New to this
Good evening all.
My name is Dean and me and the wife have decided to join the community of caravaning. As I'm totally new to this I'm afraid lots of advice is needed from essentials to buy for the caravan and best places to get them.we can't wait to start our journey and meets lots of new people along the way.thanks in advance for any tips.
Dean
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Hi Dean and welcome to caravanning and CT.
The first question is - have you bought your van yet? Many dealers will offer "starter packages" with all the basic equipment you're likely to need. Even if you've bought privately it might still be worth heading down to your local dealer to ask about this. Rather than buying absolutely everything that you think you might like (as opposed to need) start with just the basics and then get extra stuff as and when you realise it's needed.
That all sounds a bit vague I'm afraid but different folk will have different ideas about what is needed - hope it helps a bit.
Keep asking on CT where you'll get lots of answers, some useful, some less so! We're all here to help. And enjoy your new found hobby.
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Welcome, Ourgetaway, Is it a caravan or a Motorhome that you have or are getting as what you will need will differ whichever you have/get.
Agree with moulesy about starter packs and asking for specific advice on here.
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Welcome to CT, OGA.
You've been given good advice above. A lot of people buy far more gear than they need so it pays to start with just the minimum and see how you get on.
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Thank you for the quick reply and hello.no we haven't bought yet but don't think it will be long as the wife has shown me lots of ads this week haha.i think it me over thinking mainly as I'm reading up on how to get started and the list of things I'm needing seems to be adding up.at the moment I'm looking for things from tow bar and fitting centres near me to storage (As we have no drive to put it on).but thanks again and we can't wait to get started .
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A caravan is what we looking into and thank you for all the replies.nice to know helps here when I need.
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Ask away.
As has been said, you'll probably find several bits included with your van and often dealers are happy to throw in bits and pieces as part of the deal so I wouldn’t start buying yet.
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Dean - just one really important point before you do buy. Make sure your tow car and any potential caravan are a suitable match. You can use the club's matching service to check this.
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We used lots of stuff from the house in the van initially, so use what you have and if you decide you really do need it in the van, get new stuff in the house. Much better than always moving stuff between house and van, and also better than buying stuff that you might not need.
What you will need are a water carrier (Aquarolls are good) and a waste carrier (Wastemaster will last forever). Possibly a mains kit if you use serviced pitches,and some waste hose.
Step, EHU cable and water pump should come with the van.
You will need a battery and some type of gas bottle, these may come with the van if you buy second hand.
Bedding........you need to decide between sheet and duvet or sleeping bag. If making up the beds every night, you may find sleeping bags or Duvalays easier. We found a good compromise was a thin duvet in a cover instead of a sheet to lie on, and regular duvet over. We keep dedicated bedding and pillows for the van. a couple of fleece blankets for colder nights are a good addition, as are throws or washable seat covers.
We use decent pots, from Ikea, in the van, cheap camping ones let food burn too easily. Dishes should be lightweight, again Ikea has suitable stuff, and much cheaper than the special caravan stuff. Likewise utensils and cutlery.
Get a low amps kettle, or one you use on the gas hob,and if you wish, a low amp toaster too. Cheap ones are fine, ours are 20+ years old now.
And invest in a small fan heater for emergency use, stuff in the van can go wrong!
If you end up with a submersible pump, carry a spare. Also spare bulbs, and a decent tool kit.
Wooden blocks for levelling, wheel locks and a hitch lock if required by your insurance..
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Make sure that the battery is one specific to a leisure vehicle, suggest a 110 or 120AH heavy duty one. You can get a low amp kettle and toaster from the likes of Aldi/Lidl or Argos...don't purchase one from your caravan store as they cost at least twice as much. If you intend going out in the van in the winter you should get propane (red bottle) rather than butane gas (blue bottle) as it freezes at a much lower temperature.
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It may be worth exploring the use of refillable gas bottles if you are just starting out. A bit more expensive initially but will save a lot on the cost of gas over a prolonged period.
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Welcome to the community. A word of warning regarding advertisements. There's lots of scam around so be aware and if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.
Exciting times.
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Sounds like you could learn a lot very quickly from visiting an established caravanner on site somewhere - such as your nearest Caravan Club site!
Just remember, there are always at least three ways to do everything and none are wrong. Stay safe, dry and warm - others are extras.
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Again thank you for all replies,all are very helpful.cheers
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Welcome and good luck with your purchase. You have been given loads of advice but no one has mentioned that it is essential that any caravan you buy has a current damp test and report. We caravan on the KISS system - Keep It Simple S....! You can overload your caravan with those absolutely essential items that you will never use. Really you need little - mirrors for car, spare wheel for caravan, (check all tyres are in good condition and less than 5 years old by looking at the date stamp on them - 1618 means tyre made in 16th week of 2018), water in/out, wc and chemicals, bedding (sleeping bags or house bedding) steps, gas bottle(s), decent battery, power cable, crockery/cutlery/pans from house. As has been suggested a few of these ought to come with the caravan (or negotiated as part of the deal). As you get more experienced you will refine the list. When you take delivery of your caravan ensure that you are shown how everything works! Strongly recommended that your first trip is to a local site so that it is not the end of the world if you have forgotten something. Be warned that when browsing the shelves of your local dealer you will see loads of those 'non essential' 'essentials' so be careful with your credit card
. Don't hesitate to ask for help, we love talking about our hobby
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Visit as many dealers as possible to check layouts/berths which may suit your needs & the legal towing capability of your vehicle. (bearing in mind the weight of all you will put in it) I feel one option is to buy a new or used c’van (with warranty) from a local dealer who is within reasonable towing distance so any warranty issues can be sorted easily. Usually more used c’vans come onto dealer’s forecourt’s in the early part of the year as people take delivery of their brand new c’vans ordered via NEC or their local dealers. Possibly consider paying for an inspection if it’s a used c’van once you have found a one you are seriously considering buying. This could be used as a bargaining tool and/or point out any serious defects. Good luck
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You will doubtless find it worthwhile to go on a towing course with the club, as soon as possible, if you are not experienced at towing a trailer.
On your first tow home from the dealer consider an experienced tugger in the passenger seat to give you moral support.
Don't hesitate to ask any questions, for the only stupid one is the one you never asked and you will not therefore know the answer to.
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Hi Dean. Welcome to the world of caravanning and to Club Together. Have you got the caravan yet, or are you still waiting to get it? Do let us know how you get on.
Edit: Just read through the thread again and it looks like you haven't got the van yet. The best of luck with it all. Check the towing capacity of your car carefully when you choose the caravan. The Club do have a matching service somewhere on the website. Don't take a retailers word for it, and avoid the retailer who says, 'no worries, your car will tow anything....'. I've had that said to me before!!!!
David
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Welcome to the forum Dean. Plenty of good advice on this thread so far, but try not to be put off by the seeming complexity of it all.
Remember we all started from your position, and some of us, like me quite recently and met some rather unexpected hurdles to jump over that I have written about, as have many other about their own.
My advice is not to rush the process and spend the winter touring all the caravan dealers within reach and look at as many caravans within your price range as possible. If you decide that a secondhand caravan is what you want then engage a caravan service engineer to survey it for you prior to purchase.
One other point, that I initially overlook, is that of storage. Spaces in some part of the country commercial storage is in short supply.
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Thanks again for all the advice.we are still looking around which the wife is loving lol.im definitely going to do the towing course that has been mentioned.i must confess I was under the impression our kuga would pull anything we bought but will definitely look at the car/caravan compatability that has been mentioned .again thank you all and we definitely looking forward to new adventures.
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I used to tow with a Kuga. As a rough guideline you should be looking at an absolute max caravan weight around 1400Kg.
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Been a while but finally looks like we will be getting our caravan soon.a 2007 compass classic 540.wife happy so that all that matters lol.just a quick question with regards to insurance,best to get through here or do people know of any other places that do better deals.thanks for all advice in past it has really helped.thanks
Dean
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My wife and I bought our first caravan a couple of months ago. With the discounts offered for security and storage and what was in the policy we went with Caravanguard.
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Thank you Tony for that advice .Well finally bought our caravan today,pick it up in two weeks.storage sorted at same time so now just a few bits to get done ie insurance etc then hopefully happy caravaning lol
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Good luck!
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Hello all again.ok I'm now looking for a hitchlock for our new caravan but if I'm honest after talking to salesmen I'm none the wiser .I been told i need a hitchlock for a BPW and not an alko but all salesman did was answer my questions with more questions that I havent got the answers too.so can anyone say which hitchlock would fit please thank you .
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Check out Robstop. There are a lot of google hits for it.
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