[Closed] Caravans

Twin axles aren't so easy to manoeuvre but are a lot more stable under tow (and you have limited redundancy if a tyre goes).

It's basically safety vs learning to park.

Anything else?

Periwinkle blue

Are twin axles harder to get onto campsites? (I have seen some sites state “no twin axles”) Is that a general thing?

I'd always assumed this was just to stop certain groups of people who live in caravans rather than holidaying in them from setting up on the campsite.

Personally, not a fan of caravans.  Hire a bungalow or mobile home if you still want to enjoy the experience of carrying your toilet roll to the toilet block but don't want to haul a trailer and can't fit (your family, obvs 🙂 ) into a T5.  Unless you're retired and use them every other week it seems an extraordinary faff to have to tow your holiday home there and back every time.

Personally, not a fan of caravans. Hire a bungalow or mobile home if you still want to enjoy the experience of carrying your toilet roll to the toilet block but don’t want to haul a trailer and can’t fit (your family, obvs 🙂 ) into a T5. Unless you’re retired and use them every other week it seems an extraordinary faff to have to tow your holiday home there and back every time.

I know, and I never thought I would be a caravan owner, but, the family love camping and being outdoors. I can get a weeks stay onsite for £300 vs a week in a static/cottage for £1000 +

 I can get a weeks stay onsite for £300 vs a week in a static/cottage for £1000 +

and the cost of the caravan?

If you put it in your driveway you are at the epicentre of a 15% decrease in house prices that spans at least a 10 house radius.

Don't forget your fuel consumption will virtually halve if you're travelling any distance, that's what made me finally give up on ours. By the time I'd counted everything up including the hassle factor it made more sense to stay in a static with lots more room and separate bedrooms as the kids got older

Camping != caravanning. Tsk! Some people, mutter, mutter ...

Bigger Motorhome?.

Twin axles are by a distance easier to manuvere than single axles. That is if you have loaded them properly.

What I will say is look at the costs of caravan sites .those buggers ain't cheap which is why I have a camper van -rarely use a site other than for a shower and to dump my waste .

Twin axle vans are huge and unnecessary tbh as there's plenty of space in a single axle van. Just check out different layouts as some have much more useful storage than others and it helps to have some storage front and back so you can balance the weight out.

They also have toilets and hot and cold running water, as do static caravans, so you don't have to carry toilet roll anywhere 🙂

Re shopping, depends how much you want to spend, but at the lower end of the market damp is the big thing to look for. Open every cupboard and go under every bunk and tap the  walls everywhere you can, especially up high and in the corners to see if the walls are soft. Damp is like cancer for caravans. Catch it early and it can be fixed. Also trust your nose, and look for mold on soft furnishings. Lastly the floor should be firm and not springy!

On older vans there will probably be clips and fastenings broken, but these are widely available at caravan shops and way to replace.

Obviously check everything works, but also push or pull on the hitch as hard as you can. It should not move. If it does, the damper has failed which is a cheap fix but until it is fixed the van will clonk and snatch on braking.

Also look up how to check the age of tyres. Caravan tyres never wear out, they just age beyond what is safe. 7 years is the usual limit.

 I can get a weeks stay onsite for £300

£300 for a parking space for a week?  Holy crap.

Also, make sure you can legally tow a caravan.

Post 1997 licenses (I think) only allow a trailer weight of up to 750kg, which is too light for caravans I believe.  Check your license to see what categories you have, and the definitions of them here:

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

Also need to think about gross train weight, max towing weight, nose weight and all these other fun technicalities around towing.

Cheers,

Keith

Re sites - there are expensive sites, but these tend to be busy and crowded as well as being expensive.  The more like hoilday resorts they are the worse (IMO) and the more expensive.  There are loads of sites that are a tap in a field, sometimes with leccy and a toilet, these tend to be way out in the countryside in beautiful spots and cost a tenner a night or thereabouts.  A much better experience imo.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club is as bad as it sounds, but it might be worth joining because they have a huge network of this kind of site called Certified Locations, limited to 5 vans.  The Caravan and Camping club has similar.

 I can get a weeks stay onsite for £300

A week in the caravan usually costs me less than £100.  Paid something like £150 for our week in Braemar IIRC and that was a full campsite not a CL.

As for hassle - it's really not that bad once you get it down.  Much simpler than camping.  Our new van is in storage, and all we do is put bikes on the roof, put clothes and food in the car and go pick up the van.  No different to staying anywhere else really.

It does take a bit longer to drive, but I reckon on our trip to Scotland it cost us an extra 2 hours each way, but we saved that and more by not having to take a big tent down and pack all our crap into the car/trailer.

Post 1997 licenses (I think) only allow a trailer weight of up to 750kg, which is too light for caravans I believe.

Nope.  You are limited to a gross train weight of 3,500kg if you have a post 1997 license.  Not an issue unless you have an SUV and a big caravan - although your van might also put you close to this.

.Twin axle vans are huge and unnecessary tbh as there’s plenty of space in a single axle van Just check out different layouts as some have much more useful storage than others and it helps to have some storage front and back so you can balance the weight out.

The sentence that proves someone knows nothing about Caravans......

Twin axle vans are huge and unnecessary tbh as there’s plenty of space in a single axle van.......Safer when towing ......give more flexibility of design load capacity

and it helps to have some storage front and back so you can balance the weight out.........erm  especially importanton a single axle van the wight should be low down and over the axle not stored at each end which just creates a seesaw affect (also dampened by a twin axle)

Basically what you need to do is first not jump straight inand buy the first van you see, go round ALOT of dealers/showrooms new and second hand and look for design features that do/dont suit you. When you've done this prioritise the list and then work out what vans tick most boxes, as to manufacturer there are really only two in Britain now, Swift group and bailey, alot of the others are actually owned by these. Dont discount some Euro manufacturers they make some pretty nice lighthigh spec vans

Re the twin axle on sites.....never had a issue in brittain (on our third twin) but some european sites do refuse to take them.

Fyi it cost me 350 quid for a days days tuition and my test for my trailer license. Highly recommend you think about it. Opens van options up and also teaches you the correct way to manuvere and to think about loading  a trailer. Too many have a go heroes at campsites near wiped out my old van trying to put them into massive pitches  badly.

A week in the caravan usually costs me less than £100.

Whaaaaaaat?! How do you manage that? When we go away on the camper, it's usually around £20-£25 a night with hookup, and that's on small 'tap and showerblock' sites, not fancy-pants ones.

ive never seen one for less than 20 quid these days - and i dont take hookup unless its not any cheaper not to take it .....

many campsites can be that a night for 2 people and a small tent these days.

Re: Molgrips assertion of MGTW of 3500kg:

You're right.  it's max vehicle of 3500kg plus up to 750kg trailer, OR max total train weight <3500kg (if trailer is over 750kg).

My misunderstanding. Not that I'll ever get the wife in a tent or caravan anyway, so its all a bit moot.

Whaaaaaaat?! How do you manage that? When we go away on the camper, it’s usually around £20-£25 a night with hookup, and that’s on small ‘tap and showerblock’ sites, not fancy-pants ones.

£10 on a 5-van Certificated location with just water and waste facilities. maybe £15 if you want electric hook-up (we paid £12 a night, just outside of Lydney)

Helps though if your caravan if has a toilet and shower, not very common in a T5.

ive never seen one for less than 20 quid these days – and i dont take hookup unless its not any cheaper not to take it …..

many campsites can be that a night for 2 people and a small tent these days.

Yup (it's also a gripe that I have to pay more, generally, for the T5 camper, than someone who has a tent and a car, who uses over twice the field space that I do)

£10 on a 5-van Certificated location with just water and waste facilities. maybe £15 if you want electric hook-up

+ (cost of your Caravan Club membership / number of times you use the discount it brings)

Twin axle vans are huge and unnecessary tbh as there’s plenty of space in a single axle van.

I used to know a guy that couldn't understand why any anyone would buy an estate car.  He used to tell me that he could pack his car so efficiently he couldn't imagine why anyone would need that extra space.  I tried to explain a scenario where someone could pack just as efficiently as him, but had more stuff to carry, and thus would need an estate.  He just couldn't compute this as he was completely unable to see beyond his own scenario.  I told him to imagine he had 3 kids rather than 1---no, still could not compute.

Camping/Caravanning/Motorhoming - different strokes for different folks. We've got one kid and holiday cottages mean she's pretty isolated with us, if we camp/caravan/motorhome she always makes little friends and it's lovely to see. I'm not a fan of line up white box campsites but a mix and match of CLs and sites is OK. They are getting blinking expensive tho. We're lucky being in Scotland that actually finding a plethora of quiet places is reasonably easy within 2-3 hours, other parts of UK you might find a bit harder.

Layout for vans is key and that they don't leak i'd say as well. Also the Caravan and Motorhome Club (ex Caravan club) magazine has a fantastic classifieds which my mate used to get a minter van for not much from a retiring couple - the letters page is also excellent bog fodder for a read. Makes the Daily Mail look positively open minded and liberal ! Some of the C&MC sites are ace, some are run by ex NCP car park attendants. The C&CC is OK as well, membership for both isn't much.

6.8m long, 1588kg mtplm 4 berth single axle (Bailey Madrid) is where I’m currently sitting. Towed to the site we’re on with our Galaxy.

We’re in a CMC ‘CL’ so only 5 pitches on a farm, overlooking the Downs, mtb & road riding from the door, leccy & water point & paid £25 a night.

Fuel economy dips from circa 44mpg to around 38mpg with the ‘van on the back.

Plenty of room for the 2 of us & our 2 dogs. Nice big washroom/shower, proper central heating for the winter & loads of storage space.

We site it on a seasonal pitch from end of Oct to end of Feb & use it loads through winter. That costs £550 for as much use as we want & is a fully serviced pitch on a lovely site near Wareham. (Even did last Christmas in it) then a 2 week summer holiday (like now) plus odd weekend and overnight stays.

Had a T5, loved it but got sick of camper van Tetris. Had a trailer tent but then you have the hassle of towing alongside the hassle of putting a tent up & down.

The caravan works out pretty cheap over the amount of use it gets especially if you take into account the limited (& more expensive) b&b/cottage iptiobs when you’ve got 2 dogs.

TA vans tend to be bigger & heavier but with more room inside. Our single axle is about as big as they get. Smaller vans have more compromises; smaller washroom, or smaller beds/sofas. Best to go to a big showroom or the nec show & have a good look at lots of options.

Out first van was £3.5k & we pxed it for the current one last year for 3k after 18 months use. Current van is 6 years old, was 24k new & we paid 15k for it. Intend to keep it for years yet.

Thanks all so far.

Cost is not an issue we have already decided this is the route for us. Towing is good also, I am old enough to have the right licence and used to work on a farm so manoeuvring etc is all in the memory banks. I have also just picked up a Volvo xc90 with its massive kerb weight so should be able to pull just about anything with that.

As for layout we are thinking rear bunks with the garage door to the side looks best for us.

A few things which come to mind:

We had 2 Coachmans and were happy with both. Beds which can be left made for kids are good, especially when travelling as you can carry them asleep from car to van and dump them in. Separate shower cubicle was a must for us. - Not for showering but as a drying room. The newer vans generally seem to be designed to be plugged in, with things like blown air heating, electric toiler flush, motor mover, microwaves etc. All good if you are plugged in but drain the battery very quickly if not.

Ironically, we got rid of our caravan to buy a T5.

I know, and I never thought I would be a caravan owner, but, the family love camping and being outdoors.

What about a big tent/awning on the side of the T5?

Caravanning is not camping... Also given how slow they are & how much they block the roads up in summer surely it can't be any fun to drive any distance in one?

Okay nobody so far has actually hit the point of twin axles.

MTPLM - Maximum Technical Permissible Laden Mass

Single axle is always going to have a lower permissable laden mass than the equivalent double axle, typically up to 1500kg for a single and about 1700kg for a double. That might not seem a lot but if you were to get a large single, like my dad has, then you may be upset to find out you only have 236kg to play with from the dry weight (Mass in Running Order or MRO). That's not a lot when you are on a post 1997 licence and fancy taking bikes and all that sort of stuff with you or an awning to sit in when the kids are in bed. You end up with a massive van with loads of space but bugger all you can put in it.

When buying a caravan or motorhome always look for dampness. Any soft bits are good indicators of rotton wood, check in cupboards and especially in the corners. Check things work and ESPECIALLY check the damn fridge. If they go they are very expensive to fix. Electric movers are nice to have but are aftermarket additions so you need to account for them when looking at weight. A habitation check is about £200 but tbh after the last one we got done I'd hesitate to say it's worth it, we got things failed as they wouldn't light on gas which was fair enough since they never had the wherewithal to check there was gas in the bottle. Broken things are generally more expensive to fix than normal household items especially the branded fittings like water socket covers, rooflights and such. Buying second hand may net extra stuff like a water butt and wastemaster.

On things like mpg YMMV (literally). My 120hp C8 drops from ~38mpg to about 17mpg at best, a lot of the time it was about 14mpg on inclines and dropping gears like no tomorrow. 6th is a fantasy, even in the 140hp Mondeo.

EDIT: Saw the thing about garages. Crap on a caravan, totally defeats the whole point of loading correctly unless you load the bikes above the axles for travelling.

Also given how slow they are & how much they block the roads up in summer surely it can’t be any fun to drive any distance in one?

Faster than lorries in Scotland and no more obstructive than one. I find it quite relaxing, just get it up to speed and one a straight road you just fling on the cruise control and sit back. 10mph isn't much of a sacrifice if I'm honest.

That’s not a lot when you are on a post 1997 licence and fancy taking bikes and all that sort of stuff with you or an awning to sit in when the kids are in bed. You end up with a massive van with loads of space but bugger all you can put in it.

Caravan shouldn't really be laden when under tow, unless you can put the load on the axle. Gas bottle, leisure batteries and stuff is probably OK but you shouldn't be planning to use it as a trailer. That's just going to make the stability worse. Put your kit in the car.

Looking at Static v Motorhome v caravans, caravans seem the cheapest option....

Caravanning is not camping…

I don't get this sentiment at all, and I've never owned a caravan. I have been camping with families who've been in a caravan, and I think an experience where the children spend 90% of their awake time outside larking about, playing games, swinging from trees, eating off their laps, and generally really enjoying themselves in the outdoors is fantastic for them. Who cares if they sleep in a big plastic box rather than under fabric, and have the option of somewhere dry to sit and play board games if it rains.

Camping doesn't have to be lighting fires with two sticks and crapping in a hole.

We had a twin axle Dethleffs caravan which weighed nearly 2 tonnes. Driving it was a bit of  a pain as it took ages to get up to 100kmh in it with our T5 and then getting stuck behind trucks would mean spending ages getting up to speed again. We mainly used it in southern Europe and Germany and there were a few campsites who wouldn't allow twin axles on them,... not because of some sort of stigma but simply because the lanes on the campsite were too tight to get a 9.5m long caravan along them. We had a mover which made moving the caravan fairly easy but they are not as manouverable as a single axle van and often it took a while to get the caravan positioned. Once set up though for our large family (4 kids) it was great. The kids had their own bedroom with a bunk and double bed and so did we with a living area in the middle.

We have just dipped into caravanning but only spent £4500.

I have no motor mover. So if you don't have one get good at reversing. Or pay £600+ for one.

We have a single axle. Ours weighs 1150kg. The feeling of towing it is weird.

Look for damp. Even new ones can have problems. Swift have their SMART construction and bailey have alutech to do away with wood. Water can still get in. Buy new for warranty or get a damp meter and check the van. Looking for readings <14%

We have an outdoor revolution air awning. It's a doddle and goes up super quick. Pumps up, job done.

If buying an older van usb ports etc can be added easily on the 12v system.

Fridges aren't the biggest for a growing family. Electric coolbox in awning compliments that.

Don't forget the cadac.

The caravan club is good to join. Yiuve got the mandatory volvo so your sorted. We paid £66 for 4 nights in Anglesey  with electric. <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Got a fully serviced pitch in harlech next week for £14 a night. </span>

Next I want a Sprite Major 6 TD. Nothing fancy but ideal for our family needs.

Ignore the haters. Beats sleeping in a wet tent. Ideally I'd like a T5 for day van duties but that's dreaming, but I can cook a full Sunday roast standing up which is more than can be said for my pals who are living the "dublife"

I am not a caravaner but grew up using them, parents still use a campervan after recently selling their small caravan.

My point is about the club's.

Caravan club is more upright and snobbish, caravan and camping club not so much and is more open imo. Both are very stayed and full of 60+ers. My parents swapped from the former to the latter. I have been a member of the latter if the sites fitted with our plans for the year.

Thereby s also the freedom camping club that I have just discovered, yet to try a site (for camping but they also do caravans).

The sentence that proves someone knows nothing about Caravans……

I do know a bit about caravanning, been doing it a few years.  And I'm really picky about loading it and finding optimum stability.  I fitted shock absorbers to our new van, for example.

erm  especially importanton a single axle van the wight should be low down and over the axle not stored at each end which just creates a seesaw affect

Well in our van that would result in a huge pile of all our stuff in the middle of the floor.  Don't think that would be very practical 🙂

We have a twin dinette layout (front and back) and we put camping chairs and bedding up front, and kids' bedding, clothes and toys in back.  Awning in the toilet which is in the middle, but that's very light.  Trimming the hitch weight means moving something like the hookup cable to the back or the front - I'm not talking about massive ballast in the back.

Caravan shouldn’t really be laden when under tow, unless you can put the load on the axle. Gas bottle, leisure batteries and stuff is probably OK but you shouldn’t be planning to use it as a trailer. That’s just going to make the stability worse.

Not in my experience.  In our car at least it doesn't take much in the boot to lower the springs to the point where it makes the ride poor.  We try and load with about 5% of the van's weight on the hitch, which is at the lower end of the recommended 5-7%.  Our setup is very stable - on a smooth motorway I forget the van is there.  I think a heavier van makes it more stable on motorways.  Although on a rough windy road (Scottish A road) it jerks the car around a bit more.

Okay nobody so far has actually hit the point of twin axles.

They can carry a lot but the vans are so huge they are borderline impractical for windy UK roads.  Re the payloads - 230kg all in is normal, however on modern vans they changed how they measure the mass in running order so it includes normal living stuff, so it looks like the payload is only 150kg or so.  Basically, if you just bring clothes and food and some kids' toys and crap it works out ok.  Compare it to six or eight big suitcases as you'd take on a plane.  When I learned about this it seemed restrictive, but it's really not, unless you are looking to bring blowup kayaks or some other kind of gear with you.  Don't put bikes in the 'van, they will bounce around and trash the interior, speaking from experience.  I put mine on the roof.

Re MPG, ours is about halved from 62mpg to 30-35mpg depending on wind which of course makes a much bigger difference with a big object towed behind.

Also given how slow they are & how much they block the roads up in summer surely it can’t be any fun to drive any distance in one?

Well - motorways are easy, of course, just sit in with the lorries at 58mph.  You rarely need to pass anything, its easier than driving a normal car in some ways.  Very relaxing to be going slower.

Quiet A roads are ok; on busy ones I do feel a bit guilty holding people up so I pull over a lot.  But you'd be surprised how often you come up behind a car going even more slowly.  Basically all the time on the bigger roads.  Rough B roads are a pain - not so much the actual driving, but the state of the roads makes me fear for the state of my old van and I slow down.  Not as much of an issue with the van we just got though as it now has shocks and is actually screwed tightly together 🙂  Scottish A roads are the worst.  The A93 to Braemar was a bit of a pisstake.  Not the 660m mountain pass, that was fine, but the bit running up to it.  Very windy and uppy downy and rough as hell.  But some of the roads we took cross-country to get to Mull were very narrow and windy and it went on for hooours.

On the other hand, Scottish drivers were pretty relaxed and the roads were really quiet, which really helped.

Oh BTW I am selling my 1994 Bailey Discovery for cheap 🙂 It's dry...

Oh BTW I am selling my 1994 Bailey Discovery for cheap  It’s dry…

<span class="bbp-reply-post-date">Posted 13 minutes ago</span>

Where are you? A friend is after a sub £2k one that isn't rotten

Cardiff.  PM me.

Caravan shouldn’t really be laden when under tow, unless you can put the load on the axle. Gas bottle, leisure batteries and stuff is probably OK but you shouldn’t be planning to use it as a trailer. That’s just going to make the stability worse. Put your kit in the car.

Seriously? You would empty the van of everything and put it in the car? That's why it has a MTPLW, once it's parked you can load it how you please.

Molgrips - that's exactly how you are supposed to load a van. Heavy stuff being fridge oven etc. and medium weight stuff low down with light stuff above and at each end (gas excepted). Keep the centre of gravity low and weight central to the axle(s).

Yes - the kitchen, wardrobe and bathroom are all in the middle, so that and the food and clothes probably outweigh our clothes and bedding.  In any case our van is pretty stable and I've got no issues towing it.  When I brought it home it didn't have the hitch stabiliser, so it tugged slightly when being passed by a bus on the motorway, but even that's something you get used to when you don't have a stabiliser.

We do put some stuff like aquaroll in the rear dinette, to balance the weight out - but I don't consider this an issue when the van tows as well as it does.

All you need to know about weight distribution demonstrated...

We chuck bikes and everything in ours, car seems unphased.

Just delved into the whole Caravan world, a customer had an old Avondale Dart going CHEAP (£1500) and couldn't resist.

Dry as a chip inside, no mould just needed a clean inside and out. Need to check the fridge as it won't work on gas. 12v system needed a new fuse and I bought a new water pump.

Haven't put the awning up yet. But we had a great BH weekend in Beacons with it on its first outing.

Was dryer than camping in the thunderstorms we had, easier for the kids to have a early morning wee, too.

I'm lucky as I have space at work to park it. Storage costs round here (Bristol) are expensive and would never put it on the drive..

Trying to decide on where to tow it for summer holls... The club CL's do sound nice.

All you need to know about weight distribution demonstrated…

It's not ALL you need to know.  That just tells you not to have the tail heavier than the front - which is utterly disastrous.

However most caravans are nose heavy by design, and they need to be.  The recommended noseweight is 5-7% of total load.  So it's a good idea to get a noseweight gague.  Generally speaking though if you just toss stuff in your van wherever it fits and fill the boot of your car it'll be far too nose heavy which will put the rear of the car nearly on the floor.  This won't kill you (much) but it will make the drive uncomfortable.

Was dryer than camping in the thunderstorms we had, easier for the kids to have a early morning wee, too.

Sitting cosy and dry in a caravan as the rain pours is great 🙂

I always had my eye on one, but what finally prompted me was crawling out of my wet tent at a rainy 24 hour race having wriggled into wet kit in a tent, and catching a glimpse inside someone's warm convivial caravan as they sat there laughing, drinking wine, cosy and dry.. I felt like Bob Cratchett as I shivered on my way to the start line.

First time out in ours was to Big Bike Bash and we pulled in at midnight in the rain.  Legs down, lights on, cocoa made in minutes - it was brilliant.. beats pitching a tent or sleeping on the roof of a van!

Incidentally, we keep some water in the toilet, and a 5l container of drinking water in the van when travelling so that we don't have to go and fetch water when we arrive late, and we can have a pee.  Also used when stopping for lunch etc.  Only a couple of litres in the toilet flush reservoir though (as per recommendations) and the cassette, otherwise it sloshes about and causes instability.

I have a slight Identity issue as I tow with my ranger, am expecting issues at some sites and people asking if I can tarmac their drive.

Buy one Op, you'll not regret it. We haven't. The kids love it.

The Club SItes are like Caravan Dressage sometimes, but they do offer a consistent high standard. They aren't family orientated any more though, despite what they claim. Many seem to be the preserve of well healed Motorhome owners. Most of the decent ones are constantly booked up solid. The Caravan & Camping Club are a lot more accessible & family friendly.

Dragging a 1500kg box saps fuel, so expect low to mid 20's in the real world.

Caravan Club insurance is good.

If the tyres are more than 5yrs old its worthwhile getting them swapped & Tyron bands fitted if not already in place...we had a blow-out...not pleasant. 🙁

Blow up awnings save a lot of faff. Bikes are fine in the caravan, but we often de-camp to the caravan for lunch/dinner during long journeys, so they go on the roof.

The actual towing bit is easy, quite enjoyable in fact. The journey takes a little longer but I don't arrive half as stressed.

Moving a single axle around is fairly easy. Rather than faff about reversing just unhitch & push it in. We can have the first brew made within 10 mins these days. 🙂

Okay, so I'm not a big fan of Caravans but scaling through the options and it was the stupid but sensible choice, tent is too hot and hassle (done), motorhome is expensive and VW is not much bigger than our car and useless for a family of 4 (unless you have a tent, see point 1) so a caravan was it is.

No way was I going to drag a magnolia fibreglass shed with brown cushions, net curtains and interior that looks like a care home on wheels around so we have this...

It's ace, the kids love it, carries 4 bikes, has fixed bunks for the kids, a large for 2 bikes, it's light, easy small and the door is on the wrong side.

It's not a 'Caravan' its a CCT Camping Concept Trailer (okay well it's a caravan but it's a bit different)

Naked

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With Air Awining

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Inside

[img] [/img]

Tiger6791 - do you know a website for yours?  It looks great, but struggling to find them on Google

It’s a Knaus Deseo, they don’t make them anymore and quite rare in the UK but one on eBay at moment

interior that looks like a care home on wheels

Lol! Our van is a 2000 and looks exactly like this. Manufacturers decide to modernise in the mid 2000s and come up with the most incredible fabric designs and colours which are frankly even worse. It settles down by early 2010s, but the other day I finally found, in Swift's 2018 range, sweet relief: plain grey upholstery!

Can't afford a new one mind, but at least they've come to their senses.

Kip shelter is what I would like.

We have an old little van same as this. No bog but beds for 3, a fridge and stove, ideal.

That looks ace tiger!

Kip Shelter is like a Swift Basecamp.  Prefer the latter though, the seats fold up to create bike storage.

were knaus distributed by ikea ?

although i must say looks better than the usual caravan horrors.

still not an airstream .... shame they are bigger than most uk houses 😀

Ours is not quite care home decor, more late middle aged semi detached.

shame they are bigger than most uk houses

And about twice as heavy as most UK cars 🙂

Mattbee - our old one is that layout.

"which will put the rear of the car nearly on the floor"

Get a car with self leveling rear suspension - it makes a huge difference.

Get a car with self leveling rear suspension – it makes a huge difference.

I will do, once I have ten or fifteen grand lying around.

In the meantime, you can get airbag suspension - tried it once, it was pretty good, I removed it cos I thought it was affecting my suspension when not towing, but it wasn't - that was knackered shocks.  So I need to refit it.

My uncle and aunty have gone all over the US with a Tab, they are pretty cool too.

On balance I think we are better off with our self build van than a caravan though I can certainly see how they make sense for some senarios. The wild camping and ad hoc days at a beach/wood/event where we are not actually sleeping but having the facilities makes a difference means I want a van not a caravan.

However I do like the look of Tiger's one and the Swift basecamp mentioned. I guess most look late middle aged or oap home because that is the demographic of most buyers.

@mattbee Fleetwood Colchester?

Bailey Madrid. The front benches are long enough to make 2 singles or become a massive (bigger than king size) bed.

Wanted a fixed bed but at 6’2” I don’t fit in 99% of them!

My wifes parents had exactly the same  upholstery in their previous van, a Fleetwood. I'd imagine that the various  caravan  manufacturers source the seat cushions from a  single supplier

They don't, they are proud of the hideous desigs they come up with. They have names and you can order different fabrics...

I guess most look late middle aged or oap home because that is the demographic of most buyers.

Yeah but as said, in the last year or two they have become far better e.g.

Shame they didn't sort the rest.

Too poor for a hotel but not man enough to go camping?

Welcome to the caravan club! 😀

I prefer caravanning to hotels which are frankly a pain in the arse. Not least because they are either in town or city centres or in business districts; or they are stupid wannabe posh could try resorts where people can pretend to be posh whilst being fleeced.

Would much rather be in a field out in the hills eating my own food and doing my own stuff.

Too poor for a hotel but not man enough to go camping?

Lol! That's me now. However in my defence I did grow up going camping most weekends with Ma & Pa in the 60's. I also endured many a winter Polaris.

I do have a portable hotel though.

Too poor for a hotel? Our caravan was 15K, paid cash. So no, not really! 🙂

I've camped plenty, we used to do it all the time at races and for hols too.  But I got fed up of the faff and the damp.  In fact I still camp sometimes, particularly when we go to America as caravans tend to be a smidge over the limit for check-in luggage.

Tiger6791 I don't suppose you're anywhere near Leeds? Would love a look round your van, it looks like just what we are after as we consider switching from our Vivaro campervan to a caravan. The one on eBay is in Wakefield so not far but really don't want to be a tyre kicker.

This would be a purchase next year, we either need to get B&E licences or trade down our Tourneo Custom to something lighter to get us under the 3500kg limit.

Getting a new license would be cheaper and more useful, tbh.  A van would make a decent towing vehicle I reckon.  Also, a square fronted one might be pretty hard to pull if you aren't behind a vehicle that's already big and square.

I'd go see the one in Wakefield, you're unlikely to see another one.  I've never seen one of those on the road that I can remember at least.  The thing is with caravans is that if they look decent and aren't damp, you can't really go wrong, they are basically all the same.   Especially one as functional as that.   I mean you're not going to shop based on the quality of the floral prints are you?

I'll say it again.

Look around I did my b+e with bill harkness in Livingston

350 quid and one day.

Then you know your legal , you know you don't need a new car and your not fighting with all the people trying to stay under the limit and pushing the price of lighter vans up

Hate to admit this made me visit the Knaus website... Their 750kg 4 berth travellino looks really cleverly engineered - if it had a little wet room shower / box thing it would be perfect for race weekends etc.

@molgrips, the Tourneo would make an excellent towing vehicle I reckon. I imagine it would barely notice an 800kg caravan. I suppose the test would be the more sensible option. How did you find the test trail rat?

Test is a carbon copy ofthe current day driving test. It's a 1hr assessed drive with a reverse in an s shape all with a trailer on.

You can actually do a b+e straight away these days instead of a b if you know to request it and are confident to do both. Tester said he gets alot of farmer kids in doing it that way.

Didn't bother me , picked up a few bad habits from driving vans (not doing a life saver -due to there being solid panels behind my head) and my gear changing down is the the old 5-3 or 4-2 these days they want you to hold the original gear until the last minute then change to the gear you need for your manuvere ...... The trailer part of the drive is assessed on smoothness and anticipation. He told me to drive like I had a couple horses in the trailer.

Still aced the test though and got a big fat 0 - better than my original driving test haha