Caravanners - would you buy a 15-20 year old van?

[NoniRose]

We’re considering making the leap from tent camping to a tourer. By the time we factor in the car’s towing capacity, berth requirements and preferred layout, plus keeping the budget under £10k, we’re looking along the lines of a Bailey Ranger 550/6, around 2008 year (possibly a bit older…!).

Aside from checking for damp and ideally looking for something that’s been regularly and recently serviced, what else could be a dealbreaker with an older van?

No

No. Ours was 12yrs old when we sold it and it was leaking in so many places. Plus battery needed changing, fridge didn't work properly etc.

No, i wouldn't.

Our first van was ancient and it started falling to bits inside because of damp total waste of money.

Sorry man they turn into money pits.

If you have a caravan dealership nearby then go and have a wander around - give yourself some ideas of layouts that would/wouldn't work for you etc. An older van isn't necessarily a money pit, we sold PIL's after FIL died and although old it was immaculate!

This is a lift…! I figure if we’re seriously on the case about damp and about service history then hopefully it’s not a total non-starter?

We started off with a 15yr old van, we bought it privately armed with a bit of knowledge of what we were looking for and a damp meter. We had it serviced after buying and all was thankfully absolutely fine. We sold it on after four very happy years using it, with everything fully working. Our much newer van has been a nightmare in comparison!

Our First van was 15 years old and fantastic. We made sure it had no damp and it never put a foot wrong in the 6 years we had it.

@NoniRoseexh and I worked our way up through various older vans until we got what we wanted. Tbh I was able to sort out curtains/ recovering seats etc and he got to grips with the electrical side of things. An awful lot depends on how handy you are and whether you have space to work on your van. We took on an ex showman's van, it was elderly but in great condition and made it our own over time.
Just know what you're able/ willing to do, decide what layout you want and don't buy anything with damp issues unless you're in love with it, it's a bargain and you have time, money, knowledge and space to fix it!

Good luck, you can find the perfect van for you, it just might take some time/ buying and fixing up and selling on (as you would with a house)

Think my van is 13yo now and not damp. But it’s had issues and been serviced and damp picked up and sorted out. I do dread having it serviced these days as worry about a big bill. I’d almost be tempted to go really old. Like a 1990s van…..think they used to be better quality. I see some lovely very old vans on sites sometimes, like 1970s ones still going strong.

My van is nearly 20 years old and yes it needs a bit of maintenance each year but it’s not a money pit and it is a game changer.

It would need to be absolutely buttons for me to buy it

Caravans from that era, especially UK built ones like Bailey, were notorious for damp issues, but the damp problems would emerge within the first few years. A lot of people would deliberately buy vans at least two years old on the basis that build quality based damp problems would have already have been found by then.

Its not crazy to buy a caravan that old, but I’d want a good service history and either have it checked out if a private sale or buy under warranty if from a dealer. If layout works, the Adrias from that age had a better average build quality than the UK builds from Baileys etc and were very light for their size.

We had an older van initially that was fine, they upgraded twice more. None had damp.

Thanks - this is in line with what else I’ve seen this evening (so good to hear it first hand). I like the look of the Altea 542 DT.

Coachman are also good.
swift ok

id avoid Bailey and lunar to be honest

Yes. We have one that is about 20 years old and it's great. Got it for about 3.5 grand and it's perfect. Also,we don't need to be totally precious about it as it wasn't massively expensive. It's pretty straightforward in terms of water, gas, electrics so very little can go wrong. Had lots of fun adventures in it.

Thanks. Why avoiding those two?

Have a Luna. Bought in 2019 off eBay for £1600. She is now...26 years old I think. All good except there were some problems with the gas supply to the hob a couple of years ago which we were able to sort. No damp. We don't use the water in the van at all so have no idea if it works. We just use big bottles of water we fill up on site.

I think it depends on how well it has been looked after and stored.

Our van is 20 years old, an Auto trail.
We got it in 2016.
We have had issues with damp that needed money spent on it, and we broke down in France and needed a new ' radiateur'; my French suddenly got very good in terms of 'parts' and 'garage- speke'!

So, yes, we've had to spend money on it...but it's a beautiful, substantial van, the layout is just perfect and we can't imagine getting another, more comfortable van. It has a proper-sized oven for cooking from scratch, good fridge and freezer, amazing bed, good shower, excellent heating system, beautiful light windows. It's perfect!

We toured the whole of NZ in Jan, and our van was a tinny, drafty, box, with no oven, just a microwave, horrible, cold strip lighting, and it was supposed to be at the more luxurious end of the vans on offer.

Good luck, we adore ours and have been all over Europe in it; off to Northern Spain on Saturday.

Well both have a reputation for damp. Lunar went bust so parts might be an issue?

Yes I would and I did. Mine is a 2007 Swift challenger. Still
in great condition, no leaks, and more substantially built than new ones imho.