Clueless!!

[Rubels]

Hello everyone. So happy to have stumbled upon and subsequently joined this great group!
We are a family of 2 adults , 11 year old daughter and 2 dogs. We've been thinking of buying a static , then a motorhome and have now decided to bite the bullet and go for a tourer. We have a 2015 Volvo XC60 so I think the vehicle box is ticked.
Apart from preferring a van with a fixed end bunk beds we haven't really got a Scoobies as to what we should be going for or actually avoiding.
Should we buy as new as we can afford? Are some middle of the road makes superior in quality to others?
Do we need single or twin axle?
Think we are going to book in on a course for peace of mind..and we are planning
on visiting some dealers this week.
Looking forward to reading lots of stuff on here and to our new and exciting life!

 

[Damian]

How long is a piece of string??????
Before you make any big decisions, visit as many Dealers as possible and imagine the van as your "home" for a week or two, and especially consider if it is raining and you are confined to the van for an extended period of time.

Have you got enough room to move about without annoying anyone else?
How does the cooking and prep area stack up for room and ease of accessability to the various cupboards.

What are the requirements for sleeping? do you have to convert the front seats to form a bed, and put it all back before anyone else can move about?

All UK made vans are about the same quality, which I have to say is pretty poor so you need to make sure everything works before you part company with any money.

As there are three of you, don't buy a 3 berth van!!!!!! it will be too small.
As for single or twin axle, that depends on the van you eventually decide on, it is not really an important point to start with as there are a number of single axle vans just as long as twins.

As for towing vehicles and van weights, it depends on when you passed your test as to the maximum you can tow.
If you passed after a certain date you are limited to an overall train weight of 3500Kg as you will only have a B class licence, to tow above this limit you will need the B+E which means another course and test.

I am sure others will add comments which I have missed.

 

[Mel]

Age is less important than condition. Beware anything damp: just run away. I agree with Damian, spend a few happy afternoons at various dealers, sitting in vans. As your daughter is 11, get her to lie down and sit up in bunks. Some of them are quite tiny.
Look on caravan finder and you tube for videos of different vans.
Hunting around is the fun part.
Enjoy
Mel

 

[Rubels]

Thank you for the great advice. Of course we do need to go for a good look around. Great point about trying the bunks out. Our daughter is already a tall 11 year old so we need a bed size that will last.
So much to learn, but really exciting. Can't realistically see anything happening quickly as we've already got our summer holidays sorted.
Checked the licence thingy and we both passed our tests before 1997 so ok there. Hopefully some good times ahead!

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi Rubels and welcome to the forum , like you say , you have the vehicle which will pull anything so all you need now is a caravan !!

We have a single axle 8metre long 6 berth which has two bunks and a pull out to make double bed ( made within 5 minutes ) and another two bunks that can be made up but we only use it as a 4 berth ( for space as someone has previously said to do ) , my kids are 12 and 8 - and tall and the bunks are long enough for them quite happily to sleep in .

Like other posts suggest , go round & take your time sitting in them , lie in them , do what you would do normally in them to see what its like for space .

Happy hunting !!

 

[mealsonwheels]

When we first started checking out caravans at dealers, we took our time over a few weeks and looked at dozens of them and found it useful to take a notebook with you to jot down all the details that are important to you. It's surprising how helpful it is to refer to when you get home after viewing several caravans and you try to remember which caravan it was that had so and so in it!
If you can, try to imagine living in the van, from when you wake in the morning, right through the day, to when you go to bed.
It can be quite exhausting, going inside one caravan after another and you will feel quite bamboozled, but you will never regret getting a caravan!
Good luck with your search!

 

[CustardAvenger]

The NEC Caravan & Motorhome show in October (and sister show in February) is a good place to start, especially for new vans. All the manufacturers in one place. A dealer local to you may also have a presence - Something I recommend for a new van for warranty work etc.

Find out what your car will tow. I also have an XC60 and it'll pull about a 1700KG caravan at an 85% ratio (D4 AWD, 2000KG trailer limit and a 90KG towball static load limit).

Do some homework before your visit the show or a dealer; look at the layouts photo and videos, so you have a list of vans you want to view, but until you're in the caravan you have no feel for the size and space.

Honestly, we spent 2-3 years looking at caravans (we are not far from the NEC so I like to visit the show) before committing to a new one and very nearly bought a Swift Basecamp. However, sitting in a similarly priced but slightly larger Swift Challenger 2-berth straight after, made us realise a larger more comfortable caravan was the way to go. Back to my earlier point: I wanted a Sprite Major 4 EB - based on a Practical Caravan video - but the kitchen area was dark and cramped and the end bed was too short!

 

[audiorob]

Bear in mind that if you buy from a dealer, new or used, this is where you will return for warranty work, and often it is easier to get an annual service booked at the supplying dealer too, although there are also mobile engineers who will service at home. As you have no p/ex a dealer may well offer you a 'starter pack' which can save you a fortune on having to get water containers, a battery, door mirrors, number plate etc. In any case if you don't ask you don't get! So while it is good to visit dealers far and wide to find the right model buying reasonably locally saves future hassle. If you buy privately visit the van at the owners property, there are risks meeting half-way for a handover. Whichever way ask to see a service record and or a damp report.

 

[Raywood]

A lot will depend on your budget, most people start with a second hand model and most dealers will have plenty. As said earlier there is not a lot between them but going on the magazines customer surveys Coachman are probably the best British brand and Eldiss do worst but the difference is not great and getting a the layout you want in a well looked after model is the most important.
You need to check the cars towing capacity and the cars kerb weight. The cars towing limit is maximum legal weight it can tow but do not tow anything more than the cars kerb weight and for beginners try to keep the ratio down to as near 85% as you can. Volvos are good tow cars so you should be OK with that.
There is no need for a twin axle, they are usually only the largest and heaviest ones, and if the layout does not require one do not worry. Have a look round dealers offerings and see what they have. If you do not need it this year the best deals will be far later in the year when the main touring season is over and sales stall and dealers want to clear space for next years new models.

 

[otherclive]

If buying used you don’t loose so much money if you then decide to change the van or don’t take to caravanning. A good place to look once you know what you are after is the classifieds for the two Clubs. You will find members vans for sale often with every item of kit included. Most will have had regular servicing and if not a recent damp check ask for one. Often they are being sold due to health or other issues and will have been looked after.

 

[Rubels]

Thank you very much. We had a bit of a gander at some vans today. We've decided against an end bathroom...so that rules a lot of newer models out! Definitely want secondhand ..another box ticked.
Now to decide on fixed bed (not double) or not . Sort of liking the twin dinette idea for older kids space . The dealer today wasn't particularly great but at least gave us an idea. We were just passing and it's not in our area. Like the idea of keeping local for post purchase stuff. Got 2 neighbours selling theirs so going to take the opportunity to have a look around. Not in any rush though. Part of the fun is in the decision making anyway!

 

[Craigyoung]

Ours is a centre washroom with a full-size standing shower with the two bunks at the back and a separate dining area for the kids at the back for their own TV and bits and bobs for them to get on with Lego etc Ps4 and a divider blind partition which can be shut off for their compartment .

 

[CustardAvenger]

...Now to decide on fixed bed (not double) or not . Sort of liking the twin dinette idea for older kids space...

I think the "4 berth" fixed bed layout is really aimed at couples... that's what we have and it suits us completely. My wife would like a fixed single layout, but again I don't fit in the single beds so another reason for trying caravans in person. If you hate the bed, such as the cut- off 'French' bed you're never, going to use the thing.

 

[Rubels]

Ours is a centre washroom with a full-size standing shower with the two bunks at the back and a separate dining area for the kids at the back for their own TV and bits and bobs for them to get on with Lego etc Ps4 and a divider blind partition which can be shut off for their compartment .

I think this is the sort of layout we are favouring to be honest.

 

[Brasso530]

My only advice is don't discount any layout we found pluses and minuses in almost every layout choice.As your child grows, the way you use the caravan changes.My kids are 15 and 13,both sleep in an annex on the awning 99%of the time,even though we have a dinette bunks.

 

[Guzzilazz]

AS a relative newbie who went through this less than a year ago, our criteria started off with motorhome or caravan? For us the thought of getting to a site, then wanting to go shopping and having to decamp the whole thing meant a caravan... Second stage was driven by our sailing experience, and that was not having to make up and take down a bed every time we wanted a kip. Thirdly was not wanting to have one of us climb over the other to get out of bed for trips to the loo (again driven by sailing experience). That pretty soon restricted us to island beds... The final element was the orientation of the bed. Started looking at side beds, and quickly discovered that with normal width vans the side bed when extended was effectively NOT an island bed and at 6' 3" I needed the bed at least fully extended, so that meant we wanted an end bed. Then it's only a case of looking at all the makes with end beds and deciding which one...