After speaking with many caravanners, it is perfectly clear that regrettably, very little credibility is given to "Reviews of New Caravans" conducted by some journalists for caravan publications. There are certainly some good credible journalists.
Sadly the general opinion is that Manufacturers and Dealers, who advertise in the publications, never get a bad write-up of their 'vans, or at the worst, maybe just a brief mention of a couple of minor blemishes.
Caravanners place no credence in the selection of the caravan to be appraised, believing that it is not just a random selection, but rather a hand-picked blue-printed caravan.
It is considered essential that in order to gain the public's believability of being a genuine and honest assessment, the
test personnel choose one caravan from several being offered for sale.
Surely the two most important items to be first confirmed are: Is the caravan really legally Compliant and Safe?
The most common complaint by caravan owners is that the actual (empty caravan) Tare Mass is much more than the stated Tare Mass.
This means that the caravan cannot legally carry as much luggage as was anticipated the buyer, and advised by the Dealer.
In addition, quite often the actual Empty Ball-Loading is appreciably different - either much higher, or much lower - than that stated.
The Tare Mass and the Empty Ball-Loading need to be accurately and independently
measured to see if they are, in fact, the same as advised, and the certified weigh-bridge ticket included in the write-up of the caravan, along with a legible photo of the Trailer Plate.
Instead of concentrating mainly on the assessment - and personal preferences - of the lay-out, style, and finish of the caravan, etc., should not the critical initial stage of the evaluation be to determine if the caravan is completely Compliant?
There are some excellent detailed Compliance Check Lists - and Pre-Delivery Check-Lists - readily available, that should be used for all caravan appraisals.
Much credibility would be gained if the Review included an assessment of Compliance, based on a standard professional "Compliance Check-List".