In danger of opening a can of worms.....
My daughter and her family are sold on caravanning - I gave them my Geist 485 and once they got used to the limited size, they enjoyed the experience. However that is a 2 berth and they really could do with a reliable 4 berth. So everyone, tell me which one you recommend. Which have issues with damp, what should they avoid?
Any caravan could be damp, just read the threads on this forum, we have members with £30000 damp vans and others have 20 year old vans that cost £1000 and are bone dry.
I suppose any recommendations we would make would depend on the budget available, the layout they like and any weight restrictions imposed by their tow car or driving licences. A bit more information would help us make some helpful suggestions.
There are a lot of for berths available. Fixed double bed, fixed single etc.
Might be worth lookng at some dealers or manufacturets websites to see the layouts on the market.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Most newer 4 berths seem to be almost entirely fixed bed. If they have young children they can only put the children to bed early in the fixed bed unless Mum and Dad spend teh evening in the awning. Not very family friendly in my opinion.
Older vans had seats/bunks at the back for the kids so they could play by day and sleep in the evenings.
Best to look around some dealers to see whats available. Totally agree about fixed beds when you have kids plus I'm 6 foot 3 and I havent seen a fixed bed that meets my needs.
We went for 2 single fixed beds as they are 6'4" long in our Cadiz. I am 6'2".
Our previous Vigo had a transverse fixed bed which was barely long enough.
Some of new centre island beds must be for small people only!
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Any caravan can be damp, those built before 2006 are less likely to according to a service engineer I know. as for layout it would be wise to look at as many as possible and set all the beds up so you can get a feel of how it would be in night time mode. A van with a end bathroom is good with young families if you intend to use your own facilities or basic camp sites, with this layout you could get a side dinette which will convert to a single bed with a bunk above, this will be suitable for persons around 10st or less then you will get two sofas upfront making a double bed
------------- its our imperfections that makes us perfect
The family have thought that a Bailey Champagne 4 berth looked to have the set up which would work for them. Rear bathroom, side dinette. I am more interested in comments from owners - people with experience of the caravans. We have all heard of leaky Lunars, I seem to think I have heard negative comments on Bailey vans - being light but prone to damp.
What about the budget and the car or licence restrictions? There is little point in us suggesting or recommending caravans that are too heavy or too expensive.
As mentioned above, any caravan could have damp problems. Bailey, Swift, Lunar etc can all have problems, it's a case of finding a suitable caravan and then making sure it is as problem free as possible. Even brand new vans have problems.
We can't really give our experience of particular outfits until we know which caravans are suitable but in general as everybody has said already any caravan can have problems.
All caravans can leak usually through openings in the basic shell. Windows, roof lights, doors, awning rail, fridge vents, battery box hatch, cassette toilet hatches x2, water inlet, grab handles, exterior lights, under-bed storage hatch on some. Also some front and rear panels can crack.
All these are sealed with seals of some type which can deteriorate. Regular servicing consisting of a thorough damp check will find a leak before too much structural damage is done.
I can highly recommend the Elddis Xplore 304, its a small 4 berth.
The front seating area converts into a double bed and a small dinete on one side of the van turns into a single bed while a fold down bunk is directly above it.
Quote: Originally posted by Pennine Plodder on 19/8/2019
The family have thought that a Bailey Champagne 4 berth looked to have the set up which would work for them.
The side dinette top bunk is only suitable for young children and has a weight limit of around 70 Kgs.
Check carefully for damp.
Our Champagne had damp readings of over 20% in the rear NS wardrobe. The rear strap on top of the caravan was removed, cleaned and re-sealed under the warranty.
I believe this is a common problem.
All now sorted.
We have a 4 berth with a fixed transverse bed. It is the perfect layout for the 2 of us, but would I recommend it for a family? No way the bed takes up too much space for a family I would look at a more flexible layout.
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Topic: Best 4 berth single axle
via mobile 19/8/2019 at 5:18pm
