Reflections on how to buy the right caravan
We bought our first caravan in April. But did we make the right choice?
Recently we took delivery of our first caravan. But did we make the right choice? Choosing a caravan, motorhome or campervan to invest in can be daunting. The industry will bombard you with glossy sales information and a myriad of technical data; whilst, the ‘prophets of doom’ counter with their (generally unfounded) tales on flimsy build quality, leaks and of dodgy weigh bridges!
Initially our thoughts were to buy a motorhome but after renting one in the south of France for an idyllic week’s holiday we switched our thoughts to buying a caravan.
Why switch? Simply because we hadn’t asked ourselves Q1 – how do we want to holiday? For example – we like to be based in a European region for about a week and travel from there to explore and the car give us that flexibility (….there were other reasons as well).
This prompted us to set down a series of questions which we used to shortlist possible caravans.
Q2 – how long do we plan to tour at a time and where?
Q3 - what amenities must we have onboard and what can we do without? Think size of bathroom, air-conditioning but also external shower and gas points.
Q4 – which layout do you prefer and why?
Q5 what is the minimum payload we can put up with? We made a list of every item we planned to take and its weight.
Q6 - what is the maximum MTPLM we are comfortable towing or can legally tow?
Q7 – what is the maximum length you are happy to tow? Going long can restrict the campsites you can use, increase the cost of crossing the channel and limit which breakdown agents you can use.
Q8 - what is your maximum budget for the caravan and its accessories (think about the cost of a motor-mover, awning, leisure battery, gas bottles etc).
Q9 – which of my local dealers have the best reputation for customer service? Why? Simply because most warranty work will need to be carried out from the supplying dealer.
So did we buy the right caravan? Yes. And hopefully these 9 questions will help you do the same.
Comments
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Well done for even thinking of questions and problems that you might encounter. Not meant to be patronising either.
Doesn't matter though how many questions you put, and despite your comment about "the prophets of doom" you can easily walk into a "Friday afternoon caravan". We have and we have as many questions as yourself, actually more, as we store at home so size of 'van is high. Most important question that you asked and answered was "What do we want from our caravanning experience?". We want to be able to carry bikes in the 'van so over the years payload has been important. They tend to only go with us abroad but we have started taking them in the country as well. Even our Lunar Ariva 2 berth could carry the bikes but we had to take the front wheels and pedals off. But needs must.
We have had 2 absolute stinkers of caravans over 31 years. Both models were touted as excellent and reviewed as such and both from main UK suppliers but one had 36 faults in 36 months (warranty period) and was then got rid of and the second recently disintegrated after hitting a pothole. Apart from delaminating it was a fine caravan, layout and payload wise. However the "Apart" bit was significant.
Just like buying a car that has had great reviews and has a high reliability percentile doesn't mean that you can't end with a turkey.
But at least you have gone into the enterprise with your eyes open and done the best you can.
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Our main priorities are large bed, long front end for lounging and large wash room so we can avoid the main sites. You may infer from these requirements that we have a large twin axle but you would be wrong, we have a 2 berth. The made up bed takes approx 3 mins to erect/dismantle. One compromise we can accept.
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In our case we spoke with a neighbour on a CL, he suggested that we look around their van.
We did and were so impressed we purchased what was probably the last one off the production line. It has suited us down to the ground - including 6 months in Portugal over winter.
16 years of heaven. Thank you Eccles Onyx - (now part of Sterling group.)
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You have gone through the right questions. It's a bit like formal 'Problem Solving'; you list the essential criteria then the desirable criteria, your purchase has to meet all the 'essential' (eg budget, berths, weight - whatever you want) and as many of the 'desirable' as possible, then compare and decide. Like the posters above we have had a number of caravans and settled on a 2009 Bailey Ranger GT60 Series 6 which we purchased in 2012. It has given us 9 years of, almost, trouble free caravanning but no major problems. Everyone has their own reasons when selecting a particular caravan. We wanted a fixed bed, the size of the shower was less important as we nearly always use site facilities, good payload and a space to move around inside. A bit like buying a boat, we looked at getting one with more beds than we needed, just 2 of us so a 4 berth. We have gone through the thought process of buying a motorhome; however, as we tend to do what Deleted User User does and go for long continental trips spring and autumn staying for a few weeks at sites rather that 2 -5 days we will stay with our caravan.
Sadly, this will probably be our last caravan as the years are creeping by, but we are really struggle to think of how we will spend our holidays when we give up caravanning. But that is another topic!
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