Advice please on caravan purchase
We are thinking of buying a caravan for occasional use. 3 or 4 birth, towing weight is no problem preferably single axle with an end washroom and a good storage space.
With a budget of about £7000 in mind does anyone have any suggestions as to good and bad vans, there are so many makes and models out there it's getting confusing.
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Strange no one has seen this post - but I hadn't either. I have just been to a dealership looking for a 2 birth around that price and certainly it's possible. There aren't so many that have more than 2 birth and end bathroom. Adding extra sleeping space cuts down on storage a lot. I don't know who you are going with but a pup tent springs to mind for the children or put them in the awning?
Personally I would go to a dealership - and where I looked in Bawtry Yorkshire - all their 2nd hand (maybe more than 2 owners) came with a 6 month warranty so buying now would give a good opportunity for things to be sorted out under warranty. Damp is such a huge issue with older (and indeed newer) vans I would make sure a damp check is made wherever you buy from.
Good Luck!
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Hi trenowin. Welcome to Club Together.
My advice is to buy something from a dealer - that way you have some come back. There's no real answer as to which van - you get good and bad vans of all makes. The important thing is to check for damp: that is probably the biggest issue.
If you are after a fixed double bed and end bathroom, then you would probably need to go for a 4 birth. You may pick up something like a Bailey Pageant Sancerre for around that price (at a complete guess). With this van the MTPLM is about 1500kg (if the weight has been upgraded).
Hope this helps.
David
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As said damp is the main issue. Also look at the age of the tyres. As you say you need good storage space bear in mind MTPLM. If buying from a dealer [with warranty] use it asap so you can get any faults that are under warranty rectified. As DSB says “There's no real answer as to which van - you get good and bad vans of all makes.”
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Without doubt it is a good idea to look around a dealer's forecourt to suss out what is available but Trenowin is from Cornwall where dealerships are few and far between.
Trenowin, if you can get to Exeter you'll generally find a large selection at Martins - jcn 30 of M5, or in Somerset at Highbridge or Davan. In Cornwall there are a couple of dealers at Scorrier, as you probably know, but choice is limited.
As had been said, there are good and bad in all makes and none stands out above others. It's purely personal choice as to what suits you but it's definitely doable at your price. Good luck.
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Thank you for the advice, we have been lucky enough to be loaned a twin axle van with a fixed double bed in the last two years but found it a bit to big for our purposes.
I've seen an Elddis Avante 524 on the internet but its the other end of the country, so I think a trip around the dealers will be in order next week.
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I would add to go look at a number of dealers if possible, and check the asking price of any caravan you are interested in against eBay.
Age is your friend here, as there are lots of good 'vans that are older and hence cheaper, so you will get a lot more for your money than the recent designs that were produced so as to look dated in just a couple of years in order to stoke the fire of new business.
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Hi Trenowin, welcome to CT. A good place to start your research is www.caravanfinder.co.uk where you can search by price/berths/layout to see what is available and give you a good idea of what you actually want before you visit any dealers and get sidetracked by what they have on offer. When you find a layout you like, search by that and you will see how many make it and what their price range is. The same layout will be available in different makes but may not be the same price ! You will learn a lot - quite quickly
Good Luck
Alison
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If you are having 3 or 4 people who will be eating and relaxing in the van, I would go for one with a large lounge.
This will generally mean no fixed bed as the fixed bed vans generally have a smaller lounge.
If you are sleeping 2 adults plus children, the front lounge, side dinette layout will give you 2 side bunks to make up and 2 singles or a large double at the front.
Quite a few of those come with a spacious end bathroom and a decent kitchen area.
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The main reason for the caravan is for use at multi day shows, hence the need for wardrobe space.( wet weather gear through to shorts.)
There is never an electricity supply, so a good gas water heater would also be an advantage for showers etc.
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We have just purchased a Bessacarr cameo 525 2006 model. How do I go about finding the correct size of porch awning, and what size of suitcase solar panel would be best to back up the caravan batteries on sites with no hookup, we would be using the caravan for about a five day stretch so need to use the shower and lighting etc.
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Hi trenowin congratulations on your purchase, a 100watt solar panel as a start bigger if possible! plus a controller, 110ah battery + change the 12v light bulbs to LED if possible unless you already have them. I use 1.5watt LED warm white, these were a good match for the 10 watt halogen bulbs fitted. For a full awning you will need the measurement around the awning rail ground to ground, however Porch awnings just use the top of the rail and tend to be standard sizes so choose what will fit and you can afford!
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congrats on the Bessecarr, a good make. For five days in a field no problem with a suitcase style panel as long as you don't want to sit and watch tv with the 12v kettle going,
We got ours from maplins when they had an offer on (£39.99) as it is coming up to the start of what many call 'the season' keep an eye open for them now.Oh and if the van hasn't already got one I'd suggest putting a rail up in the shower for hanging wet gear.
Alison
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Well done, Trenowin. We once had a Bessacarr 550 also 2006. We reckoned it was one of the last reasonably well built products. Although it was built by Swift after they bought out the brand, it seemed to have advantages over their Conqueror models. Swift discontinued Bessacarr caravans soon afterwards.
I can't help with solar panels but, for a porch awning, look around the web at some you fancy and note the measurements. Then check on your van whether it will fit without cutting across a window or whatever. If you consider a full awning, your handbook should show the dimensions to fit the entire track.
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ABIpete is correct re SP and lighting. - I would say a 120w is the starting point. The bigger you go the better the charge rate obviously. A 10amp controller will handle a 120w but if you go bigger, you will have to watch the controller size ? I run a 135w roof mounted SP which is controlled by a 10amp controller, feeding 2 x 110ah batteries. I have plenty of power and with the inverter I have I can run the microwave, toaster, blender and vacuum- not all at the same time! Photonics Universe is one of the best companies around to help you decide what's right for you.
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Hi, re SP, and indeed many other things, you could try Coachcraft & Leisure at Scorrier.
We use them for all our servicing and they fitted our roof mounted panel last year. They are CC, and all main manufacturers, approved and we have been going there since 1995.
As they are independent we feel that the service is never influenced by the caravan brand.
We got the panel from Solar Solutions, which I think is in or near to Poole, who do mobile fitting as well.
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