New & I still like Top Gear

[Bungee]

Hi all,

Yes I am in the process of trying to find a caravan and still like the Jeremy Clarkson show......sorry if that offends.

Seriously though My wife and 2-3 kids are all looking forward to getting out and about, all be it on a budget. I am changing the car this week from a Focus to a TDCI Mondeo estate, and hope to have a caravan by the school holidays. I have a cousin who raves about the benefits of touring, so hopefuly we will have a fantastic time,

I have priced a local caravan storage site £240 p/annum and insurance at £120 for a sub 4K caravan. Can anyone warn me of any other hidden (or obvious) costs. Also is it worth joining a caravan club? If so which one?

Looking forward to travelling and possibly meeting some of you, I am sure you will all get seriously bored of me as I know I will be on the forum searching for help on a million caravaning matters.

All the best

B

 

[Marc1]

Welcome Bungee, Allow for servicing of your van once a year as this will save you cash in the long run. I can recommend the Caravan club as a member but you could pull up both on the net and find which ever suits you most. Finally feel free to ask any time as most things can usually be answered.

Marc

 

[LMH]

Hi

I've replied to your other post.

Yes, I would recommend joining the CC. The magazine is not up to much in my opinion but their insurance is excellent. I have personal experience of having to make a claim with their insurance and they paid out no probs at all. The sites are excellent too.

Your choice of tow car is very good. I have a TDCi which is an absolute workhorse, very impressed with it.

I would recommend you have your caravan serviced anually. My caravan is out of warranty so I won't be using the overpriced dealers, I will be using a local servicer who should charge between

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Bungee I will second the comments from Marc, and also welcome you to this madcap forum. I am sure there will be many contributers on this forum who will be only too willing to help. Also be prepared to accept and give some banter especially in the Chit Chat area of the forum.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

We are in the CC and find it really good - with a young family try the rallies.

One advantage the C&CC has over the CC (particularly for rallies) is that they take tents etc, this might not worry you but if you like to travel with friends/family who do not have a van this could be a factor worth considering.

We have to put them up in the van/awning/puptent and although we love having cousins, grandparents and friends along (not all at the same time) it would be nicer if they were on the next pitch rather than in the van.

Nothing wrong with liking Top Gear - but some take their antics too seriously.

I have seen similar in the classic car fraternity where banger racing is the enemy and if banger racers had not virtually wiped out all Austin Cambridges and Morris Oxfords they would not be classics today.

With caravanning gaining popularity every year I do not think it will be that long before we start seeing more serious articles.

 

[Countrylass]

Hi Bungee

I like Top Gear too. I can see that it's all just a laugh for them.

You'll love caravanning. We borrowed my brother's van for two weeks about 10 years ago to see if we liked it and have never regretted buying our own van soon after.

Our caravan is insured as part of our house policy so I can't remember what we pay for that and we are able to store the van under our carport. The only downside is that my car has to sit in the drive!

Equipping the van with cutlery, crockery, pots & pans etc. is a cost but we mainly did this at Argos/Poundstretcher/Lidl and we're still using most things today.

We joined both Clubs as they have different patterns of site coverage. We've only once been disappointed by the standards of a Club site and it was in Devon in July 1999.

I prefer to think of the self-catering aspect of caravanning as the bonus. You eat what you want when you want and sometimes someone else has cooked it.

Enjoy your van.

A