New Members
Hello all,
Myself and my partner Jo have just registered as members and look forward to being part of a new community who share a passion for the outdoor way of life.....on wheels.
Up to now that passion has revolved around the camping (glamping) side of things but now that our 'kids' have all grown up and either moved out or are at uni, semi-retirement beckons and we are now looking to invest in our first caravan.
We've been building up to this for a few years now, so we have visited the major exhibitions looking for inspiration etc, but having managed to overload ourselves with information and options along the way, we have realised how important it is to try and avoid making expensive, ill-informed decisions, when there is wealth of experience out there that we can hopefully call upon to assist us in our decision-making process.
Thank you in advance!
Craig & Jo
Comments
-
Welcome. Our first caravan bought some 6 years ago only stayed for one season, as we realised the layout wasn’t right for us. We changed to a fixed transverse bed, end bathroom van (luckily at a peach of a price) and have now stayed with that.
with the first van, we hadn’t realised what a pain making up beds each morning/night was (for us, anyway).
we also wanted the benefits (again for us) of Alde heating.
but it is quite tricky to evaluate these pros and cons without actually experiencing them. The moral - it’s ok to get things wrong, as long as you learn from them. And maybe accept any costs as the price of learning. But as you say, seek input from others. We’ve picked up quite a few tips on this forum.
1 -
All I would say is don't dismiss getting an older second hand caravan. It's easy to be dazzled by all the gadgets and gloss inside a shiny new caravan, but be aware that there are some horrendous build and fittings issues with quite frankly too high a percentage of new vans, and if you dont rush, find something you like and perhaps take someone with you that understands a lot about caravans, you have a decent chance of finding a nice, solid second hand bargain, a bit older, but with none of the back and forth to the dealer doings that way too many new buyers put up with!
For the dealers, the easy bit is luring you in and selling you a new van. They aren't that forthcoming when it comes to putting right faults and defects, and some folks find that their brand new shiny toy is tied up awaiting repairs, sometimes for months on end. You can't repair much yourself because it invalidates the warranty, so its can be a catch 22 situation!
Apologies if this sounds a tad cynical, but all new buyers need to approach with eyes wide open and be aware!
3 -
Welcome, C&J.
Theres a lot to be said for buying a cheaper second hand van to start with to see how you get on. If it’s not right, it won’t be such an expensive mistake - and we all make them.
Layout is purely personal choice and while some swear by fixed beds, others of us swear at them. We've never found it a problem to unroll a couple of sleeping bags and throw some pillows on the beds but everyone's different.
Good luck.
Edit: cross posted with TDA
2 -
Hi, Matching caravan & tow-car is something to bear in mind when choosing. If you haven’t already looked check the drop-down menus at the top of this page ‘Advice & Training’ & Classified ads if buying an older caravan for an indication of prices. You'll always find/get answers to specific questions somewhere on this forum. Good luck with your search.
0 -
Welcome C&J, we started out with a £150 2 berth and soon found that we liked the lifestyle of touring. Eventually we got to the position of purchasing new and luckily over the years have had no big pitfalls with our vans.
It can be a bit hit and miss when purchasing, so wish you luck in getting a good one.
0 -
Hello CraigandJo, welcome to CT. no doubt you will a lot of information given you by dealers and friends who are Caravanners but there will be dozens of other hints and tips worthy of adding to your memory banks. Don’t be afraid to ask and remember there is no such thing as a daft question. Happy caravanning.
1 -
I completely agree with the virtues of buying relatively cheap older model. Newer and shinier ain't everything
But it was very valuable going to a show, with clear intention of NOT buying, and just getting into as many layouts as possible, which altered our preconception of what we wanted quite a bit.
Lots of people are bound to comment on the need for getting a reliable qualified engineer's check on it, especially the dreaded damp test with good advice. Yes, do it!Our dealer, (it's our first caravan after years in tents, if not glamping), solemnly assured us his tame engineer was completely independent. Yeah... His damp report didn't even note checking the bottoms of walls, nor a few other places!
Luckily the (18 yr old) caravan's good, but it took an engineer we found through the C&MC's list to reassure us of that and there are plenty of much sadder stories on these pages.
Enjoy taking time to find the right one, and enjoy it when you get it!0 -
We started with a hand me down trailer tent, then found a small £500 4 berth. We decided it wasn't big enough for us so we did a little research and found a 2004 sterling eccles emerald with an L shaped living area. I don't know if we got it for a good price or not but it was what we liked, everything worked, no damp and didn't look to "used". Visit as many dealers as you can, look at used vans there are hundreds out there, i'm sure you'll find something.
0 -
Hello all
we are a young family of 4 new to touring. Interested in membership but struggling to find model details and chassis numbers etc to join. Have purchased an early 90s ace viceroy and took out for our first trip just over a week ago. Going out this coming weekend again and have really caught the bug. Can’t neli it’s took us so long to take the plunge after 18 years of camping!
0 -
A point i would add as we got it wrong to start with is if you want to tour or stay put as it will change what you want we bought twin lounge lay out but found the constant making and unmaking a pain especially when wanting to get on in a morning but we tour a lot so think of what you want
0 -
some sound advise here Craig & Jo, we all use our vans in different ways and often our needs change too, so vans change with us. You might think going into it at (semi) retirement age makes things easier, but beware, changes happen then too
Do you have kids, grandkids, animals for instance, and if you haven't - will you in the near future ? We have been caravanners for 30 yrs now but still got caught out, when we were seduced by a new van, something we said we would never have ! I would swap back in an instant for the right older van now without warranty hassles to contend with. There really is no need to buy a new van (unless you have plenty of money to chuck about). Even if you buy with the thought that it will be a forever van (!!) take it from me - it probably won't be and slightly older vans do hold their value well and will always trade in well if you look after them. Good luck (and be very cautious about 2014 Lunar Quasars should you encounter one
)Alison
1 -
I like that AD. Some of our happiest and memorable times were in our first little cheap van!
0 -
Hi Craig and Jo and welcome to Club Together.
You might find it helpful to have a look at our choosing the right caravan section of the website. Also as members of the Club you can take advantage of our outfit matching service to make sure the caravan you choose can be towed by your car.
Good luck and let us know what you decide to go for.
0 -
We met a couple with an Eriba on Saturday, while playing music for their Golden wedding. He was a real evangelist for not buying bigger than you need, and the virtues of easy towing, and self-evidently no youngster!
0
