About the towbar - I had one fitted to my Karoq by Witter. Price included fitting, about £800 if I remember; you choose your engineer from their list of approved chaps. I’d found out who the dealers used, and he did mine on the front drive, took half a day and two mugs of tea. Demonstrated the electrics on a plug board, including the fridge circuit (main dealers sometimes miss this off).
Whoever you choose, make sure they fit proper electric loom, not crimp connectors, and programme it into the car’s system. You’ve got a good tow car there.
We did what you are doing a few years ago.
Big tent and a trailer to carry it all,to a caravan.
We had a very good issabella awning with our 2 berth van, and added 2 zip on pods, so my kids 10 and 12 had their own space but still secure in our setup.
Worked really well for us for a few years until the kids wanted to be independeant and then we got a porch awning and a couple of good quaity vango 2 berth tents for them both, which they still use today.
We moved from tent to trailer tent. Had a couple of seasons with that before taking the plunge to caravan. 1st van was a two berth quickly followed by a four berth. You have a good tow car in the SKoda probably be close to £500 to get a towbar fitted. On line check out a caravan plus car towing match site.
We moved from a large tent (with lots of equipment) to a caravan about 11 years ago. We have four kids (two at uni now) and it is amazing how quickly teenagers grow out of bunks!
Caravan beds *can* be uncomfortable - we invested in duvalay toppers and they made the beds (and hence caravanning) so much more comfortable.
If you are not very experienced in towing then a course might be good. Also worth looking at which caravans your car can actually tow safely. There are online outfit matching tools (such as towcar dot info) which will help make sure the weights are safe. (just spotted Bobmel also mentions the importance of this).
I always make sure our van gets an annual service each spring no matter how many miles it did the previous year. Just peace of mind. Same with tyres - changed every 5 years even if they don't look worn (some people would say you don't need to but for the sake of less that £150 for 2 tyres I think its worth it).
Also, importance of "winterising" the caravan cannot be overstated. Make sure if it is going into hibernation over winter that you deal with all of the water etc correctly (lots of vids on Youtube including Trudigans as mentioned further up the thread).
Other than that, get out there and enjoy it. You will do all of your learning once you have a caravan and start using it.
Cheers for further advice.
I have towed previously, I used to tow 80ft trailer masts around the country.
Pup tents are a good idea, the added adventure of "camping out alone" will be good for them.
I will definitely look into "winterising".
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Moving from Tent to Caravan
