Caravan Adventures!

[Cento16v]

Evening all, hope everyone is well.

It's time for a newer van, we've had a great year of fun but want hot water and a shower now!

My cars max weight is 2090 so I've got 1400kg to play with weight wise.

I've got about £4000 and whatever trade I can get for mine, I'm currently thinking something like this which seems to tick all the boxes, there's only two of us currently but I've been advised to plan for 4 :blink:

Any help or advice is very much appreciated, I'm in Leeds if anyone knows any good dealers other than Dickinsons or Albion as I've already been and they don't have much in at the mo

 

[Sproket]

There are quite a few caravan dealers about in west yorkshire

 

[Mel]

That Lexon like a nice van. The advantage of a 4 berth with a fixed bed when there are just two of you is that you don't have to make up a bed each night. I would chose a fixed bed every time.
Have a look at the caravan finder website. It will show vans and dealers near you. Depends how far you are prepared to travel.
Mel

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Cento
As you well know damp is the main enemy.
At the very least I'd have a professional caravan engineer do a full damp test on your choice.
Layout wise there are only two of us plus dogs.
So a 4 berth with fixed bed is our personal choice.
Sometimes one of you may want a snooze so a fixed bed can be very handy.

 

[Cento16v]

I've found the perfect Van today but they won't take mine as trade as its too old for them

I don't really want the hassle of selling privately so the search continues...

 

[Martin24]

Damp Damp and Damp. Pretty much everything else can be fixed cheaply and easily. Age is much less important than condition. As far as your choice of layouts it depends why you are planning for 4. Fixed beds are not necessarily the way to go for a family friendly holiday, but then neither are fixed bunks as the little darlings get a bit bigger. Also not the way to go if you want to maximise your daytime living space. Make sure you try all the layouts available before you decide and spend plenty of time in each model looking at how you will use the space.

 

[Raywood]

Agree check for damp, but on any caravan also check the end panels for cracking and make sure all the equipment works and you get a good demonstration.
If you are experienced at towing and 1400 kg is not the car makers limit you have more to play with than that. You can get to over 1700 kg and still be within 85% and a little more than that would still be in order provided you do not exceed the cars towing limit. Additional weight does mean additional fuel though.

 

[ProfJohnL]

HEllo Ray,

I suspect the OP was limiting himself to only 1400kg because he probably only has a Cat B licence which limits his choices to a maximum combined MAM of 3500kg.

If my suspicion is correct Well done that man.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

My cars max weight is 2090 so I've got 1400kg to play with weight wise.

What is the kerb weight of your car?

 

[Cento16v]

The letter I have from Saab limits me to 1420 as the car gross weight is 2080 (9-5 Aero HOT stage 3) I can do my test easily enough if needed but 1400 should be plenty enough

 

[saint-spoon]

I know that you say that there is only two but to plan for four, may I dare ask if it children that you plan to have or if it is grandchildren or friends coming along. I have two young children and looked a load of caravans, the five berth with what is essentially two dining/lounge areas that both convert into double beds are fantastic although we ended up with fixed bunk beds for the children. Making up a double bed really isn’t that difficult in my opinion.

 

[Cento16v]

We will be having children very soon so I'm told so I'm making the allowance now :lol:

I've looked at a lovely ACE Globetrotter today and had a very good part ex offer, 4 berth with a side dinette and an end washroom with fully lined shower too. 2005 model and in weight but out of budget which I'm trying to make the man maths work on it now!

They had a 500/5 ranger in as well but it was a 2001 and though in budget the cloth was very dated as were the carpets.

 

[saint-spoon]

Just my opinion but things you must consider are where are the children going to sleep as babies, the side dinette is all very well but would you really want to put a child of 2 years old on a bunk. Obviously it is your choice and so on and it is very difficult to imagine what you are going to need until you are actually in the position of having the kids. Obviously when children are very small you can put them in a Moses basket or travel cot but once they get a bit older you will need to consider where they are going to sleep. Bunks in a side dinette are all very good but think long term and will the bunks that they offer give you sufficient privacy to be able to sit and relax of an evening. When we were looking at buying our caravan we looked at a lot of four berths but it seems that they are actual designed more for grandparents who will have the grand children once in a while rather than used for four person family. The five berth arrangement seems much more suited and indeed we nearly got one. Obviously the next thing to consider is the washroom, there are some lovely end washrooms, loads of storage and so on, plenty of room but how much time are you actually going to spend in there and could the room space be better used for living area. One of the reasons that we decided to stop tenting and buy a caravan is that young children need to go to the toilet (obviously) and it saves having to traipse across to the toilet block at random intervals with them. I would seriously check out the five berths though, they are generally about the same weight and price as four berths but much better suited to a young family in my opinion. I think that with caravans, you lose some measure of luxury as you make them more family friendly (obviously that is a very general generalisation and there are some very nice luxury caravans out there designed for families). Fixed double beds, large bathrooms and so on are nice but they take up floor space. Anyway these are just my opinions and we have just purchased our first caravan this year having spent what seems to be years looking at various models across the full range up to around fifteen years old.

 

[Martin24]

Sounds like an ideal next van if the maths works out. We had that layout when we had baby number 1. Used a cot side on the bunk from 3 months old. The end bathroom is ideal with small young families as plenty of floor space for nappy changes and as they get a bit older plenty of room for supervision. Good luck

 

[Raywood]

I agree with Saint-Spoon on the layout. We have had two caravans with what I call the double dinette layout when we had three children with us this has a double lounge at the front and another at the back usually with a bunk that can be put up over it. It worked very well letting children have their own space during the day and putting them as far away as possible at night and it tends to be lighter than the fixed bunk models. Downside can be small wardrobe although fixed bunk models can also have this problem and toilet can be cramped but if you use toilet block on site for showers it should not matter.

Not sure about the car as do not know the model. SAAB's are usually good at towing but not sure if low towing limit is due to small engine or high revving one.If it is low powered then the outfit might be a bit slower than you want and if it is high revving then you might find hill starts need a lot of revs to get it going, but only trying it out will tell you.

 

[Jules_ht]

Saab 9-5 Aero is a big heavy powerful beast of a car (especially at 300BHP, 300ftlb stage 3), will have no problem towing. Will weigh the best part of 2 tonnes (mine was 1800kg on the rollers, also stage 3 as it happens, although I sold it for a 9-3 diesel SW (to complement the stage 5 c9-3)).

I have to say that (speaking from personal preference obviously) I disagree with the idea that a side dinnette is a good plan for a young family. For us having kids area one end and adult the other (both in the daytime and at night), with everything else in between, is ideal. Obviously everyone's needs and perceptions are different and that's great.

If you're going fixed bunks (which we did consider), be careful- some manufacturers' bunks only go 75% of the way across the van, so give it a few years and they won't fit any more!

 

[saint-spoon]

We have had two caravans with what I call the double dinette layout when we had three children with us this has a double lounge at the front and another at the back usually with a bunk that can be put up over it. It worked very well letting children have their own space during the day and putting them as far away as possible at night and it tends to be lighter than the fixed bunk models. Downside can be small wardrobe although fixed bunk models can also have this problem and toilet can be cramped but if you use toilet block on site for showers it should not matter.

our fixed bunk has got limited wardrobe space but we have three bunks so the bottom one has become the bag storage for clothes. We were very close to getting the double dinette layout; ultimately the kids wanted the bunkbeds.

 

[Cento16v]

Well after seeing over 10 caravans I've bought a 2006 Ace Aristocrat with a side dinette.

More on condition than anything else, the seats are all like new as are the carpets.

It's got a very good washroom with a sealed, lined shower unit and loads of storage everywhere.

Pick it up in 2 weeks and not told the wife as its a surprise, quite hard to keep quiet though as I'm pretty excited about getting it!

1380 max weight so well inside my limit and it's got absolutely everything, cannot wait to pick it up, only reason I've got to wait so long is were away next week

Just need to get my new hitch lock and leg locks and I'll be happy!

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Glad you've found a van but have you got a damp report for it?

 

[Cento16v]

Yes it's a main dealer which my parents have used for 20 years , has been serviced by them and has damp reports in the history for all its inspections and is been serviced before I pick it up too, I've taken my own damp meter and all seems good also.

Bone dry all over and has 12 months warranty on all parts and for any water ingress so we should be good

 

[Martin24]

Sounds good and worth the hunting, well done and enjoy!!

 

[Cento16v]

Still going strong, if anyone is thinking about caravanning and has a very young child (our little boy has just gone 2) then do it.

You don't have to spend 20k on a brand new tourer to have fun, or be co.fortable and experience luxury, I wouldn't change mine for one, buy once, on condition, and buy what YOU want.

We're just about to be away for 13 nights, but my parents have done to me what I did to them when they had a caravan, they've stolen mine

And they love it as much as they used to as well.

I know a lot of people read these sites and don't sign up looking for opinions and ideas, and worry about it, I did, as where does a baby sleep in a caravan? At home when they are safe in their cot, they can't roll out, what happens at the Van? where do you bath them in the caravan?

As I found out, all valid questions, easily solvable, and at no expense.

I bought a Koodi pop up for for £30 which has an inbuilt mattress and is a breathable mesh, so he can sleep safely on the side dinette, it fastens to the slats and bunk so can't move, even if he fidgets.

And I bought a plug for our shower cubicle, which easily fills up deep enough to bath a baby in.

I would recommend an awning for the little runners, it gives them somewhere to run energy off if it's raining or cold, and it's a safe sealed off environment.

I bought a second-hand 375 Compactalite Awning from a local couple on eBay for £175 about 2 years ago and it's been brilliant.

So readers from afar, don't be put off, my wife was very much a 'hotel to go away person', but I showed her the right way in the end, and now she'd never go back!

Happy Holidays

 

[Cento16v]

Well its been a while.

Not been to the Van since September for reasons were all aware of!



This is the last time out, last trip in the trusty old Volvo as well 😔

It was lovely in Scarborough in September



Enjoyed the local hostelries, North Riding Brew pub is superb in Scarborough



Had good food down the road at the Hideout



Made new friends at Sewerby Hall



Ah to be back there again now 😔

Also have had a change of towcar. The Volvo was 16 and starting to feel it.

Had a brief foray into Land Rovers



Nice cars Discovery 3s, but a bit slow and wallowy for me.

And unreliable 😂



So I stayed British, need to find a decent detachable tow bar now!



600nm of torque and 8 gears so should be ok!

Hope you're all staying safe and well 👍

 

[Buckman]

Interesting and nice photos. Thanks for the update on the thread you started over 5 years ago. LOL!

 

[otherclive]

Welcome back, important decisions should not be rushed. Nice car.