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Subject Topic: Quick Questions!
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16/9/2010 at 10:52pm
 Location: Derbyshire
 Outfit: Zempire Aero TL
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Having gotten a bit fed up with Tent camping, specifically the putting a wet tent away bit! -  I am exploring the possibility of getting a small caravan,

My Car has a kerbweight of 1352 kg and a max tow weight of 1200kg.

So is it 85% of 1352kg which is 1150kg or is it 85% of 1200kg which is 1020kg

Also, if I bought a caravan which had, for example, a max weight of 1200kg which is within the max tow limit, but an unladen weight of 900kg, could I load it carefully with 100kg of gear to make it 1000kg (which is within the 1020kg 85%) and be OK or do I need a caravan which has a max weight of less than the 85% to be safe - bearing in mind I am the sort of person who weighed all my camping gear to make sure I wasn't overloading the car/trailer!!

Does that make sense!?

I have done plenty of towing, and a lot of very fine manouvering while towing but it has mostly been very big bits of equipment on airports so I am very happy manouvering, reversing etc, just not towed anything over about 450kg at speed on the road.

I am looking at spending £1500 - £2000 to start with to see if we get on with it. I would like a 3 berth minimum or a light 4 berth. Can I get something semi OK for that? Any tips on good older vans?

Any advice gratefully recieved.



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16/9/2010 at 11:17pm
 Location: Shopshire
 Outfit: None Entered
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Buying second hand vans     http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=10

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16/9/2010 at 11:31pm
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Its 85% of kerbweight. If max tow weight is below kerbweight it suggests a low powered engine so you will need a light caravan for reasonable road performance, so probabley keep below a tonne. When asking advice it does help to supply full vehicle details.

Plenty of choice of caravans on ebay. Biggest enemy is damp so check carefully. early/mid 90s lightweight caravans like ABI Marauder etc is probabley what you are looking for, you should get a good one with awning for about £1000.


16/9/2010 at 11:38pm
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In your price range any warranty offered by a dealer will be fairly limited, realistically he ain't gonna be doing extensive damp repairs to a £2K caravan. The type of dealer that sells cheap caravans usually can't even be bothered to check the appliances are working.

As stated, your best bet is ebay or private ad. Good time of yr to buy as prices low from now till Xmas.


17/9/2010 at 7:27am
 Location: Derbyshire
 Outfit: Zempire Aero TL
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Thanks everyone.

The car is a C3 Piccasso 1.6 HDi 110hp.

 



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17/9/2010 at 7:55am
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You could go to 1100kg with that engine, to leave a bit of a margin.



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