Bailey Palermo 2016 touring caravan

Full review

There’s a big choice of five-berth caravans on the market. The Palermo, though, is Britain’s only twin-axle five-berth. Named after the capital of the enchanting island of Sicily, this is Bailey’s longest family caravan, at 7.92m.

It has a unique layout, introduced when Bailey launched the new Pegasus range for 2016, and with unique upholstery construction called DreamSleep. The settee bases are in two sections, one above the other. To make a bed, these fold out so that the under-sections lie one on top of the other, in the centre of the bed. The result is a perfectly flat mattress made up in just a minute or so.

The DreamSleep system is in all Pegasus models but its significance is amplified in the family layouts, the Palermo and the single-axle Brindisi, (and also in the two-berth Genoa) because the lounge double bed will be made up every night, rather than being for occasional use as in the fixed-bed models.

The Palermo has lots of refinements including a stunning lighting style involving 17 bright LEDs mounted into wooden panels running above all of the lockers, and even a magazine rack, on the nearside wall of the lounge.

There is one important feature that you can’t see unless you search for it, though. The Palermo is fitted with pre-wiring for the installation of a motormover switch. Bailey has equipped all its new Pegasus caravans with this feature. That’s because the battery compartment in Pegasus models is under the floor, and its position varies according to the layout. So, by installing the motormover switch wiring, Bailey makes fitting a motormover easier. With the exponential rise in the number of motormovers being sold, we can see this feature being a clear advantage. And on the basis that the larger the caravan the greater the need for a motormover, the Palermo is the Pegasus model that is most likely to leave a retailer having had a mover fitted.

The Palermo’s unique layout provides an amazingly open-plan look while at the same time giving children their own dedicated bed-and-dining area, just forward of the full-width shower room.