Is there a used tourer that's not damp?

[oldagetraveller1]

I'm looking for a 4/5 year old 2 berth tourer, but each time I mention a particular make, my caravanning friends tell me dire stories of damp, electrical problems, poor build quality etc etc. It doesn't matter what make - there's always a horror story.
My question is, does there exist a make which is not subject to these kinds of faults? For the last 25 years, I have had European makes. Never a single problem.
The spec I'm looking for is ;- 4/5 year old, 2 berth, max all up weight 1350kgs.
I would happily buy another European model, but either they are too heavy or unrealistically priced.
Can someone guide me through this minefield? If British vans are this bad, why do we keep buying them?

 

[PaulT]

I've always had British 'vans and have never had any problems with damp, build quality etc. The last 2 'vans I've had were sold by me to French buyers who were impressed with the equipment and build quality of the UK 'van. This seems to me a case of snobbery - we've got a foreign 'van therefore anything British is rubbish. Just get your proposed purchase checked out and wave 2 fingers at the doubters.

 

[Mel]

You'll always get horror stories but there will be good vans out there. Take someone who is handy with a damp meter and check the van over properly before buying.
mel

 

[Damian]

Quote " This seems to me a case of snobbery - we've got a foreign 'van therefore anything British is rubbish."

That statement is itself absolute rubbish!!#
I have had British built vans and each one either leaked or had faults such as staples through mains cables, ill fitting furniture and other such annoyances.
On the other hand I have also had European built vans that have been perfect from day one until the day I changed them.
I have visited most of the British manufacturers premises and they are by and large inadequate for the job and the buildings themselves leak!!, and most have all kinds of rubbish and trip hazards around the working areas
I have also visited European manufacturers premises and found them in purpose built premises which are kept spotlessly clean and there is quality control at every stage of the build by QC Inspectors, unlike UK built vans which have next to no QC separate to the build teams.

Having worked on every make of caravan and motorhome over the last 10 years I can count the number of faults on European built vans on one hand, whereas British vans have been numerous and not restricted to any single make, each is as bad as the others.

At the end of the day it is a lottery, you may be lucky , or not but there are no guarantees.

 

[PaulT]

I don't see that the "statement itself is rubbish". I write as I find - I've had numerous UK 'vans and none of them have been damp or badly made. We lived full time, in our previous 'van, for 18 months and nothing went wrong, dropped off, broke or otherwise failed apart from after it was hit by hail the size of table tennis balls. Then it was only a case of replacing all the roof windows (the side windows were still whole). As I said before, we've sold 2 'vans to French people who said that the quality and equipment was far superior to anything else they had seen. I've been in friends Hobbys but always find them lacking in equipment - admitedly they are a couple of years old so perhaps things have changed. I certainly didn't think the build quality was any better than a similar priced UK 'van.
I'm not a "buy British at any cost" person, I buy what I feel is the best for my budget and in this case I believe that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with UK 'vans. However, each to their own.

 

[xtrailman]

I'm looking for a 4/5 year old 2 berth tourer, but each time I mention a particular make, my caravanning friends tell me dire stories of damp, electrical problems, poor build quality etc etc. It doesn't matter what make - there's always a horror story.
My question is, does there exist a make which is not subject to these kinds of faults? For the last 25 years, I have had European makes. Never a single problem.
The spec I'm looking for is ;- 4/5 year old, 2 berth, max all up weight 1350kgs.
I would happily buy another European model, but either they are too heavy or unrealistically priced.
Can someone guide me through this minefield? If British vans are this bad, why do we keep buying them?

The last two caravans I traded in at 7 years old were both like new and damp free.
I did have a long list of issues when new that took numerous trips to the dealer over the first and second year, but very little after that.

So yes there are real bargains out there to be found, a lot of it is the owner that's had the caravan, some owners don't appear to see faults or bother to get them sorted, and generally don't look after them.

You answered your own question really, heavy and expensive which is why I have never wanted a foreign caravan, the cheaper lighter ones don't look worth buying to me either.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

Is there a used tourer that's not damp?
yes there is!!! mines 9years old still like new and bone dry,

 

[oldagetraveller1]

To me, it.s clear from the posts that there are some British vans of reasonable quality. But, is anyone prepared to name the makes that do remain bolted together and dry after leaving the showroom?Or, to put it another way, are there makes I should avoid?? I recognise that this is a subjective and even contentious issue but no doubt our erstwhile Moderators will intervene if needed!

 

[NigelHutson]

Buying a secondhand caravan is just like buying a secondhand car. Base your decision on what suits you and your pocket. Go on an individual caravan's condition. I see many secondhand caravans when doing articles for Practical Caravan (all selected by me, and not the Dealers!), and I've only come across one that showed any signs of having damp repaired. That caravan was ten years old.

If specific marques suffered more than others, I think you'd find a severe lack of them on forecourts. After all, Dealers are in business to make money and would prefer not to have to sort out serious issues with any trade-in. Sadly, there are a few unscrupulous Dealers who try to con customers who are trading in a caravan by alleging that the trade-in is damp so that they can knock a chunk off the value. If the weather conditions are wet and humid, then there will always be a damp recording. Always ask to see the damp meters calibration certificate and get them to check a stock van if this affects you!

Finally, ALL marques (British or Continental) can have problems. Indeed, whilst we were on holiday in France this summer, I was talking to a British couple who had a year old Hobby, and despite previous attempts to fix it by the Dealer, the cooker wouldn't work, and there was a leak around one of the side windows, so.........

 

[ProfJohnL]

This is one of those topics where you find correspondence from all sides of the ring.

What is certain is that no make of second hand caravan whether its UK or Foreign can be guaranteed to remain fault free. Even if you purchase a caravan which is renown to have a low failure rate, you might just pick the one in a thousand that is faulty!

You have to circumspect about relying of forums and letters in magazines accurately mirror whats going on in the whole market, because human nature. We are predisposed to shout and make a noise when things go wrong, but we rarely make a public comment when things go right, so correspondence will naturally tend to be biased towards the problems.

Its also no good simply looking at the numbers of complaints against each make, because unless you know the percentage of problems compared to the total number of the item sold you may come away with entirely the wrong impression. For example a major supplier may have two models with the same failure rate, but one model sells in thousands and the other in tens, that means the more popular model will have 100 times more faulty products than the low volume product, so will figure more prominently on the forums.

My advice is what ever caravan takes your fancy get it thoroughly inspected before you buy. That will give you the best chance of finding any lemons and avoid them.

 

[Parksy]

To me, it.s clear from the posts that there are some British vans of reasonable quality. But, is anyone prepared to name the makes that do remain bolted together and dry after leaving the showroom?Or, to put it another way, are there makes I should avoid?? I recognise that this is a subjective and even contentious issue but no doubt our erstwhile Moderators will intervene if needed!

If a caravan is damp it's damp so manufacturers names can be named with no interference from 'erstwhile moderators'
The reality is though that no manufacturer builds 100% perfect damp free caravans which remain damp free for ever, not even the continental manufacturers could guarantee no damp in a used model made by one of them.
That being the case buying a used caravan can seem like a bit of a gamble, but one in which you can shift the odds of a win in your favour by sticking to a few basic requirements for your prospective purchase.
You should look for a caravan that's been well looked after, a full service history and plenty of paperwork such as receipts for work carried out can provide some evidence of a well cared for tourer.
Look at each prospective purchase on an individual basis rather than listening to friends who tell anecdotal tales of 'leaky Lunars', 'badly built Baileys' or 'sub-standard Swifts'.
Click Here to browse the Caravan Tourer Buyers Guide which contains key information on what to look for on individual prospective purchases, where to start looking, common causes of damp etc.
Take a torch and give every caravan a good inspection, look for spongy walls, water ingress around wall and ceiling joints inside cupboards and lockers and mould around windows behind curtains and in window rubbers. Check all the paperwork and look for dings, scratches and chipped woodwork which would indicate a lack of care.
There are good well looked after caravans for sale but you should arm yourself with the knowledge which will sort the good from the bad.
Happy hunting

 

[intransient1]

As others have said you can't tar all makes with the same brush.
All makes can have damp or not, it can be simply that a seal failed or dried it does not mean that make is no good.
Take a damp meter and check inside every cupboard from top to bottom also reach into every corner nook and cranny.
Ask direct questions of the dealer as to whether the van has damp or ever had damp repaired as this affects the price considerably.
If it has had a good repair and the price is right then consider it, it may have given it a new lease of life.
If possible take a friend with you to verify the dealers answers as in all purchases it is always buyer beware, even new van can leak.

 

[Raywood]

Have to agree that any make can be damp but at 4/5 years they should be in the minority. You should take someone who knows how to use adamp meter though or get it checked out by a mobile engineer if you cannot get anyone to do it for you. If a dealer will not let you check for damp walk away.

 

[oldagetraveller1]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to my plea for help. Your advice has been curiously helpful and somewhat daunting at the same time! Armed with a damp meter wieilding friend and the buyers guide, I'll start my search in earnest now.

 

[Dustydog]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to my plea for help. Your advice has been curiously helpful and somewhat daunting at the same time! Armed with a damp meter wieilding friend and the buyers guide, I'll start my search in earnest now.

Just a word of caution..
Damp meters are available from £5.99 to hundreds of pounds.
Be sure the one you use is accurate.
Damian may be able to advise better.

 

[TD42]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to my plea for help. Your advice has been curiously helpful and somewhat daunting at the same time! Armed with a damp meter wieilding friend and the buyers guide, I'll start my search in earnest now.

Just a word of caution..
Damp meters are available from £5.99 to hundreds of pounds.
Be sure the one you use is accurate.
Damian may be able to advise better.

& to add to DDs comments. when you have found the van you really like, checked it with your own damp meter, decided its the one you want. Dealer or private Then call in your own Mobile mechanic for a pre buying check over

 

[Damian]

As has been said, damp meters can range from around the £5 mark to £200 or more.
For regular use and used by most engineers is the Protimeter range of meters, but they are at the top of the price range.

For very occasional use or just to get an idea if damp is present then one of the cheaper varieties such as the Sealey range are good enough, preferably with a % readout as opposed to the traffic light display of Red, Amber and Green.
Remember that wood has a natural moisture level which has to be taken into
in Winter when it is likely to be wetter.

One isolated high reading in an otherwise steady return of results does not automatically mean there is damp present and hitting staples used in manufacture or touching window rubbers WILL give false readings.

With the pronged versions the prongs MUST go into the wood and not just rest on the top of the wallboard, so be careful where you test, lift window rubbers and test under them to hide the prong marks, use cupboard corners and angle the prongs upwards so that after you can press the wall covering back down to cover the prong marks etc .

 

[paws]

Just to get back to the original question.....
No.Not all tourers are damp.
A lot of folks are very happy with their 'vans
Some are not and they are often the ones who publicize the fact...( human nature I guess)
Mines an ABI , no problems to date and no damp, but its only 18 years old so time will tell...

 

[scouse272]

yeah mine it's an adria