Whoopee, I'm live at last

[DavetheIV]

To those members who've contributed to my 'witterings' during the past 6 months,thanks awfully. I've now, having been guided by some of the comments submitted, finally reached my goal. Brought the 2.0l Skoda Superb estate to tow with, had a removable hitch fitted and finally just purchased a 2012 Sprite Muskateer TD van. Thankfully the van has been well cared for, is virtually fully kitted out with all the nice to have's like a full & porch awning, winter cover, water roller & waste equipment etc. So I pick it up tomorrow, its been fully CRiS checked, serviced annually & well looked after. So I'll be trying it out for short breaks over the next 2 seasons & then, on retirement, aim to really put it to work in anger.

No doubt I'll continue to learn from those more experienced, but this time be meeting on site as well as through continued questions in the forum. Looking forward to meeting you out there!

 

[Hutch]

Welcome Dave , For us there is No season, except that as you get older the Vets want to see you more, just get out and enjoy all year round. :cheer:

 

[Hutch]

Dave , why not think about coming to The Woosie fest, its a good meet up from the Forum, Nobody in your space just good meetup. , Good weather guaranteed unless, Kev ???

 

[otherclive]

Dave
After a three year sabbatical from caravanning we opted in again last year with an outfit virtually identical to yours. Must say after all the outfits we’ve had this one suits us perfectly when we are just two plus dogs, or with granddaughter.

With the van just make absolutely sure the top of the rear panel is crack free. Mines awaiting a new rear end. Cracks spotted by main dealer service last December with lowish damp readings in top off side corner of shower. Swift had all previous service history so authorised repairs quickly. The dealer has made a temporary seal with tape. Make sure that Swift have your full service history if they don't already. An email/phone call is all it needs to check with Swift. My previous services were not main dealer but NCC approved and all bar one had been uploaded to Swift by the service centre. The missing one I tracked down in Cannock.

Also you can get weight upgrade to 1300 kg via Swift compensates for mover weight.

 

[DavetheIV]

Thanks for the heads up re rear panel & repair under warrantee. I'll certainly keep an eye out for issues there.

 

[otherclive]

Dave
Just one addition. The caravan is quite nose heavy when unladen with battery, water tank, fridge, heater etc all in front of axle. From memory when I collected ours empty with one gas bottle Calorlite in locker noseweight was around 70kg. The car towbar is 80kg if same as mine. So loading sees most heavy stuff in car, but stuff in van mainly goes aft of axle on floor or low down in lockers. But the outfit has never given me any concerns re stability. It feels well planted even in bad windy weather or when HGV or coaches pass us.

 

[otherclive]

Thanks for the heads up re rear panel & repair under warrantee. I'll certainly keep an eye out for issues there.

Make sure your final service comes before first registration date if you have the 6 year water ingress warranty. There’s no leeway after that date. So being 2012 yours will be finishing sometime this year if not already.

 

[DavetheIV]

otherclive you are a star, I'm delighted to learn from an existing experienced vanner who shares virtually the exact same equipment. Collecting van tomorrow & its sounds like I'm going to need to check the nose weight carefully once I've got all the items that I need. Having seen the bathroom scales & lenght of wood trick, I'll go this route initially rather than a dedicated gauge as I found from the last van quite a few years ago that once finally loaded, juggled & measured, it then became a pack the repetitive same way time after time achieve the same NW reading consistently. Your heads up most appreciated & please raise any other tips, I'll be most appreciative at this tender, got to learn it all again stage!

 

[otherclive]

Hope the collection goes well, and I’m sure that you will really enjoy your new outfit.

 

[Hutch]

Enjoy the caravan Dave, safe touring.

 

[otherclive]

Dave,
A thought occurred to me, that given the age of your caravan at 6 years it might still be running on its original tyres, which at that age are due for a change. It might be worth checking. I replaced my tyres when I bought it last year and fitted Hankook Vantra which are a Light Truck tyre as beloved by White Van Man, and they are original Swift fitment too.