I shall be working away from home for some time and have decided that my VW camper will be unsuitable for living in full time during the winter so I have decided to buy a cheap used caravan. Which brands are best avoided and which brands are worth looking for in the £500 to £2000 range. Also are thier any brands which had rolls royce (without the rust) Build quality. Thank you
All brands are best avoided and all brands are worth looking at.
In other words they all suffer the same problems, so it would be best to decide on a layout you like and then go check out the ones with that layout armed with a damp meter and a very critical eye.
For Rolls Royce build quality you would have to go back a few year I would think or give the German vans a look at
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
Anything in that price range can be riddled with damp including German 'vans, so no particular makes can be said to be better than others imho. Having said that, theres usually a couple of old Hobbys about & German 'vans are somewhat better built so worth a look.
You will get the most for your money by buying off ebay. Any sort of dealer warranty in that price range won't mean much.
Among the rubbish there can be gems if you can find them. If you are buying off ebay & you can't see the caravan beforehand make sure seller states that 'van is dry so that if it ain't you can walk away. Also ensure appliances, cooker, fridge etc work ok because these are expensive to fix & also that there are no cracked windows.
If you intend to tow the 'van any distance, budget for changing tyres to avoid blowouts on tyres yrs old & also if there is no evidence of recent chassis service get that done as well or risk wheel bearing collapse etc.
I too would be interested in this topic,I have put my budget up too £5-£6 grand and would like to know which brand has stood up to time..Surly we would get a good van for that sort of money, and then just because it is on eBay does it mean that is where caravan people get rid of their vans because they have problems?
I think that the dealers don't give a good enough trade in price or only deal in the newer vans, so the owners try to get a better price on eBay.Also some people have ill health and have to give it up and some that for unforeseen circumstances forces a sale,
Quote: Originally posted by samara on 20/10/2010
what brands are German? Thank you
Hobby, Burstner, Defleffs, TEC, Eriba, Hymer, Knaus, Tabbert, Fendt, LMC. All these makes come up on ebay fairly regularly. Generally better built than UK caravans but cheap ones can be well worn & damaged. As stated, in your price range there is no best or worse make, it is just down to the specific caravan.
I am biased but it has to be Eriba for build quality. Mines 11 yrs old and apsolutely like new. Most will last 40 years as they have a completely different constuction (a steel cage frame that is structural and everything is hung off it) I could not recomment highly enough.
But
they do not lose money and £5k will only buy you a 15yr old van (depending on model and condition)
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Topic: Which recommended used caravan brand
