ade555 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Hello everyone, I'm new to "caravanning" and not purchased yet our one, basically it took me 3 years to convince my wife to get one, I'm use to live in confined space so it wasn't hard for me to make this decision but my other half had reservation, anyway I taken my wife to few dealers and she was overwhelm how the space was design in caravans and she wanted to take one straight away I was bit shock that's for sure. We looking for 4 berth so our 8 year old daughter can have her own sleeping space, we view thew of them and we flexible on location of appliances, some one advice me to get one with toilette facility in middle so you don't have to wake the other party, now the budged we set for the first van to be £1500 and be waiting till end of the season to get one maybe there will be some bargains unless I can find something that is good at this budget during summer. Don't know much about caravans, so any info you can past on please feel free, one thing for sure I don't want to over spend then find out they don't like it. I will be towing with Vectra cdti so looking about 1250kg Max weight that way is with in 85%, Licence category is not a problem in my case. Hope you can point me in right direction Ade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepyfolk Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 What is this confined space you used to live in? Cave, prison, submarine? Lol http://www. caravanfinder. co. uk/caravan_layouts. html?berth=4 try this website as you can search by layout and that will give you an idea of what will suit best, you can then narrow down a few models that you particularly want. I used that site, caravan trader, eBay and ended up buying one off gumtree. Once you know which model/s you are after you can start watching all the websites to get a good idea of prices and how long they are hanging around, if you see one you like that's been for sale for a while you've a good chance of a deal. Be very careful with private ads and eBay, there are a lot of fake ads and charlatans out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade555 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks for advice, as for the confined space I live in truck all week so very small space sometimes I wish I was in cave away from all hassle lol, I'm not bothered to much about the layout as longest has 2 separated sleeping area which all 4 berth have, my main concern is what to look out when you going to buy one specially on low budged. I have seen few old vans on ebay that looked reasonable with in our budged and maybe once the family decide that they like this holiday idea I can spend more money on something newer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hello everyone, I'm new to "caravanning" and not purchased yet our one, basically it took me 3 years to convince my wife to get one, I'm use to live in confined space so it wasn't hard for me to make this decision but my other half had reservation, anyway I taken my wife to few dealers and she was overwhelm how the space was design in caravans and she wanted to take one straight away I was bit shock that's for sure. We looking for 4 berth so our 8 year old daughter can have her own sleeping space, we view thew of them and we flexible on location of appliances, some one advice me to get one with toilette facility in middle so you don't have to wake the other party, now the budged we set for the first van to be £1500 and be waiting till end of the season to get one maybe there will be some bargains unless I can find something that is good at this budget during summer. Don't know much about caravans, so any info you can past on please feel free, one thing for sure I don't want to over spend then find out they don't like it. I will be towing with Vectra cdti so looking about 1250kg Max weight that way is with in 85%, Licence category is not a problem in my case. Hope you can point me in right direction Ade Hi Ade One thing to be careful of is the dreaded Damp!. Caravans ( at least all those you will be looking at) are made of panels of ABS and alluminium fixed on to wooden frames and sealed along the joints. The interior is made of wooden ( ply mainly) boards. With use often those joints weaken and damp gets in and softens the timbers. Look out for caravan's which a dealer has refused to part ex because of damp and the owner is trying to fob it off to a novice. That said - there are loads of real bargains and generally most caravanners are "good types" PLUS this and other forums are really helpful as well. Typically something like a mid 90's Eldis Tornado XL ( 4 berth) would seem to fit your requirements as they often go for between £1 and £2K and have the layout and weight you want, though the toilet/washroom is less than you'll find on the later ( 2000+) vans. If your really lucky you might get someone who is giving up caravanning so you get all the bits and bobs as well Happy Hunting Jim Quote "keep your motor running" caravan: Avondale Avocet ( 2006) - tow car: Renault Laguna (2007) - play car: Mercedes 300SL (1988) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade555 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks Jim I am bit worried going out there to private sellers because like you said I can buy lemon and loss all my money, on another hand I don't want to pay over for something from dealer, I had a quick look on ebay and gumtree for above model and there is one near by for £1795 from dealer so maybe could bring him down a bit. I seen some damp meter maybe is good idea to invest in one??? There is few models on market at the moment but I believe once the season will end there could be some good bargains out there unless I get feed up of looking for one and just go out there and get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emberz1977 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 We started off with a cheap, basic van and when we knew we liked it invested in a better one from a dealer. Might be worth buying a cheap ish one private then go better from a dealer, this way you shouldn't lose too much money, good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade555 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 I think that would be our best option, anyone know how much I will be looking for service, the main concern is electric and gas safety . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianp45 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 HI, Usually around £220 for a service from a dealer, not sure about the costs of a mobile engineer though. Quote Mondeo 2. 0TDCI 140bhp/ Coachman festival 550 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 HI, Usually around £220 for a service from a dealer, not sure about the costs of a mobile engineer though. Our (brilliant ) mobile service engineer (Newark based) charges less than £100 for a full service and damp report so look out for a good local one Jim Hi Again Also have a look on this and other forums for caravans for sale -always worthwhile Quote "keep your motor running" caravan: Avondale Avocet ( 2006) - tow car: Renault Laguna (2007) - play car: Mercedes 300SL (1988) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caravanmedicswindon Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Our (brilliant ) mobile service engineer (Newark based) charges less than £100 for a full service and damp report so look out for a good local one JimHi Again Also have a look on this and other forums for caravans for sale -always worthwhile I would suggest that your service engineer is NOT an engineer if he charges less than £100 for 4 hours of work! I would suggest to the OP that he tries his best to get a caravan that is post MY2000 as he will still be able to get parts to repair all of his major appliances. ..already said but check for minimal damp as it is unlikely not to have any. Quote For any additional information or advice please have a look on my website. .....www. thecaravanmedic-swindon. co. uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I would suggest that your service engineer is NOT an engineer if he charges less than £100 for 4 hours of work! I would suggest to the OP that he tries his best to get a caravan that is post MY2000 as he will still be able to get parts to repair all of his major appliances. ..already said but check for minimal damp as it is unlikely not to have any. Yes he is - most definitely - he's worked in the industry for many years and is VERY highly recommended. He provides a full test schedule on completion of service including a full damp test and status and he also does body, electrical and gas etc repairs. The only thing he doesn't do is clean the 'van, which I believe some of the £220 dealer service packages include The only reason I'm not going to put his company's name up is that he's already so hard to get a service date from due to happy customers recommendations and that will make it even harder Jim Quote "keep your motor running" caravan: Avondale Avocet ( 2006) - tow car: Renault Laguna (2007) - play car: Mercedes 300SL (1988) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.