Another former tent owner joining.

[tentmonster]

Hi all,

After spending two weeks in France being alternatevely baked and then moistened in a leaky tent for two weeks we have decided we should move to the dark side and try caravanning.

We are looking out for a lightweight 4 or 5 berth van about 15 years old or so. I only have a renault megane with a kerb weight of 1306 to tow with. If we like it we may upgrade in the future. I'm looking forward to trying something new and having ice in my gin and tonic.

Sean

 

[saint-spoon]

Hello TM,
We to have decided to move over and as such I have binned my much loved ford focus estate (brilliant for stuffing full of tenting stuff) in favour of a lorry/tractor and invested in a tin tent to tow behind it.

 

[tentmonster]

"Tin tent" - I like it! I'll remember that one along with my friend's "Parafin budgy" for a jet.

My partner will need a new car next year - she could have something heavier than the megane I suppose.

 

[Mel]

Hi welcome to the forum, and to caravanning: the civilised way of sleeping in a field.
Mel

 

[Gagakev]

Hi all,

After spending two weeks in France being alternatevely baked and then moistened in a leaky tent for two weeks we have decided we should move to the dark side and try caravanning.

We are looking out for a lightweight 4 or 5 berth van about 15 years old or so. I only have a renault megane with a kerb weight of 1306 to tow with. If we like it we may upgrade in the future. I'm looking forward to trying something new and having ice in my gin and tonic.

Sean

Dark side??? At least you can have switchable lights in your van :lol:
Welcome to to forum[strike] Van[/strike]Tentmonster, keep the questions coming,someone will know the answer.

 

[Dustydog]

Welcopme to the tuggers forum Sean.

Lots of us moved up to caravans from tents and have never looked back.
There are loads of articles about buying a used caravan and weights of vehicles in relation the the caravan. If you are unsure please ask.

 

[emowbray]

welcome to the club (im new too)

i have just got my first van love it but made the mistake of not buying a damp meter first

first off go to b and q and get a damp meter, take it with you to every van you view and prod it in the following areas

under each window
in all corners
all the way along the awning rails
EVERYWHERE,

check for damp reports and request to see them from the sellers.

to ensure you enjoy caravaning you must start with the right van, looking at the different layouts. there are plenty to choose from.
if you are on a budget ensure you get one with all the gear ie

awning
water bottle
waste water bottle
step
elec hookup
and so on

HAVE FUN

 

[tentmonster]

Thanks for all the welcome messages.

Today I have bough a damp meter. Seeing 2 vans on Saturday - both lunars. I like the Avondale darts but there are few about for the right money and the 5 berth, although a great layout, is a little too heavy for my car.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Tentmonster.

Whenever I read of a Renault as a tow vehicle, an alarm bell tolls. A number of Renault models have their towed weight limits (how much they are supposed to be able to tow) quoted in a rather unhelpful way. They can only pull their quoted maximum towed weight when the car is at its unladen weight. Which means for every kg of load (passengers, luggage and trailer nose weight etc and the weight of the tow hitch assembly) you put in the car, the permitted towed weight reduces by the same amount.

The only safe (legal) way of checking is to find the car's weight plate (usually located in a door frame or under the bonnet) and looking at the the largest figure (Gross Train Weight) and subtracting the second largest figure (Gross Vehicle Weight) and the balance is the maximum trailer weight the car can safely tow when loaded.

Regardless of any other advice you must not exceed the manufacturers technical figures above.

Now only when you established the cars technical capability can you start to consider what weight of caravan to look at. The industry advice is for a novice tower to look for a caravans whose maximum possible weight (MTPLM) is no greater than 85% of the tow vehicles unladen weight, but again in some Renault cars the maximum allowed towed weight is already less than 85% of the car's unladen weight.

So your starting point has to be with the cars detailed specification.

Even if you can work to 85% of the 1306kg (= 1110kg) as a maximum caravan weight, you are going to struggle to find a 5 berth at such a low weight.

In reality I think you will need to look for a more capable car.

I'm sorry to bring a note of caution, but there is also another matter relating to damp in caravans. Especially as you have stated you are looking for 15 yr old caravan you should definitely be ultra careful about damp issues. I will be surprised if you can find a 15yr old caravan without some damp issues.

I note you purchased a 'damp meter' and again I must post a note of caution. Cheap meters will not be properly calibrated and their results cannot be trusted implicitly. The wall coverings in caravans can give false readings to measurements, so having a damp meter is one thing, but knowing how to use it and to account for the materials you are probing is another.

 

[tentmonster]

Well I bought a caravan - a Lunar Zenith 4. Lightweight (only 1100kg MTPLM). The megane towed it quite well - plenty of power. The van was fitted with the old leaf spring type stabiliser so I treated it to an ALKO 1300 hitch which I will get round to fitting before our first long trip to Cardiff in October.

Fingers crossed! B)

 

[LizziePope]

Hi tentmonster and a belated welcome to the forum – and to caravanning! Congratulations on the purchase of your Lunar!

 

[Beachball]

Hi tentmonster this is a belated welcome to the forum (Not been Well)