 | Home > Camping, Caravanning and Holidays > Caravaning advice |
 
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| ARC99 Member Since: 19 Feb 2013 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1831   
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On older vans I would look out for DAMP, you can pick a tester for a small amount of cash, also check the ALL tyres for date of manufacture , 7 years is the life whether worn or not. Don't make old people mad.
We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to  us off.
Richard |
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9th Jun 2014 4:08pm |
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| Hudwinker Member Since: 04 May 2013 Location: Lancashire Posts: 45 
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Thor - I went through a similar process but started with a VW California - fantastic van with every extra we could buy. I kept this for 18 months. It was black and got as many looks as the defender. The problem we found is that it was just not practical for a family of 5 - 3 young kids and a very small space even with the awning. Your decision to go for the caravan is the right one and I swapped the Cal for a defender and bought a Hobby 720 which can comfortable sleep 7. The problem with Hobby's is they tend to have a lot of little faults so buying one that is 5 years plus and lost all its value and been put in to full working order is the way forward. Ebay is the best option or Gumtree and you tend to find that families buy them and all the bits that go with caravan dream only to sell them because they do not use them. If you do buy second hand then I would get it fully serviced before using it to make sure it is safe. Happy caravanning.
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9th Jun 2014 7:51pm |
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| Thor Member Since: 17 Dec 2011 Location: Didcot Posts: 446 
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Thank you both for the replies. I'll order my self a damp tester soon.
Hudwinker - The California is an expensive way to start things! The transporter/caravelle is one of my favourite vehicles of all time. I had a transporter Kombi for a good few years, though someone decided they wanted it more than I did and broke into my house to get the keys 
I'll have a look at the hobby vans now. I've found a local company to do my B+E so will get that done sooner rather than later. Will caravan prices fluctuate a little in the winter/out of season? We may miss this summer and look to buy later in the year as we have the full Disney holiday plus Caribbean cruise coming so may make sense to wait till after the mega spend. My old 174bhp T5. No California but a tasty van to carry my bikes around.  [/URL]
Thanks again for the advise......the research continues Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  Strong people are harder to kill and generally more useful! |
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10th Jun 2014 6:17pm |
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| Hudwinker Member Since: 04 May 2013 Location: Lancashire Posts: 45
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Thor
Great looking van and rock solid residuals. You can buy as many bolt on bits as you can for the defender! My old Cal below: Click image to enlarge I would leave the caravan purchase until the end of the season - winter as there will be bargains to be had particularly if it is a wet summer. Be careful with some of the 'dealers' as they are not regulated and may misrepresent the true. Good luck with the caravan best advice I can offer is keep your tool kit close! |
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11th Jun 2014 6:06pm |
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| mick Member Since: 08 Feb 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 2109  
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Coachman are about the best British van we have a Hymer as the others say get a damp meter and your best bying from a dealer to start with get it hpi checked as well
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12th Jun 2014 9:38pm |
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| Jake the dog Member Since: 02 Jan 2014 Location: Worcestershire Posts: 29 
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Thor we take our 10 year old daughter and 2 border collies with us in our caravan. The dogs sleep under the end bunks, on some caravans you can lift/remove the bottom bunk which gives a great sleeping area for the woofers and keeps them out of the way, really good on wet days! Worth considering!
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12th Jun 2014 9:52pm |
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| Thor Member Since: 17 Dec 2011 Location: Didcot Posts: 446
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Great looking Cali Hudwinker!!!
Good shout Jake, I'll deffo keep the dogs sleeping arrangements in mind when viewing. Most important piece of kit will be ear plugs as my beast snores like a drunken man!!! Found a local company to do my B+E. Will be booking that for the end of next month as soon as my licence comes back from the DVLA as my photo licence runs out tomorrow! Cheers for the advices!!! Strong people are harder to kill and generally more useful! |
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13th Jun 2014 5:12pm |
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| Thor Member Since: 17 Dec 2011 Location: Didcot Posts: 446
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Right, B+E now passed with not even a single minor fault 😎 so the research begins.
Already had a look at insurance which doesn't seem to bad at all. Next on the list is move a fence post as I can easily gain another 18 inches - two feet and have the father in-law knock us up some new, more secure gates at work. I'll also be visiting the local caravan centres to see what's what. I have a NAS step on my 110 so going to look dig out the thread on here about the Westfalia swan neck tow bar thing that lowers the tow ball height Strong people are harder to kill and generally more useful! |
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18th Sep 2015 11:21am |
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| Rallymental Member Since: 17 Aug 2015 Location: The Garden of England Posts: 468 
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If I can add a bit of advice?
I would be very careful of buying via ebay etc the odd caravan gets stolen about as much as defenders! When we bought our first van we found it on the caravan club website, you cant list anything or even get the sellers details without joining so it gives a little more security. Out first van also came with absolutely everything we needed to using it as it came from a family that was giving it up to use the money for something else. As others have said, damp is a killer for vans and it isn't always obvious, look out for 'spongy' walls and bouncy floors and walk away from both. If there is damp anywhere walk away, you wont cure it once it starts unless you want to spend fortunes. All caravan owners have their favorites and all have their pros and cons. We have always had Baileys, probably for no other reason than our first was a Bailey, but their newer vans have a clever construction technique which pretty much eliminates any possibility for damp and it makes them lighter to move about. If you cant hitch up directly and pull out from wherever you store it then maybe think about a motor mover, I know it sounds like a bit of flash gimmickry but if its at all tricky to get the van in or out, you will argue! And that can spoil the weekend/holiday it also allows you to get it in a tighter space through having more control. Hope that helps a bit. |
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18th Sep 2015 11:55am |
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| Iggle piggle Member Since: 10 Sep 2014 Location: Wales Posts: 378 
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Here is a good place to look
http://www.caravanfinder.co.uk/ we had the same thoughts as you when we started caravaning, start off with an older one, just don't do what we did & buy the first pile of rotting wood you look at! 
After 12 months & a very expensive lesson learnt we traded it in for a new Elddis Super-storm I loved that caravan but we just were not using it enough so it had to go!  |
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18th Sep 2015 12:52pm |
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| Rallymental Member Since: 17 Aug 2015 Location: The Garden of England Posts: 468
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Just re-read my post, sorry didn't mean to scare you with the caravan club thing, you don't have to remain a member, unless you're into the whole socks, sandals, shorts and tie thing
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18th Sep 2015 1:02pm |
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| pjb Member Since: 08 Apr 2009 Location: Sunny Oxford Posts: 1244 |
as all have said DAMP is the biggest problem for vans.
Lots of other things, but damp is the killer You may be better buying from a dealer swindon/reading/Oxford Caravans is one we have bought from before and they damp check the vans & give a warranty but you might have to stretch the budget a bit 
We caravan once a month, we really enjoy long weekends with our dogs - daughter has now grown up & "borrows" the van sometimes 
We started off with a Sprite 400 - 30+ years ago , moved to trailer tents back to caravans to motorhomes & then back to caravans. Towed our Swift to South Wales loads of times with our 1957 Series in the 80's great memories. Now a Swift Conqueror and would recommend Swift as a brand. Good luck & best advice is go local the first time you go away, so you can go home & get all the things you have forgotten 2020 P300 HSE |
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18th Sep 2015 1:22pm |
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| gilarion Member Since: 05 Dec 2013 Location: Wales Posts: 5111  
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As has been said check for damp, also check that the piping for gas is OK and that all electrics are fine. Obviously if you buy from a dealer they will have done all these checks for you. You can get very good deals from the lower price second hand range of caravans from caravan sellers.
Best advice I can give if you purchase a caravan is to buy an Awning for it either new or second hand as it doubles the living space and with a good fan heater the awning will keep warm in the evening. For those who like Welsh Mountains and narrow boats have a look at my videos and photos at.. http://www.youtube.com/user/conwy1 |
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18th Sep 2015 1:58pm |
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| CatherineF Member Since: 22 Nov 2014 Location: Wiltshire Posts: 762
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I'm a member of the caravan club  2015 Audi Q3 Quattro S Line Plus 184 TDI Stronic
2010 90 SMC Over Land Nero Edition - Santorini Black Metallic (Now Departed) |
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18th Sep 2015 3:34pm |
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