They are about, I'd go for ABI Marauder or Monza, under a tonne laden weight, late 80s/early 90s buy private off ebay, avoid dealers & you need to check it for damp. They usually go for £5-700. Once you have found a reasonable one then budget for a chassis service about £80 & new tyres unless existing ones are less than 5yrs old. Do all that & it should be a go'er.
do not ever buy a caravan even from a dealer with out having it checked for damp independently, if you do it could cost a fortune & a lot of heartache , pay attention to Opensauce's post re tyres owning a caravan is a hell of a lot more expensive than at first view
Also beware of the scams - do NOT hand any cash over without first seeing the caravan and checking it is not stolen. (And damp - as per previous advice)
Look for the CRiS number - usually etched onto the windows. Older caravans will not have a CRiS number.
CRiS was set up in 1992 - so if it does not have a CRis number - it is over 24 years old.
My Daughter bought a caravan for £1000 3 years ago and loves it - there were a few problems but they have been sorted. I bought a damp meter from Argos and thoroughly checked it.
My advice would be to any one thinking of buying a caravan would be is,Buy a good damp metre and learn how to use it.There are videos on you tube as well as information on the web also,never ever take peoples word that all is fine.Its your money and once gone its gone.
I would check what my car could tow before I started looking for a caravan. Storage would also be a consideration, if you can't keep the caravan at home the storage costs can be quite high.
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Insurance,servicing (essential if you are sensible). Extra fuel costs towing plus any routine repairs or bits you do not have such as awning or hook up cable.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
your car insurance covers the caravan for 3RD party (damage to others) but only while you are towing tyres should be replaced at least ever 7 years ,whether or not they still have a good tread . fitting a tow bar ,caravan insurance ,breakdown insurance , servicing ,extra fuel when towing & ongoing maintenance it often reckoned to cost around £1500 to £2000 a year
The extra cost of mine after buying it for £400 & spending another £400 over about 5yrs on service/parts & tyres is 3 gallons to 100miles towing instead of 2 gallons to 100mile solo. If you are going abroad add another £100 return ferry cost compared to solo car & half as much again toll cost on French autoroutes. Little point insuring a caravan of that value so I don't.
Our caravan cost us £500 at the end of 2013, and we have probably spent about £300 on it since. This includes one service and two new tyres. I am quite handy with DIY and have done a few updates and modifications, all within the £300. We do have it insured, but due to the age the cost was minimal. The caravan is well within our car's capability, so fuel consumption does not increase greatly when we are towing, but if we were towing with a smaller car, or towing a much larger van, I would expect consumption to increase much more when towing.
I suppose it all depends on what you tow with what car, how often you tow, and where you go. Our running costs are negligible. Luckily ours is a small 4 berth caravan, and we can keep it at home.
Without a doubt check for damp, I just got a lovely Van from a Friend of mine as he upgraded, I paid 1800 for the van and 300 for a tow bar.
Lucky for me the van had been serviced and had new tyres as he had not planned to sell it, but was offered a great deal on a nearly new Van so I got lucky, but still checked it with a meter.
Also I would say,view as many as you can, to decide on layout etc.
I saw some really bad vans, so dont be in a rush and buy the first one you see.
Quote: Originally posted by old chap on 31/5/2016
your car insurance covers the caravan for 3RD party (damage to others) but only while you are towing tyres should be replaced at least ever 7 years ,whether or not they still have a good tread . fitting a tow bar ,caravan insurance ,breakdown insurance , servicing ,extra fuel when towing & ongoing maintenance it often reckoned to cost around £1500 to £2000 a year
This describes well the fixed costs. And then there are the accessories, such as an awning, fresh and waste water carriers. Of course its easy to embark on improvements to the vans condition as well. Dependent on your approach, it can be as cheap or expensive as you make it
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Topic: What to expect/advice
