Bailey Autograph 740 first impressions (1 Viewer)

[Tweedie]

After looking at loads of makes and models we settled on the Autograph 740 as it fitted our needs perfectly and seemed to be very competitive regarding spec/price. Bought from White Arches, Wellingborough had cycle rack and rear view twin camera plus extra battery fitted. Took delivery last week and did a couple of nights shake down stay on a local site.

First impressions very good nice and comfortable, great for lounging around in and everything seems to be working well and as for the Alde heating system that was excellent. Thought we would set it on timer to come on early morning which it did but obviously need to not set such a high temp, it was like waking up in the Med!! Only issue we had was that we assumed that the fitted external socket would be OK to plug in the Avtex TV aerial, however it is wired with a satellite connection only in the external socket, so put the aerial up inside, still had an excellent picture anyway. Assume if we get the correct connector will then be able to plug our aerial into the external socket. Having our alarm and solar panels fitted next week at Vanbitz will then be touring around for a few days, can't wait for the first proper outing. All in all so far so good, think we have made the right choice.

 

[Easyliving]

Glad you are pleased with your new van Tweedle. We have looked at Bailey's, in particular the one with the island bed - seems very good value. If I can ever persuade SWMBO to get a new van it could well be a Bailey.

Paul

 

[The wizened of OZ]

My 745 will be 4 years old in April 2016. I have had endless problems with it. Find list below.

1 slider fell of curtains. ( took 30 seconds to put it back on )

Come to think of it that's all that has gone wrong with it.

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[davebav]

We had 2 sides of A4 of probs with our 740 but the dealer sorted most of them out. The most serious was the gas fumes from the fridge venting into the van, they don't fit a fridge exhaust anymore apparently. The second biggest problem was the front body quarter panel falling off in Italy, it was fixed on with a dollop of no more nails. I still have a terribly annoying rattling squeak from the compartment above the driver.
If Bailey had "quality circles" or listened to customer feedback I'm sure a lot of probs would be avoided by proper factory checks.

 

[Anthea M]

We met a few Bailey owners at Chester Rally and they seemed very pleased with their vans. Have great trips in yours!

 

[Tweedie]

We had 2 sides of A4 of probs with our 740 but the dealer sorted most of them out. The most serious was the gas fumes from the fridge venting into the van, they don't fit a fridge exhaust anymore apparently. The second biggest problem was the front body quarter panel falling off in Italy, it was fixed on with a dollop of no more nails. I still have a terribly annoying rattling squeak from the compartment above the driver.
If Bailey had "quality circles" or listened to customer feedback I'm sure a lot of probs would be avoided by proper factory checks.

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[Tweedie]

Will be putting ours to a good test off to France in a weeks time for 5 months so will see. I agree that Baileys QC is not good we had silly things that were wrong (eg Alde heating, water drain outlet pipe from hot water tank not fitted correctly so water would not fully drain from heater) but all easily sorted by our dealer who has been excellent (White Arches). I do think the employee they let loose with the sealant gun could do with going on a how to apply sealant correctly course, but apart from that all in all so far so good, very pleased with ours love, the feeling of space the 740 gives you.

 

[PhilPepz]

After a brilliant trip to France in late April early May we have been well and truly bitten by the motorhome freedom bug. So much so that we have decided to trade our Burstner i591 Elegance for a 2013 Bailey Approach 740SE. The CO fell in love with the space and layout. Apart from the very small waste water drain are there any other things I should watch out for?

 

[BobtheBass]

Could you stretch to a 2014 onwards Approach Autograph? They made a huge number of improvements to the original model, not least the Alde heating which is excellent. I believe the original model had problems with the hab door.

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[Big Nick]

After a brilliant trip to France in late April early May we have been well and truly bitten by the motorhome freedom bug. So much so that we have decided to trade our Burstner i591 Elegance for a 2013 Bailey Approach 740SE. The CO fell in love with the space and layout. Apart from the very small waste water drain are there any other things I should watch out for?

There's a simple mod you can make to the inside of the drain tap, doubles the flow rate

 

[Tweedie]

We are now into week 6 of our extended tour of France currently in northern Spain whilst the French settle down with the fuel milarkie. Anyway so far Bertie has behaved well, we did have a warning light come on the dash to do with emissions but this was just a quick fix by a Peugeot garage plug into computer and reset. Only had minor things with Moho mainly due to Bailey sloppy QC, eg one Reims blind fitted upside down. We love the space in the lounge area great on our long trip, we are going to look for a smaller table as the one supplied is a bit too big. Think our model has a larger storage locker door than the previous. Yes the hab door is also different, we have had no issues and the Alde system is great. Water filling can be a bit slow via the aquasource but if we need a splash and dash we fill via the hatch direct into tank. Yes grey water a bit slow but we are just used to it, might see about doing a mod. Anyway yes we are very pleased with our 740 but being our first Moho have nothing to compare it with. It would be a thumbs up from us.