I'm looking at a caravan on ebay with a buy it now price of £500. Looks in good order, quite old, but that doesn't bother me - prefer vintage ;)
My question is - does anyone have experience of buying such a cheap caravan, as I'm a caravan novice what should I be looking for if I go to view it??
Damp in corners or showers including roof corners.Delamination on the floor tested by small steps on floor looking for dips or softness....as above best check with damp meter dont take the word of people selling..
If you can't get hold of a damp meter, run your hands along the wallboard particularly where the seals are (windows/door/front & rear top & bottom corners) If any of it feels spongy then it is damp. We bought our 1989 ABI for £500 3 years ago and found some damp round the front window, but for £500 it was still worth it. I would be more concerned about getting the chassis, brakes & gas system serviced, we did and found it needed 4 new tyres and the gas pipe to the fire was corroded, we just had it disconnected and use a fan heater instead
I paid £450 for my little caravan.
It had had some damp in the past due to a rubber seal failing round the rear kitchen window but this has been fixed and the whole van is cosy and dry.
I am now into my second full season of using her and I wouldn't change her for the world.
Old and cheap doesn't always mean rubbish!
The smell as soon as you walk in is a good sign if you have a decent nose.
Lots of air fresheners hiding in the corners?
Many years ago when looking for our 1st van we ended up with an older glass window model rather than the newer plastic window ones which all seemed to be rotten.
Early 80's vans must have been very badly made.
So i bought a mid - late 70's Sprite Musketeer. It had been re-upholstered and new curtains etc and it was great.
get a damp meter, we paid 1,500 for a van that looked perfect, no smells or air fresheners ,only to find out later the whole frame was as rotten as a pear, but with alot of hard work we replaced it and we now have a solid van that we know is dry.