June 2011 issue

HELLO AND WELCOME to Practical Caravan. To help get you in the mood for the touring season, we’ve included a free copy of Three Men in a Float with this issue (only for magazines bought through retailers).

It’s a humorous travel story which follows three men who travel from Suffolk to Cornwall in a milk float. Their trail across country looking for sites to spend the night at and hook up their power supply certainly has parallels with the joys and occasional frustrations of touring in a caravan. It’s an ideal book to read while you’re relaxing on your own holidays.

Great Escapes travel section

Speaking of which, it’s that time of year again. Easter and the May bank holidays traditionally mark the start of the touring season and we have plenty of ideas to get you started. Reporter Rory White travels to the New Forest with his parents – keen to see the charms of an area close to his Dorset roots, but which he’d never visited. His trip takes in Lyndhurst, Hurst Castle and a whole range of other top caravanning destinations in one of England’s most beautiful areas. If you’d like some inspiration to plan your own trip, then don’t miss our handy cut out and keep guide to the New Forest.

Elsewhere within our comprehensive travel section, the Shaw family takes us to one of its favourite places – Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. With acres of stunning scenery accessed via cycle-friendly tracks, it’s a great place to pitch up, unload your bikes and hit the saddle – the Shaws show how it’s done. And don’t miss our guide to the best six sites to stay on for the Spring festivals.

Showroom section

With a beady eye on value-for-money caravanning, we test two ultra-compact caravans: the Bailey Orion 440-4 and the Elddis Xplore 304. With puny weights and competitive prices – not to mention some very clever design touches – these four-berths are designed to appeal to the entry level of the market. But which one should you go for? Find out in our seven-page comprehensive Twin test.

One tug you could comfortably tow either caravan with is the Ford Focus – Britain’s best-selling car. Now in its third incarnation, the 2011 Focus is sharper and more stylish than the previous version. In an exclusive First drives report, we round up the major changes to the new Focus and find out what it’s like to drive. Don’t miss this, and our report on the new Kia Sportage 1.7 CRDi 2WD. This month’s Towcar test sees two marques popular with caravanners go head-to-head. Find out how the Subaru Outback fares against the new Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer, in a clash of the 4x4 estates.

Caravan Genius section

Caravan Genius is the place in the magazine to head for if you’re after advice, insights, hints, tips and reviews. With over 40 pages, this section is essential reading for anyone interested in the practical side of caravanning, and includes step-by-step guides to popular DIY jobs, Doug King’s advice pages, and guides to the latest caravan tech. This issue, Doug shows how to fit an AirQuad rooflight, and takes us through the latest job in the Elddis GT Whirlwind Project Van makeover – removing the Carver/Truma space heater.

Andy “Jenko” Jenkinson has been busy, too. This month, our forecourt sniffer runs his rule over the ABI Marauder, model years 1992-1996, in Used van buyer. And to keep your used tug happy, why not go for a used towcar, too? Russ Smith has a forensic look at the Jeep Grand Cherokee from 1999-2005 and tells you which ones to snap up, and which ones to ignore. Enjoy more used vans coverage in Second-hand Shoot-out, which this time features fixed-bed four-berths for under £10,000: a 2003 Bailey Senator Oklahoma vs a 2004 Abbey Aventura 318.

And make sure you don’t miss our new data section, which comprises three great Buyer’s Guides: new caravans, new and used towcars and dealer specials. There’s also accessory reviews and Andy Jenkinson’s Scrapbook – a celebration of the odd and the old from the quirky world of caravans.

Contents in full

Here's a full list of contents from the June 2011 issue:

Noticeboard
Stop over here first for touring tips, deals, news and views, plus our crossword puzzle
Planner
Mark your diary and hitch up your caravan for these outstanding events
Caravan bore
Watch your favourite shows via satellite while on tour – even in France
New Forest
Dorset native Rory White and his parents visit the national park next door
Grand day out
Get another perspective on the New Forest in its “capital”, Lyndhurst
7 things to see
Hampshire offers many attractions – here are seven of the best
Walk the walk
Follow the history of the nation’s defences at mammoth Hurst Castle
Where we stayed
Rich in amenities, Lytton Lawn Touring Park is perfectly positioned near the New Forest and the coast
Cut out and keep
A guide to the great, the fun and the essential in the New Forest
Reader holiday
The Shaw family did plenty of cycling in Nottinghamshire
Best sites for…
Festival season is starting – choose one of these sites nearby
Wish you were here
This month our readers write in from the banks of Loch Lomond and the Grand Union Canal
Independent site reviews
From Caravansitefinder and the latest review from our undercover eight-year-old
Reader Rally offer
Join us and Eurocamp Independent on our next rally to Paris
Twin test
New compacts from Bailey and Elddis do four berths in different ways
First look
Does Swift’s new two-berth Challenger look as good on the inside as it does outside?
First drives
Ford revamps the best-selling Focus, plus two versions of Kia’s Sportage
Towcar test
Vauxhall’s hefty Insignia 4x4 challenges the popular Subaru Outback
Genius ideas
Winterise your van’s water system, plus a dishwasher on tour
Caravan cookbook
Try Hilary Harris’s recipes for delicious dishes using seasonal produce on your next holiday
Doug’ll fix it
Have caravan queries or quandaries? Make sure you’re never left confused. Ask Doug King, our Mr Fix-it
Step by step
Improve ventilation with Dometic’s new AirQuad rooflight. We take you through how to fit one yourself
Project van
Doug King removes the broken space heater to make room for a new one
Second-hand shoot-out
Which is the better fixed-bed four-berth: a 2003 Bailey Senator or 2004 Abbey Aventura?

Data section

Buyer’s guide
Updated with the latest prices, this is the best list of the UK’s new caravans
Our fleet: update
The latest updates on our caravan and towcar fleet
Dealer specials
Our complete guide to dealership upgrades of the most popular caravans from across the UK
Used caravan buyer
ABI Marauders from the mid-1990s make great used buys for people new to caravanning
Awning buyer’s guide
Confused by the variety of awnings on offer? Read our guide
Talking towcars
From matches to motors, send your tough tug questions to David Motton
Used towcar buyer
A second-hand Jeep Grand Cherokee offers power for little cash
50 top accessories
Looking for a DAB radio? Here are the best, plus other kit
New kit
A Navigon caravan sat-nav, a swish power washer and more
Caravan basics
Essential touring knowledge for beginners and experts alike
Buying and selling
Save cash with our listings of used caravans, awnings and accessories
Caravan scrapbook
More caravans from yesteryear, courtesy of Andrew Jenkinson
Subscription offer
Save 16% of the cover price and get an Autoglym valet kit, worth £41, FREE when you subscribe today
Letters
Your news and views from the sites, as well as posts from our Forum