Total Newbie - Advice Needed

[Stephen_374318274]

Hello Caravan People

We are absolute Caravan newbie's. We want to buy our first caravan sometime this winter. We will be buying second hand. We live in Sheffield. Do you know of a large second-hand dealer we could go to for advice on what would be suitable, what to look out for and what we could get for our money? We are prepared to travel an hour or so.

Many Thanks

Steve

 

[Parksy]

Hiya Stephen, welcome.

You've come to the right site for any advice that you may need, just ask and somebody on here usually knows the answer.

Most caravan dealers sell secondhand caravans as well as new, Lowdhams in Notts or Glossop Caravans spring to mind although I'm not from up that way myself.

The best thing to do is first find out what you can legaly tow with your vehicle as regards weight etc; then take it from there. Look round as many caravans that suit your budget as you can and see which interior layout will suit you best. Dont rush in to anything, the second hand caravan market is a buyers market. Read the caravan forums and the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravan Club websites which areall packed with good advice and above all, if you are not sure of anything however daft you think it might sound.......... ask! We've all been there once.

Best of luck

Steve

 

[Stephen_374318274]

I haven't got the tow vehicle yet but it will be something like a VW Transporter van with a 2.5 diesel engine. How do I determine what type of caravan I can tow with this?

Many Thanks

Steve

 

[Parksy]

You need to find the Kerbweight of the towing vehicle first off.

Also the train weight that the vehicle is allowed. The maximum towing weight, kerbweight etc should be in the vehicle hand book, or the car dealer should know them. Dont commit to buying any towing vehicle without knowing these weights. If you post your question under Towing in this forum your question will be seen by far brighter people than myself who know all of the relevant facts inside out. The reccomendation I think is that you do not tow more than 85% of your cars kerbweight if inexperienced, also taking into account any limits that the manufacturers of your particular vehicle has imposed.

Post your question in Towing and Driving Safely or Towcars as I said though, and you will get sound advice.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stephen_374318274]

Thank you : )

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Steve welcome to the forum and all the best for your future caravanning. Just one cautionary note - many sites will not accept a van as the tow vehicle as it could be mistaken for members of the "travelling" brigade. Think of this before buying a van as a tow vehicle.