Mrs nobeer in her wisdom fancies a caravan, and tbh I’m not averse to the idea either. Ideally, I think I’d like to hire one for a few days, see how we get on with it.

Something along the lines of a bailey discovery 4 berth.

Is this a thing? I don’t see very much online in terms of rental?.

TIA.

I’ve heard it done, but no more info that that sorry.

I would have thought you could rent one that’s in situ at a campsite on a permanent or summer pitch. Not sure if you’d find that on Airbnb type places though. But if you want to see what it’s like to tow, that might be harder.

I’d lend you mine but it’s a fair way out of your way 🙂

Appreciate that MG, but aye, it’s a fair old hoof!

Saw one online the other day (Chester?) Girlfriend was looking and I wasn’t paying much attention! £35 a day rings a bell, so they are out there!

I’d lend you mine

Does it come with the towing vehicle?

Does it come with the towing vehicle?

For a one off two grand payment it’s yours.

This any good for you @nobeerinthefridge ?

https://weselftowhire.com/

@molgrips perfect, can get them to take it to mortonhall and a weekend in and around Edinburgh. Cheers buddy.

to mortonhall and a weekend in and around Edinburgh

Oh good – I can meet up with you and give you your beige elastic waisted slacks and cardigan now you have joined the OAPs with the caravans. I didn’t think you were that old 🙂

I’ll sit on your lap, you can feed me wethers and tell me stories of the good old days TJ. 😂

Joking aside, caravan suits us better than a camper van, I’ve no wish for another vehicle tbh.

Tips, in case you need them:

Make sure that the van is front-heavy by about 75-85kg depending on how much weight your towbar can support. It’s meant to be 5-7% of the weight of your caravan. As the renter for a nose-weight gauge.

Caravan payloads are about 200kg or a bit over so not a lot, sometimes the ‘user payload’ is expressed as the total payload minus water, gas, power cables, battery and whatnot. Basically just take food and clothes.

Don’t put bikes inside, they’ll jiggle about and wreck the interior.

For the same reasons, make sure everything’s stashed away in cupboards etc, nothing loose.

You can get caravan mirrors that clip onto the plastic shroud of your car door mirrors. Often the top of your door mirror is a lot more flexible than the bottom part so try both ways and see which is more secure – otherwise you may end up with the mirror wobbling around too much to see anything.

Don’t drive with a full chemical toilet – it sloshes around and can make the van waggle a bit especially if the toilet is in the back. You can however put a little bit of water in it to accept pee/poo whilst en route. The hot water tank is fine though because it’s always full so won’t slosh. It does affect the weight distribution though. My wife drained ours before we left for home last time and it meant we had to rearrange our luggage to get the right noseweight.

We bought a very cheap one a couple of years ago. We were in the unsure camp as to wether it was for us or not. Had several good holidays and weekends in it and have decided it’s not for us. It was a few quid well spent. Wish I had sold it in the spring though. Need to get shot of it now. Not expecting much for it this time of year.

Not expecting much for it this time of year.

Wife’s pal has just sold hers for 14k, which is more than they paid for it. No shower or oven.

@molgrips, every chance I’ll be messaging you mate, thanks!

If you bought pre-lockdown, you’ll very likely sell for more than you paid, prices have rocketed. We love ours. Feel free to ask if you have questions (this is NBT here on Bunnyhop’s login sorry)

Cheers NBT!

Ours was bought for £1500, I don’t think any pandemic related price rise will detract from the wear and tear of us lot crashing about in there! The kids play spot the tattier van when we take it anywhere. We get odd looks from the caravan club members on sites. It’s a hearing aid beige Avondale Dart with 20 years of added Patina. Even when I take it back to work after a weekend away the security think they are being invaded by travellers, towing behind a pickup truck doesn’t help! It’s next stop will likely be a van lifer in a lay-by near you. We have had some great holidays in it though.

Sounds like it’s been great! I do regret not getting one while the wee yin was a tot tbh, instead of waiting til now.

What’s yer must haves then? Fixed bed? Island bed? Do you bother with a shower? Or use site facilities. I’d imagine an oven and microwave too?.

To be honest, making the beds every night has been a pita, and buggers up my back. Having a bog for a night time pee is nice. Nobody does a Tom tit in there though. Never used the shower.
All handy stuff as camper build starting in a few weeks and will be based on what we have learnt from having the Caravan. Pop up bed in roof, bunks at back, no shower but lots of drying space, in with the loo. We have learnt that we would prefer an easy set up and take down and move about more not stay in one place for longer.

We’ve recently gone the other way, we now prefer to find small 5 van sites, preferably with a fully serviced pitch (dedicated water tap and grey water disposal for each pitch), using onboard facilities. Small sites are usually dead quiet and about half the cost of a “proper” site. If you do need a proper site though then honestly C&MC facilities are always plentiful and spotless, we’ve ALWAYS been disappointed when we’ve ended up on a non-club site (with the single exception of Severn Valley Touring in Awre). We just have 2 berth and make up the bed each night, though the end washroom with separate shower is a big improvement over the small washroom in our last van (an Avondale Mayfly)

Get an awning and double your living space. Inflatable awnings are all the rage but they’re quite heavy when fitting and for a given size of caravan are often far more expensive than a regular frame awning and don’t always offer as much room, as they usually don’t stretch the full length of the van

NOTE: as caravanning has boomed in popularity during the pandemic, awnings are in short supply, especially in popular sizes. I know that Dorema are expecting to restock in late October, but there will be a price increase of 22% in December so if you are thinking of buying a new awning, you should at least put a deposit down to lock in the price before the hike

Hey TJ you cheeky monkey, lots of young-uns are now caravaning, realising its great for the outdoor types, people with young families or needing a home from home if you have special needs.
I never wanted a caravan, however nbt persuaded me and we’ve never looked back.

Buy one in late autumn, have a few trip and flog in spring if you don’t like it.

Should result in minimal loss / possible profit….. buy privately and try and get them to throw in all the bits and bobs, water carriers plastic plates, levelling ramps, hitchlocks etc etc etc

What’s yer must haves then?

If buying:

Depends a lot on you and your needs really. If there’s only two of you then you have a choice between towing a small light 2 berth, which is quite nice, or having a fixed bed layout which is also nice. Making beds can be a pain. You can either use a duvet or sleeping bags – sleeping bags are easier but it’s up to you if you prefer that or not. Older vans sometimes have a lip at the front of the seat which translates to a ridge in the middle of the bed – but some don’t, and modern ones seem to have avoided this. Also, mercifully, vans from about 2019 on have nice upholstery instead of hideous flowery stuff.

We bring the kids and we have two dinettes, which is good cos there’s a kid end and a grownup end. However at this stage, if we were/when we are without kids I’d get a fixed bed for the convenience. Having said that, if by then we are towing with an EV I might want the light weight.

We do use the shower because there are fantastic sites around that only have a tap and a toilet emptying hole, so it’s either your own shower or a rub down and rinse from a bowl. But don’t expect a long relaxing soak in a caravan shower – they are just to get clean, although that can still be lovely because they’re still nice and hot.

You need an Aquaroll for water and a Wastemaster for the waste. You just do. You think ‘oh, they’re expensive’ and you do without but you won’t regret the expense 🙂

Levelling wedges are great, it’s surprising how many site owners think ‘oh that’s not sloping much, it’ll be fine’. Also get a little spirit level for the front window so you can see when it’s level.