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Looking seriously at moving from tenting to caravaning. I have a 2011 1.8 TDCi Mondeo and I also passed my test after 1997 so I need to keep my combined weight down.

What make and models of caravan tend to fall into the more lightweight category? We're after a larger 2-berth or smaller 4-berth (2 adults + child) model.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Hi,

As mentioned above the main factor to calculate is 85% of the kerb side weight of your car (this is the best guide but legally you can tow up to 100%). Our 2006 Vectra is very light so we were limited to a select range of vans. Like you this was our first move into a caravan this year and it needed to suit us and a 8 month old baby. We ended up joinng the caravan club as they have an excellent outfit matching system on their website. Our choice came down to a bailey ranger 470/4 (used 2007 model for £8k) or a new bailey orion (£13k). After a lot of thought and advice from others on this forum we brought the ranger as it had a lot more storage, bigger hot water tank, and was also £5k less! The large seperate shower was also a plus for the OH!. We don't pick it up till end of this month but can't wait!. The ranger is very light and has a front double and two side singles in a bunk arrangment. There are lots of rangers available on the market 2nd hand and depending on your budget you can get one 10 years old or less then a year. We felt they made a good starter van and we will aim to keep it for a few years until we maybe change the car and can tow something a bit bigger.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Darren

Its just a shame that they stopped making them new a couple of seasons ago, the newest Zenith 4s that you will find have rear fixed beds, the end bunks (like ours) are in pre 2006 Zenith 4s. We have a 2006 model and are very pleased with it, there are a few to choose from around the dealerships if you google them, expect to pay around 6k for a 2006 in good condition. Beware of those marked at low prices, they maywell be a scam or damp, theres one advertised privately for 3k when i looked earlier this week, as well as the dream-on prices of nearly 8k asked by some dealers for a caravan of the same year,

Julia

Hi and welcome to this excellent forum!

I will leave weight issues and models to those with more experience than me. I just wanted to say that when we started out, we too had one child and went for a two berth, thinking our son could sleep in the awning and we would have plenty of room.  By the end of our first summer, we were looking at 4 berths, I think son was 9 or 10 at the time, and I hated lying in the warm cosy van listening to the wind and rain lashing the awning during the night, knowing he was out there in all weathers!  We ended up with the side dinette, end bathroom layout, which suits us perfectly, because son can sleep inside or outside, as he wishes, without three of us using the front double bed. Now he's 14 and prefers his own tent, but we still have the bedspace if necessary.  I dont know how old your child is, but Id go for a layout with as much space as you can, weight permitting.

Happy hunting!

Hi all and thanks for the help so far. We've been out having a look today and as Anniemacxx says, we definitely need the extra sleeping space so daughter (8 years old) can go to bed earlier (hopefully!) than us and in her own privacy, especially as one of our reasons to moving to a caravan is to extend the season and so we won't always have the awning up. We now just need to find a 3/4 berth which suits us.

Can't make our mind up about whether to spend a litte like a couple of grand to start with or take the plunge and spend a lot more for a newer model. We've been camping for the last ten years all over the UK and Europe, so we know we like the 'camping' and so in theory I shouldn't be hesitating and buying the best I can affford in the first place