Caravan suitable to also carry windsurfing gear

[brissle]

Can anyone please suggest a model of caravan which has the ability to strap a couple of windsurfing boards and sails onto the roof? At a push the sails /masts can go inside whilst travelling.

With bathroom / toilet and preferably a fixed double bed....? Or even a bed that can be left made up.......

Anything up to 10 years old (max).

Smaller the van, the better.

 

[Anseo]

I don't have a link to caravans with roof rails for mounting loads, but there are rear entry caravans that might allow you to load all your gear inside.

This one is certainly small.

https://www.practicalcaravan.com/reviews/caravan/43943-swift-basecamp-plus

 

[otherclive]

There are also some compact German vans with ability to take objects like two motorbikes. They have roof racks and the insides can be configured for various living requirements. Large payloads and some with four wheels. Bit like an upmarket horsebox.

 

[brissle]

Thank you - I wasn't aware of that Swift range. Will take a look.
And I started a bit of lateral thinking - it might be that a folding caravan would be able to take stuff on the roof once folded down - easier to load and better for towing.

 

[otherclive]

There's a Tab that has fixed double, make up single, heating, fridge, toilet and shower. If you look at one on Blackmorevale website you will see that they have accessory bars on the rear of the caravan. The one at Blackmore is a 2013 Off-road which doesn't have all the above but shows a spare wheel mounted on the rear racks.

 

[paws]

Hi Brissle,
One important fact to consider is the total payload allowed for the caravan you have in mind. Its easy to overlook this and could lead to horrendous safety and legal issues if you exceed the maximum figure....

A typical "Olympic" type of windsurfer with gear, will weigh in somewhere in the region of 30 to 35 Kilos and many boards will be well in excess of this.

Stuffing two of them in a typical caravan could eat up the majority of your payload leaving little left over for all the stuff that makes using a caravan the pleasure that most of us find it does!

Its not going to be impossible but you will need a good set of scales to weigh everything you are going to put into the caravan to make sure you don't exceed the limits......after all you can't live in just a wetsuit 24/7...!
Regards
and Happy caravanning
paws.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I would have thought that you will be using a car to tow the caravan, and perhaps you may need to use the car to get from the caravan site to water, so surely you have the means to carry the boards and other gear on the car?

Why do you need to consider using the caravan to carry them?

 

[brissle]

Good point about the overall weight limit. Maybe I'm trying to achieve the impossible.

It's a problem of a quart into a pint pot.

The car usually has 2 kayaks on the roof. Windsurfing gear is stowed in a towed trailer leaving nowhere to sleep, except in a tent.......

 

[Raywood]

You might look at Gobur Caravans if you want a folder. I am sure I have seen a rack fitted, but you should check with them. The weight might be a problem with most makes unless you go for the Knaus Deseo which is set up for motorbikes but would work for you and has the carrying capacity if the budget will stretch to it and you have a big enough towcar.
Wit an ordinary caravan the answer to the weight problem might be carrying more gear in the tow car.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I agree with Anseo, the Swift Basecamp seems to have been designed for the OP.

Just another thought though, I don't know a great deal about sail boards, but they seem to be pretty thing and flat. It may just be possible to sling them under the caravan floor and above the axle cross member. You may have to engineer the boards to have removable tail fins.

 

[brissle]

Thanks everyone for all those ideas.
You've given me lots to research.
Car towing capacity not a problem - I'm towing with a 10 year old Land Rover Discovery.
So the issue is going to be the load capacity of the caravan I'm towing.
And cost will be a factor.
The reason I wanted a smaller van is for storage space at home - and a steep driveway to get to where it'll be parked.

Great advice from this forum, as always. I'm grateful.

 

[Raywood]

he Basecamp might be the solution, but the payload of 111 kg would possibly be too low. Swift show the MTPLM as the lower limit though, so if this can be upgraded enough, it could be worth pursuing.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thanks everyone for all those ideas.
You've given me lots to research.
Car towing capacity not a problem - I'm towing with a 10 year old Land Rover Discovery.
So the issue is going to be the load capacity of the caravan I'm towing.
And cost will be a factor.
The reason I wanted a smaller van is for storage space at home - and a steep driveway to get to where it'll be parked.

Great advice from this forum, as always. I'm grateful.

There are two aspects of the weight. Obviously the Disco is very capable of hauling almost any size of domestic caravan, but the other issue you may not be aware of is your licence.

Bearing in mind the MAM of the Disco, you will almost certainly need to have entitlement BE or B+E on your licence. If you have B without E then sadly you may be illegal hauling any caravan or even large camping trailer. The licence changed in Jan 1997 prior you would have BE, but after only B which limits what you can drive to a vehicle of combined MAM not exceeding 3500kg.

IF you only have B then you would need to take the E extension test to give you BE.

 

[brissle]

I've got BE so am OK on that.
Thanks for the reminder, 'tho.