Introduction and a few questions

[dmor9]

Hi All

First post so please be gentle 😊

To give a bit of context my wife and I are in our 30s with 2 girls 4 and 8. Based in sunny Mid Wales and spent most Holidays on the Welsh coast doing various water-sports getting more adventurous as the girls get older. We have spent the last 4 years camping in a second hand tent that has served us well but is definitely in its last season!
We have talked about campervans etc, but they will get small quickly as the girls grow.

So, a caravan is seeming a much better option for us for a multitude of reasons.
It has the space we need, will use it more often as it will be (almost) pack clothes and go, will free up space in the car for the fun stuff (paddle-boards, body boards, bikes etc)
We are a while off buying one as current car is no good as a tow car and were due to swap may next year and I need to sort my licence out ( only got B but managed to convince my boss to pay for C1+E as it will be useful at work).
We are just doing the research now and trying to work out what budget we need etc so I have a few questions I’m hoping you experienced folk can help with.

• Are there any caravan specific pros and cons of used vs new apart from the obvious price and warranty etc that applies to most things?
• On top of buying a caravan what else should I budget for (bear in mind were well kitted out for camping with a hook up so mainly the caravan specific stuff). Also, any ongoing costs such as storage, service and insurance I may miss?
• Increasing the payload on a used caravan? From what I’ve read this is a fairly simple process new from a dealer but is it possible to do it retro actively?

I’m sure I will have a million and one more questions but I’ll just start with these 3 😊

Many Thanks
Dave

 

[audiorob]

Welcome and Hello!
Clearly the cost of replacing the car is on the cards anyway, but try to decide what sort of weight caravan will suit your needs and bear this in mind when choosing the car. Then the first cost is a tow bar - cheapest is a fixed head, either flange or swan neck and more expensive detachable in either format. You can visit some websites to get quotes for shop or home fitting service, always buy car specific wiring but probably depending on the vehicle this might start around £500 upwards fitted . These days you should get a 13pin electrics fitted.
Have a good look round various caravan makes and layouts that would suit you and 2 teenagers of the future - if you buy at a dealer you might secure up to 3 year warranty on a used van, and you might get a starter kit thrown in - worth over £600 of kit - and any duplicates can be kept as spares or sold on!
Also consider an awning, porch or full, that will expand your living space on site - and could be suitable for extra sleeping space with an inner tent or annex.
Other posts have reported a dearth of used vans at the moment as people have changed from overseas breaks to staycations, but maybe by next year some of these will be back on the market as the 'newbies' return to old practices!
Have fun!

 

[dmor9]

Thanks for your reply
Tow car is likely to be a pick up such as an l200, navara etc as this will suit our needs outside of caravaning but should also not limit us with what we can tow and we camp (and will caravan) year round at small sites that are little more than fields with hook ups and a toilet block so the 4x4 may come in handy.
With regards to layout we like the look (not been to see just internet and mags) of 5/6 berth layouts similar to the Bailey Phoenix 760 eg rear bunks with a small table mid bathroom and an a double/seats up front as this gives the girls their own room and we still have the saloon area when they are in bed.
An awning is on the cards as it would be somewhere to change out of wetsuits de-sand etc before coming in to the caravan!
Dave

 

[Gralay]

Hi welcome to the forum as audio Rob has said you may get a starter kit of some description I would also add join one or both ccc/cmhc and sign up for a towing course

 

[Damian]

Are there any caravan specific pros and cons of used vs new apart from the obvious price and warranty etc that applies to most things?

With new at least you have a warranty to cover any problems during the first number of years, most new vans have a 10 year water ingress warranty and the items inside the van such as cooker etc have a 3 year warranty.
Windows only have a 1 year warranty.
Buying second hand throws up certain issues which you need to be happy with.
The service record is very important as that gives an indication on the care the van has had and should show up any problems.

Buying second hand from a private seller is much more risky as all sellers are adamant that "everything works" when in a lot of cases it actually does not.
It is well worth the cost to get a AWS caravan engineer to give any second hand van a pre purchase inspection which will highlight any problems, and possibly save you a lot of money on a bad van.

 

[Raywood]

Welcome to the forum. Buying new or second hand is a personal choice and the issues are similar to buying a car. With new you get a full guarantee but lose more in initial depreciation.
The three ongoing costs are insurance, servicing and if you need it storage. You also need a bit of kit to get you going, you should get a cable and step but need water and waste carriers and gas. Most of us have crockery, cutlery and the like and you may want bedding as well.
You will need a plug for the caravan electrics on the car and that is not cheap, look at 500 pounds upwards depending on the car and type of tow bar you go for. Unless you are looking at an older second hand caravan a 13 pin plug is the one to go for.
If you go second hand then I would buy from a good dealer when buying the first caravan. There are simply too many pitfalls for the unwary and some unscrupulous sellers out there.
Use a credit card for at least part of the purchase to gain additional rights if you have a problem. this is a simple precaution worth taking on anything over 100 pounds.
Increasing the payload is straightforward on most new caravans but if you need to ask before you buy as the increase is not always possible or may be so low it is not worthwhile. Different makers have different views on second hand models and might not be able to allow this.
On second hand models do check that the service records are available and the book stamped to maintain the guarantee.
Not sure what car you have to tow with but provided it is not too heavy it is possible to get combinations under 3,500 kg that could work for you. If you check the cars kerb weight, maximum loaded weight and towing limit you should get more help on what is suitable.

 

[Beachball]

Welcome to the forum enjoy