Newbie

[Fraseb01]

Hi all, newbie here,

Looking forward to getting my first caravan and gaining some helpful knowledge and information from you guys.

Looking to buy a swift 6 berth this weekend, my first question is, is it ok to buy a van outwith my area and then get it servuced where i choise closer to me.

The engineer at the wifes work is a caravaner and claims we need to buy in our area as a van needs to be serviced where it origanaly comes from, surely thats not true?

Many thanks.👍👍👍

 

[RogerL]

It's not servicing but warranty work that's the issue - unlike cars, it's not easy to get warranty work done away from the selling dealer - not impossible but more difficult.

 

[Fraseb01]

It's not servicing but warranty work that's the issue - unlike cars, it's not easy to get warranty work done away from the selling dealer - not impossible but more difficult.

Hi RogerL,Thanks for reply, its actually a private sale 1 owner van i will be looking at so i take it i will be fine in that respect as there will be no warranty.

 

[RogerL]

In that case the info your wife's been given is incorrect - you can have the caravan serviced by who ever you choose, including DIY if you feel able

 

[Fraseb01]

Thank you very much, just as i thought 👍

 

[Parksy]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Look for an approved service engineer close to where you live or use an approved mobile caravan service engineer.
Before you finalise the purchase check for signs of damp.
Pay particular attention to the corners and joints, check under bed and overhead lockers, around the toilet area and along the interior join between the roof and walls along the awning rail side.
If the floor feels spongy, particularly near to the kitchen area, this could be a sign of floor delamination.
Look behind blinds and curtains for signs of damp and check around window rubber seals for water ingress.
Good luck!

 

[Fraseb01]

Hi Parksy,

Thanks for the info, i have allready purchased a damp meter to take with me 👍

Hopefully the seller is true to her word,she claims the van is immaculate and for a five year old van i am hoping for many years of practical use.

Cheers.

 

[otherclive]

Hi RogerL,Thanks for reply, its actually a private sale 1 owner van i will be looking at so i take it i will be fine in that respect as there will be no warranty.

Recent posts have shown newcomers who bought vans privately finished up with lemons. One bought a lemon from a dealer and hit a full refund. That’s a major difference. Damp cannot always be seen or smelt but still cost a lot to repair, and damp is not uncommon in caravans. At least ask fir a full damp check by an NCC AWS technician. See everything working. When was it last serviced any invoices, tyres older than five years? If so new ones required. Does your licence allow what could be an outfit over 3500 kg.

 

[Fraseb01]

Many thanks for all this info, yes my licence is find i used to work in the plant hire industry so trailers etc are all good have all entitlements inc class 1 .👍

 

[Damian]

Hopefully the seller is true to her word,she claims the van is immaculate and for a five year old van i am hoping for many years of practical use.

I really hope that the van is as you describe.
However, every seller claims that their van is "immaculate" and "everything works".

In my experience NEVER take the sellers word for the condition of the van.

Insist on seeing everything actually working correctly and that there are no major problems, if not sure what to look for, get a mobile engineer to give it a pre purchase inspection.

Ask for the most recent service certificates and damp reports, if there are none,,,,,beware !!!!!!

To start with at 5 years old the tyres are probably at the point where they need replacing if they have not been done already, and dependent on how the van was stored and used and condition.

 

[otherclive]

Look for fine hairline cracks on from and rear ABS panels. They will let moisture in and until it gets too bad you won’t see damage or smell damp. If any are found walk away as repairs often involve a new panel.

 

[Fraseb01]

Thanks folks, all very good info for me when i go on saturday,

👍👍👍👍

 

[Beachball]

Welcome to the forum Fraseb01 i hope the caravan meets up to your expectations check about service history and take a damp meter

 

[Fraseb01]

Thanks mate,i have ordered one so hopefully here thursday 👍

 

[Raywood]

I tend to agree with all the advice given. Do check the caravan with a damp meter. You need to go round the inside at the point where the front, rear and back panels meet the roof and floor and around the window frames. If the windows give a reading these can be false if there is condensation under the rubber so peel it back and check.
Do get the seller to demonstrate all the equipment fitted is working and get the handbook to help if you forget how they work once on site.
If a private sale do make sure the owner has proof of ownership and service records. If there is any guarantee you will need these and the service book stamped and transfer the guarantee over to you. Confirm the chassis number before you collect it and check with HPI and CRis to make sure there is no HP outstanding and it is not stolen.
Many dealers do not have the capacity to service caravans they have not sold but there are plenty of mobile and other workshops in most areas that can do this. Check the National Caravan Council website for details of approved ones.
Do check what electric plugs the caravan has, there are two types the newer 13 pin and the older twin plugs. If you have a towbar fitted and it does not match the caravan, most dealers can sell you a convertor cheaply enough but you will need it if the plugs are the different types.
If you have any doubts about the purchase when you get there, walk away, there are plenty more to choose from.

Good luck.

 

[otherclive]

I tend to agree with all the advice given. Do check the caravan with a damp meter. You need to go round the inside at the point where the front, rear and back panels meet the roof and floor and around the window frames. If the windows give a reading these can be false if there is condensation under the rubber so peel it back and check.
Do get the seller to demonstrate all the equipment fitted is working and get the handbook to help if you forget how they work once on site.
If a private sale do make sure the owner has proof of ownership and service records. If there is any guarantee you will need these and the service book stamped and transfer the guarantee over to you. Confirm the chassis number before you collect it and check with HPI and CRis to make sure there is no HP outstanding and it is not stolen.
Many dealers do not have the capacity to service caravans they have not sold but there are plenty of mobile and other workshops in most areas that can do this. Check the National Caravan Council website for details of approved ones.
Do check what electric plugs the caravan has, there are two types the newer 13 pin and the older twin plugs. If you have a towbar fitted and it does not match the caravan, most dealers can sell you a convertor cheaply enough but you will need it if the plugs are the different types.
If you have any doubts about the purchase when you get there, walk away, there are plenty more to choose from.

Good luck.

If it’s Swift Group a stamped service book is not sufficient for Swift to transfer any warranty. You will need to ensure that either the service records have been uploaded to Swift by the servicing company. Or as I did obtain all of the records and upload them to Swift who then input them into their data base fir the Caravan. Of course they will only do this if the service provided meets that specified in the Swift service book. Traps are everywhere.

 

[Fraseb01]

Cheers folks ,

Some excellent advice, very helpfull imdeed.

👍👍👍

 

[Fraseb01]

Hi All,
As i am a newbie with my first caravan, will i get enough info from the caravan manuals regarding setting things up and ie water tanks, heating system,etc and also draining the van after use .

all should be straight forward i assume but as i never owned a caravan i thought i might ask.

Cheers.

 

[Tuningdrew]

The manuals will tell you how to set up but in my experience they assume you are not a novice. There are several ‘how to’ videos on YouTube worth watching especially those by ‘The Trudgians’ . Just an ordinary family with a caravan showing how to set things up and doing a bit of product testing as well.
Your Swift at 5 years old hopefully will have Sargent electrics rather than the troublesome Nordelectronica. Maybe an early version of Command. The early ones were simple enough, later versions got very sophisticated and there’s lots of anecdotal stories of fridge and heating problems caused by poor communication from the Command unit. Fortunately the two systems are easily isolated and function perfectly on their own.

 

[Fraseb01]

Cheers for the info, will need to check what electrics have 🤔

 

[otherclive]

Hi RogerL,Thanks for reply, its actually a private sale 1 owner van i will be looking at so i take it i will be fine in that respect as there will be no warranty.

If the van has any makers warranty left that may be transferable providing its service history is complete in which case you would need to have it serviced by a AWS engineer to keep it in warranty, but that could be anywhere that is convenient to you.

 

[Beachball]

If it anything like what came with our caravan there should plenty of information how to set up the caravan enjoy

 

[Fraseb01]

Cheers everyone

What a right helpful bunch on here 👍.

Another quick question. Since getting into some service stations might be a tad difficult , does anyone recommend a tyre inflator/ compressor that i could use and store in the car or caravan?

👍👍👍👍

 

[otherclive]

Cheers everyone

What a right helpful bunch on here 👍.

Another quick question. Since getting into some service stations might be a tad difficult , does anyone recommend a tyre inflator/ compressor that i could use and store in the car or caravan?

👍👍👍👍

I use a round Michelin one which is ideal for re pressure the tyres prior to departing home or camp site. Fir general topping up I use a vertical track pump.

PS but fir checking tyre pressures I use separate gauges. A mix of Ring digital up to 60 psi and Tire Tek mechanical gauge with bleed down button and the tried and trusted PGL pencil gauge. But OCD bit old habits die hard.