On the Limit!

[eseven]

Hi all

Looking for first caravan. One piece of advice I ve had is to buy the biggest caravan you can manage, reason being so that claustrophobia dosen't put us off at an early stage!. We have a 1.6 petrol qashqai at moment so plan to use my work van for now until we get a bigger car. Van I have is Ford Transit custom. Any way, Is it acceptable to add the weight of luggage, passengers and other equipment to the kerb weight of the van to enable us to keep to the 85% ratio that's advised. I'm a confident driver but obviously want to keep safe. All advice welcomed. Cheers!

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

"One piece of advice I ve had is to buy the biggest caravan you can manage, reason being so that claustrophobia dosen't put us off at an early stage!."
Funny advice - did that come from a dealer?

"Is it acceptable to add the weight of luggage, passengers and other equipment to the kerb weight of the van to enable us to keep to the 85% ratio that's advised."
NO. Also some warranties will become void if towed by a commercial vehicle.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Damian]

First thing to ask is when did you pass your driving test.

Second thing to comment on is the "advice" you have been given,,,,,,,,,,,,most stupid bit of advice I have ever heard of.
Look around as many vans as possible and make a list of those which suit YOUR needs, regardless of "biggest is best", it quite often isn't

Third is adding items to the van to increase kerbweight,,,,,NO.

 

[Thingy]

I agree, wherever you have been getting advice, forget. However, you are now in the right place.

kerbweight is kerbweight, the minute you add to that, it is no longer kerbweight. The 85% rule is only a guide, however it is very good advice, especially for your first caravan. Some say that an experienced tower (rather than a confident driver) can safely go towards but never over 100%. I am an ex HGV driver of many years and even I wouldnt want to push it that far. Some redundancy in the towcar is always desirable. I would suggest the Nissan Squashedwhatsit has little to no extra!!
As has been said, the pass date of your driving test will dictate whether you can tow the caravan or not, and remember there is far more to look for than the 85% rule. There is the amount the vehicle can carry on its towball, some cars are quite low. There is the manufacturers towing limit too to consider which often becomes a very murky area.
As an examle, my Shogun is rated at 3500kg to tow, yet the kerbweight is around 2300kg. Other cars though will have a manufacturers recommendation somewhat lower than that required.
On to the size of the caravan and the very nature of the beast. The interior design is more important than the physical size of the thing. Some smaller vans have more interior free space due to their layout. Compare the pros and cons of a fixed bed. Some love them, others hate them. Children.........consider bunks.

Just to throw something else into the works, custom or not, many sites will not allow on site what appears to be a commercial vehicle which will limit you somewhat.

Take your time, look around at all the different layouts and find the layout that suits you. Set a budget and then start to look for a van. If you are looking for used, consider investing 15 quid in a damp meter and learn how to use it.

To end, its not the size of van that will put you off, its choosing comepletley the wrong animal for your needs that you need to be wary of.
You may find this link interesting too
Qashqai

 

[Chorleynoob]

I am a complete noob to caravanning, but have been looking into it for a couple of years now. I have just purchased a ssangyong korando for the family tow car as discussed in a previous thread. The gross weight of this car is 2180 and can pull up to 2 ton. The caravan I will buy will be a max of 1300 all in to comply with my B licence. But after looking for a family caravan we have decided that we will go for the new venus 540/4. It has a fixed bed which we like the idea of, so we don't have to make it at night, and screens off from the kids at the front. Another big decision we had was new or used. After looking, I decided I would only buy from a dealer, and the ones we liked where around 10,000. So as I will be taking finance out for this I thought for the little extra id be best buying new, and also get the garentees. Now I'm just waiting for the NEC caravan show to try and get the best deal. Sorry to go on a little, just think these forums are brilliant for information and nice to see where people are up to or advise.

 

[Damian]

Quote " Now I'm just waiting for the NEC caravan show to try and get the best deal. "

Don't forget that the "best deal" may not actually be the best in the long run.

Your contract regarding warranty work will be with the supplying dealer, and in the event of you having warranty issues, if you then have to drag the van hundreds of miles to be fixed, at your cost, the "best deal" starts to look not so good.

Also, at the NEC, and any other show, all they are wanting to do is part you from your money, and some will make all kinds of "promises" which end up empty promises when things go wrong.

 

[Chorleynoob]

Some good points there. I do have a preferred dealer 2 mild from my home, but want to see how much off RRP if you like I could get knocked off. They just seemed to easy to take off 500.

 

[Thingy]

I very much concur with Damian. My previous van brought me a fantastic trade in and a discount on its replacement, a fixed bed model. However, the dealer (who shall remain nameless) was an utter nightmare, the service department was horrendous to deal with, the caravan was damp from the off and the faults were legion. Thankfully that particualr dog has been put to sleep and replaced.
What Im getting at, is the phrase dont look a gift horse in the mouth. In the caravan world, dont only look into its mouth but take a dentist along too.

 

[RogerL]

Some good points there. I do have a preferred dealer 2 mild from my home, but want to see how much off RRP if you like I could get knocked off. They just seemed to easy to take off 500.

15% shouldn't be that difficult - way more than £500.

 

[Dustydog]

Welcome Chorleywood

Think think and think again what layout you want and can afford.
We changed our car 15 years ago because of MTPLM. You may need to factor that 8nto your equation.