To impulse buy a caravan?

[Nopeepeehere]

It was always my dream to buy a little flat near the sea and one in the Borders. Of course this won't happen as it's a) too expensive and b) very selfish to buy up more property than I need.

A friend suggested I look at caravans instead, and i must admit it does look marvelous. A long-term pitch by a wild part of the sea for weekends and school hols, and then a month in the Borders in the summer.

But I know nothing about caravanning so I'm looking for realistic opinions. Does this seem like a good plan? What are the potential pitfalls? Should I give up the idea completely and instead spend the odd week in a wildly expensive airbnb like I do currently? Thanks

There are caravan shows every year and some of them have towing practise

they will have tons of practical advice but leave the card at home as they will also have loads of lovely stuff that you don’t need at all !

Thanks for this thread OP. My husband and I are currently thinking of getting a towing caravan and just keeping it on a seasonal pitch in Yorkshire. Neither of us have cars capable of towing, but I've read that you can pay companies to tow for you. I originally wanted a static caravan, but I joined the caravan action group on Facebook absolutely it's really eye opening as to what a rip off these can be.

This sounds lovely (apart from the money pit bit!)

Don't look what happened to ,Tommy,Turkish ,and gorgeous George.

You could also consider a pop top camper van. VW California or Mercedes Marco Polo or similar. Under 2m high and not that much bigger than a freelander, so you can use as your everyday car, camp at the beach overnight ect. I’d not like to live in one for a month, but I can see using one to move between pub / hotel stops. Can often stay for free overnight in pub car parks or even some public car parks. https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/blog/product-and-outfit-reviews/campervan-reviews/volkswagen-california-ocean/

Any ideas on how much it costs to get the caravan moved for you?
So just keep a non-towing car yourself but have someone move the caravan there are back. Would only work if the caravan gets put on a long term pitch (6 months say).

My friends pitch is 5k a year plus gas etc. she bought her caravan for £35k 3 years ago and was quoted 2.5k recently and she renovated it quite considerably. It's a lovely thing to have but it is an expensive venture and don't expect to ever make money back from it.

Of course you would be unreasonable to impulse buy anything that costs a significant amount! To buy one after careful research and consideration? Not unreasonable at all.

You can search online with exact details of the car… search results for “freelancer” in pic attached

Freelander?

If you have space to store at home, then a small touring caravan with an attached awning tent can be fabulous.
You aren't paying for storage and can move around, take a spot for a couple of weeks if you love it.

I have friends whom have done it for years and love it.

They use the caravan as an extra room at the side of the house for guests as it is all hitched up to electricity.

It was a godsend when family visited from the US and they had their own space to chill in.

It really made the two week visit easier all around.

That's a bit of a horror story. I wouldn't expect to make money from it, but I'd hate to lose that much that quickly.

You have a very capable tow car.
most new caravans have an electric anti sway device. The caravan will brake automatically stopping it from jack knifing.
if you are going to use all of your annual leave to go caravanning and have some weekends away then you won’t regret it.
You will lose money on depreciation and if it’s new you need to service it each year and the warranty is still rubbish, but you just suck it up. You will always feel like you are at home wherever you are.
I hope you do it and only regret not doing it sooner.

And you and your DH will have a shared passion to enjoy together.

We were going to buy a touring caravan but went for a folding camper in the end. It’s working really well for us. Cheaper initially, easy to tow and it’s surprisingly spacious inside! You can also fit an awning to it for more space but we haven’t needed to do that yet. It comfortably sleeps 2 adults, a 14 year old and a 9 year old and a huge dog :) we did buy it a bit on a whim but it’s been amazing and we’ve had loads of lovely holidays and weekends away in it.

We've been touring for 15 years and have had three caravans in that time. I'm trying to persuade DH to agree to putting our caravan on a seasonal pitch now, I too would love one by the sea.

Honestly, you can't go wrong. Everyone on the sites are so friendly and helpful.

My advice is to join the caravan and motorhome club, they have lots of seasonal pitches available every year. You will need to find somewhere to store it but many sites have online storage (more the independent sites though).

I've not read the full thread so not sure what advice you've been given so far but if you do go for a seasonal pitch I'd recommend a full seasonal awning to give you lots of extra space, they are expensive but worth it. There are FB seasonal pitch groups if you are interested and a caravan and motorhome one too.

Good luck. I hope you manage to do it. It'll be fun.

We've also never lost on our caravans. The first one we made £2,400 and the second we made £3k.

We will be keeping this third one for many years as it ticks all the boxes (full shower room and fixed bed).

Check your driving licence allows you to tow without the need for towing lessons.

FWIW- an awning which goes on the side of a touring caravan is known as "divorce in a bag".

Have you got a licence to tow. It isn't an automatic right anymore. After a certain year (Goigle it) you have to pass a tow test

You can tow up to 3500 Kg combined weight on a car licence. 8250 Kg if you passed your test before January 1997.

My parents only ever made 2 impulse decisions in their life. My Sister, and our caravan 🤣 we had it from when I was 6-16. They said it was the best impulse buy they ever made. I have so many happy memories there 🥰

I think, research and cost this carefully rather than doing it on impulse.

Could you hire one for a short holiday to see how you get on before committing to buy?

Is it a towing 'van or a static. We bought a towing van many years ago and loved it. Went over to France first year. Read up as much as you can, join both Motor Home and Caravan Club and Camping and Caravan Club. They have lots of information. Any van you buy make sure it is under 10 years old as damp is still a very big problem. Stamp all round on the floor all over to make sure it has not delaminated and be very picky about joints with outside walls (damp).

We had several vans over 32 years. Went on the Continent a lot as they are far more relaxed about lots of stuff. Join ACSI if you go as it will save you a vast amount of site fees. It's off peak camping but their off peak is not necessarily ours.

If it is a Static van take the contract to a solicitor to have it all explained to you before signing. It will save you thousands of pounds for a relatively small fee. Do not believe everything the sales people tell you, only believe what is written down. The resale price of Statics is virtually nil and the site pitch fees, electric, sewerage, parking is very expensive. You can only use the static for 9 or 10 months of the year. You will not be able to move it elsewhere.

Not air awnings, they go up in seconds, brilliant invention.

You can get a damp-o-meter thingy that gives number readings. I would look online for a big checklist of things to look out for.

Avoid most Facebook groups for caravan selling (especially the ‘caravans under 1/2/5 or whatever K’ type ones) as they are fullll of scammers.

Remote control motor movers to hook up with ease! All very modern these days and so much easier than "forward a bit, left a bit, no the other left, stalled it, arghh STOP!"