Hi, we are looking at buying an older van (budget reasons) and I wondered if you helpful people could give me some advice on things to look out for. It would be upgrading from a large poly cotton tent so hubby comes away with us. the tent is very sound, so don't want to 'catch a cold' in the upgrade!
We've just upgraded from a tent on a 'budget'. Tried last year adn ended up buying a dud adn lost all our money.
So be very careful. Suggest you search every inch of the van for any signs of damp - feel the wall, and ceiling boards to see if they are dry and solid. If there are too many places that are soft to the touch - just walk away. Check the floor is solid everywhere -may just have some delamintation spots but may not (in our case is was rot!).Damp also smells so if you arrive to view and all the windows are open adn they've used a lot of air freshner you'll know why!
If possible find a van with some sort of service history so you know if it's been cared for. And if possible check the applicances work.
Above all go and view the van before you commit to buy, so you know what you're getting.
All sounds sensible but we didn't do that and ended up with a costly £1000 mistake last spring! There are lots of vans out there so don't feel the need to rush in and buy one - we've taken 8 months of searching to find the right one this time but I wasn't going to waste another £1000 of hard earned money!
Good luck and I hope you find something decent adn don't get conned like we did.
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Topic: buying an older van
