Caravan Club Design Awards 2012

“It only seems six months since the last Caravan Club Design Awards,” announced club Chairman Grenville Chamberlain during his 2012 awards speech, and how right he was. The awards have been moved from the early part of the year to October in order to reflect the latest models and give the caravan buying public informed opinion on the quality of the new crop.

A team of four judges (myself included) follow rigorous scoring checklists that include design, comfort, build quality and use of space to find an overall winner among the 40 caravans in the seven award categories. If you’re thinking that six judges would be better than four, two technical researchers also carry out the important task of checking specification, safety, security and warranty arrangements to ensure an overall picture of caravan ownership is painted.

If you visited the NEC show this October and spotted a small team armed with Caravan Club clipboards peering into the most unlikely of caravan cavities, that’s what we were up to. The only thing that hampered our otherwise unstoppable search for perfection was the buffet lunch at the Caravan Club HQ. Apart from that, and the odd cup of coffee, every point or part was checked and double checked in readiness for the awards announcement on Friday.

Bailey were the evening’s big winners and bagged three categories with their Pegasus Genoa (Two-Berth £12,500-£16,000 category), Unicorn Seville (Any Caravan £16,000-£19,000) and Olympus 530-4 (Dedicated Beds £12,500-£16,000) taking the top spots.

The Swift Group won two categories with their Sprite Alpine 2 (Best Caravan under £12,500) and the Sterling Eccles Sport (Family Caravan £12,500-£16,000).

The Fifth Wheel Company took the final two positions with their Celtic Rambler (Any Fifth Wheel Caravan) and Inos 1212 (Any Caravan £19,000 and over).

The Caravan Club also announced their Lightweight Leisure Trailer Awards on the Friday evening, which were judged by a separate panel.

You’ll have to wait a little longer than six months for the next Caravan Club Design Awards as the 2013 event is scheduled for October 2012.

Next up on the show calendar is the EventCity Caravan & Motorhome Show in Manchester from 19-22 January, shortly followed by The Motorhome, Caravan & Camping Show at ExCeL London from 14-19 Feb.