We are currently tent campers, and travel fairly light, no bothering with EHU etc, me and wife and 2 young daughters, we have just got a dog and life has changed in that it’s a struggle to fit us all in the car comfortably.
Been considering camper vans,bongo sized but they seem too cramped and potential reliability issues, now considering changing my petrol hatchback and going for something like a CRV Diesel and buying a £1500 caravan.
Problem is I have nowhere to store it so would need storage too at around £500 a year.
I know very little of caravans but some cheaper ones seem perfectly adequate.
If you haven't looked at storage, this will get you started CaSSOA and on here UKCS.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Do you use a roof box? Or a trailer might be an alternative option to a caravan, to take the gear that the dog (in a dog crate?) has displaced; you just need to get a towbar fitted to your current car.
Used to have a huge roof box and trailer on my last car, we used to take everything and on our last trip nearly ended in divorce as all the unpacking etc and added stress that the trailer tipped back due to loose bolts
So don’t really want all that hassle again, I may be able to store locally for £45 month.
At £1500 I would pay a technician £60 to inspect it for damp as mould spores can affect your respiratory system. Also check when last the caravan had a service. Rather safe than sorry. Most of the other stuff you can probably repair yourself unless it is a faulty gas appliance.
I agree with getting a potential buy checked. Damp is the biggest issue, it can be repaired if not too bad depending on your skill set.
Gas and electrical are safety checked on a service.
Check the tyres as a lot of vans don't travel much so tyres more than 5 years old are better replaced as they harden and crack.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Quote: Originally posted by Bearlake6camper on 25/5/2022
I’m now thinking of a trailer tent ⛺️ Or folding camper but set up time could be an issue
I dont think theres any more room in a trailer tent than a canvas tent. And they are a huge faff to put up - from what ive observed on sites. Folding camper - maybe ok?? Though if you can get a half-decent cheapo caravan, i would say that is the way to go. Minimal setting up, and only one of you getting wet if it came to it. Just make sure its safe, and not dropping to bits.
I suggest the OP skims through the recent threads on the TT forum. There’s one model cited that can get folded away wet & it has a toilet & kitchen. And they’ll see any problems that they might encounter, compared to the problems on the caravan maintenance forum. As an outsider, to me a TT looks like a good step up from a family tent with the new addition of a dog.
Everyone has a different opinion, the thing is I own a perfectly good petrol hatchback and would have to change the car to a diesel really for towing a caravan, with a TT I could keep the same car and just add a towbar, I don’t have anywhere to store either but I figured the TT could even fit in a garage, caravan would be perfect as very little setting up and packing away but being honest I don’t want to change my car.
Quote: Originally posted by Bearlake6camper on 25/5/2022
Everyone has a different opinion, the thing is I own a perfectly good petrol hatchback and would have to change the car to a diesel really for towing a caravan, with a TT I could keep the same car and just add a towbar, I don’t have anywhere to store either but I figured the TT could even fit in a garage, caravan would be perfect as very little setting up and packing away but being honest I don’t want to change my car.
How big is this 'petrol hatchback'? Because by definition, hatchbacks arent physically that big. (The engine being a different matter.) TT's + all your other gear, arent going to weigh in at what you would call 'light'. My suspicion is that you are going to be well-overloaded as a combo.
Quote: Originally posted by Bearlake6camper on 25/5/2022
I’m now thinking of a trailer tent ⛺️ Or folding camper but set up time could be an issue
We look at one of our daughter, but was advised that they are a hassle if you need to take it down when it is wet which is probably often so we scrapped that idea.
Most likely a £1500 caravan is going to be end of life or a massive restoration project if salvageable, a good usable van probably would be worth say closer to £4000 which is about the bottom value to which they drop. It's not impossible that a £1500 van if friend/family passing on is beyond redemption, of if someone just wants rid, but it's not a commercial rate for a usable van. A professional caravan engineer check is a hugely wise spend, faulty caravans are money pits!
Can't much comment on trailer tents too much beyond couple of friends only held on to their's for one season, both saying too much faff to erect/pack/dry etc., both moved on to caravans. If you consider a TT that needs the canvas drying before storage (can't be left packed with wet canvas for more than a day or so or you'll ruin it!) then you'll need full pitching space, and storage sites generally wont have that, you may be able to opt for a full caravan sized storage bay to enable pitching (if they'll allow it!), but you'll pay for it (and storage is not cheap, nor that easy to find these days), otherwise storage bays are rented on the towing size and charged accordingly!
As to your current car, you don't say what it is, just because it's petrol doesn't automatically make it unsuitable for towing, I tow a decent sized 4 berth caravan with my petrol car quite happily. You need to look on the V5 reg document to see what it's max towing capacity is, and/or then on the VIN plate to see what the Gross Train Weight is, then you have an idea of it's suitability for towing. You really need to check that before towing anything anyway, not all cars are permitted to tow at all, or only have tiny towing capacities, there is also usually a trade off between any weight you tow and how much you can also load the car!
A petrol hatchback could be a good towcar depending on which model it is.
Turbo models have good torque and are efficient.
Before diesels became more common we towed with petrol cars. Saab 900 and 9000 hatchbacks. 2 litre turbos were very good towcars if a little thirsty!
Petrol was cheaper then.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
I sold my 2005 Burstner for £2000 Jan 2019,it was in excellent condition and still is.
I only sold it because of my age (80)and it wasn't getting used much.
There are bargains about but they are rare!
saxo1
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: Cheap caravan any good
via mobile 24/5/2022 at 3:50pm
