I don't know if anyone can help me. I am new to caravanning and came into a small amount of money and so managed to get a Tabbert Comtesse 660. I absolutely love it. It's about 20 years old but is dry and lovely and spacious. I bought it a year ago and realised after buying it that it was very heavy, it's twin axle and 1800kg. We can't move it on our own and so I was informed that the only mover that would move it was a Powrtouch AWD.
I finally managed to save up enough to buy a second hand one and just put it in to be fitted and am told that the battery needs replacing along with a box and clips, It needs a charger, more cable and bars for the mover because the van is bigger that the previous one it was fitted to.
Apparently, the wheels are the wrong ones, we thought they were great coz they're alloys!! And then he says the lights weren't working (they were when we brought it home surely that's not a big job!!) and that we could be throwing money away on it to make it roadworthy!! He reckons the police would have us if they catch us using it.
Can anyone please give me with some advice. I will only ever be able to afford an old van and surely even if I sell it and get another old one will end up with the same problems!!!
I just want to be close to nature, why does it have to be so difficult - is he over exaggerating the problems do you think?
Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Michelle
It's a very heavy van, unless you have a huge truck you won't be able to tow it,you could probably site it permanantly , but realistically you would be better of selling it and looking for something smaller and lighter in weight.
I did check on the Government website and it said that my car could tow up to 1742 and then there would be the weight in the car at the of towing which would take it up a lot more than that??
What car do you have? If your car can tow up to 1742kg that's still less than the vans weight, also you have to take your cars kerb weight and nose weights into consideration , also the length/ width of the van has to be considered, and also wether you have towed before,even if you were able to tow it, if you've never towed before towing something like that wouldn't be ideal .
The body length is 6.6mtres so ok to tow with Disco or similar 4x4. Its sounds as if you have no mechanical knowledge so I would take it to a caravan workshop & get it serviced.
The wheels sound dodgy, they may be wrong weight rating. You need to get correct steel wheels, standard items available from trailer parts suppliers & new tyres as well. The lights might only need a new plug fitted to cable that plugs into tow car.
For your mover you will need charger, 12s lead & a large battery. this is a job for a competant electrician. It needs doing right not bodged. These 'vans normally ain't fitted with chargers as standard.
Tbh, the 'van is a bit big if you want go touring, it would be better as a sited 'van, It depends what you want to do but if you could get a seasonal pitch locally you would not have to pay out for new wheels & mover/battery.
If you don't have the funds to get 'van safe & legal for the road the you might be better ebay'ing it & getting a smaller 'van. Large Tabberts usually sell ok on ebay.
I had that as being over 7 metres. Perhaps I had the wrong model. Even so, nothing but a large 4 x 4 will tow it. I've never heard of increasing towing capability by adding weight to the car, so maybe the government website is a bit confusing. In any case, if you keep it, you need a substantial increase in the weight of your towcar.
I'm not doubting Tentz, who is very knowledgeable, but it may be worth double checking the length.
Jim
Thank you so much everyone, you are very right, I have very limited (rather none!!) knowledge of caravanning.
With regard to the car it is a Mitsubishi Shogun and weighs 2050kgs so the towing weight of 85% is 1742kg which I thought would be OK but am grateful for the advice you have all given.
I know I wouldn't have a problem selling it, it nearly got snapped up before - it's just such a lovely van we really wanted to keep it if possible. We had visions of lovely spacious holidays.
Many thanks again for all your comments - you have been very helpful everyone xxx
Yes, your car is ok to tow it. New wheels/tyres, a full service & mover sorted with new battery & charger unit, you are looking at over £1000, I suppose. Worth it if its a good caravan but you need to do all that to tow it safely long distances on't motorway.
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Topic: Lovely old van-needs lots of work!! Help
