I'm completely new to caravanning but have always found this site a great source of information. I'm off to look at this caravan on Friday evening. Has anybody owned one similar and can suggest things for me to look out for? I know it's old, but I don't want to spend much trying out the lifestyle in case it doesn't suit us!
I’ve got a ‘95 Abbey. Mine was well looked after by previous owners with a full service history that shows several reseals over the years so it is dry but these caravans are typical UK built caravans of that era & fact is the one you are looking at could be anything from pristine to a damp wreck fit for scrap.
When looking at it press the walls inside bathroom, all around window frames & all the floor/wall join areas inside caravan if damp there will be spongy soft spots. Look for discolouring of interior walls also a sign of damp. Damp meters are cheap enough from B&Q etc so worth getting if you are looking at caravans.
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Damp is the only real problem, anything else is relatively easy to fix if you are reasonably competent at DIY. As Opensauce says, get yourself a damp meter, they are invaluable.
Don't worry about the age, as many of these older caravans were better built than some of the newer ones from what I have heard. Mine is a 1992 Elddis, and it's fine.