New member alert
I have posted in the trailer tent section but this is my first post introducing myself and I want to share my exciting news with people that 'get it'
Last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A routine check after turning 50 and suddenly, my life was turned upside down! A year down the line, having spent most of it in and out of the hospital, and just completing chemo (radiotherapy to go next week), I found myself thinking about life! How quickly things can change and how quickly time goes by. I decided to make a few changes. Firstly, not to work so bloody hard and most importantly...to start having fun and making memories with my daughter.
I decided to look into buying a home on wheels. Campers/Motorhomes/RV's etc. - all too expensive, and I want to be free driving around, so they were out of the question. My budget was tight, £4K max...I started looking at the Pennine Pathfinders, posh trailer tents. I very nearly bought one, but the flapping of the tent put me off. I do like silence or birds singing, I think a flapping tent would drive me mad eventually.
I started looking for a 2 berth, lightweight caravan, but they were all too expensive or had big issues like damp etc. I almost gave up looking when I saw a local ad for a 1997 Swift. Motor mover, 2 previous owners (women), hardly used, like new. For £2.5K - too good to be true? I thought so.
Not so...I'm sitting in it now. On my drive It's like going back in time. Like the ad said...everything is old but new. Hardly anything has been used. Everything works, no issues at all. To say I'm happy is an understatement. I can't wait to get out and about.
The fear of towing I have yet to overcome. I'm booked in for a towbar fitting at the beginning of September. The maiden voyage will be Sept/October - after the silly season (I live in Cornwall and the whole world descends next week).
I can see myself spending a lot of time in these forums and I hope to make contact with some like minded people.
Hi Tanya and welcome! These older caravans (mine's a 1992 model) are often better built than the newer ones or so it would seem from this forum. Mine is going to need a few minor repairs at the end of this year, but we have had 4 great years use out of it so far. It's a 4 berth even though there are only two of us, but it was what was available at the time for a price we could afford. It's light weight and fits on our driveway too, which was a bonus.
You will soon get used to the towing. Either book yourself on a course or find a big deserted car park and practice reversing. That's the bit that worries most newbies to towing. Enjoy your "new" caravan, and this forum, and anything you want to know just ask, as they are a very friendly, helpful bunch on here. Remember, no such thing as a stupid question, we were all newbies once!
ok nice to see you got sorted but please please please get it looked over and given a service, and check those tyres out for their age, they need to be less than 5 years old (they are date stamped on each tyre) we want to hear your memories of the good kind and not woes of getting stuck waiting for a recovery truck!
Good for you Tanya, you will have heaps of fun, and don’t worry about the towing side of things, you have faced far bigger challenges and you will win. 👍
You did make me laugh with your term “Sill Season”. We call it exactly the same here in Devon! 🤣🤣🤣
I am sure you will gets lots of help here, so…………GOOD LUCK! 👍👍
Congratulations, but before you go too far what is the MTPLM of the caravan and what car are you going to be towing it with? Has the caravan been serviced recently and how old are the tyres on it, it is recommended that the tyres are changed every 5 to 6 years irrespective of how much tread they have.
Sorry to hear about the 'C', things like that do motivate us in a way, shame we need that kind of rotten kick to do it though.
Congratulations on the caravan, it's a great lifestyle once you've got the hang of it and stop worrying about all the new/don't know what I'm doing stuff! Sounds like you've got your head screwed on straight, you went about it all in a very orderly logical manner, which is more than many do, so you should pick it all up well enough and get to enjoy yourself worry free quite quickly.
There is nothing wrong with 'old' caravans if/when you find a sound one, plenty of folks buy very expensive new ones and have nothing but trouble with them, enough tales of woe on this forum alone, so new doesn't automatically mean better or trouble free. Caravans change very little over relatively long periods of time, its usually no more than cosmetic trimmings that get updated year on year, the fundamentals remain relatively unchanged, so your van will likely be just as good as a new one and lacking very little.
Towing is no great challenge really, just need to know relevant stuff and make a few allowances, both the caravan clubs offer towing tuition courses, and it's money well spent, there IS stuff to learn and best done correctly from the outset. It's so long ago since I first towed I can't remember the experience, but towed lots of different things over decades, mostly power boats, so whilst the caravan was a first about 4 years or so back when I purchased it, and much bigger than most of my experiences, the techniques were well ingrained even though never formally taught how, and I had no difficulties at all.
Don't blame you for waiting for the silly season to pass before venturing out for first trip, I know Devon and Cornwall well enough to know I don't want to be towing my caravan there in high season! As a novice on the roads, you don't want to be meeting some of the Muppets who may be experienced but still can't drive/tow competently, and you certainly don't want to meet someone in a hired Motorhome, but the sheer congestion is the real killer in your part of the world.
As to not being able to live with flapping canvas of trailer tents, with a caravan you'll now have the joy of birdies wearing hob-nail boots doing 'River Dance' to the dawn chorus on your tin roof!
Lot's of very knowledgeable and experienced people on this forum, all more than willing to help, remember, there really is no such thing as a dumb question, if you don't know something then best to ask, may seem blindingly obvious after you've been given the answer, but if you don't know, you don't know!
As Rob and Tina mentioned, there are a few things that should be checked out before using van, the tyres and rubber gas hoses need routinely changing just on age alone (absolutely no more than 7 years old) as they deteriorate and become potentially dangerous even if they look ok. Probably wise to have a full service done by a qualified caravan service engineer, mobile ones tend to be cheaper than taking into a dealer, they can do electric and gas safety checks on appliances and systems, and ensure brakes and chassis are all fully functional. They should also do checks on Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors to ensure they are present, function and within their service life. They'll also usually do a full damp check. You should get a full written report, cost usually around £200. You can find qualified and approved engineers here: https://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk/ and/or https://www.approvedworkshops.co.uk/
A big “tick” from me for your positive attitude, Tanya, for both the Cs - the caravan and the other one. Hello to the one & a firm goodbye to the other.
Quote: Originally posted by Rob and Tina on 21/7/2022
Congratulations, but before you go too far what is the MTPLM of the caravan and what car are you going to be towing it with? Has the caravan been serviced recently and how old are the tyres on it, it is recommended that the tyres are changed every 5 to 6 years irrespective of how much tread they have.
Tina
Those are very valid questions and hopefully the OP will update us.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 21/7/2022
Hi Tanya and welcome! These older caravans (mine's a 1992 model) are often better built than the newer ones or so it would seem from this forum. Mine is going to need a few minor repairs at the end of this year, but we have had 4 great years use out of it so far. It's a 4 berth even though there are only two of us, but it was what was available at the time for a price we could afford. It's light weight and fits on our driveway too, which was a bonus.
You will soon get used to the towing. Either book yourself on a course or find a big deserted car park and practice reversing. That's the bit that worries most newbies to towing. Enjoy your "new" caravan, and this forum, and anything you want to know just ask, as they are a very friendly, helpful bunch on here. Remember, no such thing as a stupid question, we were all newbies once!
Thank you Colin I booked a course yesterday. I believe in good preparation. I'm excited to get out and about.
Quote: Originally posted by Rob and Tina on 21/7/2022
Congratulations, but before you go too far what is the MTPLM of the caravan and what car are you going to be towing it with? Has the caravan been serviced recently and how old are the tyres on it, it is recommended that the tyres are changed every 5 to 6 years irrespective of how much tread they have.
Tina
I've done a tow match and all is good. I have the perfect match. The MTPLM is 1000KG and my car can tow 1500KG. I have a roof box, so won't be putting much in the caravan at all really. Just some bedding, a foam surf board and other stuff. The tyres are 5 yrs old but I'm getting the tyres and wheels changed to brand new next week.
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 21/7/2022
Welcome Tanya.
Sorry to hear about the 'C', things like that do motivate us in a way, shame we need that kind of rotten kick to do it though.
Congratulations on the caravan, it's a great lifestyle once you've got the hang of it and stop worrying about all the new/don't know what I'm doing stuff! Sounds like you've got your head screwed on straight, you went about it all in a very orderly logical manner, which is more than many do, so you should pick it all up well enough and get to enjoy yourself worry free quite quickly.
There is nothing wrong with 'old' caravans if/when you find a sound one, plenty of folks buy very expensive new ones and have nothing but trouble with them, enough tales of woe on this forum alone, so new doesn't automatically mean better or trouble free. Caravans change very little over relatively long periods of time, its usually no more than cosmetic trimmings that get updated year on year, the fundamentals remain relatively unchanged, so your van will likely be just as good as a new one and lacking very little.
Towing is no great challenge really, just need to know relevant stuff and make a few allowances, both the caravan clubs offer towing tuition courses, and it's money well spent, there IS stuff to learn and best done correctly from the outset. It's so long ago since I first towed I can't remember the experience, but towed lots of different things over decades, mostly power boats, so whilst the caravan was a first about 4 years or so back when I purchased it, and much bigger than most of my experiences, the techniques were well ingrained even though never formally taught how, and I had no difficulties at all.
Don't blame you for waiting for the silly season to pass before venturing out for first trip, I know Devon and Cornwall well enough to know I don't want to be towing my caravan there in high season! As a novice on the roads, you don't want to be meeting some of the Muppets who may be experienced but still can't drive/tow competently, and you certainly don't want to meet someone in a hired Motorhome, but the sheer congestion is the real killer in your part of the world.
As to not being able to live with flapping canvas of trailer tents, with a caravan you'll now have the joy of birdies wearing hob-nail boots doing 'River Dance' to the dawn chorus on your tin roof!
Lot's of very knowledgeable and experienced people on this forum, all more than willing to help, remember, there really is no such thing as a dumb question, if you don't know something then best to ask, may seem blindingly obvious after you've been given the answer, but if you don't know, you don't know!
As Rob and Tina mentioned, there are a few things that should be checked out before using van, the tyres and rubber gas hoses need routinely changing just on age alone (absolutely no more than 7 years old) as they deteriorate and become potentially dangerous even if they look ok. Probably wise to have a full service done by a qualified caravan service engineer, mobile ones tend to be cheaper than taking into a dealer, they can do electric and gas safety checks on appliances and systems, and ensure brakes and chassis are all fully functional. They should also do checks on Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors to ensure they are present, function and within their service life. They'll also usually do a full damp check. You should get a full written report, cost usually around £200. You can find qualified and approved engineers here: https://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk/ and/or https://www.approvedworkshops.co.uk/
Thank you so much.
I've booked a course to learn the basics, it's over two days, so good and thorough (hopefully). I'm a confident driver and like to drive, so once I get the initial worry over and one with, I'm sure there'll be no stopping me. The caravan is very light and small, so hopefully, it'll just be an extension of my car.
Funny you should mention the birds, I was sitting here just now looking out at the caravan on the drive and saw a bird on top doing a little jig!
Thanks for the recommendations on mobile caravan service, it's a good idea and certainly something I will do before we set off.
Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 21/7/2022
A big “tick” from me for your positive attitude, Tanya, for both the Cs - the caravan and the other one. Hello to the one & a firm goodbye to the other.
Yes! That is how I'm going to look at it! I don't know how many people name their caravan. I would expect quite a few? I've never really been keen on naming cars etc, but my daughter asked me yesterday what I'm going to call it and immediately I said 'Pheonix'. That's how I feel. I will rise again and be reborn like the Pheonix Mindset and positivity is key isn't it.
Thank you Fiona
You say you are not going to put much in the caravan but you need to put stuff in there, as a nearly empty caravan will tow like a pig, you also need to get the noseweight right as that also has a big bearing on how stable the caravan will be also don't put too much weight right at the back of the caravan.
A good TIP is to always reverse onto your pitch from the drivers side, even if it means driving around the campsite again no point in making things difficult for yourself reversing in on the blind side, also as Rob & Tina has said check when the tyres were changed, if you have to change them make sure they are commercial tyres not car tyres that might sound a bit obvious but not everyone knows that
We've just gt back from Sandringham Camping and Caravan Club site, and the pigeons there seemed to treat our caravan roof as their own private runway! There were take-offs and landings all the time, so it was like Heathrow at times.
I agree with Tina, get your caravan loading right or it will tow like a pig. When we bought our current one I towed it home from the dealers empty, and I was a bit concerned. It wasn't anything like as stable as our previous one and tended to sway when anything faster went past. However, once I had put all our usual stuff in and checked the nose-weight properly it towed like a dream. Now I hardly know it's on the back.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: I`ve only gone and done it!
via mobile 21/7/2022 at 4:26pm
