Bailey 765 ....thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[chrisinplymouth]

hi ... My wife and I are seriously considering purchasing a Bailey 765. My primary concern is the apparent lack of external storage for chairs, bbq etc.

I would love to hear from other owners on their views of the 765 in general and storage in particular and any other down (and up) sides

Kind regards

Chris

 

[Judge Mental]

Could not live with a coachbuilt van without a garage....

 

[Larrynwin]

We are having to downsize to 3500kgs and considered the Bailey and the Swift Bolero but neither have adequate external locker space.
We like a twin sofa arrangement so when ready will get an Itineo SB720 which also has a decent locker.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[tonka]

The lack of external lockers was the reason we went off the van when we looked for a new one...
I went for the Autotrail apache 700... Loads of space...

 

[chrisinplymouth]

Thanks all....

 

[Humsafer]

May be a bit late to help it your decision on whether to buy a 765 or not, however here our my thoughts after owning an Autograph 765 for six months.
SHAPE.
Bit like Marmite you either love it or hate it but the method of construction of the shell is I believe well proven now.
STORAGE
Like any other comparable U lounge motorhome, masses of it. You just cannot access it from outside. Probably cost saving on lockers by Bailey. We try to see it as extra security . Bonus is the drop down Longitudinal bed, like a lot of people, we bought the van for the overall space and don't use the bed for sleeping on. We took the mattress out and use the space to store our bedding, freeing up locker space.
GREY WASTE PIPE
I would imagine, another of Bailey's cost saving ideas (lets face it they are well priced compared with other similar vans) This sorry excuse for a waste outlet needs changing, To add insult to injury it also has two baffles in the tap to further reduce the flow. I drilled mine out
BUILD QUALITY
this I am getting really worried about. The nearside rear bed in the U lounge has totally collapsed after only 21 nights use. Investigation reveals very light build with the centre section only held up by two small screws and angle brackets, causing one of the ply supports to fracture totally. On the offside the bed has totally come away from its hinges.
over enthusiastic use of Velcro on the dinette seat squabs has resulted in the squab pulling away the bed struts underneath when they are lifted. There are one or two other issues but maybe I have gone on long enough
OVERALL
The design and concept are to our liking and we shall keep the van long term, concentrating on putting problems right. I am sure we will get them sorted. Would I buy this make again, Yes.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[chrisinplymouth]

Hi Humsafer..... We did decide to buy one and are really pleased. We love the lounge and the enormous double be it turns into in less than 2 minutes. Thank you for the suggestion regarding removing the mattress on the drop down, I hadn't thought of that. Like you it's only my wife and I traveling so don't need it. As I write this we are parked up in Grantown on Spey before moving down to Glencoe tomorrow.....very cosy on a cold night. Chris

 

[Humsafer]

Hi Chris
well done, you are a braver man than I ,being in Scotland this time of the year. We are in St Cyprian near Perpignan in the south of France With a busted bed currently supported by a Spanish gas bottle and a piece of Plywood. Glad you are happy, as I am . They are not a bad bus for the money and the wife loves the super low step to get in.+ No electric steps to go wrong.
Have lots of fun and take care.
Fred and Joan

 

[125BEER]

Good tip for storage of bedding
Cheers

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}