What is your experience? I am just about to buy our next caravan,but all the others we have owned always end up with water ingress/damp problems.What are peoples recommendations? This will probably be the last one we buy,getting a bit long in the tooth now to do endless repairs/rebuilds, so looking for a 2/3 berth towable with a CRV diesel
We've had Abbey, Swift, Coachman, Eldiss, Bailey x2.
The only one that ever needed a damp repair was the Swift. All were bought new and suffered only very minor faults, loose screws etc.
Currently waiting on a new Compass.
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How much do you want to spend & what size caravan? Eriba Tourings are probably longest lasting & driest caravan but even a large one, Eriba Troll is not that big & they are expensive & heavy for size but it will be the last caravan you will ever need to buy. You can find them in good nick going right back to the 80s.
Early 90s models are priced within reason & you need to check for rust in the steel tube chassis members on the underside but looked after, they will last indefinitely. Your car will tow any Eriba no problem.
Have to agree on Eriba quality. One of the owner clubs had a rally on our site in the summer so had the chance to have a look at some of these. Build quality is very very good but they have a strong following and are well sought after hence they hold their price well too.
We have been very pleased with ours and it's completely dry, unlike the Bailey we had before. They also seem to get very good comments for all the owners.
The impression I get from reading forums is that all manufacturers build a proportion ov vans with problems. Its all down to quality control ..... or the lack of.
some times i think it is just the luck of the draw with secondhand vans. we just picked up a Rapido pop top 1989 for 500 quid and it is as dry as a bone! depends on how they have been looked after as well. agree with getting a damp meter
No such thing, all caravans can have damp
there are lots of us that dont have any damp problems and lots that do, i think a lot depends on how they are used .
example, using corner steadies etc to level the van, distorting the chassis and many other reasons.
The best van for you is the one you like the best and has a good guarantee against leaks.
some people will tell you German vans are the best but there are so few of them in the country how can you make a fair comparison.
Have a look at this and you will see there are just as many complaints about damp in any make of imported van. try this, Type feuchte Wohnwagen into google images and then search by picture
Go for the van you like best.
Hi Billy if you bring up the google search box then look to the top left of the screen you will see a square made up of 9 dots click on this and then choose images,
the search box will change, type feuchte Wohnwagen into this box and click enter
When the images appear you can click on any picture to see damp in many makes of import, the text will be in german but you will get the jist of it by the pictures.
Or use Google translate
I searched long and hard to find a dry van for under ,£2k and just as I was about to give up I stumbled on a 1999 abi sprinter which I had damp tested and it was dry and also in ex cond. I think a smaller van like mine is less likely to let water in. But it is a case of looking hard and eventually something will appear. In my opinion the majority of used vans over7 yes old on the market will have some damp but if you keep looking you will find a dry one.
We bought a 1988 Elddis Tornado just before Christmas. It seemed dry enough, and I have been regularly checking it ever since, as it is outside the house. So far I can't see any obvious signs of damp, and I have used a damp meter in many of the usual places. Very pleased so far. We have certainly had plenty of rain to test it!