New member from Nuneaton

Mar 17, 2015
54
0
0
Visit site
Morning all.

I've been reading the Practical Caravan magazine for over a year now and also using this forum to read up on other members experiences. I've finally decided to join the forums to see if my experience can help others! My wife and I started caravanning early last year. We used to have a huge Outwell Hartford XL tent which we used for numerous years and then decided enough was enough and moved up to the van!

Our first van was a 2007 Sterling Eccles Opal with the island bed and towing with an Audi A5 2.0 177 TDI Quattro, keeping me below the 3500kg MAM threshold as I'm only 31 and passed my B test in 2002. The van was 1500kg MTPLM and car unladen was 1550kg accroding to V5 and max towing 1800kg and a GVW of 2000kg.

We then decided after a few trips out that caravanning was for us so we decided to upgrade in July to a newer 2012 Eccles Quartz with the transverse bed layout and decided to buy a Touareg 3.0TDI Altitude on a 2008 plate with the CDC air suspension. Took my B+E test in July too as larger van was 1650kg and car was 3500kg max tow and passed second time round with no minors!

Towed with the Touareg for around 6 getaways till the end of October and had some gearbox issues so decided to sell it due to costs of repair. Used the money to buy an A3 for the wife and traded the A5 in for an A7 BiTdi in December. Having the towbar fitted on Friday, Car unladen is 1970kg with a max tow weight of 2100kg so should be a fine combination and cannot wait to get towing again at the Easter bank holiday!

Potentially looking to trade the van in again around the end of the year for the new Coachman 545 VIP or may consider the Laser 650 but just depends!
 
Jan 15, 2011
570
8
18,885
Visit site
Welcome to the forum Chrisjkerr.
You certainly appear to have got the bug for this wonderful hobby and have committed yourself fully to it in such a short time.

Best wishes Brian
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,262
3,485
50,935
Visit site
Chris
Welcome to the forum. Just what the doctor ordered. Young blood caravanners is just we need.
Well done taking your extra test to get over the weight restriction.
You clearly have a good focus on choice of unit and tug. What layout suits you best today?
We slum it now the kids have flown the nest but it did stand them in good stead.
I'm very interested in the Toureg gearbox issue. I thought they were unburstable.
 
Mar 17, 2015
54
0
0
Visit site
Thanks for the welcome. A bit of young blood you say? I'm 31!

With regards the B+E, I had been looking for a caravan whilst in our last year of camping. I couldn't believe how complicated it seemed at the time when I read the restrictions and almost every combination I tried went over the magical 3.5t. It was there at the back of my mind and I would only do the test if caravanning turned out to be our thing. We don't have/want children. Just the two of us and the two dogs so space and layout is our choice rather than having to pick something to keep us all happy. The transverse bed layout to us seems the best of all those offered. Our Opal had the rear island bed and a side bathroom which was small and got in the way of the kitchen area when coming out or drying off. The only real negative we have is that if we have friends stay with us, our rear bathroom isn't easily accessible at night. Hopefully the Coachman 545 or Laser 650 fixes this with the mid washroom and the only disadvantage being access to under the bed storage which we have now from the side of the van.

Rather than be uninsured and drive illegally, I decided I may have to tow around the high weight ratio, drive slower with more forward thinking and thought into weight distribution.

Yeah the Touareg was good car. It had 40k miles, most optional extras and seemed solid. I first noticed the issue on kick down from 5th with a large bang below the arm rest. I took it to the local VW garage to be told I'm looking at 3k to fix. Half was labour and the other parts. With the CDC suspension, apparently it makes it harder to drop the subframe and gearbox and thus takes longer to do. It also had an issue with the rear carrier bearing which would have costed a few hundred.

Chris.
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,262
3,485
50,935
Visit site
Beachball said:
Hi Chrisjkerr
This is a belated welcome to the forum ( Been back into the hospital again)

That's a shame. I thought you were on the mend?

Take it easy and enjoy your seasonal.
Best wishes
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts