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 Topic: Might buy a caravan….help
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11/4/2024 at 3:05pm
Location: Cambs
Outfit: Nowt.
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Joined: 14/12/2005 Diamond Member 
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Hi folks
I’ve been a member on here since forever, camped in tents with the kiddies when they were tiny, then gave it all up when they got big.
I’ve spent the last ten years on AI holidays abroad, but now I’m getting old  we are thinking about a caravan for both holidays, weekends away, and for trade fairs we go to for hubbys business -we sleep in his transit or a tent at the moment.
Will be for the two of us, and our little dog.
We’d like a four berth, relatively newish, and have a fairly healthy budget. I like the idea of an island bed as we both get up in the night a bit. Towbar is a Freelander 2, or big transit for events.
So, what is the best way to start this research? Do we go to caravan sales places? I’m a bit worried that they just tell you what you want to hear? But conversely I’d rather buy from a dealer than privately as the warranty makes sense if I’m spending a lot of money. Any other useful tips?
What are the better brands? Anything to beware of?
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Amanda
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11/4/2024 at 6:43pm
Location: Cambs
Outfit: Nowt.
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Quote: Originally posted by bofs on 11/4/2024
Go to some caravan dealers and go inside lots of caravans, imagine the practicalities of actually living in them, where you would put things, how you would manage things, whether the shower is big enough etc etc. Don't be afraid to open, pull, push, sit, stand, lie etc.
Thank you, great advice.
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Amanda
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12/4/2024 at 6:42am
Location: Essex
Outfit: Lunar Delta TS 2017
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Take your time.
We bought a caravan that had the mid bathroom across the van which you walked through to get to the island bed at the back. We only went away in it for one trip and sold it as it was the most claustrophobic van we have ever owned. The wall of the bathroom is at the end of the bed so your feet was always touching it, and you couldn’t go through from the bedroom if someone was in the bathroom. Then I would always have the door shut of the bathroom as you could see the sink, so made the living/kitchen area extremely small as no light coming in from the back of the van.
We have since changed for twin axle Lunar Delta TS which has twin singles and they are simply the best, so much more room. We have a super king bed at home so found the island bed a tad too small for us. Our van has a massive bathroom at the back and I’ve never seen so much storage. There are 2 big wardrobes in the bathroom, 2 bathroom cabinets, then the usual lockers overhead, a super large fridge freezer and a lovely big skylight window which lets in so much light, it’s a pleasure to spend time in it, even on a rainy day. The storage under the beds is easier than lifting up the island bed, as you can get to it from the outside. Don’t forget that when you buy the van you will have to take it back to where you bought it from for any warranty work, so think of the distance. Do you need storage for it or can you keep at home, as most storage facilities we contacted had waiting lists. Luckily we had a space and eventually got one just down the road from us after being on the waiting list for a while.
We love our van, just a shame we still both work, and at weekends too, so don’t get to use it as much as we would like.
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Claire and Colin
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12/4/2024 at 7:45am
Location: Liverpool
Outfit: Swift Challenger 560
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I don’t think there is a ‘better’ brand any more, all caravans have similar problems and if you are buying second hand, the most important thing to look out for is damp. A caravan can look immaculate and appear as if it has barely been used by the previous owner but it could be riddled with damp. If you are buying second hand, invest in a good damp meter and check every nook and cranny before you buy.
Choosing a caravan is very much down to personal taste. We have the layout that Claire and Colin describe above as hating but for us, it is the best layout ever. We don’t find it claustrophobic and love the fact that the caravan is split into two separate sections that are completely closed off from each other. This way my early riser of a husband can get up at 5am and go into the front section, close the door and get on with his morning. He can turn on lights, make a coffee, watch the morning news etc and with the door closed to the rear bedroom, I can blissfully sleep until 8am without being disturbed. In our previous caravans which had the more traditional layout of the bathroom at the rear and the bed and living area only separated by a curtain, he would always wake me in the mornings, no matter how quiet he was trying to be. So, one person’s ideal layout can be another person’s worst nightmare, it is a very personal thing so go and view lots of different layouts at a caravan dealers to find the one that is going to suit you best before looking around for one for sale in that layout.
Additionally, you need to consider your car. The 2000kg that you mention is probably the cars max towing weight. However, the more important figure to find is the car’s kerbweight which will most likely be quite a bit lower. You want to get a caravan that is around 85% of the kerbweight of the car so that you don’t get the ‘tail wagging the dog’ effect. If your caravan is heavier than your car, you are asking for trouble, even if the car can officially tow the caravan within its maximum towing weight. It is the weight of the car that keeps the caravan stable when towing in windy weather or down long inclines etc. I have had a look online and the site I checked seems to suggest the kerbweight of your car is 1785kg. Sometimes these websites get it wrong so you need to double check yourself. However, if that is correct, you would be looking for a caravan around 1500kg (up to 1517kg).
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Pixie
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12/4/2024 at 8:32am
Location: Cambs
Outfit: Nowt.
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Quote: Originally posted by Pixie_Hez on 12/4/2024
Additionally, you need to consider your car. The 2000kg that you mention is probably the cars max towing weight. However, the more important figure to find is the car’s kerbweight which will most likely be quite a bit lower. You want to get a caravan that is around 85% of the kerbweight of the car so that you don’t get the ‘tail wagging the dog’ effect. If your caravan is heavier than your car, you are asking for trouble, even if the car can officially tow the caravan within its maximum towing weight. It is the weight of the car that keeps the caravan stable when towing in windy weather or down long inclines etc. I have had a look online and the site I checked seems to suggest the kerbweight of your car is 1785kg. Sometimes these websites get it wrong so you need to double check yourself. However, if that is correct, you would be looking for a caravan around 1500kg (up to 1517kg).
Yes, max tow weight was 2000kg so this makes sense. Thank you for explaining it really well. I’ll get hubby to check the VIN plate when he’s home with car later.
And all this feedback about how different layouts work/dont work is so helpful, please keep them coming folks.
We have had a small four berth before, an ancient early 90s Buccaneer, I think it was, and we kept the double bed made up all the time, as the faff of making it up all the time was awful. So a fixed bed of some sort is a must have.
We’ll definitely need to try lots though, but it’s hard to know what’s going to work ‘in the wild’ if you’ve no point of reference…..it’ll all be better than sleeping in the back of the transit van on a futon mattress, I can tell you! 😂
And yes, will keep a beady eye out for damp. We’re hoping to pick up something that’s relatively newish, maybe 4 years old or so, from looking at traders prices. The point about having to go back to same dealer for warranty work is a good one, so will ensure our search radius isn’t too big.
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Amanda
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