Bailey Adamo XL-DL motorhome

Longer and heavier than previous Adamo models, this new XL version is the most spacious Ford motorhome on the market

Parked at 7,572ft at the top of the Coll de Cabús in Andorra, the view from the Bailey Adamo’s lounge is of rugged mountain peaks dotted with snow as white as icing sugar. In contrast, the sky is almost unnaturally blue and the temperature in mid-May has climbed to a pleasant mid-teens high from just two degrees overnight.

With 6kW Truma Combi gas/electric heating, the cool evening was no issue at the Xixerella Park campsite just a little lower down the mountain. I was more concerned about the serpentine and often barrierless twists of the steep climb up this dead end route, but the Ford’s 165 horses were corralled smoothly through the new eight-speed gearbox and the drive up was stress-free and effortless. Even manual shifting on the paddles on the way back down was easy-peasy.

But this is a big motorhome – probably the biggest you can currently buy on a Ford Transit chassis. The Adamo range (launched five years ago) has been a big success for Bailey and, as well as a minor nip-and-tuck facelift, the original layouts have been joined by some bigger brothers, called (appropriately) Adamo XL.

Where the original Adamo varies from 6.09m to 7.48m in length and has a car-licence-friendly 3,500kg gross weight, the trio of new XLs weigh in at 4,250kg and measure over eight metres from bumper to bumper. That’s of particular benefit to this twin-lounge XL-DL model – the existing 75-4DL has a broadly similar concept in a sub-7.5m body but its payload is a modest 340kg, while this new big brother can carry up to 866kg (much more useful for family touring).

Bailey’s research suggests that 40% of motorhomers go on extended European tours, so the extra payload will be a godsend, while the average Adamo owner is 55 years old, so they won’t have to worry about taking a C1 test.

To prove the point of the XL-DL’s trans-continental capabilities, the company has brought its demonstrator from Bristol, first to the Bardenas Reales national park in Spain and then north into Andorra. I’ve got three days here to find out everything there is to know about what is currently Bailey’s biggest motorhome.

The latest Ford Transit

The XL-DL carries a reasonably priced £5k premium over its shorter sister model and, like all Adamos, is based on the latest Transit chassis-cab with the 165hp diesel motor and new eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

The cab colour is now Graphite Grey rather than silver and there are new black alloys but the most noticeable change is the rotary controller for the transmission – it might look odd but it’s ever so simple to use.

The driving position remains the most car-like of the bigger commercials, with plenty of adjustment on the steering column and a seat that can go down low. The twin lens door mirrors give a good view aft, backed up by the reversing camera’s images on the new 12in touchscreen and even a little bit of through-vision from the centre mirror – that’s a rarity on a motorhome of this size. There are front parking sensors, too.

Bringing things up to date, there are the modern safety systems that reassure and annoy in equal measure – intelligent speed assist, lane keeping and autonomous emergency braking. Air-conditioning and cruise control are a given these days, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also here via Ford’s SYNC4 system with DAB radio and Bluetooth.

What impressed most, though, was how the Ford copes with its new-found bulk. Performance – be it mountain climbing or motorway cruising – is everything you could wish for and, while the Transit is more softly suspended than a Fiat or Peugeot, it never seemed rolly and remained stable on a windy day as I headed north from Zaragoza. This wasn’t our usual lightly laden test, either – often travelling four up and with a garage crammed with everything from outdoor chairs to a spare wheel (not included in the standard spec). You do need to be aware of that long rear overhang on occasion, though.

Five bed travel seats

You could occasionally notice the Ford’s softer side on site with folk moving about inside but then we were mob-handed on this tour, seating up to 10 people in the XL-DL in comfort. That’s because this bigger Bailey has lounges front and rear, although its floorplan is not simply a stretched version of the 75-4DL.

Instead of two straight sofas up front in that model, the XL-DL has an L-shaped arrangement on the offside incorporating two forward-facing travel seats (one with Isofix). That makes for easier passenger carrying, while here a fifth person can be accommodated on a fold-away Aguti travel seat (hidden under the nearside settee) that mirrors the 75-4 DL’s design.

On site, of course, the cab seats swivel easily to join in and create a super-spacious seating area – one that can easily cater for six adults. With large side windows (each with a smart upholstered surround), a large opening overcab sunroof and plenty of lighting, this is a space that almost always feels generously proportioned.

Almost? Well, add the table – a huge 1.07m by 82cm free-standing unit – and at least half of the sextet of diners will fell trapped in. It’s stable and can be used outside but it’s just too big.

To make matters worse, the table stores in the garage. Imagine how popular you’ll be asking your partner to retrieve it when it’s jammed in by your deckchairs and it’s raining canines and felines outside…

Bailey has avoided repeating the issue in the rear lounge by not providing a table here at all. That’s a wise decision because, although this is the more compact lounge, it’s also the one I preferred. Here, it’s a C-shape that wraps around not just on three sides but stretches out further behind the washroom.

With the ablutions and galley swapping sides in the XL-DL compared with the 75-4DL, the rear lounge also seems more private, even though it still enjoy great views out – or triple-aspect glazing as an estate agent would tell you. The large shelf under the back window (over the garage) makes a great space for a TV or laptop and you can even separate the area with a curtain. Four can sit back here, or it makes a fabulous spot for two people to kick back with socks on seats.

Storage space and garage

There’s good storage under the rear lounge seats (despite the Combi boiler sitting here on the offside), some of it accessed by a drop-front door.

There’s even more room for gear under the L-settee up front, although you’ll have to lift cushions to reach it. When you do, you’ll also see the usual Bailey metal hoops under the travel seat that are there for your safety and are fitted to every one of the company’s motorhomes in response to the results of the crash-testing that it boldly undertook before entering the market.

This is also one of those relatively rare layouts that combines a rear lounge with a garage and, as we pointed out earlier, here you have the payload to really use it. Its vital statistics – 70cm wide and 1.04m high – are not as big as in the other new XL layouts (single or island beds) but with an extra trick here. On the nearside there’s a 1.77m-tall loading door that reveals the wardrobe above the garage – lift the floor of the former and you can hang wetsuits, etc, here and there’s even a drain hole in the floor below.

The garage also comes with 230V and 12V sockets and a vertical strip light (but only on the nearside). There’s no other externally accessed storage and no outside shower or barbecue point, but Thule brackets are in situ to accept a bike rack should you need one.

The fresh water tank is inboard (and requires a specific Whale hose), while the waste tank (emptied via a simple T-handle) is underslung. Each holds 100 litres.

New on the XL models are a 200W roof-mounted solar panel and also an upgraded leisure battery (now 105Ah AGM).

The habitation door is linked to the central locking and has a nice low internal step. Within are the uncomplicated control panel, a grab handle and a tall/thin mirror, but no coat hooks.

Facing you as you enter is the sort of kitchen that is typically only seen in UK-built ’vans. It has one of Thetford’s fancier cookers, complete with mains hotplate, three gas rings and a separate grill and oven. If you want to add a microwave, too, the top cupboard above is pre-wired for your dealer to fit one.

Other than that, the kitchen impresses with its generous area of worktop (extra thanks to the solid cover over the hob’s glass lid) and voluminous cupboards. There’s a swish hose-style tap and two mains sockets and the compressor fridge boasts a 149.5-litre capacity (including a 17-litre freezer and a bottle drawer).

There’s just one (rather petite) drawer for cutlery and utensils, though, and you might need to watch yourself on those wide-opening side-hinged top locker doors – if you’re around 5ft tall, beware!

Drop-down double beds

I love a rear lounge – for, err, lounging it’s hard to beat, but come bedtime and a jigsaw of cushions to make into a bed and I might be Googling the nearest hotel. Forget all that bother here as bed-making is as complicated as flicking a switch.

Of course, there are blinds all round (including the cab and they’re pleated, except at the kitchen window). Privacy ensured, you can lower the cab bed, which comes down to the point at which the forward-facing bench’s head restraints stop it going further.

That means that you can’t sit underneath and you’ll need the ladder to reach your duvet but the latter can stay put when the bed is stowed. This berth has 73cm of headroom, plenty of ventilation (overcab sunroof and Heki rooflight close by) and its mattress measures 1.82m by 1.27m, although there’s lots of space for toes to overhang.

At the rear, the second drop-down double bed fares even better. Its mattress is exactly the same size but this one can be brought down until it touches the settees – just 76cm off the floor, so you can just fall in. Don’t worry too much about the bed length here, either, as it’s 1.94m across between the sofas’ backrests on each side (and all the lounge seat cushions stay in place when you bring down the bed).

An extra berth is possible if you have the rear drop-down at half-height and assemble the lounge seats into a bed. Our advice? Tell friends and family you’ve bought a four-berth!

No separate shower

Even at over 8m long, fitting in two lounges (and seating for 10), a copious kitchen, a pair of drop-down beds and a garage leaves a less than ideal acreage for the ablutions zone.

Open the washroom door and you might be disappointed, therefore, to find there’s no separate shower – and instead to see the dreaded shower curtain.

On the plus side, there’s plenty of both leg and shoulder room when you’re sat on the throne (the swivel cassette is a tad high) and, equally, you won’t bash your backside on the door when you put your fizzog over the basin to wake yourself up. You get towel/robe hooks, a toothbrush mug, a large mirrored cabinet, an opening window and a tiny roof vent with a drying rail attached.

Maybe XL-DL owners will use campsite showers and never get entangled in that clingy curtain, so they won’t mind. If not, at least there are two drain holes in the tray and the Ecocamel showerhead gives a good jet of hot water.

If you want maximum living and lounging space on board, with room to entertain friends and the payload to go on long tours, the Adamo XL-DL is likely to be right up your street. It has a good spec for the price and drives really well for something so big. The two drop-down beds add extra convenience, so the only major downside is the lack of a separate shower.