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this is one like I sold in 1982 except mine had the toilet window aswell it is a sprite alpine 4 birth 1970,it is still used today by the market trader I sold it to I happend to see it at a market about 2 months ago,I spoke to the couple who still had it and said it did not owe them anything,and now it atracts attention from people asking about it.

Eriba's last forever. Ours is 14 years old, and is as good as new.

Alan

New or newer is not always best.

Our previous van was a 1991 Avondale Pennine and it was far better built than our 2/3 year old Bailey.

When you buy one take a damp meter and use  it where ever you can and also have a good listen as you move about the van for creaking noises in the floor whilst also looking for a spongy feel under foot. Delamination (I believe, though stand to be corrected) is very very expensive to put right.

We started off in a 30 year old van which was really still modern looking but lacked a toilet and was a 2 berth.  We now have a 1992 Avondale which we hope to keep for a long time.  I didn't take a damp meter with me as i couldn't have afforded a decent one and didn't trust a cheap one (just my personal opinion) but felt all the walls and under the mattresses and trod all the floors.  Again in my opinion a caravan that has had damp didn't mean that i wouldn't buy it.  We had a tt last year to begin with and i loved it but i wouldn't part with my caravan now.

Jeannie

The service book for our 2006 Coachman has provision for 15 years of annual service, so I would expect its useful life to be significantly longer.

Also, SAGA insurance provides up to 12 years for "new for old" cover.

Bertie.

We didnt worry too much about make/age/model when we started looking for a caravan,we decided how much we wanted to spend, what features we HAD to have and took it from there.Used the secondhands at the dealers to get ideas of layouts,features etc then scoured the papers for what we wanted.Had to up the budget a couple of times as soon realized we werent going to get what we wanted for the money we were hoping to spend.In the end we went to look at a caravan way out of what we wanted to pay (and told the seller as much and we were only coming to look) Turned out they were desperate to sell and knocked nearly three grand off the asking price! Needless to say we bought it!

My point is have a good idea of what you want,how you will use it and how much (realisticly) you want to spend.Then just keep looking,dont take the first thing you find (unless it is perfect) as there is always more and you will probably find it when you least expect.

Quote: Originally posted by nigel16 on 11/9/2008

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Wow thanks for the replies so quickly, I think we will do a tour of some centres to have a look at what is available.  What manufacturers should I be looking at or are they very similar?

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 Hi,nigel as the others have said DAMP is the worst enemy if a van is looked after

 well and barring accidents 20 years is an average life expectancy of a van though there are many that are older still touring all the advice you have been given is sound

 also try to get a 3-6monthwarranty if you buy from a dealer as most problems will occur during that period.Good luck!