As me & the Mrs are 118 yrs old between us, it’s time we had a caravan. I know there’s a lot to consider with layouts etc but who makes a decent van?

Fendt tractors for instance are, or were, known as ‘The Rolls Royce’ of tractors, & they also make caravans (part of the Hobby group so I read) but are their vans any good?
Bailey seem very popular as do Swift & Elddis but what else should we look at?

eriba

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eriba!

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A lot of sites won’t allow Hobby caravans on because the brand is a fave of the travelling community.

Are you buying new or second hand?

I am becoming obsessed by eriba caravans, its just a matter of time before one turns up on the drive.

Are you buying new or second hand?

2nd hand used. Budget will be around 9-10K with main requirement being a fixed bed. Only 2 of us so probably need a 4 berth to get that. The Mrs is a bit fussy on decor & stuff though!

Hate to come out and say this in public but we bought one a few months ago. Looked at lots and settled on a Swift Challenger 620, seemed well made and will hold some value (we bought second hand) when we sell again.
The fixed bed was a big thing for us as it saves a lot of phaff at night setting things up and the kids sleep on the front benches.
We also got an air-awning which is brill, takes about 15 mins to setup and the bikes are stored there.
Good luck,
Iain.

Amuse yourself by putting the word @nal in front of the name of your chosen caravan.

Crusader. Buccaneer. Etc. 🙂

We’ve got a Sprite Quattro FB (fixed bed), nice van, not too expensive, plenty of room.
It’s a 2009 model, we haven’t had any problems with damp, panels cracking or anything like that, it’s good.
Spite are part of the Swift group who make very good caravans.
I also like the look of Sterling but they’re a bit more pricey.

My advice – unless you have a 4×4 or bingo bus to tow with avoid the stupidly long single axle ones. The weight ratio of my dads Bailey @nal Senator (nah, doesn’t work for that one) to my Mondeo is legal but still a bit on the high side, fine with his C8 though.

Never heard of certain models being barred, from what a quick read suggests it’s either the ridiculous twin axles or ones with doors on the “wrong” side that are most problematic (you can turn it round and put it in nose first but then it’s a safety issue if theres a fire. Seemingly wheel clamps, awnings and steadies aren’t).

t@b ours is great not hauling too much gubbins around.

Never heard of certain models being barred, from what a quick read suggests it’s either the ridiculous twin axles or ones with doors on the “wrong” side that are most problematic (you can turn it round and put it in nose first but then it’s a safety issue if theres a fire. Seemingly wheel clamps, awnings and steadies aren’t).

I had thought of that but more on the convenience front than safety.
Anyway it would be nice to get a fixed bed, single axle van with an awning & motor mover that isn’t a problem to a 2010 Mondeo 2.0 Diesel estate for 10K ish 🙂

Our door’s on the wrong side, never been an issue.

Even on caravan club sites and they’re picky.

From experience, avoid any make that smells of air freshners, or damp, look for water leaks , damp carpets and floors, look underneath for rust /rot damage, check tyres,check it looks in shape not leaning etc, and have a lok at quite a few at a dealers to see what specs they come with.

Finally get trained to drive the thing, chap i knew got hit by one in a hit and run thrown over wall .

Fixed bed sounds long. Like Bailey Senator Arizona and similar size.

As I said it is okay with my 2008 2.0 (140hp) hatch, your estate will be a bit heavier as well. To be honest though I’ve not had it out yet, my experience stems from my old mans last 11 plate 120 hatch which is the same car but with less power, was more a weight issue coming down steep hills though, not worrying but you could feel it and had to be gentle on the brakes and think about corners (inlcuding what if scenarios).

Forgot to mention that I’ve had 2 caravans in a previous life (last one was a 1980 Abbey Durham & I pulled that with Sierra Estate) Never owned one since 1990.

Get yerself over here for some advice http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/
And check the weights to car ratio thingy here http://www.towcar.info/
And fixed beds are the way forward, we’ve got one after having just a 2 berth, and its brilliant.

Cheers Hound!

First caravan was a Fendt ’05 Saphir, 4 berth and a really well put together ‘van imo,
2nd ‘van was a Bailey Pageant Britange 6 berth which has been replaced recently by a 7 berth motorhome 😆
The Bailey was a good ‘van, 2010 we bought privately for £2k less than local retail value and cost us &500 per year of ownership+servicing,insurance and secure storage. The quality of the Bailey was not as good as the Fendt and the quality of our even newer(6mnths old)motorhome is not as good as either ❗ Par for the course these days it seems on quality….
Everyone’s needs/requirements are different, look at as many as you can.
One of these may be usefull

And this is a good site for comparing layouts http://www.caravanfinder.co.uk/caravan_layouts.html?berth=4

Most brands now are doing a lower end range which is light enough for normal cars and larger ranges for SUVs. Also at that price range you may be able to get one of the newer timber free ones, that will never rot even if they leak. It’s always rot that kills caravans. Bailey were the first to bring it out, called ALU tech.

Otherwise, pick a layout and weight you like. New cheaper vans can be had for 12-13k. Lot of advancement in the last few years.

There’s a lot of love for continental vans here but a few caveats. The a frames are longer making them more stable but less manoeuvrable getting to out of the way sites in the sticks; alson they don’t have toilets sometimes and other things.

Which may be an issue if you stay on CLs which I recommend. Field in the middle of the wilds with a couple of other people for £8 a night far better than hundreds of vans packed onto tarmac outside a town for £35 imho

We have a Bailey Orion (think it’s the smallest / cheapest they make). Definitely avoid them!

Had a look at a few yesterday. We went to see a Lunar Clubman SE which was nice & it was just over our budget for the bare van but came with just about everything we’d need to buy on top anyway.
Pity we’re not buying till after Xmas!

Definitely avoid them!

…. go on….

We went for an Adria nearly four years ago as we were looking for a used van and noticed that they were in much better condition than the UK brands we were looking at. Eribas hold together very well but fixed bed would be the issue. We ended up getting a barmy offer of £9k for a brand new Adria so we didn’t need to buy used in the end. we have had over 250 nights in it and it is like new still.

The point is that if you look at enough used vans you will quickly get to see which brands are wearing well.

Definitely avoid them!

…. go on….

Wondering this as well, aside from the extractor going owing to water ingress after a storm ripped off the hatch my folks have had no problems with theirs.

Dethleffs make the best vans IMO. They look good are very well made and the winter packet ones are very warm for winter camping.
We had one exactly the same as this. Slept up to eight separate shower and well laid out.

Typical interior

the winter packet ones are very warm for winter camping.

As said, UK made vans have come on loads in recent years. They pretty much all have winter grade III (or whatever it is) insulation now and can be slept in nicely in hard frosts.

<<Follow>>

I am getting a caravan sometime this year. Already confirmed a pitch at a very nice Abersoch site for 2017 🙂

Watching with interest.

edit:

And fixed beds are the way forward, we’ve got one after having just a 2 berth, and its brilliant.

The ones I have seen in showrooms the beds look too short. I am a midgy over 6ft

Molgrips gives good advice. Fixed bed is a real plus but vans tend to be on the bigger size-mine is a Swift 570SE. Fixed bed often means that other areas are squeezed so check if the kitchen & front seating area is big enough. Max weight of the Van when loaded should ideally not be any more than 85% of the kerbweight of the car NOT the car towing limit which is usually much higher. A large car does not necessarily mean a high kerbweight. Composite construction is a plus but even wooden framed models should have a 10 year water ingress warranty. Caravanning–a great way to see different places with all the comforts of home, love it!

We bought our first caravan in March, ordered in October but its a long wait for new vans. We looked at a few but bought a Sterling Continental 570.

A fixed bed was a major thing for us and a side bed worked better than a bed that goes across the van. Even with the bed pushed back getting to the loo was a tight squeeze. The disadvantage of a side bed of course is that someone is against the window, I’m fine with that though.

Ours seems well put together, only issue we’ve had is one ‘soft close’ drawer not ‘soft closing’ any more but that will be fixed under warranty at the first service.

In a lot of the vans we looked in some of the styling leaves a lot to be desired – lots of beige and hideous fabrics. This is the interior of ours, also has a ‘smart command’ system so I can turn the lights on and the heating up with my phone on the way back from the pub.

We have ours on a seasonal pitch, less than a minute from Dalbeattie 7 stanes, and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. Do it, you’ll love it.

My wifes sister recently bought an eriba and it’s a well put together wee van, but it is small. In really heavy rain water comes in the fabric side of the pop up roof, but if you know that’s the case then I guess you would shut the roof if rain was expected.

The ones I have seen in showrooms the beds look too short. I am a midgy over 6ft

If it was a bed going across the van are you sure it was pulled right out, the do have a ‘day position’ that pushes it back a bit. Anyway our son is over 6ft and fits the fixed bed fine. Not that he comes with is very often.

I have a budget of about £7-8k. Your not helping Gary M……

I passed a Knaus Sudwind the other day & possibly for the first time ever I thought to myself “that’s quite a good looking caravan”….

I’m not sure if this is related to the rapidly encroaching 40th Birthday, or whether it was actually acceptable to look at.

No idea if it’s any good.

^^ I do like that.

I have a budget of about £7-8k. Your not helping Gary M…..

Fair enough, it is nice though 🙂 Best embrace the beige

One of these will no doubt be our next caravan…

Shower room is at the back behind the fixed bed

Although, I really want one of these…

This van served us well and cost £6k 5 years ago

[url=https://flic.kr/p/roeMjT]imag0182b[/url] by davetheblade, on Flickr

In a lot of the vans we looked in some of the styling leaves a lot to be desired – lots of beige and hideous fabrics

I quite liked some of the Elddis ones – they’d at least made an effort to be a bit different.

One of these will no doubt be our next caravan…

That’s pretty much the same layout as ours but ours is single axle and the fridge is under the worktop on the other side. Shower room is very spacious.

What model is that TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR? Looks like 630 but without the dinette.

Actually if you want a small caravan with a fixed bed, I saw a nice solution in an Adria van last year. They had a bed hiding in the ceiling above the seating area in the front that you could pull down over the table (like you see in the top end campers). Took all of 30 seconds to change from seating to bed.

What model is that TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR? Looks like 630 but without the dinette.

It is a 630 – I think they do 2 different configurations, maybe older/newer – I just Googled the image. Not too fussed about a dinette, never really used it in our old van, just left that area made up as a single bed for STR Jnr