New member - fairly old outfit!

[Elaine_374411704]

Hi all,

I'm Elaine from Loughborough.

We have our beloved 'Sally' to tour with. A 1993 Elddis Cyclone XL. When we bought her 18 months ago, she was in immaculate condition. Little things like no rips, tears or burns in the upholstery, immaculate bathroom, no cracks or chips, 1 tiny chip in the enamel sink in the kitchen was all we could find.

I do take pride in keeping her clean and well looked after, even during an outing in her, I'll run our little vac round if it needs it - a little too much pride my sister says!

We had a little bump recently where some nice person drove into the back of her and drove off, leaving a huge crack in the GRP rear bumper. I was gutted!

The Gods must have been looking down on us because a customer came into our business a few days later saying he happened to have a back bumper from an Elddis of the same year sitting in his garage for the last 8 years that was about the be thrown away. The same had happened to him but he had had his replaced. Only a tiny dent in the corner on that one, and we could have it for nothing. A few hours, some mastic and plastic repairs later, Sally was good as new!

She's taken us loads of places in the 18 months we've had her, our daughters love her to bits and love going away in her. We keep our food costs down by making a slow cooker full of curry or chilli the day before and plugging it in to heat up when we arrive on site, and making quiches and meat pies beforehand also keep costs down.

I always drool over new models and their luxuries but just can't see us parting with our Sally for a good long while yet!

 

[valeter]

Hi Elaine;Like you we bought a 14 year old caravan last year,When it was new it was a expensive caravan with all the luxuries of that time and we love it.Its ok to buy new but we have got everthing we need in our caravan.Hope you enjoy the forum you will get lots of tips and get loads of advice,happy caravaning;

 

[Steve L]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Don't worry about the age of your van. We have just as much fun in our 2005 Abbey as we did in our 1982 Link 575.

We only upgraded last yearas we needed a fixedbed layout as we are fulltiming.

The older vans are much better put together. I've had to do several running repairs to the newer one already.

As I always say to any snooty person, "we all eat from the same side of the plate".

Caravanning is a great leveller of stature as one never knows just who might pitch next to you.

Have fun and if you need advice just ask.

Regards.

Steve L.

 

[WilliamLX]

I have just replaces a 1993 Compass with a 2008 Bailey Ranger. My wife and I really enjoyed the Compass in summer and early autumn/ late Spring but she was useless for Winter caravaning as the only heater was a gas heater, and there is no way I would leave this burning through the night. The new van has a combined gas/electric heater with blown air, which even just using the electric keeps the van nice and warm overnight (even on a new year outing when temperatures fell several degrees below freezing). So age does sadly mean something when it comes to specification and usability.

 

[valeter]

I have just replaces a 1993 Compass with a 2008 Bailey Ranger. My wife and I really enjoyed the Compass in summer and early autumn/ late Spring but she was useless for Winter caravaning as the only heater was a gas heater, and there is no way I would leave this burning through the night. The new van has a combined gas/electric heater with blown air, which even just using the electric keeps the van nice and warm overnight (even on a new year outing when temperatures fell several degrees below freezing). So age does sadly mean something when it comes to specification and usability.

Hi William;Not really my 14 year old van has all the heating and luxuries that any modern day van has ,So age does not matter if the van is in good condition.

 

[jackwinguk]

Hiya, we too love our 1993 Abi Jubilee Rallyman Supreme. We have heard though that there are instances where the older caravans are put to the back of the campsites, ie the newer flashy models to the front and on full view when you enter their sites.

I did come across this in the last 6 months but we wait to see what happens into 2009.

Either way we are proud of our van and no one will change our minds. Roll on our next trip.

Jack

 

[WilliamLX]

Hi William;Not really my 14 year old van has all the heating and luxuries that any modern day van has ,So age does not matter if the van is in good condition.

Valeter your 14 year old van must have been a very very high spec model to have any form of electrical heating. When we bought our old Compass (a cheap purchase to allow us to decide if caravaning was for us) we looked at dozens of vans in that age range and none of them had anything more than a gas heater. However obviously it is possible to get vans of this age with those facilities, so I stand corrected.

 

[WilliamLX]

Hi Jacky, I could understand sites wanting to isolate or even refuse very old and scruffy vans as there would be a chance that they would put other customers off, but there is no excuse if the old van is clean and in good nick.

 

[emmerson2]

Valeter your 14 year old van must have been a very very high spec model to have any form of electrical heating. When we bought our old Compass (a cheap purchase to allow us to decide if caravaning was for us) we looked at dozens of vans in that age range and none of them had anything more than a gas heater. However obviously it is possible to get vans of this age with those facilities, so I stand corrected.

My 30 year old Royale has original equipment blown air heating.

And those allegedly new fangled slatted bed bases.

And hot & cold water

And heavy insulation for winter use.

And its built to last.

And it's still good for another thirty years.

 

[emmerson2]

William, quality will always show.

My 30 year old Royale has blown air heating, fitted from new

And heavy duty insulation for winter use.

And it didn't fall to bits after ten years.

And it feels good for another thirty years.

Age doesn't need to enter the equation at all.

But, to each his own!

 

[Elaine_374411704]

Hiya, we too love our 1993 Abi Jubilee Rallyman Supreme. We have heard though that there are instances where the older caravans are put to the back of the campsites, ie the newer flashy models to the front and on full view when you enter their sites.

I did come across this in the last 6 months but we wait to see what happens into 2009.

Either way we are proud of our van and no one will change our minds. Roll on our next trip.

Jack

No way Jack!!! That's discrimination against old vans! I'm not worried about the age of my lovely van, she's great for us, even treating her to a new set of super dooper curtains for the summer season, and that's literally all she needs.

I've never been put to the back of a site before, or maybe I have but didn't realise it at the time! I'll definitely be cherry picking my spots in the future!

Have a great season!

Elaine

x

 

[Elaine_374411704]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Don't worry about the age of your van. We have just as much fun in our 2005 Abbey as we did in our 1982 Link 575.

We only upgraded last yearas we needed a fixedbed layout as we are fulltiming.

The older vans are much better put together. I've had to do several running repairs to the newer one already.

As I always say to any snooty person, "we all eat from the same side of the plate".

Caravanning is a great leveller of stature as one never knows just who might pitch next to you.

Have fun and if you need advice just ask.

Regards.

Steve L.

Thank you Steve,

You're right about who parks next to you, could be anyone, even YOU!!!

You'll know my outfit by the big website sticker for our business in the back window...well, you have to take every opportunity to advertise, although I've never seen an outfit pulled by a motorcycle before! lol

Nice to meet you.

 

[Elaine_374411704]

William, quality will always show.

My 30 year old Royale has blown air heating, fitted from new

And heavy duty insulation for winter use.

And it didn't fall to bits after ten years.

And it feels good for another thirty years.

Age doesn't need to enter the equation at all.

But, to each his own!

The condition of our Sally speaks for iteslf when after 2 years of caravanning my sister has got through 5 vans to end up with the one she's got and my brothger in law still says ours is in mint condition and he'd love to find a 15 year old van that still looks pristine, in and out.

My husband and I own a motorcycle dealership and we try all the wash and polish products out when they come in, the best we've found for finish after the van has been washed is a motorcycle silicone protect spray. After a wash and dry off, we spray her all over and rub it in with a dry cloth. It leaves a shiny finish that repels dust and dirt. We've just gone back to her after 3 or 4 months of not using her to find she still shines as the rain has wahsed off any dirt that has settled over the winter. She only needs a light wash before we start this season's vanning. It's really good stuff.

 

[Elaine_374411704]

Hi Elaine;Like you we bought a 14 year old caravan last year,When it was new it was a expensive caravan with all the luxuries of that time and we love it.Its ok to buy new but we have got everthing we need in our caravan.Hope you enjoy the forum you will get lots of tips and get loads of advice,happy caravaning;

Hi Valeter,

We're chuffed to bits with our 'find'. We bought her from a dealer in Leicester about 18 months ago, and all we can think is that whoever had her before us loved her as much as we do. It's an all year round van, due to the blown air heating so we DO go out in winter, we usually bring a small convector heater as backup on the coldest nights though so our daughters don't get chilly at their end.

The best bit is the hard folding door, it closes the end bedroom off completely aswell as the sound so we can go in and out and my husband can snore as loud as he likes and it doesn't disturb them! Bonus.

I really cannot find fault anywhere. We've found a good company that does replacement curtains, so we're treating her to a full set of heavyweight curtains for the summer season.

The only thing that I COULD say is there are no blackout blinds, but we've overcome that with buying a set of blackout liners such as the type you put in a bedroom, and cut them to the size of the windows in the end bedroom, and before the children go to bed, we tuck the liners into all the windows so their room is pitch black, even in the morning at 4 a.m. when you REALLY don't want them to wake up!

 

[andrew_374413747]

Hi all

We are just in the process of purchasing our first van and I am pleased to read some of the comments about not worrying about having a slightly older van as we were going to buy an all dancing all singing twin axle job with all bells and whistles but having spent months looking at probably every van in the country and taking advice along the way we have decided to go for a 2001 abbey impression based on the gts model, even though it has been round a few blocks it felt like ours the momment we stepped inside, gone are the twin axle and fixed bed and all the bling.

We have just spent the last five years boating and the snobbery there is quite amazing, if you did not have this bit of kit or it was not this make then people would shun you! some people are so far up there own behinds they need to carry a torch.

We just hope it will be as good as we remember when we were kids traveling around the country with our parents and there vans.

 

[Elaine_374411704]

Hi all

We are just in the process of purchasing our first van and I am pleased to read some of the comments about not worrying about having a slightly older van as we were going to buy an all dancing all singing twin axle job with all bells and whistles but having spent months looking at probably every van in the country and taking advice along the way we have decided to go for a 2001 abbey impression based on the gts model, even though it has been round a few blocks it felt like ours the momment we stepped inside, gone are the twin axle and fixed bed and all the bling.

We have just spent the last five years boating and the snobbery there is quite amazing, if you did not have this bit of kit or it was not this make then people would shun you! some people are so far up there own behinds they need to carry a torch.

We just hope it will be as good as we remember when we were kids traveling around the country with our parents and there vans.

Hi Andrew,

Seems you're happy with your choice, that speaks for itself really. We feel the same way about ours. Hope you have many happy years in your Abbey!

Everything we've every wanted in a caravan in there in our Elddis. We never watch TV when we're away, as we prefer the children to get plenty of fresh air, running round and riding their bikes is great for them, they've even done it in sleet and snow at Easter in Wales last year! So there's no status aerial, and anyway, our lights light things up as well as any other, the taps have hot and cold running water, the heater heats things up, the beds are good for sleeping on and comfortable and the loo works fine! What more could we want!!!!! Oh and the oven and fridge work too! lol

Have a great season!

Elaine

 

[Steve L]

Hi Elaine.

You may come across a few sites that might comment if your advert for your web Co is too obvious.

On the site we are on at the moment, they do say commercial vehicles by arrangement. Which of coarse is realy only to protect us from a van like the sky guys drive being used as a tow tug.

But hey ho, I say "live and let live",or, "you can call me what you like, but never call me late for breakfast".

Steve L.

 

[WilliamLX]

Now I am confused! I don't see anywhere, where an Elaine mentions having an advert for a web co??

 

[Steve L]

Should of gone to spec savers M8.

Try reading Elaine's comment at the bottom of my first reply on this thread.

Cheers.

Steve L.

 

[Elaine_374411704]

Should of gone to spec savers M8.

Try reading Elaine's comment at the bottom of my first reply on this thread.

Cheers.

Steve L.

It's not an advert, it's a sticker! And if having a Caravan Club sticker in the back window of a caravan isn't advertising, I don't know what is!

What a fuss....

 

[Elaine_374411704]

Should of gone to spec savers M8.

Try reading Elaine's comment at the bottom of my first reply on this thread.

Cheers.

Steve L.

I didn't mean YOU were being fussy Steve, by the way! I meant if anyone mentioned it, it's not obvious really, it's just a little thing and no-one has so far, except maybe a couple of customers of ours we'd seen in Wales once....no offence meant!

I think I'd better run away and hide now....! Oops!