It felt like a hanging offence to not like it!! 🥴 Really enjoyed the Olympic video!! Enjoy the caravan.
We have the last generation 2018 Conquerer 650 almost identical to your Challenger, I totally agree with your observation on the bathroom roof light, seems like a major oversight on Swifts behalf, will be interested to see your review on the air con unit, good review thanks👍👍👍👍👍👍
Nice video with personal honest views. We have a Bailey Black Edition Cadiz and so far in the just on a year we have gad it and been away eight times Even with lock downs we are very pleased with it and find the layout and storage areas perfect. Just luck as one storage area that only the Cadiz has is the large Area in the toilet cassette locker with room for the chemical;s and Collapsible bucket and watering can. Also two wet storage lockers under one bed and under the front seat to the left of the door. They also altered the kitchen area and no longer protruding into the walkway and has two large draws and storage cupboard under sink area. Sa you say all a matter of personal choice.
Thanks very much for your review of your Swift.. as MD of Swift I agree with all your comments, I will send the big fat cheque to you in due course... Ps we keep a spare fridge ready for you just incase...😉😉
Great honest owners comparison. Being a Bailey owner unfortunately I have to agree with all of your comments. We love the layout of our Cadiz and the furnishings etc but there are some really annoying niggly things that we really dont like with the Bailey. The bathroom sink is useless, the infinity window is nice to look at but too heavy to open and do up the the stupid wheel locks to hold it open, the lights in the front lounge which is our biggest issue. We had a Sprite before which is an entry level but I could even dim the lights in that using Swift Command. It is not difficult to fit even a cheap CBE dimming switch which the Bailey definitely needs. My last moan is the quality of our van. It's now 12 months old but only been used 4 times. It was serviced a couple of weeks ago and also had to have 15 warranty items looked at!! This is not acceptable but Bailey customer service were not interested. Anyway, thanks for a look around your Swift. Happy holidays! 👍
Hi, we have the 2021 Swift Challenger X 850 and our bathroom skylight has the blackout blind as well as the fly blind. I was very surprised yours didn’t. Either you’ve done a’man look’ lol, or Swift have been unnecessarily tight.
Graham, I’m finding you’re Vlogs very informative. I am currently researching for a future purchase. I have been told by a dealer that some sites do not allow twin axle vans. Is this something you are aware of or experienced. Thanks in advance. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching. Never had a problem with the twin axle, even in France. Having said that we don’t generally go to smaller site, mainly because we don’t like taking a caravan down smaller roads. Graham
Just another thought 💭 another time it would be lovely to do a Bailey Pamplona v yours as comparing the Cartagena v yours are two diff layouts. As we have Pamplona i would say on yours i prefer the bathroom ( love 💕 your bathroom!) I really like the front plugs on the Swift v side plug in ours on front chest while my husband hated those front plugs when we had a Swift. Swift tracker is way better than Bailey as you can actually check on the app and see where your caravan is. Also radio better on the swift command. On ours i love the long front seats as the Swift ones are shorter. I think the Bailey kitchen just edges it on size too. I always wanted the big pan drawers but after two Baileys with them id rather have your cupboards as more practical. Swift position the microwave better too. Fabric panels in bedroom are nice in the Swift as the curtains in ours can get in the way. Baileys mattress is firmer and that suits us but a Duvalay mattress is a lovely addition. We really like our stable door and would miss that with our dog . Lastly i just love the big Bailey front window 😊💕. Like i said be really interesting for another time to say choose yours v Pamplona v another similar like the Elddis Crusader Zephyr?? That has end bedroom but bed is transverse. Hard to compare diff layouts like today but liked the video especially' cant open the pant cupboard there may be some in there ' 🤣🤣
Enjoyed the vlog. Unfortunately like all the other manufacturers of British built caravans, they give little and take a lot. ie, Plug sockets, USB, Blinds, = penny pinching
Thanks for a great review, very interesting especially about the bed layout. We currently have an island bed layout, but are thinking of getting a bigger caravan and to get bench seats looks like it will have to be a transverse bed, we like Elddis caravans, what didn’t you like about the transverse bed layout towards the end?
The only issue we had about the transverse bed was access to the loo at night. People have said it’s better with an 8 foot wide caravan. Having said that the Bailey configuration was poor as it was like a shelf at the end that you flipped up to make the bed full size. Then we had this odd semi circular mattress that fitted in the flap and having to store it during the day was a pain 🤔
@@CaravanVlogger AH ok, the version we are looking at they have a very small ledge at the bottom of the bed where the heat pipes run for the heating so access round the bed when extended seemed ok. Yes I think an 8ft wide caravan would be better but I dont really want anything as wide as that. I’m glad MG finally came through for you. They are literally 5 mins up the road for me but I wouldn’t buy from them.
We were happy with MG. They helped us by ordering the replacement caravan before the other one had been officially written off. That ensured we got some use this summer 👍🏻
You’re never find everything to your own taste in anything, there’s always a comprise or give and take. If everything was perfect for you life would be boring . I’m just glad I’ve got a caravan and I like a challenge to over come the things we don’t like. …… 😇 😇😂 did that make sense? 😂
I am shocked Mr Vlogger that you have never checked your nose weight that is a basic requirement for towing safety and not good advice for Newbies. Just because you only carry gas bottles in the locker means nothing. I have a friend who has a Coachman whose nose weight unladen is nearly at the Max for his car.
Nope never done it. Don’t advise others to do the same. I’m an entertainer rather than an educator. Others can do that 👍🏻 Mind you I’m happy for people to argue I’m not an entertainer also 🤷♂️🤔
Totally agree with you I’ve been caravanning for 30 years and is one of the most important things to check before setting off. The downward force on your coupling can make your outfit unstable if too high. . I’ve got a twin axle Buccaneer towed by a LR Discovery and you be surprised what the nose weight is with nothing in the van. Start adding things in the van in cupboards under bed etc and this rises more than you realise. So always balanced out by moving awning over back slightly over axle and sometimes moving things from front cupboards to rear to get it right without of course putting too much at the back.
Each to their own with checks and loading but lots of data available regarding nose weight, how to achieve it, measure it and the importance of getting it right. What most people overlook is the nose weight being too light. Just as bad as nose heavy with regard to stability when towing. Any way enough of all that, lovely van and I think a lot of choice comes down to brand loyalty. No idea why it’s just what we do.
The main thing I don't like about the Bailey unicorn is there as "ugly as💩"....Swift Make a much better looking van...I cant stand looking at the horrible thing....I'm interested,why didn't you buy the 850??? 🤔🇬🇧
Great to see everything fine with your new caravan. Only had minor issues my self with same caravan as yours.
Just an idea about your bathroom skylight, I’ve had the skylight from kitchen fitted into the bathroom it cost £150 because they make the hole bigger.
This gives you better ventilation and has the blinds fitted.
I’ve got same caravan and year as yours and had same air conditioning fitted.
Works out brilliant for us looks better. Just have to buy a new skylight if I wish to keep the air conditioning in the future.
Good luck Graham
Sandra Westley we have just got a brand new Bailey Alco Grande Porto and and love it, sold our double axle Swift Challenge to our son, and we much prefer our new Bailey. I don’t like the charging points in the back of the chest of draws, just such a mess when charging all the iPads. We had the plugs on the Bailey chest of draws turned round the other way so the iPads can charge down the side of the chest of draws, unseen. We love our barn door, it’s great with the dog. We absolutely didn’t like the dividing door between bath room and kitchen opening into the kitchen, especially if you were cooking at the cooker. They’ve changed the door in the bedroom now anyway. The large window in the Bailey we had open the whole of the time we were away, because it was the week it was 30. Those draws in the beside cabinets are useless. We also love our Wembley stadium lights😂 there all LED anway so don’t use much battery. Also our seat we had only had the Swift 18 months and part of that in lock down but it was going all saggy where we each sat, the new Bailey they are all sprung and so comfy. Also the Bailey Bed is better for my back Swift’s was too firm.
Thanks Graham I find your Vlogs really helpful and always entertaining! Just bought a new Bailey unicorn cabrera (series 4) and delighted with it so far, really enjoying the luxury and comfort! Keep up the good work, and enjoy the caravan!
Thanks 😊 Yes we liked the unicorn 4 it’s was just specifically the Cartagena layout that just didn’t work for us..
Hi Graham, we had a Series 4 Unicorn Pamplona, like your Cartagena it had the long 6ft front seats but also had the rear bedroom like you have now.
The reason the Baileys have longer front seats is because of no front locker not to do with the beds 👍👍
Could do with letting your viewers know to make sure to fully retract the main door flyscreen before shutting the door or else the door breaks it off the lower runner.
Lovely caravan Graham. Hope it gives you many great memories. 👍👍 😍😍
Your challenger is the same layout as our swift henbury, but the henbury is single axel .. lovely van but I'd like the bed a bit longer as I'm a 6 footer ... Great layout though 👌
Great to see you enjoying your van. We got the 850 around the same time. Been my first caravan I've been a bit surprised by the build quality of it. Listening to your honest thoughts and opinions I'm guessing that's kind of the norm for the industry 🤣.
I've had a few problems my sink poured water into the cupboard, the battery locker door lock barrel broke on the first day. For some reason swift use masking tape to fix the cables between the bedroom doors and they all came lose and got cought up but all fixed now.
My feelings on the blinds are they are going to brake. They feel very flimsy. You have to be careful when closing them. In the morning when hot they seem to flex and bulge when you try and close the large front one. I've banned the kids from touching them 😂. We also have one on the toilet skylight so it's odd you don't.
All in all we love it tho. I think the swift's are the best looking van's out there at the minute and as soon as we walked in it we knew it was the one for us.
Keep the great content coming 👍🏻
That clip pops off and then breaks! I’ve got three broken now! Don’t be surprised if the sliding door comes off. My dealer said it was common and was a bu**er to put back on! I love my Challenger though.
Thanks for watching. Oh I’ll take care when shutting the doors 😀
Would love to see you do a video of what and how you load your van for a long weekend away 👍
Good review, Graham. We have the 2020 Challenger with the glossy cupboards. I wasn’t sure about them at first but having lived with them for 18 months we now quite like them. Personally I don’t have a problem with the window blinds. They do let light in through the holes where the cords go, though, which I wasn’t expecting. The blind on the door window isn’t as good quality as the window blinds. Looking forward to seeing your review on Command. Steve
Thanks for watching. Don’t get me wrong we would have been more than happy with the 2020 one. At the time pre loved ones were in short supply and it wasn’t a great deal extra to have a new one.
We’re getting used to the blinds now I think because they were different to Bailey it felt less premium at the time.
Really enjoyed the owner perspective format of this video Graham, thanks for doing it differently (not that I am in the market for a Swift) it’s always good to see how the other half live!)… ✅ 👏🏻
Enjoy your new ‘van and current break in Cornwall (?)… 👍🏻
I agree with others about the blinds in the bathroom. I've had the sprite version of this caravan and both blinds are fitted as standard (along with every Swift I've owned). I suggest you get in touch with Swift about it. Also, we have a 2021 Swift with the same reading lights. I only noticed recently that you can dim them by twisting the rotary part at the back of the light. Tada!
We had those lights in the Bailey that you twisted definitely don’t have them in our challenger, maybe in the Elegance 🤷♂️
@@CaravanVlogger ok, that's a shame. We have a dealership special edition 835 so may be it's part of their upgrades.
Great video Martin. I had to rewind and watch again just to check you said you weren’t that keen on the Bailey infinity window!!! As a Swift owner I have said the same to a couple of Bailey owners, you would have thought I’d insulted them personally!!!! It felt like a hanging offence to not like it!! 🥴 Really enjoyed the Olympic video!! Enjoy the caravan.
Thanks for watching. I know what you mean. It just didn’t work for us…
Have you changed your name Graham. Is that so the bailey owners can't find you?😉
😂Bailey, Adria, Airstream….Go Pod 😆🥳
What's not to like about Go-Pods? On second thoughts, a 3 hr vlog could lose you viewers. Lol.🤣
We have the last generation 2018 Conquerer 650 almost identical to your Challenger, I totally agree with your observation on the bathroom roof light, seems like a major oversight on Swifts behalf, will be interested to see your review on the air con unit, good review thanks👍👍👍👍👍👍
Nice video with personal honest views. We have a Bailey Black Edition Cadiz and so far in the just on a year we have gad it and been away eight times
Even with lock downs we are very pleased with it and find the layout and storage areas perfect. Just luck as one storage area that only the Cadiz has is the large
Area in the toilet cassette locker with room for the chemical;s and Collapsible bucket and watering can. Also two wet storage lockers under one bed and under the
front seat to the left of the door. They also altered the kitchen area and no longer protruding into the walkway and has two large draws and storage cupboard under sink area.
Sa you say all a matter of personal choice.
Thanks for watching.
Graham I think you have a dud skylight, we have a challenger and all the skylights have both fly screen and blackout blind..
Thanks for watching. It was the same on the last one too. Must to a 2021 “improvement” 🙄🤔
Lovely to see you enjoying your van after all the heartache following the crash.
Thanks very much for your review of your Swift.. as MD of Swift I agree with all your comments, I will send the big fat cheque to you in due course... Ps we keep a spare fridge ready for you just incase...😉😉
Great honest owners comparison. Being a Bailey owner unfortunately I have to agree with all of your comments. We love the layout of our Cadiz and the furnishings etc but there are some really annoying niggly things that we really dont like with the Bailey. The bathroom sink is useless, the infinity window is nice to look at but too heavy to open and do up the the stupid wheel locks to hold it open, the lights in the front lounge which is our biggest issue. We had a Sprite before which is an entry level but I could even dim the lights in that using Swift Command. It is not difficult to fit even a cheap CBE dimming switch which the Bailey definitely needs. My last moan is the quality of our van. It's now 12 months old but only been used 4 times. It was serviced a couple of weeks ago and also had to have 15 warranty items looked at!! This is not acceptable but Bailey customer service were not interested. Anyway, thanks for a look around your Swift. Happy holidays! 👍
Hi Graham just new to your channel great video .We have the same layout in a single axle have you ever had any issues with the shower door falling of
Hi and thanks for watching. No not experienced the shower door falling off, although they do look flimsy...
@@CaravanVlogger yes ours has been of twice going back in on January to get fixed good channel you have
@@alexspeirs8675 They come off the top runner occasionally if ours is anything to go by!!
Hi, we have the 2021 Swift Challenger X 850 and our bathroom skylight has the blackout blind as well as the fly blind. I was very surprised yours didn’t. Either you’ve done a’man look’ lol, or Swift have been unnecessarily tight.
Yeah swift being tight. The last one didn’t have it either 🤷♂️
Nice to see a southerner with good old Northern Yorkshire biscuits in the cupboard 🤣😂🤣👍, great video 👍
In a Yorkshire caravan too.
Graham, I’m finding you’re Vlogs very informative. I am currently researching for a future purchase. I have been told by a dealer that some sites do not allow twin axle vans. Is this something you are aware of or experienced. Thanks in advance. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching. Never had a problem with the twin axle, even in France. Having said that we don’t generally go to smaller site, mainly because we don’t like taking a caravan down smaller roads. Graham
Excellent video as usual. Just checking, Are the pigeons a dealer fitted option? Or do they come as standard?
Thanks for watching. You’ve got me there - pigeons 🤷♂️
Our Bailey Pamplona with end bedroom has the 6'3 front benches 😂 ... just saying 😉😉😉
Your caravan looks fab though 👍
Just another thought 💭 another time it would be lovely to do a Bailey Pamplona v yours as comparing the Cartagena v yours are two diff layouts.
As we have Pamplona i would say on yours i prefer the bathroom ( love 💕 your bathroom!)
I really like the front plugs on the Swift v side plug in ours on front chest while my husband hated those front plugs when we had a Swift.
Swift tracker is way better than Bailey as you can actually check on the app and see where your caravan is.
Also radio better on the swift command.
On ours i love the long front seats as the Swift ones are shorter.
I think the Bailey kitchen just edges it on size too.
I always wanted the big pan drawers but after two Baileys with them id rather have your cupboards as more practical. Swift position the microwave better too.
Fabric panels in bedroom are nice in the Swift as the curtains in ours can get in the way.
Baileys mattress is firmer and that suits us but a Duvalay mattress is a lovely addition.
We really like our stable door and would miss that with our dog .
Lastly i just love the big Bailey front window 😊💕.
Like i said be really interesting for another time to say choose yours v Pamplona v another similar like the Elddis Crusader Zephyr?? That has end bedroom but bed is transverse.
Hard to compare diff layouts like today but liked the video especially' cant open the pant cupboard there may be some in there ' 🤣🤣
Enjoyed the vlog. Unfortunately like all the other manufacturers of British built caravans, they give little and take a lot. ie, Plug sockets, USB, Blinds, = penny pinching
Thanks for a great review, very interesting especially about the bed layout. We currently have an island bed layout, but are thinking of getting a bigger caravan and to get bench seats looks like it will have to be a transverse bed, we like Elddis caravans, what didn’t you like about the transverse bed layout towards the end?
The only issue we had about the transverse bed was access to the loo at night. People have said it’s better with an 8 foot wide caravan. Having said that the Bailey configuration was poor as it was like a shelf at the end that you flipped up to make the bed full size. Then we had this odd semi circular mattress that fitted in the flap and having to store it during the day was a pain 🤔
@@CaravanVlogger AH ok, the version we are looking at they have a very small ledge at the bottom of the bed where the heat pipes run for the heating so access round the bed when extended seemed ok. Yes I think an 8ft wide caravan would be better but I dont really want anything as wide as that. I’m glad MG finally came through for you. They are literally 5 mins up the road for me but I wouldn’t buy from them.
We were happy with MG. They helped us by ordering the replacement caravan before the other one had been officially written off. That ensured we got some use this summer 👍🏻
Stunning van 😍 But please take care of it this time 😉👌🍾
Nice , very nice, peroni in the cupboard even nicer 😁.
Thanks for watching. Haha it’s still there 😀
Yorkshire Tea Malty Biscuit for the win :)
We have a challenger x 850 , and have both blinds in the bathroom .
Thanks for watching. Weird isn’t it, the other one was the same so it’s not like it’s a mistake 🤷♂️
My Bailey blind fell apart on the Porto grande. Just bought the new swift elegance grande much better than bailey
Sorry Graham, not sure where “Martin” came from? 🥴
Haha I’ve been called worse 😆
You’re never find everything to your own taste in anything, there’s always a comprise or give and take. If everything was perfect for you life would be boring . I’m just glad I’ve got a caravan and I like a challenge to over come the things we don’t like. …… 😇 😇😂 did that make sense? 😂
Thanks for watching. I’m a little concerned that it did make sense 😂
I am shocked Mr Vlogger that you have never checked your nose weight that is a basic requirement for towing safety and not good advice for Newbies. Just because you only carry gas bottles in the locker means nothing. I have a friend who has a Coachman whose nose weight unladen is nearly at the Max for his car.
Nope never done it. Don’t advise others to do the same. I’m an entertainer rather than an educator. Others can do that 👍🏻 Mind you I’m happy for people to argue I’m not an entertainer also 🤷♂️🤔
Totally agree with you I’ve been caravanning for 30 years and is one of the most important things to check before setting off. The downward force on your coupling can make your outfit unstable if too high. . I’ve got a twin axle Buccaneer towed by a LR Discovery and you be surprised what the nose weight is with nothing in the van. Start adding things in the van in cupboards under bed etc and this rises more than you realise. So always balanced out by moving awning over back slightly over axle and sometimes moving things from front cupboards to rear to get it right without of course putting too much at the back.
Each to their own with checks and loading but lots of data available regarding nose weight, how to achieve it, measure it and the importance of getting it right. What most people overlook is the nose weight being too light. Just as bad as nose heavy with regard to stability when towing. Any way enough of all that, lovely van and I think a lot of choice comes down to brand loyalty. No idea why it’s just what we do.
If you know what you are loading and the weights then they is no reason to check the nose weight.
@@MB-vk7tz But need to know what it is as a starting point
The main thing I don't like about the Bailey unicorn is there as "ugly as💩"....Swift Make a much better looking van...I cant stand looking at the horrible thing....I'm interested,why didn't you buy the 850???
🤔🇬🇧
Thanks for watching. L shape lounge with no window at the front side ☹️😲
@@CaravanVlogger yep forgot about that.... another swift brain freeze!!!.🎅☃️🎄🇬🇧