[Closed] I've just bought a caravan......

a nightmare?

Reversing a trailer is easy once you've done it once (a caravan is just a bigger trailer with less visability).

Enjoy. And dont drive anywhere near where I live!

It's easy peasy, even I can do it 😀

Depending on when you took your test you might need to do a trailer test before you're allowed to tow.

LOL, welcome to the club, I have a caravan and i ****ing hate pulling it, went down to st ives last year from yorkshire, took us 9 bloody hours to get down there, NEVER AGAIN :evil:.

Dont forget a stabilizer or your caravan might end up going in a different direction to your car.

Dont even bother with reversing it, that is a nightmare.

Good luck you will need it.

Cheers Squiff..that's put my mind at ease 🙂

There is a lovely site just about to become available, very near to Basildon, Essex.

I've got a stabilizer yuo could have, for a nominal fee. Bulldog one I think.

Our new caravan has a stabilizer in the towing hitch but our old one didn't.

Email me if interested and in the NW. probably too heavy to bother posting to be fair.

Towing is simple enough. most caravans get out of shape and then crash towards the bottom of hills. Simply take it steady down long hills.

Reversing is simple but it may be prudent to practice in a large empty car park a couple of times. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

We love our caravan , now on our second one after buying a relatively cheap pone to see if we liked it.

We were in France this summer with it and had an excellent holiday. cheap too.

Good time of year to buy so sure you probably got a bargain. Enjoy.

You'll be fine.

Take it easy, start turnign in later on corners etc.

Reversing is a bit of an art but practice in an empty car park for a bit to get the hang of it. Don't try and reverse up hills if you can help it - the smell of burning clutch can get quite strong.

If you're near brighton I've got waste and water container thingys plus a mains lead for 'not much'.

Thanks for the advice, I think the caravan has a stabiliser fitted (Al-Ko?) I'm a bit nervous about the reversing, the empty car park sounds like a good idea...I might see if I can get on a course (my reversing without a van is not great).

Proper excited about it though...I can't wait to get way with the family. I'd always wanted a folding camper, but once you accept the idea of a caravan, it looks a lot more practical.

Anybody got an suggestions for good family campsites in the midlands / Shropshire?

first time, pick somewhere that's very close to where you store the van - you want to spend the time getting the van setup and making sure you understand how all the gubbins inside works, not driving for hours.

pah THIS! is where caravanning is at 😉 [img] [/img] just wondering if i can fit a towbar to my bike 😀

[img] [/img]

Dont even bother with reversing it, that is a nightmare.

Is it heck. If you can't reverse one, you shouldn't be towing it in the first place.

Reversing is easy, just a knack you'll learn in a short time.

Really though why have you bought one?

My idea of hell.

Reversing is easy - just remember you are pushing the caravan back using the towbar on the car. So you need to position the car to push in the right direction on the towbar.

You can practise with a toy car and trailer - it gives you the idea 🙂

Re towing - make sure you read up on correct loading - it really is key.

I really want a new one in the Autumn sales. And for all the 'why bother' folks - it's far more comfortable than a tent and far far cheaper than a motorhome - simple. You don't have to join the caravan club and go on rallies and all that stupid crap.. it's just portable accommodation 🙂

Bought one in June, by October half term we will have had 42 nights in it! So much better than a tent and I haven't a clue how to reverse it! Towing is easy. Good luck!!

We have had several and I hated the towing and my stress levels increased as we approached the site- especially when in cornwall as the roads are so tight and the walls are usually made of a very hard material- and there was always a tractor coming the other way (or so it seemed)

Once on the site loved it but the stress just made me think it wasnt for me

oh and if you have an awning be prepared for outright war with the missus when trying to put it up!

As long as you get a good weight match to your car and load it up properly (not too much weight at the back is the most important bit but read notes on Caravan Club site) you will be fine. Take it easy go a bit wide and steady around corners.

The reversing just takes practice, I would say that I was well in to my second year of towing when I could decide exactly where I wanted to put the camper (folding camper) and reverse it there.

You can now stay in some of the most wonderful places in the UK and Europe with views and access to beaches etc that fancy hotels could only dream of.

We have clocked up over 300 nights in our campervan and laterly folding camper over the past seven years or so.

Hate towing, can't reverse for toffee, it's a right bastard to get it on and off the drive, but love it when we're actually there caravanning

would echo the advice to try a quick weekend close to home - you can always pop home then if you;ve forgotten anything major.

as for shropshire, we stayed on a caravan club site just outside of Much Wenlock - 'leccy hookup but no shower / toilet block, so only £10 a night, it was great

caravanning veteren,
if you have an alko stabaliser make sure the two bar isnt greased it wants to be bone dry ( so the stabaliser can grab it)
save up for a mover.. no reversing ever best thing ever invented better by miles than sliced bread.
driving with it behind you.. if your cars half up to it you wont know its there. do use a supplementary wing mirror though.
join the caravan club we dont go on rallies or owt like that but the sites are all safe clean and tidy with electric tv water waste points showers loos etc all the sites are bookable on line and you dont pay till you turn up..( and you get a nice magazine every month)
get a simple awning with fibreglass poles use it like a porch and for keeping the bikes in.. job done
go some where local for your first time just a dozen miles or so, ask advice / help from anyone and you ll pick it up easy you dont need all the top dollar stuff just what you want
enjoy..

oh and if you have an awning be prepared for outright war with the missus when trying to put it up!

Only if you're both useless 🙂

I have a mover on my van, and I STILL reverse it backwards up the driveway within a few inches of the house on my second or third outing - it's just easier 🙂

Anyway - OP, what's your new van like?

Welcome, welcome..pleeeese sit down..

[img] [/img]

Phah..

[img] [/img]

What's your caravan called then? They always seem to have completely inappropriate names like 'Crusader' or 'Adventurer' or 'pillager' or something.

My knowledge of the crusades isn't encyclopedic, but I'm fairly sure nobody ever uttered the phrase

would echo the advice to try a quick weekend close to home - you can always pop home then if you;ve forgotten anything major.

😉

Luv caravans, we used to go to one nr Cromer for holidays when I was really small, loved being all snuggly in a sleeping bag with the gas heater roaring away and the rain pounding on the roof LOL.

Agree with emsz.. kids especially love caravans, all my holidays from the age of maybe 3 or 4 were in caravans 🙂

Binners - agree about the stupid names but that is pretty much in the past now. No-one ever went marauding in a caravan so they had to change them. Now they are called things like Olympus which, depending on your knowledge of Greek mythology could be even more of a stretch 🙂

Then there's 'Ambassador' which is possibly the daftest.

"Ah, your excellency, welcome to our country. Here is your accomodation..."

binners - Member
What's your caravan called then?

kids especially love caravans

I lived in one till I moved here and settled down.

Loving the 'Ambassador' molgrips. Its conjuring up some appropriate imagery.....

[img] [/img]

😀

Away this weekend in the Peak, local and good riding from the door!!

MF - go to a dealer, let your kids inside one and watch their reaction.. especially one with fixed kid bunks 🙂

Trekster - Fendt.. Euro van.. always found them ugly on the outside but the insides on new ones look lovely.

[i]one with fixed kid bunks[/i]

+1

draw the curtains across the bunks and they'll spend the weekend in there given half a chance.

My Mate bought a 5 berth with fixed bunks, his kids would sleep in it on the drive given half the chance

Ohhh, we're gonna love you

[img] [/img]

And here's an accident with no caravan:

[img] [/img]

It's a Bailey Assraper 540-5. Grips - good idea about the use of models. I agree about the kids with bunks, they loved them...esp as each bunk has it's own lightswitch. 🙂

Reversing is easy just hold the steering wheel at the bottom with your left hand them move your hand in the direction you want the caravan to go. Take it steady and correct early, try to avoid reversing up hill unless you have a 4X4 with a low ratio box or the stink of the clutch will linger for days.

Have fun.

lodious - Member

It's a Bailey [b]Assraper[/b] 540-5. Grips - good idea about the use of models. I agree about the kids with bunks, they loved them...esp as each bunk has it's own lightswitch.

WTF is a Bailey Assraper? We have a Bailey Ranger, but never seen an Assraper!! 😯

It's actually an Orion...the Assraper was dropped from their product protfolio 😯

try to avoid reversing up hill unless you have a 4X4 with a low ratio box or the stink of the clutch will linger for days.

People having trouble reversing up hill is usually to do with the trailer brake coming on, some have a mechanism you need to active to stop this, once this is sorted reversing up hill is no different to driving uphill.

Reversing:

Seriously, go and find a quiet car park and a few traffic cones, once you get the knack you will be shooting all over the place. Your stress levels will go through the roof when you are on narrow roads and are worrying in case you meet something and need to reverse with an audience waiting. Once you have it sorted, meeting an artic will just be an excuse to show off your skills.

If you have a helper, they should only tell you if you are going to hit anything, if they start telling you how to turn the wheel things will go downhill as you won't be making your own decisions. If the caravan starts going the wrong way, they should just keep quiet and you'll sort it out!

Someone has already mentioned keeping the tow ball clean...any grease whatsoever and the stabilizer will be useless. Also ensure the ball isn't gouged, as often happens when cycle carriers are clamped to them.

Narrow gaps...most towing mirrors will be wider than the caravan...once you've checked this, you'll know if your mirrors clear 'that' tree/brick wall, and the van will follow through fine if you keep the wheel vaguely straight.

Descending hills, never descend faster than you can climb the hill. This rule doesn't really work if you have a powerful car though...common sense has to take over 🙂 So if you've be ragging the car up the hill in 3rd at 45 mph, you should also descend at 45mph, not 60mph like everyone else. This will avoid the chances of making a mess at the bottom of the hill when a coach overtakes you get a bit of a wiggle on.

Finally, reverse gear is higher than first, and even if the brakes are well adjusted, its still very easy to smoke the clutch if reversing uphill. Just try and plan around it. Only old caravans will have a manual reverse catch, all recent ones (yours included as it has a relatively modern alko hitch) are auto-reverse as standard, although you still see heavy trailers with a manual over-ride to help get the trailer moving backwards if needed.

do you have the correct licence?

molgrips - Member
MF - go to a dealer, let your kids inside one and watch their reaction.. especially one with fixed kid bunks

Trekster - Fendt.. Euro van.. always found them ugly on the outside but the insides on new ones look lovely.

Oooh.. I liked the Orions - more basic than the others but so much lighter and I bet they are more aero with that curved back... Cheap too and great vfm. What car are you using?

I'm currently trying to decide if we can afford an Elddis Avante 515...

I think we will be using my wifes 140 bhp Tiguan, I'm looking to change my car, but I don't think it will happen in time (that's another story). Is 140 enough power to tow OK?

yes, it's all about torque when you're towing, really.

Pulled at least 1150kg in the van, 200kg in the car, two bikes, four adults (one fat) and a toddler back from Germany without any bother in our 140bhp Passat 🙂 You won't even notice that van on that car unless you try overtaking or something.

Thanks for the info molgrips, that's good to know.

In fact if I were ever to buy a car specifically for towing it might be a Tiggy 🙂 Try on here if you want a second opinion:

http://www.whattowcar.com/

Weren't you asking about towing ages and ages ago? If so glad you followed through 🙂

We have been thinking about a folding camper for ages, but we had a look at a caravan, and they offer a lot more for similar money, so think the caravan looks a better option. Really looking forward to going away in the winter, which ain't always fun in a tent.

The Orion appeared to be a nice van w/10 year warranty, so it's going to be caravanning for the next 10 years at least ;-). The salesman was fantastic, no pressure, good advice. Think the lack of pressure convinced us it was a good idea.

Really excited now...can't wait!

What is the Tiguan rated for towing wise? Been looking at Outlanders and going to have a look at X-Trials in new yr. But we like the fuel consumption of the Touran 😆
Current car is a touran 140 but we are looking to a 5/6berth soon and wife wants fixed bed so it is going to be heavy-ish
We have 5 grandkids to accommodate on occasions hence the Touran fits the bill with it`s 7 seats

wanna buy a daaag ?

We got sick of the rain at 24 hour races so I bought one. A friend of a friend sold me his for 200 quid (it's worth £1500 at least).

It's perfect. We use it for holidays and weekends away as well as taking to races. We'd never go back to a tent now.
(not after CLIC24 2009 anyway)

you get the hang of towing and reversing quite quickly. I was dead nervous at first but now it's cool.

You do get hacked off with other drivers putting themselves in danger as they must overtake at all costs...

I don't think the Tiguan's got massive towing capacity...

http://www.whattowcar.com/gebruikservaring.php?merk=Volkswagen&serie=Tiguan

...but they are really good on fuel, we get mid to high 40's solo.

The Tig is not bad - the old rule of thumb was 85% of the kerb weight of the car, but with modern cars and caravans you can go to 95% or 100% without any bother. The Tig weighs 1541kg in 2WD and a useful 1655kg in 4WD form which puts you into twin axle caravan territory. It also has a 100kg hitch limit which is much better than the equivalent normal style car.

There's no legal limit as such, but there will be a gross train weight limit I think (not sure) and there's also a manufacturer's towing rating which relates to the ability to pull away on a 12% gradient, and it's 2000kg on the Tiguan. Wouldnt' be a good idea to attempt that though.

Cheers.vans we have looked at are around 1450 - 1500 so near enough the 85% guide. Choice of whether to keep Touran and/or get 2nd older car/4x4 eg X-trail+newervan. All depends on what is going to happen at/with work next yr, seems we will/might know come end Nov 🙄 Yesterdays news came as bit of a surprise 😯

You just don't need a 4x4, I tow with a Passat with ease. A Touran will be fine but check the towbar max load. If it's only 75kg as the VW site suggests for new ones then you might have some trouble with a 1500kg van. It's 85kg on my Passat which is more useful.

I'm towing with a 1.8 petrol Volvo v50, and the last car was a 1.6 Octavia pulling the same van. Sure a 4*4 will make it easier, but you don't *need* one.

Edit - I'm pulling a van @ 1000 mptlm. for 14-1500, you will need a bigger car, but still, a 4*4 is not mandatory

Erm.

I've just joined the club now.

>holdshandupslowly<

Yay!

What did you get?

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

We stupidly went in without really knowing what we were buying; we were drawn in by it being fitted with a gas combi boiler and a 4 hob gas burner...

We paid £1650 for a 1995 Lunar Delta 560/4 4 berth, and it's perfect for us.

Shame it's not [i]so[/i] perfect when it comes to damp - we've just uncovered some horrific damp (see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neil_bolton/sets/72157631382509724/ ) which we're already getting on with sorting.

Our BMW 530D Touring (manual) tows it brilliantly, with it keeping to 60 all the way up Telegraph Hill nr Newton Abbot! It's great to be able to get away and take the bike - Haldon was great fun 🙂

Molgrips - you've done some work on caravans haven't you? Fancy offline helping me with a few questions?

Had a caravan for years..

Whenever I go windsurfing all the guys sleeping in the back of their vans or still stuck in some layby somewhere in their broken down Vw camper think I'm so uncool. Or on a weekend away with mates who would rather sleep in a tent than ruin their 'image' by owning a caravan.

Oh how I do love it in the morning waking up in a proper bed, hot running water, a shower and a bacon roll, then throwing the door open to see the look of desperation on the 'cool' guys heheheheheh

Even had one mate recently buy a caravan then immediatelly sell it for a tent because his wife felt uncool in it 🙄

We stupidly went in without really knowing what we were buying; we were drawn in by it being fitted with a gas combi boiler and a 4 hob gas burner...

We paid £1650 for a 1995 Lunar Delta 560/4 4 berth, and it's perfect for us.

Shame it's not so perfect when it comes to damp - we've just uncovered some horrific damp (see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neil_bolton/sets/72157631382509724/ ) which we're already getting on with sorting.

Our BMW 530D Touring (manual) tows it brilliantly, with it keeping to 60 all the way up Telegraph Hill nr Newton Abbot! It's great to be able to get away and take the bike - Haldon was great fun

Molgrips - you've done some work on caravans haven't you? Fancy offline helping me with a few questions?

Just done some similar repairs to ours - damp is the curse of older caravans, but need not mean the end of them. Ours has been on a seasonal pitch in the Cairngorms for the summer which has been brilliant!

Is the Bailey Assraper still available 🙂

I've always found towing and reversing a doddle tbh-my dad can't reverse his caravan for toffee though-he's a good driver too (ex instructor!)

Alko stabaliisers are the best invention ever imo. Holds things rock steady.

Molgrips - you've done some work on caravans haven't you? Fancy offline helping me with a few questions?

Absoultely, email in profile. I've learned a bit over the last year or so! Are you near South Wales or Farnborough perhaps?

EDIT: just saw your pictures - ouch! Makes me feel better about mine!

Alko stabaliisers are the best invention ever imo. Holds things rock steady.

I have a stabiliser, still wobbles about somewhat disconcertingly on the motorway if you go fast so I need to load it carefully. I've improved things by measuring nose weight with a Milenco gauge (essential imo). The best trip we had was coming back from Germany with 4 adults and a kid in the heavily stuffed car and the van loaded with about double the capacity! The extra weight added stability.

We bought our 'van from a dealer, the front end was completely rebuilt under guarantee because we noticed some damp rot. The front is now great, but we didn't notice the damp in the back (round the grab handles_ till it cam back from having the work done - by which time it was out of the guarantee period. Grrr. Having said that, I took off the handle and slapped some gaffer tape over the holes and it's got no worse since then!

Details on how you sort the damp would be appreciated - I've had a word with a few local guys who reckon it'll be about £400 to get it done.

Details on how you sort the damp would be appreciated - I've had a word with a few local guys who reckon it'll be about £400 to get it done.

Depends where it is, but I sorted a big wall section on ours, by stripping the seat box out, removing wall paper and window. Drying with a fan for 2 days then removing the truly rotten ply. Apply a timber wet rot treatment to stop any further deterioration and then dry again for a day with the fan.

Make some channels in the polystyrene insulation and then glue battens onto the alumunium skin from the inside and allow them a couple of days to dry properly - use the best adhesive you can get for this.

Cut and trim 6mm ply to size and place over damaged, BUT THOROUGHLY DRY secion. Glue where you can and screw into battens to provide support - don't use too long screws though.

Of course the first step is to find where the water is getting in and dealing with that with copious amounts of sealant and / or waterproof tape.

Cheers Geoff - in my case, water was getting in through the grab handle. I think I might either live without a grab handle or get a pro to do the job, looking at that!

nbt - I was poised to hand over the cash for a 'van. Just positioning it onto the back of the truck and the grab handle came off in my hand - needless to say I didn't go through with the sale. I avoid pulling on ours now 😆

A Fendt.
You do know the type of people who love Fendts.

Diddicoy,traveller,pikey,gypo,they may take a liking to yours.

I hope you've got plenty of security on it and it'll be stored in a bank vault.
Fendts can be pretty heavy so a stabiliser and big car are essential.

My sister just got a Fendt. It's a decent size, and I'm a bit worried about them towing it with a Golf estate. They've gone by the towing limit in the handbook, rather than using the 85% idea.

European vans though have a really long A frame so are generally really stable to tow. That's how they get away with bike racks on the back - you can also get two bikes on the A frame itself.

I had an Adria with a long exposed A frame.Probably the most unstable caravan i've had but the A frame is good for a bike rack although it can really tip the noseweight.

This is such a nerdy conversation. It's awesome 😀

Our van is a two berth 16 footer. The back is a 'dressing room' with a wardrobe and the toilet/shower. It's a bit silly really since the toilet can be heavy, and if you fill the wardrobe it puts a lot of weight in the very back.

I think that might be why the chassis has sagged. I'm quite tempted to try and remove it all, put the shower in the middle near the useless little cabinet and put a second dinette in, since we now have two kids 😯

Currently we all sleep in the one bed since it's so huge.

I don't tow, but for many years when younger went vanning with the family, and I would second things mentioned above; stabiliser and very close attention to weight distribution when loading. We used to take the van, a Cavalier, towed by a Corsair, down to a village in South Devon called Beesands. Having been back down there the last couple of years, I'm astounded we ever managed it! 1:6 and 1:4 hills, [i]very[/i] narrow, with blind corners and hardly any passing places, it was a bit... interesting in the Octy, without a 16' van on the back!
A scary example of how not to load nearly involved me some years back, driving out of Salisbury towards Devizes, along a tree-lined stretch with lots of dips, a car and van coming towards me suddenly started to weave. It was snaking from side to side and I hit the brakes hard and only just avoided being side-swiped by the van! Scared the absolute bejayzus out of me, and I hate to think what the atmosphere in the towing car was like. 😯
On the other hand I've found myself between two big cars towing very big vans on the Fossway, and had to keep to 70 to keep ahead of the second car, both were as solid as a single vehicle, very, very impressive bit of towing.

I find myself eyeing up other people's 'rigs' on the motorway. Some are wandering about, some are rock steady, but it doesn't seem related to the size of car or age of van. My van is brilliant up to 50, you can corner quite hard. Up to 60 you need a little care, up to 65 any draught or buffeting will set you wobbling. Any faster and it's brown trousers time!