Hi I am new to touring. We have bought a cheapish 1990 caravan to test the waters & are trying to pick up some top tips. Loads of questions but things like sterilising the water pipes? will we use the port a loo? Should we just remove the bathroom area to make more space? What will we forget to take that might be obvious but becomes glaringly obvious. We are going to do a practice locally but before that we need a bit more input from experienced caravan owners. We will have two 8 year olds & a couple of dogs with us. Things like a breathable membrane in the awning have been noted but the person we bought the caravan off said get carpet too. Its little things like that we are after. Will we be the poor relations on the camp site as the caravan is in good clean condition but 23 yrs old!! Any input we would be grateful for, we know where we are going to holiday but not sure if we should go to the Hilton type campsite or the perfectly nice one a couple of miles away. Many thanks Bev
hi beverley, welcome to the world of caravan's, you definitely won't be the poor relations at all ,see here crappy thread,.
our tin tent is a 1992 model, still, dry, still cosy, still a home from home
as for gear everyones needs / wants are different but if there's one piece of kit we're almost all agreed on when it comes to essentials is a good tin opener, prefrably one with a bottle opener .
as for sterilising the water pipes, i just mix up a solution of sterilising fluid ( the same stuff you sterilise babies bottles with) and water in a water barrel, hook it up to the 'van as normal and then i ,run the taps to get the fluid into the pipes , i then leave it for a while before flushing out with fresh water. thats how i do it anyway, someone else will have a different method
am sure you'll enjoy every minute
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
Thank you realbusdriver I like the crappy thread. It seems silly to spend thousands when we might hate the whole concept, if we love it we can upgrade with an informed mind of what is needed or not needed. We might stick with the older models, if it isn't broken why fix it! In fact I've had a fridge thermometer in over the last few days & it has been minus 10 on the higher settings & the correct temp is on no 1. My super duper kitchen fridge has to be on max to get to 0 degrees!! I guess we will learn as we are going, luckily my husband is pretty handy so everything will be working well & be safe. I have so many questions on all diff levels though, endless lists so I will peruse the forums! thank you.
Quote: Originally posted by beverley567901 on 15/4/2013
Thank you realbusdriver I like the crappy thread. It seems silly to spend thousands when we might hate the whole concept, if we love it we can upgrade with an informed mind .
thats exactly what we did bev', when we moved from tents to caravan's, our 1 st 'van was a little 2 berth avondale orestes ( about 20yrs old when we got her) bought her for just over £300.00 to 'test the water' caravan wise, we both loved it ( i knew we would )
used that for about 3 yrs, my OH then decided she'd like a little more space ,so we sold the avondale ( got £200 more than we paid for it) the proceeds of which part funded our latest 'van ( a slightly larger, swift corniche 15/2 ,again 20+ yrs old) ,for which we paid the princely sum of £600
we'd love a nice, shiney, brand spanking new caravan but at present funds don't run to it and as we both work full time our tin tent is in storage more than its on a site so it would be a bit silly , for us at least, to spend thousands on a caravan for it to stand unused most of the year.
now when we retire, that could be a very different story....
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
Hi Bev I certainly wouldnt worry about poor relations as long as your van is dry and good working order thats all that matters. We use a puriclean solution for the pipes but then again never drink water from the taps, we always use a water bottle or even a milk bottle to fill the kettle from. As fortoilet, Ive come from tenting and dont fancy walking to the facilities in the dead of night so toilet a must you just learn as you go along but good luck x
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: New to touring
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you just learn as you go along but good luck x
