We are considering switching from a tent to a caravan. What pieces advice do you wish you knew before you bought a caravan?
I know I want a decent sized caravan, we currently have a 7 berth tent for 3 people as I like space. We also have a land rover discovery 2 as we currently tow a large trailer.
Thanks
thankfully your car is capable of towing just about anything, but what you will likely find is that you feel a bit hammed in from the tent. this is where having an awning will make the real difference for you. so dont forget that when you go veiwing caravans.
your biggest issue will be finding a caravan that hasnt got damp! but a damp meter, and check a caravan very very thoroughly, if the owner wont allow you then walk away as they are trying to hide something. strong smells of air freshner are also another trick for hiding damp!
be realistic, just because your car can pull the biggest twin axle on the road doesnt mean that your abilities match that, you could end up getting yourself into a lot of trouble, if i was you i would be looking at a 4 berth with a fully loaded weight of 1200-1400 kgs
take a friend with you, preferably one that has some experience with caravans or be prepared to pay out for an independant inspection to be done, and make sure you see EVERYTHING working fully on gas 12v and 240v
Vist a local dealer and have a look arount. Pick their brains, speak to other people looking around. Buying private can be a nightmare if you do not know what your are looking at or for.
Before setting out have look on caravan finder to get an idea of the layout that you like and could work for you.
Could save you loads of time and money going around to look at vans with the wrong layout.
Buy from a dealer reasonably close to you in case you want any warranty work doing. You will have to take the van to them and collect it for them to view and then for the work to be done etc. Don't be afraid to ask for some accessories thrown in.
Look at many and spend time thinking about how you will live in it, cooking, eating, sitting, sleeping, showering, getting in and out of bed for the loo in the night etc.
Personally I'm not a fan of fixed bed in a smallish van as it makes the daytime space seem very cramped.
We made the move from tent to caravan some years back, so I have some sympathy with the situation you are in.
In our experience, the first thing you need to do is to spend some time looking at the different caravan layouts and decide which will work best for you.
Find a large caravan dealer near you and go into each type & layout of van. Don't worry about the prices, you're choosing a layout, not buying a van at this stage.
Try to imagine living in that space; sitting, cooking & eating meals, and sleeping. Once you have some idea on which layout might suit you best - then you can go caravan-hunting.
P.S. Before buying our current van we were convinced that we wanted a fixed bed - but after looking at lots of vans we realised they take up too much space and we chose a layout which instead gave more space for cooking and eating. We haven't regretted doing that.
My biggest piece of advice is for anyone who is considering buying a brand new caravan. Always buy from a local dealer, even if they are more expensive. We went to the show at the NEC and were sucked into buying from a dealer a long long way from home because their price was so much better than our local dealer. At the show they tell you that you can have any warranty issues dealt with by any dealer which is partly true as technically, the manufacturers allow the caravan to be looked after by any of their dealers. However, what they don’t tell you is that the only dealer who is obliged to carry out warranty work on your caravan is the one you bought it from. Other dealers can choose to take you on, if they want to, but are not obliged to. In the area where we live, none of the dealers were willing to take on warranty work for any caravan they didn’t sell as they are already overwhelmed with work and get paid a pittance from the manufacturer for warranty work. Therefore, in the first year of owning the caravan we spent a fortune in petrol and wear and tear on the car, travelling back and forward hundreds of miles to the supplying dealer to get all the little snags sorted out. There was nothing major wrong with our caravan, just lots of little issues which seems to be par for the course with most new caravans today, but the stress of having to tow it hundreds of miles, leave it for a week to get sorted and then drive back again to collect it, several times in the first year, was ridiculous.
Now that we are out of warranty, out local dealer is happy to look after it for us as they charge what they want to for repairs but in the future, I will never buy a new caravan from any dealer apart from one very local to us.
We also purchased from a dealer at the NEC and again from the other end of the country. However, before confirming the sale, we did talk to the dealer about warranty work. We were provided with a list of mobile service engineers who would deal with any problems, under the warranty. All in all, we have not experienced any problem with warranty work.
When buying our most recent caravan we got a price from a dealer at a show, then used it as a bargaining tool with our local dealer who ended up matching the price.
Always worth a try!
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Topic: Advice on choosing a caravan
via mobile 18/8/2024 at 10:25am
