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!

Before you go off in your travels - it sounds like a trip to a local weighbridge would be a good idea! (Not joking - you don’t want to be stopped by the police for being overloaded.)

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.

Yes - make sure you get one that can be mounted on the outside of the van, though - preferably the roof - as caravans are amazing at suppressing any signal you can grab from the inside! We managed to get away for a week in August and I've vowed to get something like this as soon as funds allow:

maxview.co.uk/product/roam-mobile-3g-4g-wi-fi-system/

@Bargebill19

Before you go off in your travels - it sounds like a trip to a local weighbridge would be a good idea! (Not joking - you don’t want to be stopped by the police for being overloaded.)

Funnily enough I phoned a local scrap dealer who has a weighbridge to ask if that would be okay and they were happy to help! :)

[quote WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]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.

Yes - make sure you get one that can be mounted on the outside of the van, though - preferably the roof - as caravans are amazing at suppressing any signal you can grab from the inside! We managed to get away for a week in August and I've vowed to get something like this as soon as funds allow:

maxview.co.uk/product/roam-mobile-3g-4g-wi-fi-system/[/quote]
Perfect! Thanks!

Op excellent!!! Enjoy shopping for a caravan. Have a wish list and a want list, be prepared to compromise and enjoy your travels from home a to b !

Oh, and it almost certainly won't be an issue on the age/price you're looking at, but if you should happen to find one you want that doesn't have a stabiliser, insist that the dealer fits one for you before you drive it away, even if you have to pay for it (maybe £250 or so) and can't swing it as part of the deal. Just remember to disengage it before you reverse the caravan!

Even though vans are usually wider, you'll probably still need towing mirrors, if your caravan is wider than the van (which it likely will be). Research them carefully and look at the reviews, as the cheapest ones will wobble like crazy and send you all boggly-eyed, especially those with straps.

These ones are on my pending kit upgrade list - suitable for vans as well: www.milenco.com/products/mirrors/milenco-aero-3-mirror

Do be careful towing on a Transit as they are back end light. We had to change our Lunar 7 meter caravan with fixed rear bed, I.e separate back of van bedroom etc. It was towed fine on Mitsubishi L200 double cab and a Land-rover Discovery but the caravan was floaty on the Transit, trying to lift the back end of the van. Most sites allow vans as long as they are not sign written. However an awful lot of sites will not let vans o towing Hobbies, Adrias and some other German vans. They are associated with travellers. Enjoy your van and caravan, but if 1st time towing, be careful, and enjoy choosing. I personally like Swift and Adrian vans.

Adria vans, bloody auto correct.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Oh, and it almost certainly won't be an issue on the age/price you're looking at, but if you should happen to find one you want that doesn't have a stabiliser, insist that the dealer fits one for you before you drive it away, even if you have to pay for it (maybe £250 or so) and can't swing it as part of the deal. Just remember to disengage it before you reverse the caravan!

Oh I never disengage my stabiliser before reversing, didn’t know I was supposed to! 🙈

Oh I never disengage my stabiliser before reversing, didn’t know I was supposed to!

I hadn't a clue until a much more experienced caravanner than me told me, but as soon as he did, the penny suddenly dropped. You should also really disengage it if you're manoeuvring (not just driving straight)
in a forwards direction very slowly too, but that's much less common.

If you think about it, the job of the stabiliser is to keep your towing vehicle and caravan in as straight a 'train' as possible to avoid the caravan being able to swing from side to side, which is a crucial safety feature when you're travelling at speed; but when you're trying to manoeuvre at 1mph, you almost always need the van to swing sharply one way and then the other to enable you to line it up to get it on to your pitch/drive/storage place.