Any caravanning geeks out there???

[loubilicious]

Well my hubby has finally relented and we're going to look at a couple of caravans tomorrow........nothing expensive.....in fact quite the opposite. As cheap as possible!! For the past week I've been trawling Gumtree and Ebay trying to find something good at the right price and not too far away. Debating whether we can face a 200 mile trip up to Aberdeenshire to look at one tomorrow.

We don't really know anyone local to us who knows anything about caravans to come and look with us, and I'm terrified we're gonna make a huge mistake and buy a shed!!!!

So are there any keen caravanners amongst the Geek population, do you have any top tips??

 

[nails for u]

hi there i have just sold my most recent caravan and bought a boat but we have been keen caravaners for years my last caravan was a hobby 650 umfe 30 ft long twin axle tourer im a little embarrassed to admit that at 32 theres not much i dont no about touring caravans any advice you need just ask

 

[Sarah-Jean]

I'm not a caravan expert but just wanted to wish you luck! We bought our first 6berth caravan in July and the kids are loving it so far!

 

[Zo Zo]

I bought a caravan last summer and sold it a few weeks ago.

Some things to consider...

Can you truly, genuinely see yourself using it? Is your other half 'handy' i.e. will he be able to set everything up?

Do you have somewhere to store it?

Is your car powerful enough to tow it?

You need a tow bar which will be c. £300.

You will probably need to buy a few accessories as ebay sellers are unlikely to include them, such as a fresh water tank, a pump, a waste water tank, a gas bottle, electrical hook up etc etc

If you are buying a cheap van you may well spend the cost of the van again in tow bar and accessories.

We paid over the odds for ours but it was in really good condition. They are actually very desirable and anything nice, even if it's really small and ordinary, will not be cheap. Cheap will either be a real stroke of luck or totally skanky. (Sorry!)

I know I'm being really pedantic but you should even consider your petrol... how much will it cost to drive 200miles to view one? (Is that a round trip?) Then if you bid and win it will be another 200 miles to pick it up!

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

I trawled ebay etc last year and eventually found a caravan that needed some work...I managed to get the guy down from £400 to £70! as it was in such a state! I spent a couple of hundred doing it up...laminate flooring, painted inside and out, wallpapered..I made new curtains and cushion covers etc took a partition wall out and shower and changed the layout a bit, we got a towbar from the scrapyard for £40 and we went away in it for the first time a little while ago and it was great I loved it! lol ill try and find some pictures to post tomorrow.
All Id say if your just looking for something cheap and cheerful for a few little breaks away then make sure it has no damp and is all sound..then get sprucing! lol x

 

[loubilicious]

Thanks peeps, I know where to come for the advice when we need to do some little jobs!

I'm sitting here in Flamborough in our "new" (to us)5 berth caravan.....We'd been to look at a few and TBH I'd decided not to bother for now, then this one went on Gumtree and it was the last one we were going to look at. We already had a towbar as we had a trailer for camping.
It was bang on our budget, with everything we needed included, even an awning with the extensions and bedrooms. (Which I will be kicking my 2 eldest into next time as they are trying my patience just a little too much!!!)

So we bought it Tuesday....cleared it our and cleaned it Wednesday, packed up Thursday and drove down to Leeds on Friday.....and here we are on our jollies!!!

There's a few bits and bobs we're going to do.....the previous owners never used the running water so the pipework is manky so we'll replace that for next season and get it back up and running......We're going to replace the flooring (we already have some lino which will fit),I'm going to make new cushion covers and curtains, although the ones in it are ok I just want to update it a bit........ and I'm going to replace the table top as the current one is a bit worn. For the moment we've just made it more homely with some throws and cushions.
So wish me luck guys!!!!


P.S. It's all Steve's fault for buying his bus and talking about camping trips!!!

 

[Zo Zo]

Sounds fab! Have a great time!