Borrowing a van to see if it will fit
To get to the point: does anyone know where or how we might borrow a t/a van for a couple of hours? We are really struggling to finalise our buying decision mainly due to uncertainty over manouvering the preferred choice of van into place when parked by
the house. Background: Our parking area is accessed from a small shared courtyard which requires a 180 degree turn from the gated entrance. Our neighbour has - shall we say - behavioural health problems and is unhelpful with her parking (and in her own words
deliberately so as to cause us a problem) so manouvering when she is at home is challenging although manageable with our present van with its mover. Our preferred option van is about 2'6" longer than our current van and just may be too long to get it in/out
without an undue amount of to-ing and fro-ing and risk of damage. Any suggestions?
Comments
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Have you tried asking the dealer/place you would be buying the caravan from if they can help? We store our van at the dealer we bought it from and they asked if they could borrow ours (fully covered under their insurance) as someone was interested in buying
a new one but wasn't sure if it would go up their steep drive way. We said yes - it went up and they got a sale
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Have you got a friend with a twin, who will let you manouevre it into your drive?
With a neighbour like that, though, I'd be wary! Our neighbours, in the early nineties, had no objection to our old Elddis Shamal (old roundy type van) but did object to our new Sterling Europa which was only nine inches longer - but looked 'bigger'!
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To get to the point: does anyone know where or how we might borrow a t/a van for a couple of hours? We are really struggling to finalise our buying decision mainly due to uncertainty over manouvering the preferred choice of van into place when parked by the house. Background: Our parking area is accessed from a small shared courtyard which requires a 180 degree turn from the gated entrance. Our neighbour has - shall we say - behavioural health problems and is unhelpful with her parking (and in her own words deliberately so as to cause us a problem) so manouvering when she is at home is challenging although manageable with our present van with its mover. Our preferred option van is about 2'6" longer than our current van and just may be too long to get it in/out without an undue amount of to-ing and fro-ing and risk of damage. Any suggestions?
If you could post a detailed drawing of the area, there is bound to be someone who could tell you if it would fit.
Are you proposing to fit a mover, if so which one?
Meantime, my opinion would be that if you are slightly struggling to manoeuvre a shorter single axle......no way will you manage with a longer twin axle.
(we have a T/A Sterling)
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Without a mover we can't get any caravan onto our drive! Unfortunately none of our caravanning friends have t/a's save my brother who lives over 100 miles away..... Looks like the cardboard box taped on the back is going to be the order
of the day to check it out!0 -
Have you considered putting your van in storage. There are plenty of good ones around and this would solve your problem by avoiding the conflict with your neighbour. You may save a little on your insurance which would go someway towards negating the cost
of storage.0 -
It sounds to me that if your current van is a tight fit then an additional 30" and another axle will make it virtually impossible even without a bolshie neighbour.
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Plan B: If you cannot change your neighbour, change your house.
Ever since I started caravanning, my choice of home has been conditioned by the need to have access to an appropriate storage space for all my ‘toys’. It will restrict your choice considerably but I’ve always found that to be an advantage.
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Without a mover we can't get any caravan onto our drive! Unfortunately none of our caravanning friends have t/a's save my brother who lives over 100 miles away..... Looks like the cardboard box taped on the back is going to be the order of the day to check it out!
Even with a mover, a T/A will not turn as easily as a single axle, so you need to factor that in.
Are you planning for a 4 wheel mover, they do turn better? Unfortunately they will use around 60kg of your payload, so if your towcar can take it, get your MTPLM upgraded when you order, no extra cost then.
Check first though, not all vans can have an upgrade.
There are some good videos on U Tube from Truma, Reich and Powrtouch, showing how the T/A turns with a mover fitted, worth looking at.
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Without a bolshie neighbour it is 'do-able' - I have had a flatbed recovery truck carrying a broken FL2 with caravan in tow in the space. However our neighbour sees fit to park in the turning area instead of her parking space and given her mental state (we
think it is extreme spectrum asburgers, or similar) is a complex and challenging person to deal with. Moving house in the absence of a lottery win simply isn't an option for a host of reasons. It will be a 4 wheel mover and apreciate the 'mechanics' of how
such a vehicle will move. In the early days of my previous Architectural career i used to have pre-drawn templates for a variety of vehicle turning patterns however when i looked for them last week it appears they are long gone in a skip. I wouldnt waste my
money on a 2 wheel mover to risk struggling/burning the motor out etc. Payload on the proposed 'van is quite generous and given there are only 2 of us using it will be ok, unfortunately the current car is just 15Kg's shy of its maximum towing weight (albeit
around 94% ratio) so replating is a no-no. I have been through all the ideas we can think of and ahead of taping on a cardboard box this was my last hope! Hey ho, i have a feeling it will be the 580 rather than the Quattro we have to plump for, unless anyone
can suggest a fixed bed van with end washroom that also has decent lounge/kitchen, in a pint pot!! Double decker caravan anyone (there used to be some around)?0 -
Yes, at the moment it is a free upgrade. The slight disappointment is last years models had ATC and an extractor fan in the spec which have been Deleted User this year and a solar panel fitted instead.
I wouldn't loose sleep over the lack of extract fan if it's like our Omnivent ....... it's noisy & so doesn't get used.
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