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have broken a few myself over the years. and I can say it pays ! although you will have to live on a quarterly basis. thats to say what you earn every two months or so is what you earn. although the ali scrap helps each week/every couple of days and remember its a cash trade so there is the option for those with the back bone!

take any and all !!   they all have a value.  and dont skint yourself if they are in a state they are worth nothing more than a drink money as you will be sitting on the parts for a while.

you will need racking for the windows Doors and Roof Vents (the real earners) then the sink tops and hobs (dont shift too quick) and the wheel hubs are where the good money is esp in older units.

burning pit for the timber and wood panels and a secure lock up for the Ali.

skip for insulation and old thinners tub for wheel and hub washing. (old thinners is for free from spray shops who have to pay to get rid of.

fridges and WCs sell but not for a lot taking into account the hygine side.

and several will come with Awnings. most will be no good at all but the frames fetch a good return.  and lights also are in demand. gas boxes and tow hitch/breaks and spare wheels.

bottom line is that a 13ft unit should return a min of £400 in parts at time nearer to 600 and will take half a day to strip and log/list. and when work picks up you can then start getting into accident damaged units then it becomes 4k rather than 400 and only a little more time.

a ivor williams will do for collecting non runners but 85% can be towed.

it will take a while to get trade going and many hours on the computer listing and selling.  it will work out at about £500 a week at the start and will be a 60hr week but its a good life with no pencil neck watching the clock and you!

also advertise horse box floor repairs takes a day to do and charge about £400 each for a strip and reboard two skin and old ribs replaced back ontop.

Quote: Originally posted by TonyC52 on 28/2/2011

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I would suggest a good web site with a least an overview of what you have on offer to start and work towards a searchable list and mail order service for suitable items.

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Quote: Originally posted by staticupvcglazing on 28/2/2011

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Cheeers for the input buddy , i knew it would be too much to expect making a living from it straight away (hoping for a miracle lol)i am quite resourceful, one of my main concerns is setting up in this locality , but having said that,, most caravanners are from built up surroundings , hence taking up vanning in the first place i suppose . BTW im an absolute demon at ebay , i been selling on there since 2003 so no probs there,, i may set up a new acccount in the name of the new venture ie walsall caravan breakers , that way when anyone enters "caravan breakers" into google, my ebay page comes up . My brother is a demon with setting up websites so i can have a webpage up within hours if needed ,, But do i have the right idea? is there enough call for second hand bits?,, is there a caravanning boom ? What would be a good budget to start with? Too many questions ??? lol ..thanks Nige

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its the odd shape item and the window or wheel bearing or even the cupboard door and draw fronts that return best rate as they are worthless to most but when that person seeks one its a 100 to 600 % profit. remember a little profit short term is better than large one that takes a year to get. buy cheap sell quick is a good motto. while you are waiting for the golden egg to come the goose gets taken by the fox I was always taught.

there are hundreds of diy'ers out there after that part.  most of them will never finish the job but they still like to buy the matching item. and the big boys have the stock turn over problems that make it not worth their while stocking. once you have a good selection go and see the bigger firms (dont call them on the phone as they will just not bother) take them a list and give them either a good disscount or put them on a kick back method. 

I know nothing about running your own business but I would think this has potential.  Walsall is central so for people ordering you're not paying for parts to be couriered from one end of the country to the other. 

Lots of folk, whether fed up of wet tenting, seeng if they like it or having financial rstructions, seem to be buying older vans with the intention of doing them up.  With sales of older vans doing so well it must stand to reason at some point they'll need parts they can't get from manufacturers?

Good luck to you - hope you can make it work.

Quote: Originally posted by Tunstallwood on 28/2/2011

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I hope everything goes to plan and it goes really well. The Fix it club could probably give you a good idea of what bits go wrong most often and need replacing.

All the best of luck

Andi

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may be worth speaking to some dealers and strike a deal with them... used to be a sale or return deal wth all good supliers..

also why not consider the sale of good cheap complete caravans, im just thinking on the line some caravans go cheap because the seller hasnt the time the knowlege,the tools or the parts to repair a good caravan..

you wont be selling parts all day so maybe a good use of your time would be to do up the not so bad ones

good luck you have a good customer base on here for a start,just need a web site.