Does anyone know about Caravans?

[StrangeCoat]

I'm looking for a 4 berth touring caravan with a fixed double bed, and tall fridge and feeezer. Will be staying in the UK and travelling to Europe and be in it full time for a few months.

Can anyone recommend a make/model? My budget is £10-12k.

Do I need a motor mover? Single axle or twin? I am bamboozled!

The Hobby caravan brand would probably fill most of your requirements. Tall Freezer isn’t going to be an option.
Do you have the correct driving licence
and a vehicle able to tow what will be a heavy van?
Motor mover is optional so long as you can accurately reverse. But many second hand vans will have them, you can have them retro fitted. As for twin or single axle - fixed bed style vans are available as both single and twin axle - just depends on weight, and chassis style the maker has built on.
You will be looking at second hand, so have a look at reviews on places such as the caravan club and approach some dealers to look inside their vans and see what you like/dislike.

Some of the Bailey unicorns do like this one. here

Twin axels are meant to be more stable for towing which could be a consideration of towing long distances a lot. I only have a single axle and never had an issue. Some bigger, heavier vans need two axles and both a fixed bed and a big fridge will add to the weight. Have you got a good tow car?

This is a great used caravan search website.

www.caravanfinder.co.uk/caravans.html

Thank you so much!

Licence is fine thankfully, and I'll need to double check weights etc, will tow with a Ford Transit.

I'll ask a few dealers if I can have a look around a few, hopefully will get a better idea. :)

Is it better to get a single or twin axle? Or is it swings and roundabouts? I have seen a few caravan sites don't accept twin axle tourers and I wondered why.

@JacobReesMogadishu

Some of the Bailey unicorns do like this one. here

Twin axels are meant to be more stable for towing which could be a consideration of towing long distances a lot. I only have a single axle and never had an issue. Some bigger, heavier vans need two axles and both a fixed bed and a big fridge will add to the weight. Have you got a good tow car?

Thanks for the reply and that's really helpful. I was planning on buying a Ford Transit, will load it with luggage/plenty of water etc so it will be laden. Do you think that would be okay?

Lots of sites will not let you on with a transit towing a caravan. One to check x

Why are planning on filling up water? Campsites have taps and you just use a water hog. Why waste your weight allowance?
Check your potential sites will accept a transit van. Quite a few in the UK won’t. (I have no idea about the continent).

Also check your potential caravan has been built for four season use (which is why I suggested the hobby range).

@atomicnotsoblonde

Lots of sites will not let you on with a transit towing a caravan. One to check x

Ah right okay, would the site say if transits weren't allowed (if I was booking online for example) - Or would I just be turned away?

Inside layout is crucial, as they vary so much, depending on the number and ages of people using them and their lifestyle. Some things will be essential for some folk but endlessly annoying for others.

Twin axle will open some doors for you but close others. You can have a lot more weight and more stability with towing, but you need a heavier, less fuel-economic car to pull it, plus twice as many tyres in contact with the road will also reduce fuel consumption - as well as obviously costing twice as much to replace. On the other hand, if you have a blow-out whilst travelling, it's much easier to come to safer and more controlled stop with 3 wheels than with just 1. Also, some caravan sites won't allow twin axles, or will arbitrarily charge more per night for them, if they do.

Also, if good internet (4G/5G) connectivity and/or TV are important to you, it might be worth allocating some of your budget to a good auto-tuning satellite dish and/or roof-top wifi router (to be used with a data SIM).

As with cars, several of the big makes are owned by the same companies, so there isn't necessarily that much to choose between them. I've heard of Hobby (German) being solidly-made - plus they tend to be slightly wider than some others. Not always by a lot, but an extra 3-6 inches in width can make a big difference to how roomy they feel inside. Adria (Slovenian) are also solidly made and a slightly less well-known brand, so you may get a bit more for your money. Just make sure that, if you do go for a European-made one, it has the door on the 'correct' side for the UK.

You should be fine with a transit. But before buying it start looking at caravan weights for caravans which meet your requirements. The caravan will have a MPLTM weight (something like that). Your van must be allowed to tow that, so check the van handbook or plate by the drivers door to see what the maximum towing weight is.

Some people get fixed on not towing more than 85%. But that’s a recommendation not a law and I think it’s only in England people get their knickers in a twist about it. So my caravan weighs 1350kg for its MLPTM weight. My car weighs 1400kg and it’s max towing weight is 1400kg. So we chug along steadily but it means I’m towing at about 95% and some old boys on caravan forums have a fit and say that I will be more likely to “get a snake on”.....where the caravan starts swinging like a pendulum when towing. Very dangerous. But I’ve never had an issue.

You might see another lower weight mentioned on caravans called the MIRO weight whichnis mass in running order. This is basically the weight of the caravan when empty of personal belongings but with a battery in it. The bigger MLPTM weight allows you to increase the weight of the caravan by adding personal belongings. So if there is a 100kg difference between the 2 you can only add 100kg of belongings into the van when it’s been towed.

So I always tow with my awning and clothes in the car. With a transit van you can have heavy stuff like that in the van. But I keep duvet, wash stuff, plates, pans, etc in the caravan. If you add a motor mover they weigh about 30kg and you have to allow for that weight in the calculations.

I’ve never had a motor mover but I’m very good at reversing them onto a pitch. My slight fear in life is taking a wrong turn or a road being closed and having to unhitch and turn round. I tow by myself and caravans are heavy if needing to pull it round by hand. But I guess people would always be happy to help. I did a day towing course with the caravan club and I’d recommend that.

I have a Lunar and use it all year so not sure what the 4 season thing is about. Mine wasn’t marketed as being 4 season but it has a heater and is cosy.

The transit van thing is to keep travellers off sites. Most sites which don’t allow vans will state it On their website. The traveller thing is why some sites don’t allow twin axels as well as they’re more popular with travellers. Some sites also don’t allow Hobbys for the same reason. But I think ringing sites before hand and checking you’d be ok....not sure if European sites have the same odd rules.

Lots of sites will not let you on with a transit towing a caravan. One to check

We've never been asked about our towing vehicle (just an estate for us), but we've been on a lot of sites where people have towed with vans. Not saying the PP is wrong at all, but I don't think it's necessarily a ubiquitous rule. There will be a lot of camper vans and motorhomes on the same site anyway, so I wouldn't have thought a van used to tow a caravan would stand out at all, as long as a site doesn't have a blanket ban on them.

Having a door on the wrong side hasn’t been a problem for us in the uk - but we have been asked to put the van nose in, so the door is on the right side of the pitch on occasion.
Some site owners/wardens will refuse entry to transit vans on arrival, some state it on their website. Probably best to be upfront and honest so you don’t get caught out.

A few years ago, Mersea island (Essex) blanket banded transit vans and caravans from even driving on to the island - if I remember correctly. Apologise if I got that wrong.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll
Caravan club used to have such a rule - but I understand it’s been relaxed now - but to what extent I don’t know.

Hobby's are German, very well made and highly sought after. We have one now.

Baileys are fab. Our first 2 were baileys.

Please think very carefully about layout. Then go for the make. Look on eBay and other caravan sites.

Dh had very fixed ideas about what he wanted, after the first 2. I wanted a fixed double bed and 2 beds for the boys that were permanent. Clearly for me not Making the beds daily was the main criteria. That's why this particular layout of the hobby, which is quite rare, was what WE wanted.

All our caravan friends have totally Different layouts and want different things.

Have you caravanned before. Please just buy a cheapy first. Then decide on what layout you want, and invest in your second caravan. Not the first!

@JacobReesMogadishu and @WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll thank you so much for your input, really appreciate it a lot.

It will just be DH and myself, the only things I can see that I would like are the fixed bed and the full fridge!

The internet is a great point - I've read not to rely on site wifi so I was planning on a Mifi router with data SIM.

I've seen (online) a 4 berth Luna Delta twin axle that looks fantastic condition and perfect layout-wise, 10 years old, £11k.

Your van must be allowed to tow that, so check the van handbook or plate by the drivers door to see what the maximum towing weight is.

I wouldn't have thought caravan weight would be an issue if you've got a full-sized Transit to tow it (always worth checking to be sure, though) - if anything, I'd have thought it would be more of the opposite potential issue for drivers with post-1997 licences.

Lunar went bust last year, they’ve been bought out now but I think are struggling again. It had(has) affected the prices of Lunars....people worry if it totally folds and you need spare parts could you get them?

Saying that I have a lunar and I’m not losing sleep. But if I had a choice between two similar vans I’d probably go for the non lunar.

Yes to Hobby having a good reputation and Adrias. Then probably Compass.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Your van must be allowed to tow that, so check the van handbook or plate by the drivers door to see what the maximum towing weight is.

I wouldn't have thought caravan weight would be an issue if you've got a full-sized Transit to tow it (always worth checking to be sure, though) - if anything, I'd have thought it would be more of the opposite potential issue for drivers with post-1997 licences.

You’re probably very right, no idea how much a transit weighs, assume they’re heavy though.

Licence is fine thankfully, and correct tow weights will all be double checked :) Def don't want to get caught out there.

Just need to chose a caravan! There are so, so many...thanks again for all the advice, it's been really helpful. I think I'll still look to buy a Transit but I'll email a few sites now just to see what they say.

We've towed caravans all over Europe and the Uk for over 25 years. My DH is also a retired white van driver! Firstly I would say the transit thing, I really wonder just how much stuff you need to take that you need a transit. I'd also suggest that a transit is far from comfortable to drive or even sit in for long distances. If you are travelling around you will want to leave the caravan on site then drive around with the transit. Not the easiest thing to park especially as so many places have height barriers. If it's full of stuff it could be very inviting for thieves too. Re your idea of having water in it, were you thinking of wild camping?

We'll be between houses so although the majority of our stuff will be in storage, a transit would be so helpful in being able to keep a few things handy, clothes/shoes/bikes etc plus DH has wanted a Transit for absolutely ages so this is his perfect excuse!

I see, just not sure it's a good idea to go touring round with all these things in your vehicle when out and about.

Even if you are buying from a dealer, it’s worth paying an independent service engineer to do an inspection. A genuine dealer won’t be offended. If it’s a private sale, the inspecting engineer is worth his fee many times over!