Having been a 'tenter' for a number of years, my wife and I find ourselves in the fortunate position of being given a caravan by my parents who have decided they are too old for the touring game now. (at 65, i dont believe them but my dad says the van is just too heavy for him to set up and my mum wont let him have a mover!)
Its not a glamourus van, a 1991 swift Rapide 450 5 berth which my dad bought in a rushd haste without checking it over properly a few years ago. As such it came with damp around the front window and a few other oodd jobs to sort. He spent a good few weeks sorting the damp and being a decorator he managd to do a go job of making it look like it should once he'd finished.
Theres also a spot on the floor near the sink that feels spongy to walk on but i think i can fix that with some insulation in a can.
We have a 06, volvo S40 2.0D (94K high miles) and having checked the weights we are about 83% on a fully max tow weight.
Living in Northumberland we are ideally placed for some good sites around the coast, near castles or into the hills and dont plan to go far this year.
We get the caravan in two weeks, now ive just sorted a tow bar and some storage. The only other problems are;
1)ive never even hitched up a trailer, never mind towed a caravan and
2) we have our 2nd child (in addition to a 5yr old lad) due in two weeks.
so, is it advisable to practise towing before setting out? I dont even know how to hitch the thing up!
and any advice for touring with a brand new baby?
Its not a glamourus van, a 1991 swift Rapide 450 5 berth which my dad bought in a rushd haste without checking it over properly a few years ago. As such it came with damp around the front window and a few other oodd jobs to sort. He spent a good few weeks sorting the damp and being a decorator he managd to do a go job of making it look like it should once he'd finished.
Theres also a spot on the floor near the sink that feels spongy to walk on but i think i can fix that with some insulation in a can.
We have a 06, volvo S40 2.0D (94K high miles) and having checked the weights we are about 83% on a fully max tow weight.
Living in Northumberland we are ideally placed for some good sites around the coast, near castles or into the hills and dont plan to go far this year.
We get the caravan in two weeks, now ive just sorted a tow bar and some storage. The only other problems are;
1)ive never even hitched up a trailer, never mind towed a caravan and
2) we have our 2nd child (in addition to a 5yr old lad) due in two weeks.
so, is it advisable to practise towing before setting out? I dont even know how to hitch the thing up!
and any advice for touring with a brand new baby?
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