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!
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!
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