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Caravanning Now - Basic advice for new caravanners''s

by John White, Kevin Clayton, Richard Cole and others.

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The things to check before buying.

1. Before buying. [Richard Cole].
   It's important that your towing vehicle is up to the job of pulling your caravan. Before setting off to buy, look at the FAQ on towing weights and ask on the newsgroup 'uk.rec.caravanning'.
   Look around a lot of different caravans at all of the dealers within reach of home, the internal layouts vary (L shaped lounge area, fixed beds, end kitchens, end bathrooms, etc. etc.), try as many as you can to decide what you like.
   
2. Buying. [Richard Cole].
   If you don't know much about caravans, take someone with you who does. Mechanical things like brakes, wheel bearings, electrics, etc. can all be fixed quite cheaply, but damp cannot, so get them to look out for things like damp in the walls and floors. If you find damp, walk away.
   Walk around inside the caravan. Does the floor feel spongy or does it squeak as you walk? If so it's probable that the floor is starting to delaminate. Delaminating can be fixed at home, but it's time consuming and involves removing carpets and possibly furniture. Service agents can also fix this, but it's not cheap, so make sure the asking price reflects this fault or if buying from a dealer, get them to fix it.
   
3. Tow-bars and Electrics. [Richard Cole].
   If you are having a tow-bar fitted then look on The National Trailer and Towing Association FAQ for the address of a reliable professional fitter near you.
   If you already have a tow-bar on your car (perhaps already fitted to the car when bought it), but your not sure that it is wired correctly then use the The National Trailer and Towing Association FAQ to find a professional who will check the electrics (I had mine done for the cost of a couple of pints).
   There was a change in the wiring of the secondary connector on caravans (to charge the battery and keep the fridge cold while you're towing) after 1998 and a completely new connector design in 2002.
   
4. Licence. [Tony Haymes]
   Does your current driving licence allow you to tow?
   (Extract from DVLA site)
   "Drivers who passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 are required to pass an additional driving test in order to gain entitlement to category B+E and all larger vehicles. In addition to the new driving tests, drivers of vehicles which fall within subcategories C1, C1+E, D1 and D1+E also have to meet higher medical standards."
   See the DVLA site for the full text.
   
5. Take your time. [Kevin Clayton]
   Take the van home and spend some time in the van working out what you need. Get everything working at home, as if on site, water, gas waste, battery, electric hookup, spend a weekend or at least a night in it at home. It's surprising what will come up.
   Make sure you know how the gas and electrics work. There's nothing worst than arriving somewhere to find that you can't put the kettle on or don't know how to get the gas to the cooker or that the beer in the fridge was got warm, because the car wasn't running it while you were driving.
   
6. Servicing. [Kevin Clayton & Richard Cole]
   A caravan need to be serviced every 1 or 2 years, depending upon how much it is used.
   If you buy a second hand caravan from a dealer, then they should have serviced it for you (ask if they don't say they have).
   If you buy privately, then ask when the caravan was last serviced.
   I've been assured that it is possible to service a van yourself if you're mechanically inclined (see the FAQ on Servicing for what need to be done).
   If you don't want to do it yourself, then get the van serviced professionally, even if bought from a dealer. Money well spent for peace of mind. You'll know everything works as it should and find out if they cheated you on anything. Try and be there when the van is serviced, you can get a mobile service agent to come service your van at home and he should be a good source of knowledge about how things worked.