advice on caravans.

[1gp]

HI CHAPS.. looking for a caravan ... a task which is very hard .... got to please the wife, and we all know, how hard that can be.... looking for a fixed bed , around 2005 year .. been looking at baileys , any advice on decent vans .... got around £6000 to spend thats our top limit... but not many bargins around at the moment, which is very strange...:xmas-smiley-004:

[Jim Jamieson]

Surely with that budget there must be something around especially at this time of year.
Perhaps the fixed bed ones are harder to find within the 2005 year build.

I recently purchased a Coachman but it was a 2007 and not a fixed bed.
I prefer to have plenty of seating space.

Good luck anyway and look out for my current project which I'm working on regarding caravan safety.
I'll feature it with some photos in the New Year.

JYJ

[SWStuPiDent]

Try Adria, they do gorgeous caravans, much lighter inside, with a more modern contemporary feel than many darker wood british vans.

They're also pretty lightweight too.

My Adria is 20yrs old now, yes it's showing its age, but still works and the kids and I love it. It's a 6 births, but only weighs in at 1050kg fully ladened.

They are also bullet proof, their leek proofness is legendary

Happy hunting!

Becci

[RPWC]

Originally Posted by SWStuPiDent

Try Adria, they do gorgeous caravans, much lighter inside, with a more modern contemporary feel than many darker wood british vans.

They're also pretty lightweight too.

My Adria is 20yrs old now, yes it's showing its age, but still works and the kids and I love it. It's a 6 births, but only weighs in at 1050kg fully ladened.

They are also bullet proof, their leek proofness is legendary

Happy hunting!

Becci

I also run an Adria,very lightweight ,easy to tow, and 2nd hand values are really cheap, beware if you need parts though,as they can only be got from Slovenia,although some Burstner parts fit.
Recent baileys have had damp problems, big style,can't comment on older models,but know of a few people who have had brand new caravans develop damp,in less than 3 years.

[1gp]

Originally Posted by RPWC

I also run an Adria,very lightweight ,easy to tow, and 2nd hand values are really cheap, beware if you need parts though,as they can only be got from Slovenia,although some Burstner parts fit.
Recent baileys have had damp problems, big style,can't comment on older models,but know of a few people who have had brand new caravans develop damp,in less than 3 years.

yes, i know someone with a bailey ranger , had loads of problems with the front leaking water form new. its a 2007 year ..

[macafee2]

1gp, fixed bedrooms and end bathrooms are indeed in fahsion. For consideration there are a few of drawbacks with these. Some sites want the caravan reversed in, if thats where the view is, alas you cant see it as well. The caravan internally can look short with the bedroom or bathroom door/wall seemingly overpowering. Everyone is down at one end of the caravan, you cant get away from them... as if you can in something thats 20 odd foot long inside.

macafee2

[Bprepared]

Originally Posted by RPWC

I also run an Adria,very lightweight ,easy to tow, and 2nd hand values are really cheap, beware if you need parts though,as they can only be got from Slovenia,although some Burstner parts fit.
Recent baileys have had damp problems, big style,can't comment on older models,but know of a few people who have had brand new caravans develop damp,in less than 3 years.

Bailey had some teething problems with their new 'Alutech' frame system which was launched 3 years ago, and is used on the Olympus, Pegasus, and Unicorn lines (replacing the Ranger, Pagent, and Senator respectively), but reports suggest that they have solved these problems for the most part now. On the bright side, damp rot is not a killer for these vans since the structure is aluminium and not wood. I have serviced many a caravan, and 90% of them suffer from damp at some point since they are a big flexible box. There is one thing I will say about Adria, although they are sound vans, spare parts can be interesting to find as the are supplied 'Green' without any appliances/equipment from the factory which the initial owner supplies themselves so you can find some obscure stuff in them, also they don't tend to have 12V systems as they are geared up for European sites which always have electricary, but the running gear is usually the standard Alko or BPW rigs.

[1gp]

I bought a very tidy buccaneer elan 15, 2005 . really pleased with it, a lovely caravan. had to travel to dover , but well worth the trip for what i paid for it

[reworht]

Originally Posted by 1gp

HI CHAPS.. looking for a caravan ... a task which is very hard .... got to please the wife, and we all know, how hard that can be.... looking for a fixed bed , around 2005 year .. been looking at baileys , any advice on decent vans .... got around £6000 to spend thats our top limit... but not many bargins around at the moment, which is very strange...:xmas-smiley-004:

There should be plenty around - have a look at Autotrader's caravan section, there are often some sensibly priced 'vans on there. Unfortunately, there are a lot of poorly maintained and damp ones too!
A few words of advice (and I apologise if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs!) -

• Buy a decent damp meter and give the inside of the van a good going over - especially where the side walls meet the roof lining, and in the shower cubicle
• Look for one with a service record, as that should include annual damp test readings
• At £6,000 you want at least a 12 month warranty from trade sellers - plus a gas and electrics safety check in writing
• Beware that there are quite a lot of second hand vans around which look fine on the outside - but the roof is badly dinged as a result of various horrendous hail storms in the past year. I take a set of step ladders with me when looking at caravans - gives you a chance of seeing the roof!

[oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by reworht

There should be plenty around - have a look at Autotrader's caravan section, there are often some sensibly priced 'vans on there. Unfortunately, there are a lot of poorly maintained and damp ones too!

A few words of advice (and I apologise if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs!) -

• Buy a decent damp meter and give the inside of the van a good going over - especially where the side walls meet the roof lining, and in the shower cubicle
• Look for one with a service record, as that should include annual damp test readings
• At £6,000 you want at least a 12 month warranty from trade sellers - plus a gas and electrics safety check in writing
• Beware that there are quite a lot of second hand vans around which look fine on the outside - but the roof is badly dinged as a result of various horrendous hail storms in the past year. I take a set of step ladders with me when looking at caravans - gives you a chance of seeing the roof!

So true, a lot of insurance companys wrote vans off due to the cost of repairing hail stone damage.