What with the fantastic new rules about taking children on holidays in term time and the mazing prices of flights, we have concluded the only way to get family holidays for the next 10 years will be caravanning - we love camping but it's never quite warm /dry enough to go for long.
Anyway, we have 2 kids and 2 dogs. I've been in and out of caravan seller sites looking at every model and make until my head is spinning.
I think we have concluded that we want a fixed bunk (although is there benefits to having the 2 lounge layout?). Other than that, they all seem fairly similar. Is there anything particularly we should look for in a family caravan?
Also, any tips on buying privately - how to be sure it's a good deal and not stolen?
Hi,
With bunks, if your kids are very young now they are ok, but if not you will find the bunks a little snug for them as they get older and may be better with two lounge scenario you mentioned; not really that big a deal making the beds and you have a lot of flexibility the rest of the time.
With buying privately, check for lots of relevant paperwork, including CRIS documents, much as you would buying a car. Even still, can be a bit of a lottery and the old adage applies; if it looks too good to be true it probably is. Also, if you do see one you like, worth paying an approved caravan engineer to look it over.
We went into caravanning for excatly the reasons you outlined but a word of warning; we love it and are thrilled we did it, but you will be surprised how much it all costs when everything you need is totted up. Its not cheap! But it is great
Make sure it's not damp. Make sure it's not stolen yes. The obvious way to do this is buy from a reputable dealer but you will pay for the privilege. Savings can be made buying private, and there are many good private van but use a damp meter on it and check out the chris registration.
There obviously needs to be a good match between your towing vehicle & size of the caravan so you need to work that one out first.
Layout is really personal choice. Visit a number of dealers and climb in and out of all the vans to see what you like. Fixed bed, end bathroom, front lounge etc. There's not that many differences.
We have a Santa Fe so towing isn't an issue. The previous owners also used it for towing. Good tip on the beds - I'll have another think about it. My kids are young now, but I guess it depends on how long we keep the caravan for.
There seem to be so many makes as well. It's exciting and exhausting choosing a caravan!
Depends on the dealer, the price of the caravan & whether any sort of warranty is offered. If you are paying much more than £3k you would expect service including damp check before delivery & some sort of warranty but even then you can come unstuck with dealer trying to fob you off.
Under £3k then usually sold as seen so take your damp meter which is probably wise even if buying a more expensive caravan. If you want a cheap caravan then you will save money by buying privately but checking it over very carefully before paying money.
dont bother with dealers.buy private,have a good look around especially on floor and in lockers for damp.Take someone whoo has an idea what to look for.From what ive seen even with new vans,dealers fob you off.just find one you like,check it out and go for it.
Personally I would go for a van with double bunks.....triple's are ok while the kids are young but really lack headspace as they grow which is why some manufacturers have moved away from this layout. We have the twin lounge at the moment as the kids are young but plan to move to a double bunk layout around 2016 as it means the beds can remain made up and there will still be a side dinette for them to use as a play space.
In terms of private v dealers its down to choice and money. You will probably pay £1000+ more for the same van from a dealer but will get a warranty. Shop around as many dealers will only offer 6 months warranty but there are others (Reading / Oxford / Swindon caravans for example who are local to use) that will offer 12 months as standard plus the option to extend for another 2 years. We brought our most recent van from there for this very reason and for £249 got 3 yrs warranty.....which has proved well worth it as our rear panel needed replacing last year.
If you buy private pay a local mobile caravan engineer to do a check for you. This will cost less than £100 and will be well worth it. Damp is the key problem to look for but also check over all the panels. Cracking of the rear and front panels of vans around 2006-2008 was common on certain makes and these can be very small and hard to spot...the most common area is up on the top of the panel where it meets the side panels and roof area. Personally I wouldn't touch a van from a dealer or private unless it had a full service history, while its no guarantee it is an indication that the owners have looked after it and caught any issues early....also remember that if its less than 6-10yrs old (depending on make and year of model) the remaining water ingress warranty is ONLY transferable to you if the maintainance schedule has been kept to!
We got ours for the same reason as you and although its not as cheap as we first thought it still works out cheaper than a foreign holiday in peak time plus we now go away a lot more! Next year we are going to try a year on a seasonal pitch as hopefully this will make it easier to get away for short notice weekends, etc
Also decide if you will be using the shower!! If your going to use the facilities on site then I would go for one with a smaller bathroom and more living space. Keeping looking on Autotrader Caravans, you can see the different lay outs etc on there a lot of the time. Good Luck and have fun choosing.
Im voting for the double lounge option, we have kids and two large dogs. Bunks were quickly outgrown and we also enjoy the fact that when the kids are not with us, we can make up our rear lounge to be a fixed bed which is really lovely.
Hi
We (Family of four) started about 5 years ago buying a cheap van (£1200) and after a few holidays we found that we loved caravanning. So we decided to trade to a slightly newer van 1999 of ebay. Had a few problems with delamination but repaired that myself. Both my older vans was double dinnette (5 berth) and we found that making both beds up every night was getting a bit of a hassle. We have recently bought a 2008 6 berth with 2 fixed bunks at the rear and a side dinnette. This works for us as the kids beds are made and when they get up they can move to the side dinnette to play/eat breakfast. Also we have a dog and the dogs bed goes under the table of the side dinnette.
------------- 2015 - Playa Montriog Spain
2016 - Private villa in Javea Spain
2017 - Unknown
Hi, our kids are 12 + 7 we prefer double dinette, gives the kids an end to play in whilst we have the other end so that you,re not on top of each other all the time. also you can leave the back bed down if you wish and that gives them a flat area to play on. You pay your money and takes your choice.We gave up on hotels 10yrs ago after trying to match our 1st child to hotel meal times, now on our 2nd caravan both bought 2nd hand currently have a Bailey Ranger which we are happy with. our holiday season starts in march/april and ends with October half term, giving us at least 5weeks holiday a year and we have never looked back. ONLY REGRET NOT DOING IT SOONER!!!
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Topic: 1st time caravan buyer looking for help
