DH and I are thinking of getting our first 'van. I'm hoping to get one during the winter months from the knowledge that I will get a 'more for my money' rather than waiting until the spring.
I'll have to put the caravan into storage and I've found a few cassoa gold sites 30mins away from the house. I haven't yet checked if they have availability.
Do you think I should get my storage sorted before I get the van, or would they be readily available this time of year? We do have a drive for an absolute emergency, but I'd rather not if possible.
30 mins for storage is too far imo ours is stored in a silver and thats good our old storage was 20 mins away from home and it was a nightmare it is now 6 minutes away !!!!
When we were thinking of getting our first 'van, i phoned around storage sites to see what availability there was. Some sites didn't have immediate availability and we didn't know how long it would take to find our caravan. We were fortunate that the site we chose had availability and it didn't take us too long to get our van - a couple of weeks i think! Had we tried to get the same storage a year later, the storage site was full!
We wanted indoor storage which was hard to find in our area, maybe outdoor storage would've been easier to find but I don't know as i didn't look for any outdoor storage sites.
When we bought our 1st van we found storage available about 30 min drive away but with really restricted access times it wasn't ideal so we went on a waiting list for a site more local & CASSOA Gold. We waited 7mths for our current spot.
I'd say you'll find storage 'somewhere' even if it's not where you really want to be. But you can always make do & go on the waiting list like we did. We paid a monthly rate at the 1st place so we wouldn't lose a pile of money when a space at the one we wanted came available.
When I got the chance to get a caravan a couple of years ago I sorted out the storage first as there was no way I could have had the van without. I was lucky that the third place I tried had a vacancy, and it's only a 10 minute drive from home.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
Personally, I'd sort out the storeage first. When we booked our storeage - it was around a couple of months before we wanted it, I told them when we wanted the storeage for, paid the first payment and the 'rental space' began from the date we moved the caravan in. This seemed very fair to me.
I notice you're Liecestershire. We are on the Warks/Staffs/Liecs/Derbs border - this may or may not be of any use to you, but if you want details about our storeage, please email me off list (see below). It's a Gold Cassoa. The trouble with closeness to the M/A42, M6 (+toll), M1 etc is that the motorway access means that, for those who nick caravans it is easy to get to anywhere in the country quite quickly - that's why it's called the Caravan Bermuda Triange - van's just disappear without trace. Our last van was not on a Gold Cassoa site and got nicked - that's why we changed.
Thanks for your replies. I think I'll look for storage before and see what I find. I've had a look and there is somewhere really close, but it doesn't have any security and isn't even cassoa registered.
I live very close to the Jnc 24 of M1 and when I search on CASSOA website, all the sites locally are roughly 30 mins away. I just don't want 'any old site' because of the closeness to the M1. Unless of course, somebody knows of a non CASSOA site that has high security?
Thanks for your replies. I think I'll look for storage before and see what I find. I've had a look and there is somewhere really close, but it doesn't have any security and isn't even cassoa registered.
I live very close to the Jnc 24 of M1 and when I search on CASSOA website, all the sites locally are roughly 30 mins away. I just don't want 'any old site' because of the closeness to the M1. Unless of course, somebody knows of a non CASSOA site that has high security?
Thanks again.
Not really that near to us then. I would still go for a Gold Cassoa MrsQ. You might get a % reduction in your caravan insurance for doing this, as well as the peace of mind.
Storage can be a nightmare to find in some areas, a lot of local councils (ours included) seem to hate giving permission for them, it seems they'd rather have them all on view on peoples drives than tucked away in a quiet field somewhere.
I'd give non Cassoa ones a thought too, we've had our van on 3 seperate farms and never had a problem, the owners always live on site, more often than not they have dogs loose at night & we always find they come to see who's there if we ever pop to it, we have a supposedly "secure" site down the road, high metal fences, cameras etc & they've been broken into numerous times & had vans taken.
It all depends on how valuable your 'new' caravan will be. If you are buying NEW then I would go Cassoa Gold/Silver you will get a reduction on your insurance premium. If you are buying an older cheaper caravan then less secure storage would be cheaper and possible theft of van reduced.
30 mins away is not unreasonable, especially if it is in the direction you are likely to use the most.
We had our stored at a farm, the caravan got moved around when they got busy, also access was difficult when the van was dropped off, i had to open a single bar gate with a concealed key, then leave our twin axle outside overnight with only a hitchlock on, also my tracker could only be used on geo-lock, now sleep very easy ,its now stored on a caossa gold site, access 5.30 am to dusk, out of hours by prior arrangement, yes its 30 min away, but a nice drive thru the country and will be built in to my holiday plans with the route etc
If you want to take a lot of gear with you, as we did, bikes, fishing rods, wetsuits, bodyboards etc or if you have a family, I would say the nearer the better for a storage site. I found myself making a trip down to the storage site to pack the caravan the day before as we couldn't get all the stuff in the car on the day we were due to leave. Also, loading the caravan takes time and consideration if you want the caravan to pull in a safe and balanced manner, I found this saved time on the day of departure when all we needed to take in the car was the dogs and food! However, I would need to do the same when we came home after a holiday, revisiting the caravan the day after to bring all the extras home - that's three trips to the caravan storage which was about 12 mins drive away for every holiday - just something to bear in mind.
No, it won't be an expensive van absolute max 3K due to having to have an older van due to the kerbweight 85% thing with our current car. I don't want to go too mad and change my car in case after a few years we decide to go back to tents once our DD is older.
I would sort the van out the day before we went away and I would be taking the van by myself (with DD) a lot of the time and thinking of dropping it off late at night by myself seems more do-able when I know I'd be pulling onto a secure site.
The site where my mam and dad have theirs (they live 70 miles away from me) has a few spaces, so if worst comes to the worst I'd just get it stored on there until I found something closer. They could then also check the moisture collection boxes etc over the winter when they go to do theirs.
We live in Warwickshire and I have spent several weeks looking for a suitable site. Even caravan club sites don't have security - one open all year only has a small fenced off area. I have looked at all sorts from cassoa to fields! Some with high security need it because they are in areas where there is higher risk of theft or vandalism because they are easy to drive to and make quick get aways. I have looked at others that are in the middle of nowhere (seemingly) owners live on site. No barriers as such but ditches dug around and only one gate in and out so security but of a different nature. I am asured (often) that they have been like that for 20 years and never had a spot of bother!!
% of discount from insurance is usually 10% for gold sites which on a £250-£300 policy is only £25 or so. I don't think its worth it> judge for yourself how you feel about a site. One insurance company wasn't interested in cassoa grading - said the quote was dependent upon the post code.
We want a storage on a site that is open all year with the towing facility so that I can go myself and it is ready on a pitch when I get there of a weekend. I would like to use it throughout the winter. Trying to find a storage site with pitches open all year is doubly difficult. I have managed to find some storage locally, but it means towing every weekend I want to go away and I would rather do it the other way round. I did email the cassoa site and the lady who replied was very helpful finding sites with our needs. Perhaps if you gave her a ring or email she would help you too?
It is our first van (if we ever get it!) so we are prepared to travel maybe 50 miles of a weekend to it. Commits us to storage costs through the winter and able to use it on site at weekends, while we look around then free to move about in the summer. That's the plan while we are gathering information as we are new to all of this!
Only downside that worries me is travelling 50 miles to keep it checked and aired even if we don't want a weekend away.
How often would anyone check a van in the winter once it is stored? If it only needs once a month this is probably doable but must admit it is a consideration that I would like advice on? Sorry to hijack the post. Should I start another one?
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: Find storage first?
