I am going back a good many years now. A new lightweight caravan I tried was a Freedom. This Fibreglass caravan had very poor thin insulation stuck to(some of) the inside. It was very basic and a bit shoddy. Did not keep it long. As I remember they were supplied by a Polish exporter 'Polmot' to a dealer here. I have seen pictures of these caravans over the years they look much the same on the outside now. It towed very well being light and narrow, easy to manhandle when I could not reverse it. I would suggest you look at Eriba, overpriced, but very good or try Rapido Club (now Trigano Silver, not sure about all of the type numbers) The construction of Eriba, (Aluminium over steel tubes) or Rapido ( solid insulated wall) is better than British vans they can last much longer. both of these types are pop up roof types (Eriba canvas sides Rapido solid sides) Nice to tow and the smaller versions could even go into a garage. John
Have a look here - it gives a 3 door Micra 1.2 as having an 85% match of 800 Kgs, also the max tow weight is 800 Kgs - so a Freedom Microlite at 750 Kgs MTPLM would be ideal. The only thing to watch would be the noseweight which must not exceed 50 Kgs, so watch how much you load into the front locker.
As you need 3 berths you will have to forego a bathroom (grand word for small cupboard for the loo and a tiny sink), we have found it is no great problem keeping a porta potti in the awning for night time use.
You can get more information from the Freedom Caravans website - they are in Stafford, and sell new and used Microlites as well as the slightly bigger Jetstream and Sunseeker models. They are a foot longer and taller (no pop up roof) but are slightly heavier. Jetstreams are 2 berth with bathrooms, Sunseekers are 4 berths (although the 4th berth won't take a great weight).
You will probably get more for your money buying privately.
They are made of fibreglass so don't suffer damp problems but older ones - say over about 15 years old - do suffer from disintegration of the foam that lines the roof and walls and provides the insulation. Freedom Caravans at Stafford stock all the spares, even for very old models.
Hope this helps.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
Caz/angela I wouldnt worry too much about the 50kg noseweight as on my outfit I struggle to get it much above 50 anyway and my limit is 75 that is with 2 4.5 kg butane bottles, spare wheel and levelling kit in the front locker and my van is 18' long
the bug (micra) 1.2 engine is actually quite a nice wee lump, very free revving and plenty of power for a 1.2, only concerns I would have is that it is on quite skinny tyres so you do feel it solo in high winds or when an artic overtakes. dont know if the freedom has an alko 1300 hitch I would fit one. apart from that go for it, if it tows the TT no probs then it should cope with a wee van.
Going back a good few years (um, about 10..) I had a freedom caravan. Ours was a four (!) berth and we loved it. It was really easy to manoevre and tow, had lovely comfy beds (1 double and 1 single with a hammock bunk above which I converted to become a cot side for the bed below so i could put my then very young daughter in!). It didn't have any loo but you wouldn't really expect one in a unit so small and lightweight. The awning that came with it wasn't up to much so we replaced that. Everything in ours worked a treat (two burner hob and grill, sink, three way fridge - even had a small wardrobe in it!) and for holidays for 2/3 I would recommend one. We had a small gas heater installed into ours, and even stayed away for Christmas in it once - when it was very definitely minus figures outside, we were snug as bugs!
We towed ours with a small volvo and you barely knew it was there, couldn't comment on the micra, sorry!
I quit miss the old thing really, but with now three kids in tow, there's no way we would all fit... I suppose I could shove the kids out in the awning... hmm, now there's an idea..!
John, they may still look similar on the outside but a lot has been improved over the years. The insulation may not look much but we have camped all winter in our Piglet, and most of the time we've had to turn the heating off because we got too hot with it on at night, even on low when it was snowing outside.
You'd be surprised, Alan. When I checked Piiglet's noseweight it was 80 Kgs so I had to do some re-arranging. The kitchen and electrics are all at the front end and I had two dumpy gas bottles, the battery, levelling chocks, dog tethers, bag of awning pegs, mallet, Uncle Tom Cobley and all in the front box because it is so spacious.
Have towed him with my old Jazz 1.4 and it didn't know he was there.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
We had a Freedom microlite before our current van and we had lots of good times in it. As Caz says they really incubate the heat, so you only need the heater on for a little while before you are melting and have to turn it off. Ours was a three berth (well 2 + 1 really as the single bed was pretty short) but there are only two of us, and there was plenty of room. Easy to store due to the size, easy to tow, but I found it a nightmare to reverse due to the short wheelbase. But it was no hassle to unhitch and push it!
Maybe not a good idea if you are 6'6" though as the pop top is not weather proof so you need to be able to cope with the roof down quite often in these British climes.
We had a sunseeker 4 berth 3 caravans ago and we camped all winters and weathers in ours,
We used to tow with a 1.3 Suzuki wagon R no probs and a 1.3 Suzuki Soft top jeep (Great fun in the summer with the van on the back) never had any problems,
I should imagine Micra will be fine, the stafford dealer are very helpful like Caz says,
Never had a damp problem, easy to manoevre but get the hitch type Alko stabiliser as I generally find the blade type ones are more trouble than they are worth! Ours had a fridge, wardrobe, little sink with onboard waterr tank so no worries about it freezing in winter and we used to take a fan heater and it heated up really fast.
Awning was a necessity though
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
My hubby and I bought a Freedom Jetstream 1st class at the weekend. We pick it up next week!
I have mithered him to death since last year - bribing and convincing him that a caravan would be great for us, with our love of walking. The thing is, now I've got it I feel a bit 'what have I done?' and I'm scared that it will turn out to be the wrong thing!
It's a bit like wanting a baby then coming home from the hospital and thinking 'what do I do with this baby?!'
This is what I posted on another thread, if yours has the water heater at the back you will need to balance everything well. We also had a plate attached to the tow ball to help keep the outfit level.
"New to caravanning 2 years ago we bought a 5 year old Freedom Jetstream 1st class. They are nice dampfree vans. It was basic cupboards etc but had hot water boiler, oven, hob, fridge, shower cubicle and was a light van to tow. We changed a year later to a 2 berth Lunar Ariva as we wanted to be able to sleep as single bunk configuration, which we could not do as the bunks were short. We had to make up the double bed configuration and sleep across the van which was a nusiance when the inside person wanted to go to the toilet at night. One thing rather disconcerting was that because the hot water boiler was sited in the kitchen cupboard at the rear of the van, when we unhitched, the van would tip backwards sharply. We also needed to load the locker with heavy equipment to keep the nose down which was not ideal. This may not apply to all vans if they site the boiler, or do not have a boiler at all, elsewhere in the van but not sure there would be room.
I notice there are quite a few threads on Freedoms on this board, and having read them, I feel happy I bought one. So kind of people to give out tips. Hope I have some tips to share in the future. Thanks all!
------------- 'Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been' - Mark Twain
Quote: Originally posted by happywalker on 16/3/2010
I notice there are quite a few threads on Freedoms on this board, and having read them, I feel happy I bought one. So kind of people to give out tips. Hope I have some tips to share in the future. Thanks all!
Welcome to the Freedom club Happywalker.There are'nt many of us on here so consider yourself very special!
------------- Those that danced were thought to be quite insane to those who could not hear the music. Angela Monet
Quote: Originally posted by Dreadnought on 16/3/2010
Quote: Originally posted by happywalker on 16/3/2010
I notice there are quite a few threads on Freedoms on this board, and having read them, I feel happy I bought one. So kind of people to give out tips. Hope I have some tips to share in the future. Thanks all!
Welcome to the Freedom club Happywalker.There are'nt many of us on here so consider yourself very special!
Thank you!
------------- 'Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been' - Mark Twain
I had a jetstream 1st class (2005)when I first started towing. Nice van and its surprising what they can fit in them. They seem a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. As a treat to myself for my 19th birthday i traded it for a brand new Stercekmann Starlett 4 berth (big mistake, build quality is hurrendous). There a nice little van and it towed ok, used to tow it with a 1.6 Ford Focus. Hope u many happy holidays in your new pride and joy.
Bought a Freedom Jetstream twin from Stafford earlier this year. We LOVE it, and call it the Tardis, because it is. There are just 2 of us, but with the awning supplied there is all the room we need, especially as we are outdoor people and our idea of a camping holiday is NOT sitting in the van watching tv. We leave the bed made up, and sit in the awning in bad weather and outside when fine. The 6' x 6' bed is more comfortable than home with 2 single bed memory foam mattress toppers side by side over the caravan mattress. Storage problems have been solved by fitting lots of Fiamma pockets in the bathroom and kitchen. It's a step up from a tent for us, and we can't wait to try it out on a long Scottish tour later this month. Weight problems are solved by carrying the heaviest stuff in the car. I really recommend these little vans, they are fabulous. Good luck and best wishes to all other fans, we'll give you a wave if we see you out there!!
to all owners of freedom microlight vans please read my posts reguarding tyres and wheels [12 inch ] also if your insulation is degrading i have a solution if anyone needs to know
------------- if it aint broke ...keep fixing it until it is !
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Topic: Freedom caravans??
