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We chuck bikes and everything in ours, car seems unphased.
Just delved into the whole Caravan world, a customer had an old Avondale Dart going CHEAP (£1500) and couldn't resist.
Dry as a chip inside, no mould just needed a clean inside and out. Need to check the fridge as it won't work on gas. 12v system needed a new fuse and I bought a new water pump.
Haven't put the awning up yet. But we had a great BH weekend in Beacons with it on its first outing.
Was dryer than camping in the thunderstorms we had, easier for the kids to have a early morning wee, too.
I'm lucky as I have space at work to park it. Storage costs round here (Bristol) are expensive and would never put it on the drive..
Trying to decide on where to tow it for summer holls... The club CL's do sound nice.
All you need to know about weight distribution demonstrated…
It's not ALL you need to know. That just tells you not to have the tail heavier than the front - which is utterly disastrous.
However most caravans are nose heavy by design, and they need to be. The recommended noseweight is 5-7% of total load. So it's a good idea to get a noseweight gague. Generally speaking though if you just toss stuff in your van wherever it fits and fill the boot of your car it'll be far too nose heavy which will put the rear of the car nearly on the floor. This won't kill you (much) but it will make the drive uncomfortable.
Was dryer than camping in the thunderstorms we had, easier for the kids to have a early morning wee, too.
Sitting cosy and dry in a caravan as the rain pours is great 🙂
I always had my eye on one, but what finally prompted me was crawling out of my wet tent at a rainy 24 hour race having wriggled into wet kit in a tent, and catching a glimpse inside someone's warm convivial caravan as they sat there laughing, drinking wine, cosy and dry.. I felt like Bob Cratchett as I shivered on my way to the start line.
First time out in ours was to Big Bike Bash and we pulled in at midnight in the rain. Legs down, lights on, cocoa made in minutes - it was brilliant.. beats pitching a tent or sleeping on the roof of a van!
Incidentally, we keep some water in the toilet, and a 5l container of drinking water in the van when travelling so that we don't have to go and fetch water when we arrive late, and we can have a pee. Also used when stopping for lunch etc. Only a couple of litres in the toilet flush reservoir though (as per recommendations) and the cassette, otherwise it sloshes about and causes instability.
I have a slight Identity issue as I tow with my ranger, am expecting issues at some sites and people asking if I can tarmac their drive.
Buy one Op, you'll not regret it. We haven't. The kids love it.
The Club SItes are like Caravan Dressage sometimes, but they do offer a consistent high standard. They aren't family orientated any more though, despite what they claim. Many seem to be the preserve of well healed Motorhome owners. Most of the decent ones are constantly booked up solid. The Caravan & Camping Club are a lot more accessible & family friendly.
Dragging a 1500kg box saps fuel, so expect low to mid 20's in the real world.
Caravan Club insurance is good.
If the tyres are more than 5yrs old its worthwhile getting them swapped & Tyron bands fitted if not already in place...we had a blow-out...not pleasant. 🙁
Blow up awnings save a lot of faff. Bikes are fine in the caravan, but we often de-camp to the caravan for lunch/dinner during long journeys, so they go on the roof.
The actual towing bit is easy, quite enjoyable in fact. The journey takes a little longer but I don't arrive half as stressed.
Moving a single axle around is fairly easy. Rather than faff about reversing just unhitch & push it in. We can have the first brew made within 10 mins these days. 🙂
Okay, so I'm not a big fan of Caravans but scaling through the options and it was the stupid but sensible choice, tent is too hot and hassle (done), motorhome is expensive and VW is not much bigger than our car and useless for a family of 4 (unless you have a tent, see point 1) so a caravan was it is.
No way was I going to drag a magnolia fibreglass shed with brown cushions, net curtains and interior that looks like a care home on wheels around so we have this...
It's ace, the kids love it, carries 4 bikes, has fixed bunks for the kids, a large for 2 bikes, it's light, easy small and the door is on the wrong side.
It's not a 'Caravan' its a CCT Camping Concept Trailer (okay well it's a caravan but it's a bit different)
Naked
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With Air Awining
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Inside
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Tiger6791 - do you know a website for yours? It looks great, but struggling to find them on Google
It’s a Knaus Deseo, they don’t make them anymore and quite rare in the UK but one on eBay at moment
interior that looks like a care home on wheels
Lol! Our van is a 2000 and looks exactly like this. Manufacturers decide to modernise in the mid 2000s and come up with the most incredible fabric designs and colours which are frankly even worse. It settles down by early 2010s, but the other day I finally found, in Swift's 2018 range, sweet relief: plain grey upholstery!
Can't afford a new one mind, but at least they've come to their senses.
Kip shelter is what I would like.
We have an old little van same as this. No bog but beds for 3, a fridge and stove, ideal.
That looks ace tiger!
Kip Shelter is like a Swift Basecamp. Prefer the latter though, the seats fold up to create bike storage.
were knaus distributed by ikea ?
although i must say looks better than the usual caravan horrors.
still not an airstream .... shame they are bigger than most uk houses 😀
Ours is not quite care home decor, more late middle aged semi detached.
shame they are bigger than most uk houses
And about twice as heavy as most UK cars 🙂
Mattbee - our old one is that layout.
"which will put the rear of the car nearly on the floor"
Get a car with self leveling rear suspension - it makes a huge difference.
Get a car with self leveling rear suspension – it makes a huge difference.
I will do, once I have ten or fifteen grand lying around.
In the meantime, you can get airbag suspension - tried it once, it was pretty good, I removed it cos I thought it was affecting my suspension when not towing, but it wasn't - that was knackered shocks. So I need to refit it.
My uncle and aunty have gone all over the US with a Tab, they are pretty cool too.
On balance I think we are better off with our self build van than a caravan though I can certainly see how they make sense for some senarios. The wild camping and ad hoc days at a beach/wood/event where we are not actually sleeping but having the facilities makes a difference means I want a van not a caravan.
However I do like the look of Tiger's one and the Swift basecamp mentioned. I guess most look late middle aged or oap home because that is the demographic of most buyers.
@mattbee Fleetwood Colchester?
Bailey Madrid. The front benches are long enough to make 2 singles or become a massive (bigger than king size) bed.
Wanted a fixed bed but at 6’2” I don’t fit in 99% of them!
My wifes parents had exactly the same upholstery in their previous van, a Fleetwood. I'd imagine that the various caravan manufacturers source the seat cushions from a single supplier
They don't, they are proud of the hideous desigs they come up with. They have names and you can order different fabrics...
I guess most look late middle aged or oap home because that is the demographic of most buyers.
Yeah but as said, in the last year or two they have become far better e.g.
Shame they didn't sort the rest.
Too poor for a hotel but not man enough to go camping?
Welcome to the caravan club! 😀
I prefer caravanning to hotels which are frankly a pain in the arse. Not least because they are either in town or city centres or in business districts; or they are stupid wannabe posh could try resorts where people can pretend to be posh whilst being fleeced.
Would much rather be in a field out in the hills eating my own food and doing my own stuff.
Too poor for a hotel but not man enough to go camping?
Lol! That's me now. However in my defence I did grow up going camping most weekends with Ma & Pa in the 60's. I also endured many a winter Polaris.
I do have a portable hotel though.
Too poor for a hotel? Our caravan was 15K, paid cash. So no, not really! 🙂
I've camped plenty, we used to do it all the time at races and for hols too. But I got fed up of the faff and the damp. In fact I still camp sometimes, particularly when we go to America as caravans tend to be a smidge over the limit for check-in luggage.
Tiger6791 I don't suppose you're anywhere near Leeds? Would love a look round your van, it looks like just what we are after as we consider switching from our Vivaro campervan to a caravan. The one on eBay is in Wakefield so not far but really don't want to be a tyre kicker.
This would be a purchase next year, we either need to get B&E licences or trade down our Tourneo Custom to something lighter to get us under the 3500kg limit.
Getting a new license would be cheaper and more useful, tbh. A van would make a decent towing vehicle I reckon. Also, a square fronted one might be pretty hard to pull if you aren't behind a vehicle that's already big and square.
I'd go see the one in Wakefield, you're unlikely to see another one. I've never seen one of those on the road that I can remember at least. The thing is with caravans is that if they look decent and aren't damp, you can't really go wrong, they are basically all the same. Especially one as functional as that. I mean you're not going to shop based on the quality of the floral prints are you?
I'll say it again.
Look around I did my b+e with bill harkness in Livingston
350 quid and one day.
Then you know your legal , you know you don't need a new car and your not fighting with all the people trying to stay under the limit and pushing the price of lighter vans up
Hate to admit this made me visit the Knaus website... Their 750kg 4 berth travellino looks really cleverly engineered - if it had a little wet room shower / box thing it would be perfect for race weekends etc.
@molgrips, the Tourneo would make an excellent towing vehicle I reckon. I imagine it would barely notice an 800kg caravan. I suppose the test would be the more sensible option. How did you find the test trail rat?
Test is a carbon copy ofthe current day driving test. It's a 1hr assessed drive with a reverse in an s shape all with a trailer on.
You can actually do a b+e straight away these days instead of a b if you know to request it and are confident to do both. Tester said he gets alot of farmer kids in doing it that way.
Didn't bother me , picked up a few bad habits from driving vans (not doing a life saver -due to there being solid panels behind my head) and my gear changing down is the the old 5-3 or 4-2 these days they want you to hold the original gear until the last minute then change to the gear you need for your manuvere ...... The trailer part of the drive is assessed on smoothness and anticipation. He told me to drive like I had a couple horses in the trailer.
Still aced the test though and got a big fat 0 - better than my original driving test haha
if it had a little wet room shower / box thing it would be perfect for race weekends etc.
Almost all caravans have that*. Your own shower is bloody brilliant at 24hr races.
* Including Swift Basecamp.
Kip shelter is what I would like.
I like the way they've managed to combine the disadvantages of both tents and caravans into one handy package whilst also ignoring the benefits of both.
Base camp is bigger and heavier. Does it sleep 4?
Ah, no. The Knaus looks a bit cosy for four mind 🙂
I’ve just picked up a nice clean Bailey Pageant Sancerre 7 ( rubbish name )
has anybody had experience of an A frame bike rack ( the one that goes on the front )
considering one as I can’t lift bikes on top of the car
I’m from near Leeds but unfortunately live nowhere near now
I like the way they’ve managed to combine the disadvantages of both tents and caravans into one handy package whilst also ignoring the benefits of both.
Like a trailer tent, you mean?
I like the way they’ve managed to combine the disadvantages of both tents and caravans into one handy package whilst also ignoring the benefits of both.
Whereas the Swift Basecamp looks like they have tried to make a small caravan like a big one. Its 250kg heavier than our Abby Adventurer for about the same size.
Are there brands that are less 'old folks home-ish' with their decor than others? Just about every Bailey I've seen for sale looks bloody awful inside.