Found the ideal van for us, lightweight & small enough to go on the drive while not in storage, an ABI Sprinter Gold 400D, the same van that Fratts owns
Still feeling sick about spending money lol, but should be well worth it. Looks like the avondale leda's going, hopefully to a good home, needs some attention due to the damp though
I'm going to insure this van, insurance say I need a hitch lock (which I've got) & a wheel clamp. I don't think they have to be approved or anything? Any recommendations, not too expensive as I'm broke now!
Congratulations on your new 'van.
My OH won't let me go with him to the caravan shop now if we need something, it ended up costing alot more than a gas bottle last time I went :D
Have fun.
Thanks all, can't wait! I think the sub groups a great idea!
Deposit paid & everything looks in order & have a 3 month warranty. Just going to give it a check over with my damp meter before handing over the rest. I checked it all over, every inch, it looks & feels solid, no damp smell, rails & seals appear perfect, I've been assured that it's dry, & the warranty covers ingress, but want full peace of mind. Wish I'd have took the meter with me, I think I'll always keep it in the car in future just incase! The van will get serviced & the tyres changed as they're over 7 years old.
I've a few questions that hopefully Fratts & Fairytiff can help with. Some sites on the net say the awning size is 770, & others say 795, so I think I'll need a 750-799cm awning, is this correct? My wife can get a 800-849 isabella quite cheap & thinks it'll still fit, but I'm far from convinced!
Also did your vans come with hot water? Mine hasn't but I'm going to fit an elgena KB6 (6L electric water heater) that I've got spare, & I'll just have to add hot taps or change to mixers.
The gas locker looks like it would fit 2 6Kg calor bottles, is that correct?
There's no spare wheel, although there's a carrier. Will a standard caravan wheel fit, I assume it's 13" (not sure of tyre size yet)
Last question that hopefully someone can answer that I'm still unsure about, the insurance just says there needs to be a hitchlock & wheelclamp fitted, can I use any or do they have to be a certain approved type?
Both of ours are approved now, but we started off with a standard hitch and an apache hitchlock which didn't cost much and a standard car wheel lock from JTF I think which was about £10 when we had our first caravan last year. I can't remember the insurance asking if they were approved or not.
We've kept an eye out and paid £30 for the wheel lock from the carboot and £40 for an alko hitchlock (we changed the normal hitch to an alko one on the last van and this one had one already) locally from an ad in the local paper.
If you can get an Isabella cheap (very expensive!) then I would try that size and if it is too big then get it altered (approx £150) if the prices added together would still be worth it.
We have our 'van insured via Towergate Bakers. I did check if the locks needed to be approved and was told that they didn't (although the shop I was buying them from insisted that the insurance company would require approved locks). Our 'van is about 15 years old though.
I can't help much with the other questions (I'll pass on to the old man) but we do have hot water via a heater sited in the cupboard where some people have an oven.
Hope to get back soon with some other answers for you (although we don't know anything about awning sizes, sorry).
Just a thought re awning - if you are going back soon with damp meter in hand then take a ball of string with you, measure from the floor up the awning rail, across and back down the other side to the floor. That will give you the accurate measurement for your van, our handbook says 915, but we measure it at 895, so there is some difference (not sure how the manufacturers work out these figures but not had anything yet that matches!)
I'm surprised on how cheap the insurance quotes are for the new van, half the price I was quoted on the old van (which I never insured ) which isn't worth as much! Around £90 is well worth the peace of mind.
I managed to get hold of a secondhand isabella awning (fibre poles) for £70! According to the isabella website, I think it may be the correct size, as isabella quote 800 for this model. If not I've been quoted £125 for alterations.
Hopefully I'll get to see the van again tomorrow, so I'll measure the size (good idea tunstallwood!)
Quote: Originally posted by rodderstrotter on 09/5/2011
Thanks all, can't wait! I think the sub groups a great idea!
Deposit paid & everything looks in order & have a 3 month warranty. Just going to give it a check over with my damp meter before handing over the rest. I checked it all over, every inch, it looks & feels solid, no damp smell, rails & seals appear perfect, I've been assured that it's dry, & the warranty covers ingress, but want full peace of mind. Wish I'd have took the meter with me, I think I'll always keep it in the car in future just incase! The van will get serviced & the tyres changed as they're over 7 years old.
I've a few questions that hopefully Fratts & Fairytiff can help with. Some sites on the net say the awning size is 770, & others say 795, so I think I'll need a 750-799cm awning, is this correct? My wife can get a 800-849 isabella quite cheap & thinks it'll still fit, but I'm far from convinced!
Also did your vans come with hot water? Mine hasn't but I'm going to fit an elgena KB6 (6L electric water heater) that I've got spare, & I'll just have to add hot taps or change to mixers.
The gas locker looks like it would fit 2 6Kg calor bottles, is that correct?
There's no spare wheel, although there's a carrier. Will a standard caravan wheel fit, I assume it's 13" (not sure of tyre size yet)
Last question that hopefully someone can answer that I'm still unsure about, the insurance just says there needs to be a hitchlock & wheelclamp fitted, can I use any or do they have to be a certain approved type?
Thanks again all
Hiya, apologies for picking it up late!!!
I'm not sure about the awning size - sorry - when I got mine it came with the awning, I'll have a look and see if I can see a size on it anywhere if it will help?
I have hot water in mine, although no oven, and the tank is fitted under the front seat.
I only carry 1 gas bottle (although I think 2 would fit) and I use the extra space to carry the hookup, chocks, winder, toilet chemicals etc as it seems the most appropriate use of space rather than carry them inside the van itself....
My tyre size is 175/80 R13 - I have just had new tyres fitted this past saturday and went for 6-ply ones with a 95C rating. A bit overkill, as would van would be happy with 86 rated ones, but I figured we would be doing a long trip in the (hopefully!) heat and would rather be safe than sorry!
Not sure about your insurance, we have a standard hitchlock attached and the soldsecure wheel clamp - which I think is sufficient for insurance purposes!!!
Hope that helps, but feel free to ask away if you have any other questions!
Thanks for the help fratts. I think I'll do the same with the gas storage area, as we hardly use gas (we have an induction hob, small electric oven & microwave). I'll have a look on ebay for a spare wheel.
Had another look today & did a damp test. Highest figure on the walls was 14% under front window ( most other readings were well below 10%), which I believe is very good for a van of this age, so I'm happy with that. The only thing I did find is the door didn't align properly at the top & there was a couple of mm gap between the seal & door, but no damp around the door frame. I mentioned this & they have put it on the to do list.
I measured the awning size, which was 790cm. Isabella quote it as 795cm & recommend the 800cm awning, so I think I've got the right size.
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Topic: another we only went to look!
) which isn't worth as much! Around £90 is well worth the peace of mind.
