hello new member

[St3ks]

new to caravans not to camping what would be the Benefits caravan or buying a van and getting it converted as a campervan the costs would be cheaper for a caravan I'm sure but then i would need a Better tow car than i have now which is a 308 Peugeot. can anyone give me any idea of the age of caravan i should be looking for i was told not to buy older than 7 or 8 years due to damp is this true also single Axle would be better.

 

[Raywood]

Welcome to the forum. Converting a van to a motorhome can be done but you need to be competent in gas and electrics and good at DIY generally. If you need advice on this though the Practical Motorhome site would be better. This would need a lot of time and planning and if you are not familiar with motorhomes getting it right might be very difficult.
Caravans come fully equipped so the first benefit would be time. saved.
As for the age of a caravan that you should buy there is no right figure. There are twenty year old caravans out there still giving good service and younger ones that have gone to the breakers. Basically the main problem with older caravans can be damp. You need to have a thorough check for this on any second hand caravan of any age and if you find it move on. After that look at condition and make sure everything on board works. Most mobile caravan engineers will do a damp check if you cannot do this yourself and look at other things if you want but the more they do the more it costs.
You should also get the chassis number before buying privately and check this against HPI and the NCC register to make sure there is no HP outstanding and it is not recorded as stolen. You will also need to get this to insure it.
I would also ask for evidence of ownership and service records to be sure of what you are buying. There are plenty of caravans out there so choose carefully and you should have good holidays for a long time.

 

[Mel]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Whilst it can be the case that damp can be present in older caravans, it is by no means always the case. New vans can also be damp. Condition is always more important than age. It is relatively easy to get a mobile engineer to do a damp check on any van you are buying privately or to get the damp readings from a dealer.
You don't say what size van you need. There are some small vans ( which may easily give you as much space as a panel van conversion) which are very lightweight ( e.g Elddis Xplore 302 or 304).
However, this 'vanning life is as much about heart as head, and if you have set your heart on converting a panel van, then go for it.
Mel

 

[St3ks]

Thanks kindly ray i have Been looking at a few 2 berth models on Ebay some private sellers and others from trade dealers .

 

[St3ks]

.Thanks, Mel the time scale and expense is Immense to convert a van into a camper after watching many videos on you tube , if your not mechanically or Diy minded it's expensive to have one fitted out. im interested in a single wheel 2 berth models Already viewed have been compass omega 482
swift challenger swift conquerer Abbey 215 gts coachman vision 450 , all different priced but similar size.