hello new mmember

[neil_374411752]

Hello everyone,what a great site for someone like me and my family who has never owned a tourer and hasnt a clue where to start,i would like to thankyou in advance for any help and advice.

firstly we have just been to yorkshire coast caravans and we have decided on a Elddis Avante 505 5 berth 2006 @£8.5k as we are a famly of five.though it looks in great condition and well looked after,we havent got a clue what to look for,where to start.we have been back 5 times now and not rushed in and have found this one the most suitable to us.has anyone ever dealt with these and are they good vans also is there a good book to guide us in the right direction on things to buy,how to set up everything and so on,we havent entered any contracts or anything like that but we have the money and are certain this is what we want to do but were just a bit scared as what to do and at least want to learn the basics before we take the plunge.thanks neil and family

 

[Chaps]

Welcome to the forum Neil.

When we were hunting for our tourer in 2007 we bought lots of magazines including some back issues from eBay and read all we could before finally taking the plunge and buying our Geist. We bought 'The Caravan Handbook' and 'The Caravan Manual' both by John Wickersham and published by Haynes (Amazon have both) to help in our quest but, to be honest, the best information we had was from this forum. We've got a few friends with caravans too and they were all happy to offer practical advice for family 'vanning - stuff like where sockets are best placed for charging up Gameboys, parallel or u-shaped lounge seating and sleeping arrangements for kids all need careful consideration.

Obviously you need to take into account the towing limitations of your vehicle as it's highly recommended that you don't exceed 85% of your car's kerbweight and never go over any published towing capacity (these can differ) but stick to the lower of the two. A word of advice, don't take a caravan dealer's word for it that your vehicle will tow any given caravan - go armed with the facts as we came across several who incorrectly claimed that our 1.6 petrol Zafira would tow most of the 'vans on their forecourt. We knew differently and planned to change the vehicle anyway but it gave us some measure of their honesty and integrity.

Think carefully before buying a twin dinette caravan for a family of 5 if you plan to keep it for any length of time. We had friends with 3 kids who very quickly outgrew the double bed with a bunk over arrangement as they hated sharing the double. We've got fixed bunks and a dinette that makes into another single for our 3 boys and this works great for us and should see us through until our 13 year old twins no longer want to come with us.

Happy hunting and keep posting!

Good luck, Claire & Rob

 

[neil_374411752]

Welcome to the forum Neil.

When we were hunting for our tourer in 2007 we bought lots of magazines including some back issues from eBay and read all we could before finally taking the plunge and buying our Geist. We bought 'The Caravan Handbook' and 'The Caravan Manual' both by John Wickersham and published by Haynes (Amazon have both) to help in our quest but, to be honest, the best information we had was from this forum. We've got a few friends with caravans too and they were all happy to offer practical advice for family 'vanning - stuff like where sockets are best placed for charging up Gameboys, parallel or u-shaped lounge seating and sleeping arrangements for kids all need careful consideration.

Obviously you need to take into account the towing limitations of your vehicle as it's highly recommended that you don't exceed 85% of your car's kerbweight and never go over any published towing capacity (these can differ) but stick to the lower of the two. A word of advice, don't take a caravan dealer's word for it that your vehicle will tow any given caravan - go armed with the facts as we came across several who incorrectly claimed that our 1.6 petrol Zafira would tow most of the 'vans on their forecourt. We knew differently and planned to change the vehicle anyway but it gave us some measure of their honesty and integrity.

Think carefully before buying a twin dinette caravan for a family of 5 if you plan to keep it for any length of time. We had friends with 3 kids who very quickly outgrew the double bed with a bunk over arrangement as they hated sharing the double. We've got fixed bunks and a dinette that makes into another single for our 3 boys and this works great for us and should see us through until our 13 year old twins no longer want to come with us.

Happy hunting and keep posting!

Good luck, Claire & Rob

thanks for your reply,yes i had not thought about a few years ahead,we definiately want it to last a few years and i have to agree they will not want to share in a few years time.what is the lay out of the van you have or possibly the model so we can take a look if you dont mind,my wife and i have will probably sleep in a bedroom anex in the awning so we have that little bit more room,but we still want the option of us all fitting in the van on those nights of rain and cold weather our summers are so famous for.the kids are so excited and so are we really but want to get it right first time so we are comfortable and happy with what we buy,i know were not going to get everything we need space wise but i think a good nights sleep is the most important thing.the rest is all the fun of caravaning.wishing you and your family many great holidays this summer and i will let you know how we get on.neil

 

[Chaps]

We have a Geist AK495 which suits our needs perfectly. It has a u-shaped lounge at the front which makes up to make a huge double bed for us and two adult sized fixed bunks at the rear with an additional 3 seater dinette that makes up to make the 5th berth. It's actually a very similar layout to the Bailey triple bunk models but with only 2 fixed bunks rather than 3. Our bunks are much wider than any UK caravans we saw and are big enough for adults to use. You'll find you need to make compromises in every layout but this one, for us, ticked most boxes. Not too heavy either with a MTPLM of 1390 kgs.

We did seriously consider a twin dinette model with the idea that we could have the rear double with our youngest son in the bunk above while the oldest 2 could have used the parallel seating at the front as singles but that would have meant we couldn't stay up once the kids went to bed. In the end we decided fixed bunks were the best for us as the kids got their own room at the back for playing, changing and sleeping and we got a bit more privacy too. Each to their own.

Good luck and may the sun shine on us all this summer!