New to caravanning, want to buy a touring van, need fixed bed, 4/5 berth?. Up to £10k to spend in N Ireland. Please advise best buy
New to caravanning advice needed
- Thread starter keef
- Start date
Parksy
Moderator
Hi Keef
There really is no one individual caravan manufacturer or model which stands head and shoulders above everything else on the market.
No matter what you eventually choose you will read forum posts detailing horror stories about damp, or broken fixtures and fittings. This is because many of us use internet forums to air complaints and to seek advice on what to do, but don't be put off.
The overwhelming majority of tourer owners unfortunately never write to caravan forums to say how happy they are with their caravan and what a great make or model they have bought - I only wish that they did!
With a wee bit of help and advice from us plus a bit of studying what to watch out for from yourself, you can drastically tip the odds of finding a nice, well looked after and well maintained tourer for a fair price in your favour.
The first thing to do is to find out what you can legally and safely tow. To do this look in your vehicle handbook to see if there are manufacturers towing limits, if not find the kerbweight of the car, and divide the figure by 100, then multiply that figure by 85.
This will give you an 85% towing ratio for your car. This 85% figure has no legal standing at all and it's possible to exceed it, but it's considered by caravan organisations and publications, including Practical Caravan Magazine, to be a safe weight ratio for those unused to towing a caravan and is therefore the generally accepted figure.
The next thing to consider is what you are allowed by law to tow, depending on when you passed your driving test and what licence categories you hold.
Broadly speaking if you passed your driving test after 1st January 1997, unless you have passed a test to gain a category B+E you are restricted to a gross train weight (car + caravan) of 3500kg.
Click Here to see more about driving licences and towing.
Moving on from that, there are two methods of buying a caravan. One is buying from a private individual, whether via auction website, classified advert or word of mouth.
Buyer Beware, there are some good caravans available to buy from private individuals but such sales carry absolutely no guarantee and no realistic chance of redress if things turn out to be not what they seem.
Having said that, sometimes a private sale, if researched and carried out properly with appropriate safeguards, can yield all sorts of other equipment included in the sale such as awnings, groundsheets, Aquarolls , Wastemasters and everything that you may need to hitch up and go, all for a bargain price.
Check out the Caravan Buyer website that I included in your earlier introduction to avoid the pitfalls.
Buying from a reputable caravan dealership carries fewer risks, better after sales service and often with some guarantee which is backed up in law by the Sale of Goods Act.(which doesn't apply to private sales).
It's usually advisable to haggle fiercely, try not to pay the asking price and negotiate freebies or at least good discounts on other caravan equipment and remember to check that everything works and get written assurances that the caravan is free from damp or water ingress.
In the next few weeks before you commit to buying have a look if you can around as many dealers forecourts as possible and look inside a wide range of caravans.
Make a matrix list of what you like, what you don't like, how much storage space, kitchen worktop area, comfort and room to eat, and that kind of thing which will give you a better idea of what make and model will suit you best.
Happy Hunting!
There really is no one individual caravan manufacturer or model which stands head and shoulders above everything else on the market.
No matter what you eventually choose you will read forum posts detailing horror stories about damp, or broken fixtures and fittings. This is because many of us use internet forums to air complaints and to seek advice on what to do, but don't be put off.
The overwhelming majority of tourer owners unfortunately never write to caravan forums to say how happy they are with their caravan and what a great make or model they have bought - I only wish that they did!
With a wee bit of help and advice from us plus a bit of studying what to watch out for from yourself, you can drastically tip the odds of finding a nice, well looked after and well maintained tourer for a fair price in your favour.
The first thing to do is to find out what you can legally and safely tow. To do this look in your vehicle handbook to see if there are manufacturers towing limits, if not find the kerbweight of the car, and divide the figure by 100, then multiply that figure by 85.
This will give you an 85% towing ratio for your car. This 85% figure has no legal standing at all and it's possible to exceed it, but it's considered by caravan organisations and publications, including Practical Caravan Magazine, to be a safe weight ratio for those unused to towing a caravan and is therefore the generally accepted figure.
The next thing to consider is what you are allowed by law to tow, depending on when you passed your driving test and what licence categories you hold.
Broadly speaking if you passed your driving test after 1st January 1997, unless you have passed a test to gain a category B+E you are restricted to a gross train weight (car + caravan) of 3500kg.
Click Here to see more about driving licences and towing.
Moving on from that, there are two methods of buying a caravan. One is buying from a private individual, whether via auction website, classified advert or word of mouth.
Buyer Beware, there are some good caravans available to buy from private individuals but such sales carry absolutely no guarantee and no realistic chance of redress if things turn out to be not what they seem.
Having said that, sometimes a private sale, if researched and carried out properly with appropriate safeguards, can yield all sorts of other equipment included in the sale such as awnings, groundsheets, Aquarolls , Wastemasters and everything that you may need to hitch up and go, all for a bargain price.
Check out the Caravan Buyer website that I included in your earlier introduction to avoid the pitfalls.
Buying from a reputable caravan dealership carries fewer risks, better after sales service and often with some guarantee which is backed up in law by the Sale of Goods Act.(which doesn't apply to private sales).
It's usually advisable to haggle fiercely, try not to pay the asking price and negotiate freebies or at least good discounts on other caravan equipment and remember to check that everything works and get written assurances that the caravan is free from damp or water ingress.
In the next few weeks before you commit to buying have a look if you can around as many dealers forecourts as possible and look inside a wide range of caravans.
Make a matrix list of what you like, what you don't like, how much storage space, kitchen worktop area, comfort and room to eat, and that kind of thing which will give you a better idea of what make and model will suit you best.
Happy Hunting!
Hello Parksey,
Good advice.
And at last a Government web site page that gives clear and fairly consice information about driving licenece limits - well donew for finding it
Good advice.
And at last a Government web site page that gives clear and fairly consice information about driving licenece limits - well donew for finding it
Thank you so much advice really appeciated and noted going forward, from an total novice there appears to be a great community of like interested people out there
Parksy
Moderator
As no doubt you will discover for yourself when you've bought your caravan Keef, it's somehow more than a hobby
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