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Just bought a Caravan!

M

Miamoo

It wasn’t at all planned, a friend had a very old but well looked after Bailey hunter, offered it to us at a cheap price so we thought why not! It’s in secure storage and I’m just looking around for help and tips on how to clean her up, and get her ready for a holiday in summer.
 
I can find Hunter Lite vans from 1997, a 350/2 and a 470/5. You can find some details either here:
Bailey Hunter Lite 350-2 1997 Specifications and Towing Data (gocaravanning.com)
or here:
Bailey Hunter Lite 470 5 1997 Caravan Specifications - CaravanTalk Directory
The max weight of the 5 berth is 1100 so is towable by a range of vehicles.
If you need a towbar get several quotes and there are mobile fitters who will come to you. You can get a quick quote online at several of the websites. I would expect the caravan to have twin (12N & S) sockets rather than the later 13 pin version. You can get adapters as it would be worth getting the car wired with a 13 pin if you plan to upgrade to a newer version in the future.
Depending on how the caravan has been used and maintained and when it was last towed and serviced there will be things to check before towing - like the tyres being no more than 7 years old (whatever mileage it might have/not done) - and once connected to the car that all the road lights operate as expected. There are mobile service engineers and you can view a list of approved workshops here:
Approved Touring Caravan & Motorhome Servicing in the UK (approvedworkshops.co.uk)
Enjoy your new hobby!
 
Thanks for the replies and the great tips! I should’ve said we have the 6 berth model. But as it’s just the 2 of us we can leave the front diner as a bed amd have plenty of space for the dog 🙂
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. I would first check if the caravan has been serviced within the last 12 months and if not have this done to make sure it is safe for the road and the gas and electrics are working correctly. The caravan does need checking every year as your safety depends on this.
Cleaning is very much the same as your car outside but do not use a high pressure hose as it can damage the sealant used to join the panels. Inside again it is similar to your house.
Towing is fairly straight forward but do be aware that the caravan does cut in on slow corners so you have to take them a bit wider than with just the tow car. Watch this in the mirror to see the effect until you do this automatically.
When it comes to hitching, pitching and the like I would look on you tube as there are plenty of videos on there covering this.
If you have any further problems please let us know, just about every problem has been met by someone on here at some time.
 
Raywood said:
Hi and welcome to the forum. I would first check if the caravan has been serviced within the last 12 months and if not have this done to make sure it is safe for the road and the gas and electrics are working correctly. The caravan does need checking every year as your safety depends on this.
Cleaning is very much the same as your car outside but do not use a high pressure hose as it can damage the sealant used to join the panels. Inside again it is similar to your house.
Towing is fairly straight forward but do be aware that the caravan does cut in on slow corners so you have to take them a bit wider than with just the tow car. Watch this in the mirror to see the effect until you do this automatically.
When it comes to hitching, pitching and the like I would look on you tube as there are plenty of videos on there covering this.
If you have any further problems please let us know, just about every problem has been met by someone on here at some time.
Click to expand...
Brilliant thanks! Just the sort of advice we need, We have a lot of paper work so I’ll check through and see when it was serviced, it’s all completely new to us. We have a lot of learning to do. It’s very exciting though!
 
Hi Miamoo, welcome to the forum and congratulations on buying your caravan.
Ask your friend how old the caravan tyres are, even with a good tread pattern they should be replaced between 5 and 7 years old because the sidewalks deteriorate and motorway blowouts become more likely.
Any proprietary automotive shampoo will clean the caravan, black streaks are usually caused by dirt and dust on the caravan roof which streaks the caravan when wet.
A neat application of shampoo and a gentle rub will remove them, don't be tempted to use abrasive products like T Cut because caravan paint is very thinly applied.
There were towing courses available from the caravan and motorhome club or the camping and caravanning club before Covid, these will probably resume when government restrictions are lifted, but alternatively you could practice manoeuvring on a large supermarket car park when they are closed.
Enjoy your caravan 😊
 
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