Hello out there van jedi and noobies

[TTfurrymobile]

Hi all just a wee hello from total noobie, my wife and I are looking forward to our 1st van and many furry (2 dogs) adventures. No van yet we've been looking for a while and are ready now, narrowed it down ( but always open to suggestions? ) To a sprite alpine 2 or a Bailey Pursuit/ Orion 400-2 or similar ? thought we'd play it safe and light for 1st van until we get some experience towcar will be a diesel Rav4 2wd Any thoughts/ comments or suggestions welcome? And looking forward to meeting some of you out there....just don't laugh (too much ) it's not going to be pretty til we get the hang of it lol

 

[Keefanmaxx]

Hello and welcome!! While I'm no caravanning Jedi, you're sensible to go with a lightweight van at first, especially if you've not towed before.

You'll get plenty of help and advice here, and there's no such thing as a daft questio.

Best wishes, Keith and Maxine

 

[Marbles007]

Newbie myself going for a pursuit 430-4 very lightweight caravan on the plus side it's got a fixed bed so you don't have to keep making up every night

 

[Parksy]

Hello and welcome to the forum
We hope that you'll enjoy caravanning and also using this forum to share tips, advice and caravan gossip.

 

[Raywood]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Both models are perfectly decent ones and keeping the first one light is sensible, but what you like is down to individual preference so buy what suits you best.
Do make sure that the caravan has been serviced correctly and get a full demonstration on handover. Dealers should give you a decent discount on the accessories you need or a starter pack so ask what they can do.s

 

[Dustydog]

Welcome to the forum.
Plenty of clever people on here if you need advice.
Choose carefully and do not be tempted with buying the first caravan you see.
Water ingress is the death knell for a caravan so make sure you or an expert does a full damp test before you part with your hard earned folding stuff.
Good luck.

 

[LizziePope]

Hi there and a warm welcome to the Practical Caravan forum – ask as many questions as you like!

 

[Martin24]

Whatto and welcome. Hope you have a lot of fun looking for and choosing your van. Just remember damp report, service history and condition over age. Think very carefully about the layout that works for you. Many have been put off by getting that wrong, or change quickly to something else. When you do find a van be sure to take note of everything at the handover and do not be rushed. Go through every little thing and make sure everything is in working order. An independent inspection is a good idea whether buying from a dealer or not.

 

[TTfurrymobile]

Marbles 007 That's a really nice van, and so light? we've been looking at those too Ideally we'd like to keep with the size of the tiny 400-2 or sprite 2 but realistically i'm a big chap, so after an awful lot of rolling around in tiny caravans at the weekend, it looks as if for the sake of practicality etc we may scale up to a van with two beds, and the size & durability of beds in the 430-4 looks to just pip the Alpine 4?? especially for those of a chunkier disposition like me :lol:
Cheers folks Thank you all for your words of welcome, advice and encouragement