What would you recommend to a family of four with a budget of £5k? I've been looking at 5 berths because of the end dinette layout with the double bed plus overhead bunk option.
A Rob says, first you need to check what your car can tow, and what licence you have. If you passed your car test since 1997 you will be much more limited in what you can tow than if you passed before 1997. This can severely restrict your choice of caravan, unless of course you have an HGV licence.
We bought our preloved Van last November, not taken it out yet. We are a family of five, but our three kids are teenagers so they will be sleeping in the awning annexe, and a pop up tent in the awning for our eldest.
I have been where you are, and asked the same question myself.
It’s difficult/impossible for others to answer because firstly it depends on the car you intend to tow with and the weight it can pull, it has to match with the caravans MTPLM, there are a number of sites that will match for free. The onus is on the driver of the vehicle to ensure they are towing legally, secondly as colin21 also said depends on your driving license, I’m fortunate I have grandad rights as I passed my test in 1987,. We bought a second user Caravelair 420 which is a 4 berth (2 doubles) and the weight is quite low, but you need to understand the weights in order to be legal as it’s not just the weight of the van it’s also the weight of what you put in it. If you google MTPLM exaplained that should help. Good luck in your quest..
The advice of going to the caravan finder tv website is spot on, Graham also broadcasts on a sky channel.
------------- I own a caravan, that makes me a grown up, right?
Your 85% of kerbweight calculation gives a max caravan weight around 1175kg so you are looking for a caravan from the 1990-2000 era as later models will be much heavier.
Beware of using matching sites as they are often inaccurate, towcarinfo for example uses arbitrary weights rather than the actual kerbweight. Check the figures for your car using the handbook, V5 and the weight plate on the car and check the MTPLM of the actual caravan you are looking at. Sellers often quote the wrong weights, even dealers selling new caravans display inaccurate weights.
Quote: Originally posted by daddysrubbish on 13/4/2019
Thankyou all. Passed my test in 89 so fine there. Car is a 2018 Tuscon but the 1.6 petrol so may be s bit gutless.
As you passed your test in 1989 you are ok for a total weight of 7.5 tonnes. That means the weight of the car plus the weight of the caravan. You just need to find out the weight of your car and its maximum towing weight, then you can work out what caravan you can tow. As you say, your car may be a bit gutless for a large heavy van. I have an earlier 2 litre diesel Tucson, and mine can tow up to 1400kg.
Quote: Originally posted by daddysrubbish on 13/4/2019
Thankyou all. Passed my test in 89 so fine there. Car is a 2018 Tuscon but the 1.6 petrol so may be s bit gutless.
As you passed your test in 1989 you are ok for a total weight of 7.5 tonnes. That means the weight of the car plus the weight of the caravan. You just need to find out the weight of your car and its maximum towing weight, then you can work out what caravan you can tow. As you say, your car may be a bit gutless for a large heavy van. I have an earlier 2 litre diesel Tucson, and mine can tow up to 1400kg.
itd the same weight for the 1.6 petrol, however I wouldn't advise it and likely to be painfully slow
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Topic: First time buyer
via mobile 12/4/2019 at 9:58pm
