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 Topic: Back to basics
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05/2/2025 at 6:42pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Joined: 17/9/2015 Diamond Member 
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Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 05/2/2025
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Monty, you say your caravan is "getting on a bit" at nearly 9 years old. I'd regard that as almost new. Mine will be 33 years old this year and it's still going strong. My car is now 17 years old too. It's me that's getting on a bit, so I just have things to match. 
Caravan age comment was relative to modern custom, where so many seem to buy new, use for a season or two, then replace with another new one! Mine is s/h and had been traded in at c 18 months old for a new one! - don't think the filthy owners could be asked to clean it, so bought a new one! - when I looked at it before purchase, all appeared in very good order, upholstery was spotless, but I suspected newly cleaned (detergent smell), the carpet was wrapped in protective 'cling film' so not really visible, but subsequently found to be very stained, and the fridge turned out to be mouldy in all the nooks and crannies, but the cooker appeared unused. Ever since I've had it, almost everything vaguely movable that I've shifted for the first time has revealed hidden spillages and staining (that got cleaned by me!)! They must have been complete slobs - suspect it looked a real mess when handed over to the dealer!
Now, it was no exception, nearly every under 2 year old caravan I looked at was also filthy and/or broken in many parts! Got really disheartened and despaired of finding a decent van, swapping vans at less than 2 years seemed VERY common, as certainly no shortage on the market.
It seemed keeping and looking after a very expensive (to my mind, they were expensive!) caravan, was not something many could be bothered with - just buy a new one and abuse that!
My van may be a few years old, but it's now cleaner than when I bought it c 2 years old, and nothing is broken, so I'm sticking with it for the foreseeable future. Not interested in impressing anyone with a new(er) van, and my old(ish) van serves me very well indeed.
Don't think my van will get to 33 years old in my hands though, I'd be well into my 90's! .... and suitable tow vehicles probably like hens teeth .... and I'd expect CAMC would have turned all their camp sites into theme parks or whatever by then too!!!! 
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05/2/2025 at 8:15pm
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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Our caravan was already old when we bought it. I couldn't care less about it being old though, it was affordable and it looked like it had been very well cared for but hardly ever used. The cooker looked brand new and even had a tray inside it that still had a label stuck to it. Everything worked as it should and I couldn't find any trace of the dreaded damp.
I'm not into showing off or impressing anyone. What you see is what you get with me. I'm not easily impressed either. If the caravan next door to me is brand new, so what? My caravan cost me £1,100 and theirs must have cost them 30 times what mine did me. Does it do anything more than mine does? Mine has everything I could want, it's comfortable, tows like a dream, and owes me nothing. I owe nothing for it either. If the people next door are friendly I'll chat to them, but one thing I certainly won't do is envy them.
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Best Regards,
Colin
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09/2/2025 at 10:35am
Location: Wirral
Outfit: Aztec Mardi Gras 3
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I returned to tent camping around age 50, a woman on my own,now with a 3man tunnel tent I can stand up in and deal with myself. I reckon as long as you find a warm comfy bed and a tent with a bit of room in it, and aim for fair weather of course, it'll be fine! Now we all just have to hope for a decent summer...
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Always edited for sloppy typing - when I spot it!
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