Forum menu
I have now found a caravan and had an offer accepted. I will be picking up this Saturday. Only just found out that my towing electrics aren't perfect (I have single 7 pin). Now I need to find somewhere to put it, and sort out some insurance!
What did you go for trailwagger?
If you need work done on your towbar electrics, might I suggest upgrading to 13 pin if it's available rather than two 7 pin? The 7 pin connectors are crap, and the 13 pin ones much better.
What did you go for trailwagger?
If you need work done on your towbar electrics, might I suggest upgrading to 13 pin if it’s available rather than two 7 pin? The 7 pin connectors are crap, and the 13 pin ones much better.
A 2007 Avondale Dart. Not the most modern looking van, but Its been well looked after and serviced regularly.
How would a 13pin work with my 7 pin bike carrier? I assume there is some sort of adaptor?
Yes, or if you are handy with a screwdriver it's a piece of cake to rewire a single 7 pin. Just unscrew the wires and screw the into the right places on the new plug.
It gets slightly more complicated with the second 7 pin because the wiring is a bit different depending on how old the van is so you have to make some decisions.
What layout did you get?
Standard 6 birth, twin bunks at back...
jam bo: did you see the story about the tourists in Fowey last weekend? :O
bit of a squeeze....
Standard 6 birth, twin bunks at back…
It's not standard but it's a pretty good layout, I'd go for that. Loads of kitchen worktop too.
It’s not standard but it’s a pretty good layout, I’d go for that. Loads of kitchen worktop too.
When I say standard, what I really mean is common.
That's part of the reason for the compromise of getting an Avondale (other than the prices seem good due to them going out of business). The sink size and worktop space is much bigger than the likes of a Swift or an Elddis. I also like the way position the gas bottle in the middle of the van and not in the awkward to get to front cupboard thingy.
Is there space for two bottles?
Putting two bottles in our van really buggers up the nose weight.
Just one I believe...
Nobeer & Perchy - having learned from the experience of others statics are a bloody minefield. Expensive to buy (even second hand) and you may have to renew if it's a certain age. As in, get rid of the old one and buy a whole new unit. Then there are site fees (including council tax) that they know fine and well you are going to pay because a low loader move isn't cheap.
Tourers can be pitched seasonally and just moved whenever you like, sites tend to be less arsey and know you can just bugger off if you don't like it.
Not saying this is the norm but once bitten twice shy.
Statics tend to be packed in like some sort of prison camp though with thousands of old people. Never seen a static site and thought ”oh that looks like a lovely place to holiday”. If you have though then crack on
Two nice sites to choose from. We dont all suffer from living in the overpopulated south...
Squirrelking, IIRC Perchy has a static already, and I'm fairly sorted with all the costs. I'll get my money's worth.
Oh, we get our moneys worth all right. 😉
We occasionally get weegie riff-raff like iainc trapping up on the site with tents and such like but it’s a small price to pay. 😉
Trailwagger, Nice.
Also a happy, but recent, Avondale Dart owner, the 5 birth in our case. All good so far, our is a bit older (2000)
But was dirt cheap!
Two nice sites to choose from. We dont all suffer from living in the overpopulated south…
Me neither. You live in Glasgow, don't you? We stayed at a static site in an actual suburb of the city when we were up in May visiting friends. Why on Earth would you go to the suburbs for a holiday?
Where are you planning on staying then?
Not so much moneys worth as making sure the site owners aren't dickbags. As I said YMMV.
We stayed at a static site in an actual suburb of the city when we were up in May visiting friends. Why on Earth would you go to the suburbs for a holiday?
You weren't staying with show folk in Dalmarnock were you?
Me neither. You live in Glasgow
Wash your mouth out! 😂
Whoa, missed that one. Shots fired!
So after viewing a van at the weekend it has become very apparent that sat navs (both my car and phone ones) will always take the most direct route and there doesn't seem to be any settings to force them to stick to major roads as much as possible.
Whats the solution? I don't want to be the guy who gets stuck in the middle of a sleepy village on a tight bend.
Whats the solution? I don’t want to be the guy who gets stuck in the middle of a sleepy village on a tight bend.
These and some prior planning work well.
Agreed, but not so easy when you are travelling solo.... there is a reason why sat navs are so popular these days 😉
So after viewing a van at the weekend it has become very apparent that sat navs (both my car and phone ones) will always take the most direct route and there doesn’t seem to be any settings to force them to stick to major roads as much as possible.
I pick sites carefully based on how far they are from decent roads. I look on Streetview to see how decent they are. You can usually get a pretty good idea. And they tend not to put caravan sites in in accessible places, for obvious reasons.
When you ring to book you can ask the owners what the best way to get there is - they'll know. Also, on the Caravan Club site if there are any access issues it says on the listing, e.g. 'Do NOT come down the road from X, you'll get stuck, instead go to Y first' etc. Then when you know the route, you can force your satnav to take you there.
Not had a problem so far - the only issue I've had was on the entrances to actual sites, where I didn't swing wide enough. That's CLs though which are just gates into fields.
Agreed, but not so easy when you are travelling solo…. there is a reason why sat navs are so popular these days
Plan at home before you leave, then program the satnav with the route you've decided...
how long is this van that it cant handle a corner ?
it articulates in the middle where it connects to the car surely ?
Road signs tend to follow the main roads rather than taking the most direct/shortest route.
We occasionally get weegie riff-raff like iainc trapping up on the site with tents and such like but it’s a small price to pay
ah, indeed, must head down again soon, cheers for the reminder 🙂
how long is this van that it cant handle a corner ?
it articulates in the middle where it connects to the car surely ?
7 meters. On the way back, following the sat nav I had to negotiate a turning that almost doubled back on itself. I had to do a three point turn just to get the car around it.
You just need a bit of common sense beforehand - just study the map near the site. DO NOT blindly follow a satnav if the journey involves lanes.
Caravans can handle pretty much anything on a B road without worry, I'd say. And decent width lanes are alright.
Agreed, but not so easy when you are travelling solo
But that is what the back of a receipt, with handwritten key junctions, towns and road numbers is for, bluetacked to the dash....
I always do what Matt suggests if a new site, or even one not been to for a while. Check the site's recommended route, check the map and check it on Google Earth, obvious things like white lines down the road are a give away for better access. And don't panic!
If you want to make sure your caravan will fit a route it is possible to buy satnavs designed for/with a setting for trucks which work just as well for caravans.
Sygic phone nav app also has a caravan/rv setting i believe.
From what ive read the truck/caravan sat navs just adjust speed for the vehicle and dont actually suggest any different routing
Great first weekend away in the van. Managed to get all systems online without any problems and the kids had a blast. Was nice to sit in comfort on Saturday afternoon with a cold cider watching the footie with a view of the sea out the window.
Two questions for the seasoned caravaners......
1. Looking for a new awning (the one I got with the van will be too small. Whats the difference between lightweight, normal, and all weather awnings? I sort of get it, that the material is thicker, heavier etc. But if I got a lightweight one, would it fall apart after the first summer?
2. How do you know if the 12v system is charging/working whilst you are travelling?
Our satnav in the camper allows you to input the dimensions of the van into it. I assume it must do some sort of calculation as if you deviate off onto a route it thinks is too narrow or low to get through it starts giving visual and audio warnings.
Good to hear you had a great first time out OP. As for awnings we bought a cheap weekend one when we first had the van, then quickly upgraded to a full awning for longer holidays, just more space. The weekend one didn't survive that long as it wasn't robust, and we replaced it with a Vango Airbeam for shorter trips. So it depends what you go for, how much you pay etc. Some of the larger Airbeams look great and aren't far off a traditional full awning.
As for the 12v, I can only think of having a look at the 12v gauge in the van when not connected and turn the main power on, see what it reads then do the same when the electric is connected to the car. Others will no doubt have a far more sensible answer.
Spud, afaik, the van will need a power splitter from the car and will have two plugs on the van. One for the lights and one for the leisure battery. Not sure how to tell if it is charging Mind you.
A bit of a thread resurrection from me for an update. After a lot of viewings and research we have now bought a 5 berth 2002 Hymer Nova caravan (very nice but very heavy). The campervan is up for sale (see classifieds...) And I'm booked in for a B&E course and test at the start of September so I can use the Tourneo custom to tow. We're hoping we might get a couple of weekends in before the end of the year.
Here is our lighter option.
Good stuff
What's that anagallis_arvensis? Looks interesting (in a non sarcy way).
Its an Abi Adventurer. 3 birth weighs 650kg or something.
What’s that anagallis_arvensis? Looks interesting (in a non sarcy way).
It appears to be a child on top of a wobble box.
They were called nerve boxes during my childhood