Hi from a wannabe

[mich45]

Hello to all from West Lancashire

I'm on here to read and learn. I have memories of very happy caravanning in my childhood and long for a caravan of my own. My husband of 20+ years was never attracted to caravanning but he left me a couple of years ago and - now I'm over it - I have a yearning to combine that sense of freedom with a caravanner's freedom to roam. Plus I have elderly dogs and don't like leaving them so haven't had a holiday for a while.

I don't have much money, so I'd be looking for a van in the £100s rather than the £1000s though. Does anyone have any advice on what to look for - or whether to look, given my meagre budget?!

My son is 19 and capable so we could do basic repairs between us. My daughter is good at sewing so hideous upholstery wouldn't be a problem as it would spur her into action!

I also want to use it as an office on the path as I work from home. Would that add additional problems? I'd like to be able to plug into the electricity - I guess through a window.

I am enjoying reading your posts and finding out loads of stuff!

 

[Parksy]

Hello Mitch and welcome to the Practical Caravan forum and if you want to start off with a basically sound caravan and to learn all that you need to know in order to enjoy pleasant holidays and breaks in the caravan whilst avoiding some of the more common pitfalls then you've come to the right place!

From what you've written in your introduction you appear to have a positive outlook which is definitely a step in the right direction.
Before you start to look in earnest for your first caravan you will need to find out what weight you will be able to safely and legally tow and this depends on two major factors.
The first is the date that you passed your driving test. If you passed your driving test after 1st January 1997 you will not automatically hold a B+E licence classification which would restrict the weight that you will be able to legally tow.
Click Here for more information on driving licence classifications.
The second factor which will affect your choice of caravan will be the vehicle that you intend to tow the caravan with.
What you will need to do is to find the maximum kerbweight of your towing vehicle as a starting point and a safe fully loaded towing match is normally considered to be 85% of the vehicle kerbweight for a beginner. (Cue a long and convoluted off topic argument about the 85% recommendation but take it from me, both major clubs and numerous caravan related publications, 85% is a good safe starting point.

)
When you have an idea of your weight limits you need to decide on how many berths you want for your caravan and then what sort of layout but first of all let us know in the General section of the forum about your license entitlement and your towing vehicle and forum members will be able to make useful suggestions about the fun stuff - caravans.

 

[mich45]

Thanks Parksy That's given me something to work on.

 

[ValA.]

Hi Mitch - We bought an old caravan as a starter, and found the best place to look was in the 'Postcard' Adverts in our local supermarkets. We looked at lots of caravans, and every one seemed to be a genuine caravanner who was giving up/moving up. The vans were (mostly) in excellent condition, and one was beautifully original with crockery, cutlery, and glasses which all came with it when it was new! Sadly the layout was wrong for us, but it was a lovely little van. All were in the hundreds of pounds.
The one we bought was an Elddis Shamal, which was 15 years old when we bought it and it cost us £400. It was built at the time when caravans still had glass windows, and obviously was 'old-fashioned' compared to more modern vans. It had belonged to a family who were giving up as their teenagers no longer wanted to holiday with them. It had been beautifully looked after, and there were no marks on the cupboards, etc. It came with an awning, spare table and chairs, pots and pans, portable plug in fridge, waste and water containers, sweeping brush, dustpan and brush, gas bottle, jack and wheelbrace - and there were even some new boxed toothbrushes left in the bathroom! It was clean and dry, and the carpet was a neutral beige with no marks or stains.
My OH added a couple of new electrical sockets, I made curtains and re-upholstered the seating, and we repapered the 'bathroom'. We cleaned the carpet, and it looked lovely when we'd finished. We took it several places in Britain for 'tests', and then on a 3,000 mile tour of France. We kept the van for a year, and then sold it privately, getting back just a little more than we paid for it!
These little gems are out there and often belong to the sort of people who don't use ebay, prefer not to put adverts in the papers in case they attract dealers, and are genuinely interested in caravanning and in who buys their 'precious' van!
Just watch out for 'damp' - marks on the inside walls, musty smell, lots of air fresheners about, spongy feeling walls, etc. Test the 'grab handles' and make sure there's no flexing, look around the seals on the outside of the van, and look inside under the windows to make sure there's no evidence of damp getting in around the windows. Try to make sure that everything is working - a good caravanner will want to demonstrate just how 'lovely' his van in, and will probably have it plugged in and with gas and water systems available for demonstration.
Good luck in your search!

 

[loadsadogs]

Hi Mich, and hope you find a suitable 'van to work on soon.

I've done a fair bit of recovering of caravan seating myself, and have found some brilliant upholstery fabrics on eBay - for example 10m of thick jumbo cord for about 20 quid. You can buy continuous zipping on there too, which makes a really good job of it. I've also bought curtains from a charity shop in the past for making covers, and you can often find posh scatter cushions very cheaply in supermarkets when they reduce their stock.

The Pound Shops are excellent for kitting out your caravan. Everything from handy tools to cooking utensils, cleaning materials and first aid items.

Good luck!

Jenny

 

[Beachball]

Hi Mich Welcome to the Practical Caravan Forum if you buy a caravan of E-bay make sure you check it for damp and check the van from top to bottom look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.....