leaving the tent behind

[petelee]

hi

Im new to the forum so good day to you all just come back from the peak gateway osmaston and have decided to get a caravan as in these autumn/winter months when rain is inevitable it becomes a bit of a bind to re-erect the trailer tent on returning home.We're watching one of the twin axled vans on e-bay and wondered if it may be too big for our first one we drive a 4x4 (we dont speed though even solo) An hgv driver friend of mine says the bigger they are the easier to tow/manouvre we hope the first van we have to last us at least 5 years any recommendations will be very much appreciated

 

[AnnM1]

Hi Pete

Just a warning about purchasing 'unseen' 'cvan off the internet. Do make sure you part with any cash that it isn't stolen! You can ring CRIS and they are very helpful.

Twin axles are stinkers to manoeuvre by two people - single axle are much easier.

I would suggest you go down to several of your local caravan dealers and see what they have on offer at the moment. You may be surprised and pick up a bargain at this time of year! Worth a try anyway. You also get a warranty buying through a dealership.

However, whatever you go for I hope you have a great time caravanning.

 

[Lol1]

Hi Pete, welcome to the forum. Ann is probably correct when she cautions you about buying a twin axle straight away. They are pigs to manhandle and if your not used to towing can be quite daunting. Your hgv buddy is correct when he says the twins are easier to manoeuvre, but that's while they are attached to your car. You can get large single axles with almost as much space as twins and I think are cheaper to insure, due to the nickability of twins. If however your set on this caravan then fine, find out about it as much as possible before you bid. If there is a good description of it on ebay and you ask the correct questions there is no reason why you shouldn't buy this way. If after you see the caravan, it isn't "as described", you can turn the seller down without a problem, the key is information, it's a large purchase so don't be coy. You didn't mention what 4x4 you have. If its one of the larger ones you shouldn't have a problem, if it's Suzuki size then that's a different matter. Whatever your choice welcome to the delights of caravans and the world of this forum!

 

[petelee]

thanx for the advice we're off to the dealers in a min (jacksons)to see what they've got and give us an idea if we're getting a bargain or not.Beginning to think maybe a twin is too big we were just thinking of the longevity of the van as we are generally a bit rubbish at selling stuff on so hope to get our moneys worth through use.thanx again especially the cris bit would like more info on how that works if poss.