Hi me & the wife are looking in to saving & buying our first caravan & upgrading from tents as our son has special needs & we're looking for something we can attach to the car & get away for a break when he goes in to rest bite care & we don't get a great deal of time away to be putting up & taking down the tents.
I have been looking on the usual auction website & on here & am overwhelmed by the amount of makes & models but our problem is that we have a really small budget & not sure what make would be the best value for money when they get older?
Cheers
Ken
------------- Thanks
Ken
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach out and touch someone,Ahh no not there!
Constipated mathematicians have to work it out with a pencil
Well first and foremost it depends on three things really and that is exactly what the special needs are, the limited budget you have and what car you have to tow with. My wife has special needs which is the occassional use of a nebuliser so if we are not on electric hook up I have to take my generator as back up in case of emergency but then that's limited to daytime use only so I have the appropriate 12 volt twin blade socket with a cigarette lighter plug on the other so I can operate the appliance during the night powered from the leisure battery if I have to. We have the end washroom layout which suits us best as my wife is also a little claustrophobic too which allows her more space than the end kitchen layout. I am her carer and also have to live on a tight budget too but the specific aim is to purchase the right type of caravan that really suits the needs of the person with the special needs basically so if you can provide more information regarding the special needs and budget allowed someone may be able to offer some constructive advice as to what to look for.
I take it you mean when he goes in to respite care so he won't be with you.
As others have said on a tight budget at the lower end of the market first and foremost it must be within the capabilities of your car. Find out how much you can tow. Then £200 - £250 will be needed for towbar if you don't have one.
After that it's all about condition.
It has to be DRY. It doesn't matter much where everything is as long as you can tow it and it keeps out the water.
Cheers for the input so far, no Alex wouldn't be going with us as we'd just lke a break when he is in rest bite or is in Hospital as he has mental health problems & is on a permanent section3 & when he goes in to hospital we can't visit him for the first few day's as he's in for assessment & our budget is going to be around £500/800 as I had to give up work about 4 years ago to help the wife look after him so don't have much spare cash.
Our tow car is an Omega 2.5 petrol Estate towing capacities are 750kg unbraked & 1600kg braked.
------------- Thanks
Ken
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach out and touch someone,Ahh no not there!
Constipated mathematicians have to work it out with a pencil
My sister bought a sprite mustkateer 4 berth, 1992 quite roomy and really nice, they paid £800 for it complete with awning and other bits, your car could easily tow something like that.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Best bet is small, lightweight caravan. The less equipment, the less to go wrong & small caravan is less likely to get serious damp than a large one due to less body flex. 80s-early 90s ABI Monza or Marauder is probably what you are after, ebay usually cheapest bet for this sort of thing.
Whatever you buy you will need to budget for at least a chassis service, £70 at a caravan/trailer workshop if you can't diy & 2 new tyres as existing ones are usually old even if they have plenty of tread. this is probably what you want.
Our first van was from Ebay - £850 well spent, do the search nearest first, borrow a damp meter and be prepared to look at lots of tat and rubbish ones before you find one that suits and then bid on it.
Looking on ebay today, for a motorhome for a friend, I was was surprised how many caravans were in this section on ebay, wrongly listed. It might be worth a look.
I will give you the best advice you will ever get.
Last august we decided to upgrade from a tent to a caravan like you on a budget.
We looked at loads at around the £1000 area, and got put of my cosmetic wear on loads, dont let that put you off you can always redo it cheap just like buying an house you can redecorate it.
what is important is that you check their is no damp, invest in a damp meter.
check the heating and water works including hot water becuase on older caravans you need to buy copy parts to make things work and their is no guarntee it works, i tell you this for the following reasons -
we got a 1994 caravan for £1150 looked brilliant inside and out, but we soon found it had damp, we had to strip out and reseal and basically rebuild it, but not that much cost about £500, but it took 4 months of nights and weekends and very time consuming, then the carver water heater does not work, tried things to repair it, but cost money does not work, end of the day not that bad, we have a kettle and much easier to take the plates to the wash are anyway.
other thing to consider is awnings we looked on ebay at loads, but from mostly libary pictures it was too much of a gamble and in the end we purchased a secong hand one that is like brand new fro m a caravan shop for £250, then we needed to buy hard standing pegs, then the rest of the equipment so i think we have ended up spending in total £2500 and i am sure if i sold it all now i would get £2500, but thats not the point we were on a bduget and blew it so be carefull and cosnider everything
------------- If its happened you cant change time so their is no point in stressing, it is what it is
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: Which caravan on a tight budget
