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 Topic: Thinking of buying an 11 yr old caravan
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17/7/2017 at 1:13pm
Location: West Midlands
Outfit: Coachman Amara 570 6 + Shogun SG4
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Take a damp meter and dont be afraid to use it.
i have a 6 year old caravan and have repaired several leaks since i bought it and seemingly those leaks came along after i inspected it. fortunately i have a damp meter so spotted them soon enough to fix them before they caused damage.
when i was looking to buy my current caravan i saw some real shockers in dealers. rotten floor on 8 an year old caravan for example.
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First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
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17/7/2017 at 6:59pm
Location: Glasgow
Outfit: Elddis Avante 454
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Joined: 08/2/2009 Platinum Member
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It might be an odd question but why are you considering this? It is not a lot newer than your caravan that you have had from new so you know its good, and bad points.
If you buy another caravan that is out of warranty you might find undiscovered problems.
Having said all that if the dealer is offering a two year warranty I'd be tempted to go for it. Many dealers will offer a warranty to get a sale.
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We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
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17/7/2017 at 7:19pm
Location: West Midlands
Outfit: Coachman Amara 570 6 + Shogun SG4
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Peel back the window rubbers and push probes in the wall board where the rubber will cover it. Check under and around all of the windows in this way. Don't let the probes touch the rubber as it will show a false high reading. Go in all the overhead lockers. Push the probes under the rubber trim between ceiling and wall. Check in the corners at the front (where my coachman leaked) check under the beds or the under seat lockers. Particularly under windows and in corners. Near the awning rails. Look for darker areas of wall or stains. Gentley push probes in these marks. Go in space behind heater check the wall there. Lift the vinyl floor covering at the edges under the seats. It should be glued down but if the floor is rotten it will lift easy. If it does lift or has bubbles under it check it for damp Any reading above 20% is not normal especially this time of year. Any reading approaching 40% is a major issue. If it's caught quickly not so bad but if you are looking at a caravan for sale you won't know how long it's been damp for.
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First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
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17/7/2017 at 8:08pm
Location: West country
Outfit: Mondeo
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Joined: 23/8/2008 Diamond Member 
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Make sure all the kit works both on gas and electric.
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18/7/2017 at 7:58am
Location: Blackpool
Outfit: Elddis Supreme
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Check the age of the tyres - they could be really old. There is a date them all - They should be less than 4 years old.
Tyres carry a DOT number on the sidewall that gives a production date. Since the year 2000 the numbers consist of 4 digits instead of 3. The first two digits indicate the calendar week of production and the next two the year of production.
Eg: 3004 – the tyre was manufactured in the 30th week of 2004.
For tyres manufactured in the 1990's there is a little triangle ∆ after the DOT code. Eg: 4 2 8 ∆ - the tyre was manufactured in the 42nd week of 1998.
If the tyre has a three digit code then it is too old.
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