# Celtic Rambler - S O L D



## 110279 (Feb 29, 2008)

We have a 2004 Celtic Rambler (Fifth Wheel Co) it has a single slide out making it ideal for long term touring.
We are currently in Spain, set off from the UK 1st November 2007 and starting for home tomorrow.
The caravan has a max gross wt of 4500 kilos, 3250 dry weight, 1250 payload. The max pin weight is 1000 kilos, but mine has never exceeded 860 kilos on a weighbridge. 200 lts fresh, 200 lts grey & 80 lts black, 2 x 270 a/h batteries, 1800w inverter, 100w solar panel, 7500 btu aircon, Oyster Vision satellite, Colorado awning, 2 x 11Kg Gaslow refillable cylinders & Kipor 3Kw Generator.
We had an Isuzu Rodeo Denver Max 4x4 3.0L (chipped) pickup, however, these "European" size trucks are not man enough for this 5ver - take-offs are always "foot-to-the-floor", braking is hairy and definitely not good enough. Heard the Nissan Nivarra is better but the specifications are not much better than Isuzu. 
We now have an 07 Ford F-150 Lariat with a 5.4L Triton V8 petrol engine giving 400 lbs torque, SuperCrew, 4x2 (4x4 not necessary), shortbed with a PullRite SuperGlide 12k 5th Wheel hitch, TractAir compressor & Prins VSG LPG conversion - pulls the Celtic Rambler like its not there and stops it when we want to - its designed to tow, particularly recreational towing.
We have had a few problems with the air suspension, but hopefully all is now well- we had to have the repairs done in Spain and the mechanics/welders here are more than capable of repairing a 5ver.
When we changed our truck we also changed the compressor system, the Fifth Wheel Co unit was not good enough, we had a TractAir system installed, it now brakes the caravan exactly the same as the truck, gentle braking also gently brakes the caravan a fraction of a second before the trucks, turn the engine off or apply the hand brake and the caravan brakes are applied, if the trucks brakes fail, the caravans brakes are applied.
The Ford was also uprated from a half ton truck to a 1 ton truck (paper exercise) to take the pin weight of the caravan.
We have had motorhomes and there is no doubt an RV is an expensive hobby, however, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and a 5ver is much roomier (no matter what you do, a MH is always going to be a variation on a corridor) - you always have a car for going out, so once your camp is set, no packing/re-packing for day trips.
Fuel consumption is running at 14 mpg towing/20 mpg solo - no difference in performance or mpg whether running on unleaded/E85 Ethanol/LPG - biggest difference is the price - E85 at £0.85 litre (if your can find it), LPG at £0.55 litre (half price). LPG (Autogas/GPL) is widely available in UK & France and we hardly ever use unleaded, in Spain its as rare as hens' teeth but we have found a local station at Jerez charging 0.56 cents (44p) litre. We can fill the truck & Gaslow tanks at the same filling stations.


----------



## damondunc (Feb 14, 2006)

Very nice , i have a hankering for a fifth wheel but love the RV too much :wink: 
I like the escape hatch for the kiddies,very clever :lol: 

Chris


----------



## nozzmoking (Mar 29, 2008)

Hi Essarx

Thanks for a great post on the Celtic Rambler. 

I saw one for the first time, about a month ago at the NEC. My wife and I were both really impressed, as it is so roomy and cleverly-designed.

As you're still in Spain, are you using the satellite for internet connection? How's this done?

Having spent 5 months touring, how do you now rate the trailer? Is there anything you'd like to change, or is it still up to the job?

I hope you find time to write about your travels, and off course, it would be great to hear about the trials and tribulations of pulling a large rig around Europe.

I'm hoping to go and see the 5th wheel crew in the Summer, but can't make my mind up whether to go for a new trailer, or get a used one and use the money saved to get a better truck. I read an earlier (18/10/07) post of yours on another forum, and you'd mentioned about the 'standard' trucks not being up to the job. This was really helpful, as I was pretty much ready to go and buy with a 'standard' one. I'd never considered one of the big US trucks, having thought they'd be far too much to run, but running them on LPG does seem a viable option. 

Hope you have a safe trip back, and thanks again for the very useful post.

Cheers

Paul


----------



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Yes a most enjoyable read, if I was to go back to being a Tugger then this is the ideal vehicle. But at the moment we still enjoy cruising around stopping when the mood takes us.when we decide that we wish to have a few months in the sun then rather than buy property will consider one of them.A very helpful post. thank you.

cabby


----------



## 110279 (Feb 29, 2008)

We are now back in blighty- arrived this afternoon into Poole - home safe.
1400 miles in 3-days - we have brought the Celtic Rambler home and put it into storage this evening.
No problems in gettiing home - I'll put some more information and photos about our journey and the places we stayed and visited.
We have also decided to sell the complete rig - Celtic Rambler & F-150 - I'll post an ad when I get the opportunity.
We have decided that we are not yet ready for "snowbirding", the past few months had become monotonous, so we've decided to go for a C-class motorhome and pull our sports car on a trailer behind and do more travelling rather than long term camping.
The Celtic Rambler is absolutely perfect for long terming but because of length restrictions on the continent it is not ideal for start/stop touring.


----------



## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

How is it worse for stop/start touring than a C-class motorhome towing a sports car on a trailer?

Dave


----------



## 110279 (Feb 29, 2008)

DABurleigh:
The biggest problem is the overall train length of 11.90 metres - hitching & unhitching has to be done in a straight line (give or take 16 degrees). There are ways and means of unhitching at a greater angle but it entails removing the 5th Wheel hitch plate from the truck with the caravan pin box (a lot of messing around), hitching is even harder! With this length the pitches have to be either drive through or long enough to reverse into and unhitch the tow vehicle (the road/track/other pitches opposite have to take the truck for manouvering before unhitching). A C-Class motorhome should be no more than 9M in length and therefore parkable as any bigger European MH, the trailer can be unhitched prior to camping, much easier than a 5th Wheel and therefore more adept for short stay touring.
Spanish/Portuguese/French pitches are all to small in general, you have to be very careful in pre-planning any trips & selecting sites for a 5th Wheel. Ideally the 5th Wheel should have heavy duty jockey wheels on the front retractable legs and an extra heavy duty caravan mover then it would be easier - however, they don't exist - yet!
Other than this problem the 5th Wheel is great - I really love it and will miss it tremendously.

Nozzmoking:
The satellite dish can only be used for TV - you can get systems from Alden & Datastorm that provide TV and/or internet access but they are very expensive now.
The long term site: La Rosaleda, Conil De La Frontera provided WiFi for internet, see post http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-38101.html

Whilst travelling back to our storage site we passed several police cars stratigically parked at roundabouts on the outskirts of Poole on the A31 - we wondered what was going on? - We were then overtaken by an unmarked police car "POLICE - FOLLOW ME" - we did, straight to the vehicle check compound where we were greeted by approx a dozen policemen/DVLA folk all wanting to check out the rig. "Bring in the unusual ones was the order of the day". Fortunately, as we have air brakes & not American electric brakes they didn't even bother to weigh us or check any documentation - just sent on our way after 15-mins of having a good look around inside & out, with lots of cheery waves, congratulations, awe and admiration - what a relief. We were legal, under weight - boy am I glad I went over a weighbridge before leaving home, everything was ship shape.


----------



## 110279 (Feb 29, 2008)

*For Sale: Celtic Rambler & Ford F-150*

As previously mentioned our complete rig is now for sale - see ads section for details.
http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj107/essarx/Celtic Ramber and Ford F-150/?albumview=slideshow


----------



## nozzmoking (Mar 29, 2008)

Hi Essarx

Don't know if you're still around, but if so, is the rig still for sale?

Cheers

Paul


----------



## 110279 (Feb 29, 2008)

Hello Nozzmoking

Yes it is!

Current price is £51,000 for the complete rig, but I am willing to split for a quicker sale.
You can contact me directly at: [email protected]

Regards
ESSARX


----------



## Kasey (Nov 20, 2009)

Hi Essarx

Am a new member who saw your post from 1st April 2008.

I am thinking of buying a 5th wheeler, and was interested in your comment "fortunately as we have air brakes & not american electric brakes".

I can see the performance advantage of air brakes but am unaware of the legal / weight differences between air and electtric. 

Could you enlighten me please.

Ken.


----------

