[Closed] I'm about to buy a caravan

Caravan owners have been annoying the Cornish for years.

For that I salute them.

I just sold one. Our needs had changed but loved it while we had it.

Towing always felt like a proper challenge too - my caravan was over 7m long.

pikey! 😀

Caravan owners should only be allowed to tow between the hours of 12:00am and 5:00am any other time if they are caught their caravan should be blown up on the spot.

I am a considerate driver, I'll still be considerate with a van on the back 🙂

Let's see a pic then.

Wise words Kuco, anyone holding the traffic up shouldn't be allowed on the road. Don't even get me started on cyclists.

Top tip: overtaking people in convertible sports cars whilst towing a caravan is one of the most entertaining activities within the (non towing) speed limit.

This is one of them:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290458076051&ru=http://shop.ebay.co.uk:80/%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm570%26_nkw%3D290458076051%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1#ht_550wt_1137

Bargain!! If i had somewhere to keep it i'd buy one of those just to take to Mayhem every year!

My mates arrived at the head of Glen Clova yesterday after being unable to overtake a Sunday driver for 12 miles who was diving at 30mph, unaware that anything was behind him.

'Are you a visitor to this country?' asks mate.'Because in this country its customary to pull over and let cars which are obviously moving faster than you to pass'

Sunday driver replies, 'The speed limit is 30mph' in a Weegie accent
'No its not, I think you'll find its 60mph'

It decended into a farcical argument with us looking for dog sh*t to smear in his door handles.

MrTall - that's basically what I am thinking. Keep it stocked with dishes etc, so just lob food, clothes and bikes in it and you're ready to go. Then when everyone else is shivering away in tents with damp and mud everywhere, you are clean, warm, cosy and dry 🙂

Kuco - Member

Caravan owners should only be allowed to tow between the hours of 12:00am and 5:00am any other time if they are caught their caravan should be blown up on the spot.

edit add - to be fair i use one when me and the bro go motorbike racing and it is a life saver when it rains, which is mostly. There should be a law requiring a minimum of 150bhp for the towing vehicle though!

Caravan owners have been annoying the Cornish for years.

For that I salute them.

I'm sure if they clogged up your counties roads & make it a made it a much scarier proposition to ride a bike out on the roads you'd share a similar Top Gearesque hatred for them & their owners..

I hate top gear and the idiots who believe the pap. I'd love a caravan.

[img] [/img]

edit add - to be fair i use one when me and the bro go motorbike racing and it is a life saver when it rains, which is mostly. There should be a law requiring a minimum of 150bhp for the towing vehicle though!

Would ye not be better with a motorbike

well, it has two wheels...

shed dragger!

[i]I hate top gear and the idiots who believe the pap. I'd love a caravan. [/i]

I certainly got quite cross when I watched them trashing a number of perfectly servicable campervans in a race. I'd love one of them but they all seem to be incredibly pricey.

i have a van and i love it , i do not do tarmackin and i dont have any dags.i dont like pikeys.

One of my most amusing memories of caravaning was when I overtook 5 cars at once going up the hill out of Kincardine (on Forth).

As advised above my car, an Alfa GTV6, had adequate power for embarrassing the non towing fraternity.

Samurai - define pricey.

I just looked at a great 2 berth one, shower, hot water, blown air heating, motor mover, no damp, two awnings, £1k.

Oh and the towing car is 140bhp diesel so should be sufficient 🙂

I just looked at a great 2 berth one, shower, hot water, blown air heating, motor mover, no damp, two awnings, £1k.

£1k is a great price for that spec, Dad sold his for twice that last year and could have got more for it.

Once your at your destingation caravans are great. No hassle of erecting a tent. Just remember to put the legs down before you go in! made that mistake a couple of times.. 🙂

We took a caravan to clic 24 last year it pissed with rain and we had lots of people looking for an excuse to pop round for tea

Feeling a little weird about it cos it's basically like someone else's house that was cheaply decorated 20 years ago.

I reckon though, a bit of work, a bit of living and it'll be alright. Guy was a smoker though - the van smelt really strongly of cleaning products, so I dunno if it'll stink of fag smoke when that wears off.

Although I couldn't detect a trace when I went in.

hmmm, that does sound better than a really expensive van that I have to drive down the shops in.....

I might start looking myself now, if I can get a decent one for a grand of thereabouts.

You know, I used to look forward to fights kicking off in pubs so I could get stuck in, I used to get blind drunk and have sex with proper boilers in the backs of cars and look at me now....considering buying a caravan.

2 berth ones are way cheaper than 4-5 berth. Also (I've found) there are a lot of dodgy geezers about dealing caravans, so go for private sales.

We were in a caravan place the other day that also had campervans. They had an H reg small VW van thing for NINE FRIGGING GRAND! H reg! Camper vans are an absolute ripoff.

Are you going to tow it with a Toyota Pious?

I would, but they can't tow 🙂

And it's Prius, not pious. Pious is what people call them when they feel the need to imagine people driving around in them feeling like they are better than everyone, when in fact people just want to save a bit of fuel.

[i]Also (I've found) there are a lot of dodgy geezers about dealing caravans[/i]

Uhuh.

[img] [/img]

The reality was far far stranger...

I got completely sick and tired of it raining at races and the fact that my wife and kids had to 'shelter' in a poxy tent for the entire weekend. So I bought a cheap caravan. Nowt wrong with it, I've spent some money on it though and got an awning too.

It's great at 24 hour races, especially when I can get a good night's sleep the night before and I'm not worried about the kids spending the weekend in that bloody tent. I CAN STAND UP TO GET CHANGED, HAVE A SLASH IN A PROPER BOG AND COOK FOOD ON A REAL COOKER AND KEEP MY BEER IN THE FRIDGE FFS.

We go on loads of little holidays in it now as well, which our 2 girls love.

Get one. They're ****in brilliant, caravans.

🙂

That basically our reasoning too. Along with being able to leave it stocked with dishes and pans and stuff, to slash packing time to a minimum.

that's quite a nice caravan you've linked to, molgrips, and pretty cheap, too. what does it do to fuel economy?

'course, you need somewhere to park it...

Horses for courses I guess. Nine grand for an impractical, iconic, cult classic, or a grand for a very practical pig ugly plastic box on wheels that will pretty much p1ss off everyone on the road before ending it's days flipped on its side across all three lanes of the motorway! 🙂

I followed one down the M/A23 just like the one in that ebay ad. You'll be glad to know it tows perfectly well at 70mph behind a Renault Scenic...the guy must just have been crossing his fingers that he wouldn't need to make any sudden lane changes... Scary!

Caravans are great if you have somewhere to store them, my parents spent 10 years paying £5 a week storage, yet only used the van once a year and hated towing it. I eventually managed to prise it away from them and flogged it on ebay for just under a grand. It was a 6 berth but a basic model and did have a bit of damp.

A caravan would be an upgrade for me, I tow a horsebox and rarely get over 55mph even on motorways 🙂 I do pull over for people though, unless they are driving right up my backside and then they can sit there all day.

Had one for about 3 years now, we are on our dream van at the moment, bought cheap and cheerful to see if we would like it, then upgraded to a 24ft 5 berth van with all the trimmings, then bought the Volvo XC70 awd to tow it, myself, wife and 2 young kids love it, we have seen a lot of this country and have had great times, even when the weather is bad there is always a decent set of waterproofs and wellies.

Towing, take your time and get used to it, manoeuvring is easy, again, take your time and get used to it.

Dickhead drivers that watch Top Gear and believe all that is said on there, accept them for what they are, I have had them try to overtake me whilst towing only to get alongside and spot the 3 cars in front holding me up. As a cyclist you will always give them a very wide berth so the odd comment on here needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. I do pull over if i am holding up traffic, although the last few times I have done this i have found myself being held up!!

Get out there and explore, the is a site in Kendal we go to, I live in Bolton, in 2 hours we can be at the site, fully set up with the awning up and a cold beer in hand with the kids off Gruffalo hunting.

If you want any more advice aldredchris at googlemail dot com

Chris

We've just changed our first caravan after 3 years and love going. We did the same as Tango Man, had a cheap one and then upgraded (sounds similar to mountain biking!)

The kids love going away for the weekend as often as possible. We store it at a local farm and all we have to take is the gas bottle, fresh food and clothes and we're off. Last year we spent 40 nights and this year we are up to about 25 so far.

I used to be anxious about towing it as I'd never towed before, but I read up about loading it properly, weight limits etc etc, now I'm not too bothered. I tow a 1460kg caravan with a Freelander 2 with no problems and before that we had a 1200kg caravan with an A4 avant. I still can't get the hang of reversing it onto a pitch, so this one has got a motor mover on it.

what does it do to fuel economy?

I'm not looking forward to finding out, but I reckon it's better than a crappy old camper 🙂

Nine grand for an impractical, iconic, cult classic

This is it. Cult classic I think not!

[img] [/img]

They did have a restored old style camper, NINETEEN THOUSAND POUNDS! 😯

PS I've never seen a caravan on its side on the motorway. I've seen lots of crashed cars though. What does that tell you? Muppets are muppets, caravan or no.

Re Top Gear, they seem under the impression that caravanning is some kind of pastime in itself, whereas it is in fact just accommodation.

The feul economy depends on the car using to tow, where you are towing etc. On a long journey of about 100miles including motorway and A roads the A4 I had on solo driving was about 45mpg, towing the caravan was 25mpg. Freelander on the same journey towing the same caravan was 29mpg, solo driving is around 35mpg.

Regarding fuel economy and holidays, we kept track last year, I think we spent £3500 for the year, this covered fuel, site fees, food, eating out, storage, odds and sods, in fact everything we needed to cover our caravanning for the year, we managed about 6-8 weeks away in total (a few weekends and long weekends in there).

I think that may just cover a fortnight for a family of 4 somewhere in Europe.

solo driving was about 45mpg, towing the caravan was 25mpg

[i]Freelander on the same journey towing the same caravan was 29mpg, solo driving is around 35mpg. [/i]

Ours is an auto and normally does 30mpg, but with a horsebox, 2 horses and all the 'tack' its low twenties...

I've never seen a caravan on its side on the motorway.

I saw a car upside down on the central reservation, the caravan was still attached and balanced on it's side on the armco. ooops!

Like you say, you take it to events, sleep in a proper bed, get warm in front of a proper gas fire, cook on a cooker, sit on (your own) proper toilet. If you take a leisure battery or small gene you can have lights, telly/music too. What's not to like?

PS: I can do you some block paving at a good price too 😆

molgrips, the fuel economy was slightly poor with the A4. I put it down to the weight of the van being close to the max capacity of the car and also just the pure aerodynamics. The A4 wasn't very high towing a massive block behind it, whereas with the Freelander, it is already moving the air and the carvan isn't much higher so I guess there is less drag effect.

Br, you have probably guessed mine is manual. Having had a auto from Land Rover Assist for 3 weeks I think I would have an auto next time.

Do it. We bought an old one for £800. Sold it 2yrs later for £1600. Thats the difference between buying in Autumn/Winter, & selling on Spring when everyone wants one. New one is somewhat bigger, 1500kg fully loaded. Was towing with a Mondeo TDCi. Made a great tow-car & returned 30+mpg while towing; but always concerned about stability despite being very pedantic with noseweight, loading, tyre pressures etc. We've recently swapped it for a Galaxy. This tows very well, & does about 28mpg towing. Just back from 2-weeks in Devon. Cost us £200 for 2-weeks. Could have added a £1k to that for a static/holiday let I suppose.
Towing is easy enough. Plenty of times we've had people overtake only to find there's a 3 cars in front of us, but always drop back to let them in as well as pulling in periodically anyway if there's a que behind. Caravanners get enough bad press, mostly unfair as modern cars suffer little real-world loss of speed while towing. My kids love it. Planning plenty of Winter breaks this year also, cant really do that in a tent with young children.

I'm going to be towing with a Passat TDI 140, with the trailer stability programme built in. It's only a 750kg van so hopefully it'll be alright......

We used to spend 5 weeks in the South of France each summer when we were kids. It cost the same as our friends' 2 weeks in Torquay in a hotel. That's why caravanning's good!

You'll barely notice a 750kg caravan on the back of a Passat. As per previous advice, pay attention to loading (heavy stuff over axle etc.) and noseweight, and you'll be fine.

We're on to our second caravan (wife's idea, her parents had them growing up). Off to France next weekend for 3 weeks with 4 bikes, surfboards etc. Lots of space with awning on the side.

Paul

A Passat will easily tow that.

I love caravans, so convenient, flexible and cheap.

Only issue is storage. You need it on your property to get the most out of it.

I'd have one if I had room on my property, especially for £1500!

I'm currently considering the floating variety which cost a minimum of ten times what you are considering spending. The cost of ownership is considerable too, but you do get to get away from it all, literally.

Sailed to Oostend in a mate's boat last weekend. Cost us £20 in fuel as we couldn't sail the whole way, and mooring was 20 Euros. Not bad charges for overnight accomodation for three blokes and 180 miles getting there and back! BTW, Oostend is a very lively town by night with dozens of packed bars. Lots of tall slim women too. 😈

We've got a double parking space down the side of our house. It's not especially discrete, but hopefully no-one'll complain. If the van's any longer than about 18-20ft then I won't be able to get the car in as well 😕 Older vans tend to be smaller so there won't be a problem with this one - but it'll be fun when we upgrade to a flashy new one 🙂

you're already thinking about the upgrade!

Hell yes. Don't have the money for a flash van now, but definitely on the cards 🙂

We've got a double parking space down the side of our house. It's not especially discrete, but hopefully no-one'll complain.

Sounds like a "playing away" opportunity. Hope the soundproofing is good! 😆

(BTW, if you have teenage kids, keep the key safe)

Caravan owners have been annoying the Cornish for years.

For that I salute them

Unfortunately they have to drive through Devon before they can start annoying the Cornish and for that reason I hate them.

My camper does 29mpg, with the horsebox (twice the weight of a caravan at nearly 3000kg but more streamlined as it has a wedge shaped front, same width as the van and only foot or so higher) it drops to 20mpg. Worst was 18mpg 😯

Molgrips, I would be amazed if your van is only 750kg, most are at least 1000kg unladen, plus payload. Nothing to worry about though as the Passat will tow loads, 1800kg apparently for your model so on a par with a Mondeo.

It's an old 2 berth van mind. Old vans are lighter, cos cars were crapper back then.

The biggest problem ive had is the snobbery on the sites. 😯

The worst thing about caravans is the insistence of manufacture / it's cheaper to have them all in white / cream. It makes them an eyesore on camp grounds for miles. No white does not make them cooler. Otherwise they are pretty good idea. My Parents just bought one of these small freedom caravans.
http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=freedom%20caravan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1600&bih=1065
Perfect for two or with a awning you could do 4 and can be pulled with a small diesel car. I think my dad was on about high 40 mpg even towing.

I like the ide of a caravan but when you look into them they are a royal PITA from storing the ****ers for 50 weeks of the year, to worrying about them being pinched to the absolutely sh1te mpg you get back compared to the cost of just staying in a tent or an actual very nice hotel.

It's better if you have storage at home, like we do.

Re cost of additional fuel - if you assume 30mpg for towing a van vs 50mpg for not, it'd cost us £20 ish extra to take the van to SITS from Cardiff.

However it'd still cost us only £20 extra if we stayed for a whole week. I doubt you'd get a week in a very nice hotel for £20 🙂

Personally I think it's worth the £20 anyway to have decent accomodation and not have to spend a couple of hours farting about packing and unpacking stuff and pitching tents and whatnot.

I should add that one of the main drivers for this purchase is bike races.

Ohh this has got me tempted. One of the things i have always wondered about caravans is are they subject to any kind of safety/gas/electrics/MOT inspection. They could be a moving timebomb, especially second hand.

We are going on a Canvas holiday type thing this year to france. If everything works out ok i could be tempted to take a trip over with a caravan next year seeing as i have the offer of a free one from my brother any time i like.

Oh, and i have the perfick motor for pulling a caravan. 150bhp Vito Sport Dualiner. Nearly 2t of pulling motor with perfect rear wheel drive config for towing. Oh and bags of torque 🙂 How do those little front wheel drive cars get on pulling big caravans. Surely they end up scrabbling front tyres on piece.

The What Car test for towing cars included a 1:6 hill start. Some FWD cars floundered, but some were ok. Obviously 4wd is better.

Don't worry about the car tho. We towed all over France, tens of thousands of miles in a variety of old 1.6l cars; my auntie and uncle towed a 5 berth van with their three teenage kids in an old Mini.

TheLittlestHobo - Member
Ohh this has got me tempted. One of the things i have always wondered about caravans is are they subject to any kind of safety/gas/electrics/MOT inspection. They could be a moving timebomb, especially second hand.

We are going on a Canvas holiday type thing this year to france. If everything works out ok i could be tempted to take a trip over with a caravan next year seeing as i have the offer of a free one from my brother any time i like.

Oh, and i have the perfick motor for pulling a caravan. 150bhp Vito Sport Dualiner. Nearly 2t of pulling motor with perfect rear wheel drive config for towing. Oh and bags of torque How do those little front wheel drive cars get on pulling big caravans. Surely they end up scrabbling front tyres on piece.

Good luck getting onto sites when they find out its a van your towing with. 😮

I'd rather buy a Hi-Ace and convert it 🙂

Hobo, look for a service history when buying, and consider a check over by a mobile caravan machanic after buying a second hand caravan. The gas systems are well thought out and have been in use for many years, fires in caravans are not that common, if they occur they usually do in the same way as fires at home, smoking, kitchen accidnets etc. CO incidents are probably even less common, but I will admit to having a CO detector in our caravan as a "just in case".

Bump, be aware that vans such as Vitos sometimes are not welcome on caravan sites (especially the Caravan Club sites) as they might be considered a "commercial vehicle", which sites might turn away if they are concerned or have had problems in the past with the travelling community.

We're on our second caravan and are 5 years into caravanning, sadly not been out as much in the last 12 months due to my medical driving issues, but have still got away regularly - next trip end of August, Kent to see some sights and then across to Pas de Calais area for a few days there.

Re speed limits, caravans can do up to 60 mph on motorways & national speed limit dual carriageways, but on single carriageway national speed limit roads their max speed limit remains at 50 mph. Biggest problem for me is solo cars sitting in the middle lane doing sub 60mph on a motorway, as a towing vehicle cannot use the third lane on a motorway, so passing is nearly impossible.

Seen a bus clip the side of one of the fibre glass menaces recently, how I laughed at how it disintegrated.

Seen a bus clip the side of one of the fibre glass menaces recently, how I laughed at how it disintegrated.

I used to 'camp' all the time until I did 'mt Keen circular' a couple o years back.
Was camping in Aboyne, was pissin raining and cold(early August) sat in tent with stove burning to stay warm, drinkin a few beers and feelin shitty.
All I kept thinking about was my mate, (who was on holiday in the lake district at the time) sitting in his caravan cosy, warm, fridge, telly, dry, cold beers, hot coffee/shower etc) sitting wi his feet up loin it.
So bought a cheapo second hander last year and has been the best money I've ever spent on doing stuff outdoors.

Interested to read this as I am also thinking of getting a van.

Would really like a motorhome but the price is lots higher. I get a decently sized 140hp diesel as a company car so have no issues with a towcar.
Spent much of my younger years towing rally cars around so not bothered about towing either.
There is certainly no need for a caravan to be a major traffic obstacle if they are being towed properly. I can appreciate they can be a visual blockage for potential overtakers but good driving technique (hanging back for a better view) should resolve that.

What is the standard equipment in a normal caravan these days? My olds had one when I was a kid & that was really quite limited for facilities (no shower) & a horrible WC...

Get a good tent and save on fuel, get there faster and avoid being hated by everyone.

There was one upside down on the A30 (Cornwall, Fraddon) a couple of weeks ago - caused total mayhem.

@Marge
I think most caravans built in the last 10 years will include the following:
- Water heater (for shower, sink etc.) runs on gas or mains electricity
- Fridge (runs on mains electricity or gas (the 12V setting is for when you're driving))
- Cassette toilet - waste tank comes out the side of the van. Much better than previous designs (I believe)
- shower, kitchen sink, bathroom sink
- heater (gas or mains electric)
- gas cooker

Marge, standard facilities haven't changed much for the past 10yrs or so. But you should get, 240v hook up, fridge (which runs on gas or elec), oven, hob, water heater (gas/elec), blown air heater (gas/elec), cassette toilet (ie, a sealed unit with an access door on the outside of the van).

The quality of the bathroom depends on the caravan layout. Generally bathrooms at the end of the van are bigger than ones elsewhere in the van. Our new one has a seperate shower cubicle, whereas some have a wetroom style bathroom, which I don't like!

On some vans you make get built in microwave, air conditioning, built in televisions.

My van is almost 20 years old and has hot air heating, hot water, shower, oven, leisure battery, motor mover, electricity supply point, fridge with freezer compartment and a cassette toilet.

Get a good tent and save on fuel, get there faster

Yeah and spend ages packing the car and pitching and taking it down, and sleep on the floor 🙂 If you want to make camping nice you need so much stuff you may as well get a caravan I reckon. Far far easier and more comfy.

I lived in caravans for many Summer and Easter holidays when I was a teen. I have done lots of tenting. I have done lots of campering. And lots of hotelling and B&Bing. And lots of self catering.

I'd rather camp or self cater/hotel it depending on where it is.

Time to pitch our tent and get it "cosy" - 10 mins. Time to park and level a caravan? More than that. Time to get beds ready? About 5 mins. Time to get our your paper doylies and "best" china set from your van? More than that.
Time to get to a campsite with a tent - x. Time to get to a caravan site with a van - x + 30%

Time to get our your paper doylies and "best" china set from your van?

Eh what? That's not mandatory for caravans, is it?

Time spent queueing for the showers at mayhem - 3 hours
Time spent packing the car with camping crap - 1 hour
Time spent sleeping on hard lumpy floor in tent - 8 hours off and on
Time spent queueing for bogs at mayhem - 30mins

I too have camped, stayed in a range of hotels and caravanned. For weekend races and the like, I am definitely looking forward to a cosy warm caravan. It may turn out to be more faff, in which case I'll sell it again.

Eh what? That's not mandatory for caravans, is it?

It is on certain sites... 😉

Not been to Mayhem - sounds like mayhem.

It can be. When it's muddy and everyone wants a shower.

I'll do it in a pair with you if you want, next year. I'm sure we could raise a lot of money for charity as the most argumentative sporting team ever.