Hi all, looking for some advice from the experts! I'm planning an imminent move from camping with our tent to a caravan, and some friends are selling a caravan I'm pretty interested in, at a great price... the plus points are that I know they've loved and looked after it well, it has most of the things we'd need, awning, etc... but... the layout is really not ideal for us at all, even they've said so... I'm a single mum with three kids 16, 14 & 9, no-one wants to share a double bed and their's has one double, and one single/poss. double with a small bunk above... question really is whether it's better to sacrifice layout for the security of buying from trusted friends, or whether we should look around? Our budget is between £1,500 and £2,000, not a lot but I can't spend a lot more, plus it's our first van and we may be able to upgrade in a couple of years once we're hooked Any advice?
If the van is right for you Heather, give it some thought to put either an inner tent in the awning or buy an annex for the awning so you'll all be able to sleep without anyone sharing a nest. Our kids all argue over who is going to get the annex & who is in the van with us. The major descision is to ensure the caravan is RIGHT, once you've spent your money it'll be gone so I'd advise you make certain the van is OK & worry about the sleeping layout after. As you said yourself, you can upgrade to the one you want at a later date.
HI there, what van is it? We compromised on our van because it was a good buy and the trade off is that neither double bed is very big so we each have to have a separate bed as I am not the smallest of peeps and OH is a sprawler. As your kids are quite old now you could put the eldest two in the awning in an annexe or else use a pup tent so the beds needn't be too big a problem.
Personally, if I knew that the van being offered was dry without delamination etc I would carefully consider how I could make it work for me if it wasn't quite right. Then in a year or two's time you can know what you did and didn't like and spend money on a van that is newer and the right layout.
thanks guys, good points... it's a Corniche, I think a Swift, 14/5... it comes with an awning so I could get an awning bedroom, plus my son (9) likes to sleep in his small pop-up tent anyway, which would fit in the awning... I guess I was hoping we'd be able to go away in the colder months as well, which would be trickier if we couldn't fit in the van. However I am seriously tempted to the point that we may well have to compromise on a less-than-ideal layout for the fact that it's known to be dry and cared for...
I must admit my head is spinning a little from all the time I've spent looking at caravan information online and browsing our local caravan dealers!
If you really like the van and during the day the layout will work for you as a family, ie, plenty of space to all sit comfortably then I would go for it. Knowing that the van has been really well looked after is a real plus point. If i were you i think it would be better to buy something that you know is sound rather than take a chance on another van that might not have been so lovingly taken care of, knowing the van's history can only be a positive thing.
We have a similar layout in our Abi and have found that the kids prefer to sleep in the awning than in the van itself. We have invested in a universal awning annex, this basically attaches to the outside of the awning, you unzip the side panel and the annex fits onto the original awning poles, it is really simple to put up. It is then similar to sleeping in a tent, this way you still have the complete inside space of the awning without losing any to an inner tent. As you have teenagers you could even buy two and put one on either side so they have more privacy.
Hope this helps, we are thrilled with ours and having a good amount of seating during the day helps if the weather is poor and we need to stay inside, we aren't then on top of each other.
Hi Jo, thanks for another positive vote for the caravan; I think the annex may be the way to go... my friends actually bought one for our last trip out (a whole bunch of us camping together, tenters envying the caravanners in the wet and windy conditions!) for their daughter and a friend to sleep in, but as they are upgrading I guess they will be keeping the annex for their new caravan/awning combo... I might invest in one myself! As you say, as long as there is somewhere to sit inside when the weather is really bad, it should be ok... I don't think they'll complain about sharing the double bed if the alternative is to have the kind of nights we had last weekend in Lincolnshire!
HI Tentmum, yes we have a Monty 6 and a VV 500 too. We only bought the van recently, it is my third but OH's first foray into caravans. It is sited so we will still use the tents elsewhere. I love going over to France with the Monty as it is usually so warm over there it is really just to sleep in and I dn't really have any desire to drag the caravan around.
I am buying a bigger car next week and we have a Thule backbox so getting all the gear in won't be a problem in future either. You could get a small fan heater for £9 from Argos to warm the awning up, we used one in the vango last May and it was brill, warm as anything in minutes.
Hi Snowy, yes the Monty is a great tent, and funnily enough we were looking at the VV500 at our local camping place last month, for those quick weekend getaways! I'm very tempted to keep the tent anyway, or get a smaller, easier one like the VV500 for quick trips, but am determined we'll get a caravan so we can go away in colder weather, especially on sites with no EHU, which often happens... we were all camping on the Lincolnshire showground over the bank holiday and I was so envious of my friends' caravans, they didn't have to queue for the (very basic!) lukewarm showers like us poor tenters!
We have the Abi Marauder Sport, the layout is great for us as instead of the usual corridor type effect down the middle, ours seems to open up towards the back of the van and therefore feels more spacious.
We bought it last September and have been on numerous holidays in all kinds of weather over the last 12 months, we can honestly say that we are thrilled with it. If we were all sleeping in it all the time then maybe the front double would have been a little more comfortable if it was a touch bigger, but having said that we were away for 5 nights last week and all slept inside without any problem. My children are younger than yours though so bear that in mind with bunks etc, I would be worried to put a teenager or adult on my pull up bunk for the safety of those sleeping underneath.
Having a full size awning and annex helps greatly and with a small outdoor type electric heater in it then we have been able to use it in any weather.
Enjoy looking around and I'm sure you'll know when you find the van for you!!!
Hi Heather, Best advice I can give you is to have a quick look around at some dealers for your budget and check out different layouts. This will certainly give you something to compare your friends Swift caravan with. Then I'm sure when you have seen other ones you will buy the one you have set your heart on! Floyd.
Hi Jo, lucky you with the Abi Marauder, we loved that one... we went back out looking again this afternoon (following your advice floyd!) and I think we're getting a better idea all the time - Norwich Caravans (2 Sites) have been extremely helpful with no heavy sales pressure... saw another elddis cyclone xl (we like those) plus a swift anniversary with a decent layout for us. Not many came with awnings though and they seem really expensive to buy...
All a bit above our budget though and I still feel we may be better off with our friend's caravan to start with.
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Topic: buying my first van
Any advice?
