Going to have a look at a ford focus 1.8 diesel car tomorrow, will that tow a light caravan ok?
Trying to find a small, lightweight caravan, have not got much to spend on them, storage will be about £250. Just trying to decided if it is worth the outlay at the moment, our intention was if my hubby got this bit of money coming to him, we would get a tow car and caravan, something we have wanted for a long time. Well the money has come through, not a massive amount but now he has lost hours in his job and is down to about 10 a week, apart from the odd extra hours. I'm thinking, buy another cheap tent, no more outlay or caravan extra outlay, decisions, decisions.
A light 2 berth would be perfect for you - so long as you can afford it long-term. As well as storage you need to think about tow-bar fitting (if needed), what extra kit you'd need (waste hog, aqua-roll etc...) plus insurance, servicing & anything else that crops up.
Would you get enough use out of it to make it worth the outlay or would it end up being a ball & chain around your necks? We know from experience how hard it is when you overstretch yourselves. We splashed out on a brand new van but struggled & ended up taking a step back to a 2007 (still a gorgeous van tho).
If you decide to go for it a private sale might be your best bet - more likely to get everything you'd need to just hitch up & go without buying so many extras.
But if you're worried about whether you can afford it right now I'd stick with the tent & save as much as poss towards the expenses between now & Nov/Dec time when vans are cheaper to buy. At least that way you can be sure you can keep camping.
You haven't stated what model or year Focus you are going to look at but the estate is heavier and has disc brakes all round which is ideal for towing. The MK 1 only has a towball noseweight limit of 50 kgs. which is quite useless actually but the MK 2 & MK 3 both have noseweight limits of 75 kgs. which should be okay with a small caravan. I have had both the MK 1 and 2 estates as they have lots of loading space and I haven't been disappointed at all. It's quite a serious contender actually in comparison to the Vauxhall Astra and other vehicles around the same weight and size.
I only know the year of the focus, well actually we are looking at two today now. One is an x reg and the other is 02.
They both have tow-bars on them.
We can only use a caravan four weeks of the year, I work Saturdays and don't have two days off together and hubby gets a weekend off every two weeks. So I suppose it's not really worth it at the moment. It was mainly so the dog cannot escape, quicker setting up and more comfortable and you don't have to find a way of drying out the tent if it gets wet.
Think it might be best to just get another tent for now, if his hours don't pick up then it we will struggle with the finance next year.
Thank you
Hi there..in my oppinion..its alot of money to fork out..for only 4 weeks of the year..i can understand you wantin the comfort ect..but maybe now isnt the right time for you..we still have to dry out our awnings when they get wet..and as for the dog..have you considered a crate..we have 2 german shepherds and they love their crates and settle in them at all times..if i was in your situation..i think i would hold off..as much as i wouldnt want to..see if the hours pick up and see if you can get more time off at the same time..otherwise youre hardly gonna get any use out of a caravan..hope you find a solution...
Thank you,My dog has a crate, he has two and much prefers the smaller one, he just comes and goes when he wants, sometimes wanting to wander around the tent. So we have to tie him up so he does not escape, he is very good at getting things caught up lol. We need a bigger tent anyhow especially as hubby damaged our last one by being too impatient. That has now gone.
Lynn I know you head must be in turmoil and may I add just one more cadvet - money is always an issue - it never goes away and when you have it - you do and when it gone - well its gone. BUT you may live to your 100 and you may not so I would say that I would try to work out whether you can afford the storage ! rather than just he out lay if you could put on a drive you wont pay for storage .
We took the gamble and have bought the caravan and new car - as we decided we want the memories rather than wishes . And OUR back plan - was to do what the caravan owner has just doing - sell it ! -on ebay even if you run out of funds , its captial at the end of the day even if you only have the weeks you had .
Does not help being very indecisive, anyhow we have now bought a sunncamp chateux 6 tent, so at least we will have plenty of room. Decided to put some money away for a caravan later. So we will get one some day.
Quote: Originally posted by lynn6183 on 23/5/2011
Does not help being very indecisive, anyhow we have now bought a sunncamp chateux 6 tent, so at least we will have plenty of room. Decided to put some money away for a caravan later. So we will get one some day.
I'm sure you will when the time's right. In the meantime, enjoy your new tent. It's funny, when we were in a tent I used to look longingly at the caravans. Now we're in a van I look at the tents! We sold our huge family tent when we bought our 1st van but we still have a small 3 man tunnel tent that goes up in less than 20min. Great for one-nighters
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Topic: Might be getting a caravan
