Buying my very first caravan

[volvo145]

Originally Posted by c_lee

Oh - and did I mention about buying a damp meter.
I bought one of these and regularly check my van:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cheap-Mois...QAAOSw0JpV5a7r

Colin

Good choice.
We checked one the same against the workshop one costing about the £150 and there was very little difference in the reading between the two.

[green van man]

I baught a Bailey, privately, it came ready to roll with 2 awnings, waste and water bottle and steps and battery, plus working motor mover. I paid £1200 less than dealers wanted for a bare van.
I immediately renewed the tyres and fitted light truck tyres as the original made in China were an odd size and 3 times the price I paid.

In the 4 years I have owned it I have renewed wheel bearings and brake shoes, repaired a leak that was causing damp. The service I have had from Bailey's parts department has been second to none, the one time they cocked up an order it was rectified very quickly.

Haines do a very useful caravan manual that you may find useful, especially if you intend doing your own service, just ignore the advise that alco hubs must be returned to the manufacturer for the bearings to be changed, you can do it yourself with suitable mandrills and a hammer.

There are bargains to be had but you are buying at the wrong time of year to get the best. Also have you sorted the storage out yet? My home has a covonent that prevents me storing a caravan or a boat on the land, it's something to be aware of.

Paul.

[Izzy]

Hi, I'm new on here after buying a Volvo XC60 in Inverness on Saturday. We needed a bigger car to tow our Lunar Clubman. Still in shock with the size of the XC60 compared to my little Suzuki Swift but it'll be a great towing car.

Best advice I can give you is to pick up a caravan magazine to figure out the best layout for your family and then start touring around your caravan dealers to see what's on offer. This will give you an idea on what decor etc you like.

Check the servicing record of the van and the damp readings. Most vans will either have been treated for damp or had a higher than normal reading at one point or another (at least that's what we found).

Personally I didn't like the Elddis but my hubby did. Our first van was a rebranded dealer special of a 2011 Sterling Europa bought from new. Our thought of let's spend £5k on a second hand caravan went out of the window when we got sucked in by all the new shiny vans - so we are not best example.

Our second van was supposed to be a second hand Lunar Clubman but £24k later we left feeling a bit dazed but happy with a sparkly new van.

Ask the dealers to keep you in mind for any trade ins which they wouldn't normally sell due to the age of the van - our friends picked up a gorgeous Coachman for £2500 and its in mint condition.

If you are buying privately then you could ask a mobile caravan engineer to take a look (roughly £100-£150) it's worth the money esp if you are unsure.

All the best, you'll love the freedom caravanning brings.

[Izzy]

Hi, just noticed you are in Aberdeen/shire. There is (imo) a great dealer in Elgin for servicing. We've never bought from them but they saved our lives on our first trip away in the van and we could smell gas. It turned out the gas regulator wasn't fitted properly and they didn't charge us a penny for resolving it.

We would def trust the service department there.

Lots of great caravanning to be done in Aberdeen and the highlands. We are in the highlands nearly every weekend. What a life!!

[rogerthechorister]

I think that it makes sense to make "first time" mistakes as cheaply as possible.

My first van was £250 from a Hell's Angel. And my "first time mistake" was to drive it under a tree branch that was too low. I sort of straightened out the roof and ripped out the top cupboards to make guitar shelves. The shower was a little belter by the time I'd added the biggest onboard water pump I could find and the series 1 Carver made just enough hot water that you could have a nice hot shower if you rushed. Snag 1 was the lavatory was a Portapotti not an cassette unit. Snag 2 was the fridge did not really get cold enough - even after I replaced it.

My next van I bought by mistake. I put a bid on to help a bloke get more for his van - and lo! Suddenly I owned it. £550. An Abi Ace Airstream. Snag 1 - the shower room had serious damp and mostly rotted away in the couple of years I kept it. Snag 2 - local teenagers had broken in and used it as a shooting gallery and I never did quite get rid of all the marks. Snag 3 - bl00dy fridges! Snag 4 - somebody had removed all the CRIS markings and it seems changed the chassis plate. Ooo-er Missus. But I totally loved the L-shaped layout and I modified the bed slide so it was really fast to make the bed.

The next van (my current one) was an attempt to get a bit better. £1500. Another Abi Ace Airstream. The smell of damp went away with the use of a dehum and I'm pretty sure that no wet is now getting in where it should not. Much nicer bathroom. And a motor mover and an Al-ko stabiliser. Snag 1 - my caravan fixitman has not REALLY manages to get the wobbly floor totally rigid. Snag 2. Bl00dy fridges. Snag 3. I had to get a cooker put in, there was only rings and grill. Snag 4. Although on the outside it was a foot bigger thanthe previous van, on the inside it was a foot smaller - space wasted on an extra wardrobe. Snag 5. TOTALLY stupid storage layout. L-shaped cupboard near the sink almost unusable unless you like (a) crawling and (b) emptying it to get at stuff at the back. The seats were an inch lower than the old one, so I had to get a different (smaller) subwoofer, AND there was no room to put wine bottles in a milk crate upright below the seats so I had to carve up a food storage cupboard to install a wine rack. Much more important. Snag 6. After installing the sound system I was plagued with voltage drop. The battery was actually fine but the warning light kept saying it was not - and the sound system would turn itself off because of the low voltage to it. Mr Caravanfixit said it was one of the proprietary multiplugs in the wiring system, so by much fannying about I replaced all of them with choc-block - and it was not that! Eventually, working my way around with a voltmeter, it turned out to be inside the battery-charger-distribution-panel. Somebody who obviously new a LOT about caravan electrics but was a bit slapdash had put a second relay in there, and because it was very crowded, had bent one of the connector pins so that spade terminal on it was not making good contact. Also a lot of the screws that held the unit together were missing. Hoping for a trouble-free summer now, but I really should have a good polish of the outside.

[Munro83]

Yeah I know the caravan place in Elgin- they wanted £1000 to fit a detachable towbar!!

[volvo145]

Originally Posted by Munro83

Yeah I know the caravan place in Elgin- they wanted £1000 to fit a detachable towbar!!

But that price had included the towbar and parts ?
Do you need a none detachable towbar?

[Munro83]

Originally Posted by volvo145

But that price had included the towbar and parts ?
Do you need a none detachable towbar?

Yeah it was total price including towbar & fitting etc
Do you think £1000 is a reasonable price? They were £850 for a fixed towbar

[volvo145]

Originally Posted by Munro83

Yeah it was total price including towbar & fitting etc
Do you think £1000 is a reasonable price? They were £850 for a fixed towbar

It all depends on the initial cost of the parts you require.
S/H any use?

[Munro83]

Got one fully fitted for £325