Hi, this is my first post, unfortunatley not a happy one. Earlier this week we had been loking for a caravan around £1000. At this price I knew that they would be a bit tatty and would have shown signs of damp but as long as it was not to bad I could live with it. Anyway we went to look at a van that was described as been a 1992 Fleetwood Colchester, it looked a bit old on the outside but inside it really was in good nick, none of the peeling lacquer and missing catches that we had seen on other vans, and the floor had been laid with a vinyl wood effect. The front of the van had obviously had some water ingress this had been repaired. Anyway deal done at £850 CASH! So I get it home and put it on the drive. So the next day I have a good look at it and noticed the tyre had a nice groove in the sidewall where it had been rubbing on the arch, upon further investigation the bracket holding it to the chassis has cracked. So not disheartened I phone around some breakers to be told that I would need to measure the distance between the back of the drums etc, so whilst doing this I noticed a large rotten part of the floor underneath the front locker! Ok now I start worrying. On to the next job, why is there no running water? Obviously because the previous owner decided to cut all the wiring to the water pump. So after re-wiring the taps etc (a very simple job actually) I turn on the kitchen tap, pump starts but no water, although I can hear it running. When I checked outside it had been gushing from the drain hole for the heater, so I attempt to screw it in and yep it snaps, but judging by the cooler of the water that was coming out I very much doubt it would work anyway. So back to the electrics, I noticed that the Zig unit would click after been on for about an hour and 12 volts would go to the battery, but its is not charging the battery so I suspect this is duff to. Anyway spoke to the person that sold it to me and made him aware of the problems and aksed what he would like to do about it, he has basically said that the van was fine when he last used it a year ago and that he had pointed this out when we looked at it, plus as it was sold as seen it was up to me to check for any problems before purchasing, so without resorting to legal help and the costs that go along without there is not really much I can do.
So there you have it, to any potential caravanners looking for a cheap van look at at it VERY closely and make sure you see everything working.
Any ideas on what to do with the thing that is sat on my drive, I don't mind doing the jobs but don't really want to spend too much more on it, any ideas of costs and where to source the parts particularly the axle.
Regards Simon
So there you have it, to any potential caravanners looking for a cheap van look at at it VERY closely and make sure you see everything working.
Any ideas on what to do with the thing that is sat on my drive, I don't mind doing the jobs but don't really want to spend too much more on it, any ideas of costs and where to source the parts particularly the axle.
Regards Simon