Hi, does any one have a Silverline Nova Vanden Plas caravan? I found some old 2007 threads about people who owned them then and wondered if any one still had one. This is my third caravan, the first one being an Abbey Somerset 1986 bought 9 years which provided us with great holidays for six years until mice got in one winter and ate all the wiring, we paid £1100 for it (it had been refurbished inside) and still got £150 for it. Our second one was a 2000 Coachman VIP 520/4 bought for £3850 3 years ago which unfortunately was a disaster. We thought the old couple from Peterhead selling it were really nice, the van was super clean and in great condition. We didn't have chance to get it serviced before going to our yearly trip to Fort William for the Word Cup mountain biking,big mistake! To start with when we got there to our usual site of Glen Nevis we couldn't get the bloomin hitch off, it just wouldn't budge, it transpired my 2001 Nissan Terrrano had an imperial ball and the hitch was metric. Well you know how friendly and helpfull caravan folk are, we soon had 5 people trying to help. In the end after an hour of heaving, the chap in the next pitch said he had an angle grinder with him, so, fag in mouth, glass of whiskey in one hand, angle grinder in the other, sparks flying, he cut the b***er off! then the jockey wheel fell off, I think it had had a botched repair that failed, that'll be why the old bloke selling it just lifted it on our tow bar. Then we realized the fridge didn't work at all, we never thoughtto check this prior to purchase. Then the bloomin kichen tap leaked. I also noticed the tires had perished during that first journey from Inverurie to Fort Bill, so into Fort William for 2 new tyres and a fridge from Argos. Just after this trip I had to scrap the Terrano as it needed a front diff and more welding which would have been way more than it was worth. Our other car wouldn't have pulled this heavy van. We sold it to a chum for 3k. He managed to get everything fixed. An expensive 3 nights accommodation eh! You can never trust sellers and can't take for granted anything will work unless you see it working. I had a daughter at the age of 44 1/2 in 2013 so we've not had a caravan for 3 years. I bought a Conway Mirage 2001 trailer tent last year though but due to my other half's new job I never got to use it though he went for a mountain biking weekend to Balleter with it, we are going to sell it now. I bought the Nova for £550 off Gumtree, paid the seller to put 2 new caravan tyres on it and take it to Gem caravans in Fife to get serviced. The chap selling it had bought a house and the wee caravan was in the garage. I know they're tiny but still have as much room as a vw campervan I would have thought.We are going to get in next saturday so caravan adventures can start again with the new addition of wee Alice. We moved back th Cumbria 2 months ago and are skint after buying our house to hols will be in the Lakes, Ive missed caravan life and my hubby and I are really excited about it. We have a universal Dorema 8' awning that I think will fit. I will post some pictures soon, Fiona, Morland
jeez! best I can say with your level of experience is to take someone with you that knows what they are doing!
first of all why on earth did your terrano have an imperial ball ever fitted to it? or do you mean you had the stardard ball and needed an alko ball?
before you collect and pay for this "new" van take a note book and pen with you and get the seller to show you every last thing fully working! and then write any instructions down to refer to later on.
as for the awning you have, you mean you have a porch awning?
please please please take someone with you to check this caravan properly out, its a very old caravan not made any more, have you checked out for damp? used a damp meter on it to check too?
Hi Kazo, just an update, I'd already paid for the Silverline, I got the seller to put new tyres on it and take it to Gem caravans in Fife for a full service. As we were in the process of moving back to cumbria I paid for 6 months of storage. I went to get it about 6 weeks ago with some trepidation. It was quite a long way up to Dunfirmline from Penrith. I thought if it's a shed I'll just leave it there! When I saw it I was delighted! it was absolutely mint, the bloke said it was and he was right. It had a new Al-ko stabelizing hitchwhich cost a few hundred quid. I towed it home no problems though my tow ball is a bit high on my Ford Fusion so I got a drop plate for it. There was just a bit of black mold on the table and the kitchen worktop which wiped off. Even it's stickers are perfect. I plugged it all in and put a thermometer in the fridge and went in with my fingers crossed in the morning, yeh, the fridge works. The pump and gas all work fine. It's all in amazing condition. The fridge looks new inside. I enjoyed washing it and tried that Fenwicks Bobby Dazzler rinse. I got a new battery for it and mesh panels for the roof vents. It has been in at our local caravan repair spot getting a new 24v socket and a new bathroom tap and new door hold back latch. Also the new tyres were only trailer tyres so they've put on 8 ply strong ones on instead.My 2 1/2 year old loves it! We have a 2005 Elddis Avante 475 we bought 5 weeks ago too. We had a very good purchase experience from Robinsons at Woolsingam. We have got it on a seasonal pitch at Hexham as my other half is a captain for Jet2 so he stays in it when he has to as he fly's from Newcastle, 1 1/2 hrs from home. We'll also use it for holls so I'll use the mini caravan for odd trips away and playing with, I love fiddling with it. Yeh I don't know the specifics about the tow ball with the Terrano but it was jammed tight on. When we got home with the new ball put on, it came off fine. Yes the awning is a Dorema Toronto porch awning. Have you got any trips planned? We're off to the west coast of Scotland towards Cambeltown in mid July.
Hi Kazo, it was just an extra socket I got put in, it had 2 of the old style 12v sockets and the 240v one it had was a white domestic one so they changed that for a caravan one too,cream, looks much nicer. Yeh we checked the Elddis with a damp meter and had a good purchase experience from the dealers, Robinsons, it was a really smart place, established many years ago, with a very good reputation. We also got 12 months warranty.We paid 5.5k so not cheap but in great condition. An old couple had owned it and it had just come in that day we viewed, they px it for one with a fixed bed. It hadn't had much use, the cooker and fridge looked unused. Other half has a few days off so we are going to go and stay in it over the weekend and explore around Hadrians Wall a bit. Hexham is a lovely historic town, isn't it. I'll make enquiries about my drop plate. I bought it from a caravan accessories shop and a caravan service centre put it on, along with a new Al-Ko towball, how come it's illegal? would they sell them, fit them if they are illegal? What caravan do you have Kazo? kind regards, Fiona
what year and model is your elddiss? the drop plate issue has been explained on your other post, and yes the caravan dealers will sell anything to anyone, caravans included that aren't suitable for the car that's about to pull them!
alko towball, have you removed all the black paint off the ball it came with on there? you need to do that and then clean up with brake cleaner each time you use the towball to get any rust and grease off it
my caravan is also an eldiss its a crusader super sirocco
important question tho is about your car, you said its a ford fusion 1.6 can you confirm the year, engine (petrol or deisel) and the model, I have looked at the specs for your car and its very close to being illegal to tow with this depending on which model you actually have
It's a 2005 Avante 475, we tow it with hubby's Mondeo estate 2 litre tdi. It is quite compact and has quite short front sofas but suits us with the double diner we can put our 2yo daughter to bed down the bottom with her curtain around her bed, we didn't want anything too big this time. Yeh, towball is black so I'll give it a rub & wipe with brake cleaner, thanks for the tip.
Yes, the Silverline I tow with the Fusion, it's a 2007 1.6 tdi.The wee caravan only weighs 477 kg Miro and is only 5'7" wide so tows really well. As the main caravan is at Hexham it's fun to take away, more like a campervan really, I also like fiddling/cleaning it etc. My daughter loves it so we play in there too, sometimes having drinks and crumpets etc. It's a big toy really!I'm looking into ways of maintaining it's super condition for the future.
ok just be careful tho as its so easy to go over weight which for your fusion is only 750kg max the caravan has a loaded weight of 700kgs max so you are really pushing close to it ok
Yeh, I don't put anything heavy in the van, the awning poles and bbq, food and drinks etc I put in the car. I'm really enjoying going on the forum and learning things, many thanks for your info
hi I've only just joined here and I've just bought a silverline nova as a renovation project so I'm intetested in any tips or advice. she's suffered from serious damp which has all dried out now so I'm ready to get started... mandy
Hi Mandy, sorry, I don't know anything about renovating caravans, I think mine had already been resealed before I got it. It had also been kept in a garage all it's life so is mint(luckey me!) good luck with the renovation and let me know how you get on, I would like to see some photo's and I could send you some pics of mine. My email is remyfistuart72965 at gmail.com cheers, Fiona
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Silverline Nova
