Hi , I am at the embryo stage of thinking about buying a caravan , I have absolutely no knowledge of caravans or towing etc , I was thinking of a minimum of 4 berth single axle one maybe , for the tow car I have a ford maverick xlt 3.0 V6 auto 4x4 ,could anyone please advise me on best makes of caravans and what could I expect to buy for maybe a £12000 ish budget , basically it is to give an idea what vans to look at and give me something to dream about while I am daydreaming at work thanks in advance for any advice on this
Unless we revive the old 'are German caravans better?' argument then any UK make is much of a muchness so get the layout you prefer of any UK built caravan. £12k will buy you a late model caravan so probably better to buy from a main dealer near you, that way you won't have too far to go for warranty work.
Check tow weights for your car but it sounds like you would be ok for up to a large twin axle touring caravan if you want.
Yes, plenty on here about faulty new & late model caravans of all makes so on balance imho, rather than scour the country for the cheapest possible deal, buy local from established dealer & then he knows you are on his doorstep so his service to you needs to be good or you will be breathing down his neck.
Hi Billy just had a quick look at my cars specs and I found these figures .... max braked ? towing weight 1700kg, kerb weight 1560kg , it recommends not towing more than 85% of its kerb weight which for my car gives a max tow weight of 1326kg that is with the caravan fully loaded , does this sound about right to you ?
Yes, you should get a reasonably sized 4berth of around that weight. 85% is not carved in stone though, you can exceed that a bit, all the 85%'rule' is really saying is that it's sensible to keep caravan a bit lighter than towcar
ok thanks Billy starting to get a grip of it now been looking at nose weights my cars towbar is 75 kg , pretty interesting stuff this once you start looking into it , cheers
Not certain what driving licence you have but it seems your vehicle is just under 2000 kg GVW so with a caravan of 1500 kg MPTLM that will be legal for a B only licence - no B+E needed
GVW + MTPLM must not exceed 3500 for B licence towing
------------- EX Advanced driving observer (IAM)
EX LGV & B+E instructor
If you passed your test before '97 then you have B+E licence. You add together the max allowable gross weights of both car & caravan, if that comes to over 3.5tonnes then you need B+E licence. You cannot load light to get under 3.5t, it is plated weights that are taken into account for licence law, not actual weight of outfit on weighbridge.
You do have B+E Kenny. Like Billy I would not look at German caravans, but I would say don't discount Adria, they are made to British Spec, (door on nearside) and the Altea (or Sportline dealer special) is not too heavy. We certainly are pleased with ours after our first season.
------------- Alan
2016
February C&CC Theobalds Park
March C&CC Salisbury
May C&CC Adgestone IOW
July Le Clos Auroy, Auvergne France
August C&CC Polstead
August C&CC Oxford
October C&CC Lauder
Hi , thanks for your reply ,even tho it will be a few years hopefully within 4 ( retirement ) I have no knowledge at all of caravanning so have been looking into it this weekend and am finding it really interesting I have got so many questions some so basic that I am to embarrassed to put on here lol ,cheers