Guide to Gobur Carousel folding caravans

Our video guide to "Gobur Carousel folding caravans" is the essential guide to folding caravans. It will be of particular interest to Shield caravan insurance customers looking for a quality, touring caravan that is economical to tow, easy to maneuver and, perhaps most importantly, easy to store in most domestic garages. The video features commentary from Richard Moss (Managing Director of Gobur Caravans) and the well respected caravan journalist, Andrew Jenkinson who provides his expert opinion on the Gobur Carousel (Britain's number one folding caravan).

Transcript to the Gobur Carousel folding caravan video guide

You've got three main levels of folders: you've got a trailer tent first of all, something which comes away from the box and pegs down to the floor. Folding campers come out of the box and the canvas ends at the bed level, and a folding caravan is something that you can use all year round, rigid sides, rigid body, and it is really built for all-year round. Gobur caravans have been around for a quite a number of years, since the 1970s in fact. In fact, in that particular period there was a lot of folding caravans around, but Gobur have seen all off the foreign competition, and there's one reason for that - because they're full of the traditional build and they're very desirable little folding caravans to own. Here we have the Carousel 12/2TD, and it's incredible because when you think how it folds down flat on the road for towing and yet when it's on site, it's a real caravan, and it probably has more space than a conventional caravan because it is basically like a square box. The way they go up and down, and the way they're constructed is the same as it's been for many years. It is like a shoe box basically. The lid, one-piece roof moulding, captivates everything else. So when a side wall goes over a base wall it overlaps, and so reduces the risk of any draughts, any water ingress. There's a separate box for you to put the battery in there and your power cable. There's actually also another thing, there's a mains outlet socket, which is also very useful. You've got an awning light, you've got a full awning rail, in fact you've got everything a conventional caravan has, only this folds to something nice and neat and compact, and very, very, very easy to store. We have ten models in the range; three are the narrow, what we call Slimline models, with or without toilet compartments. And then we have seven models in the Standard width and Clubman ranges, which means they are wider, 2.08 metres wide, and within those again, we do them with or without toilet compartments, and so the area inside will change from van to van, and we incorporate a three/four-berth layout in there as well. Here we are inside the Standard 12, I tell you something: it's almost Tardis-like, look at this. The lounge, you could get four people in here, no problem at all, this is actually only a two-berth, believe it or not, but you can entertain your guests. In all the caravans, we build them bespoke for people, they finish them off how they want them, they choose on the colourings, if they would like a special adaptation done for them, we will do that. We try and get them as near as we can to an up-market touring van, but still making it into a trailer. So all the things we do inside, we see new things, new innovations come into other caravans, we look to see what we can incorporate into our new vans, but it still has to be able to fold up like a box. It's got a cassette toilet in there, it's got an electric flush, it's also got a little hand basin that folds down, it's brilliant. It's very compact. They've also put a toilet window in there, so you can get some ventilation and air and some great daylight. And they've not stopped there, because at the top they've put a roof vent in. So again, you're not only getting the daylight in, you're getting some more ventilation, you've got a smart little vanity unit. It all really neatly fits together. We fit them with heating, it's all double-glazed, it has washing facilities. Obviously in the kitchens, which have to fold up and down, we've got flexible gas hoses like that, they all have to move. Here we have a sink, a stainless steel sink, a tap, and we've got a four-burner hob, not bad. We've also got a bit of storage space up here for putting little odds and ends. And to be in here feels very spacious and roomy, probably more so than in a conventional caravan. It's a box because that's all it needs to be when it's on site. When it's on the road, it's aerodynamic and easy to tow and very economic. For towing what you've got here is just below the height of the average car, so you don't get the wind drag, much more stable, smaller car to tow it, and for a lot of people now, fuel economy is a key thing. So not having that wind drag makes it more economic to tow. It's a brilliant design. We have different models, ten different models; all take about the same time. To put the main structure up you're talking about two minutes, and to sort the insides out, which vary from van to van, you're talking about another three or four minutes. Well, the Gobur is very impressive. The fact that this folds down to such a small, compact size is just beyond belief. The benefits of having the folding caravan are: it's easy to tow, easy to store, fuel economy is much, much improved, and the ease of erecting the caravan. If I had a small car, but I still wanted to go caravanning, and I wanted an investment, because these things hold their value really well, I could really go for one of these.

Gobur caravan Insurance

At Shield, we are specialists. We understand folding caravans. We offer discounts of up to 60% on our product, and we're one of the only insurers to offer a 5% discount for keeping your caravan safe inside a locked garage. Take a look at our policy features and benefits, or get an online quote today! For more information about trailer tent's, check out our trailer tent buyer's guide. For trailer tent safety and security tips, take a look at our tips on how to keep your trailer tent safe from theft, fire and weather damage.