What to look for in a caravan - up to £5k

[Notshortnottall]

Apologies if this has been answered before but I'm after some advice on what to look out for when buying a used caravan. I've had a bit of a look around but in all honesty it feels like something out of my comfort zone at the minute. I was originally looking to convert my van (LWB Hi-Top Movano) but frankly, the money involved at the minute is insane as it seems to be a bit of a fad to have a van conversion and so prices have gone up accordingly.

So bang-for-buck you seem to get a lot more from a caravan and so started thinking more about this. Budget is up to £5k but I still have so many questions and feel like a complete novice in this area. Sadly, there's not many local agents to where I am (Liverpool) but I will try and look at some in person to get a better idea.

• Is single/twin axle preferable? I assume it's solely for towing stability or based on length?
• Are there towing implications? I've read about trailers requiring an additional licence to be taken (B+C?) but is this the same for caravans - assuming the 3500kg MAM is breached (I don't have a pre '97 licence)? I have a decent towcar (X5) which should be able to handle it.
• I've read about problems with damp and you can get habitation checks done - what is the general consensus on the effectiveness of these?
• Any good or bad layouts to consider?
• What else should I check for when viewing (aside from flicking all switches, opening doors, looking for funny smells and so on)?
• Any views on makes/models to look at or importantly, ones to avoid?

From my perspective:

• It must be able to sleep 4 (2x adults, 2x kids under 5),
• I have no preference (subject to other views)
• I have no preference on layout (unless advice says otherwise)

Thanks in advance for your help.

[chrisga]

Notshortnottall said:

Apologies if this has been answered before but I'm after some advice on what to look out for when buying a used caravan. I've had a bit of a look around but in all honesty it feels like something out of my comfort zone at the minute. I was originally looking to convert my van (LWB Hi-Top Movano) but frankly, the money involved at the minute is insane as it seems to be a bit of a fad to have a van conversion and so prices have gone up accordingly.

So bang-for-buck you seem to get a lot more from a caravan and so started thinking more about this. Budget is up to £5k but I still have so many questions and feel like a complete novice in this area. Sadly, there's not many local agents to where I am (Liverpool) but I will try and look at some in person to get a better idea.

• Is single/twin axle preferable? I assume it's solely for towing stability or based on length?
• Are there towing implications? I've read about trailers requiring an additional licence to be taken (B+C?) but is this the same for caravans - assuming the 3500kg MAM is breached (I don't have a pre '97 licence)? I have a decent towcar (X5) which should be able to handle it.
• I've read about problems with damp and you can get habitation checks done - what is the general consensus on the effectiveness of these?
• Any good or bad layouts to consider?
• What else should I check for when viewing (aside from flicking all switches, opening doors, looking for funny smells and so on)?
• Any views on makes/models to look at or importantly, ones to avoid?

From my perspective:

• It must be able to sleep 4 (2x adults, 2x kids under 5),
• I have no preference (subject to other views)
• I have no preference on layout (unless advice says otherwise)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Single or double axle will depend on size of caravan you are after. Double axle will be more stable but harder to manouevre when off the car.
If you are getting a reasonable size caravan I would think you will need to take a B & E licence test but as you say ultimately it will depend on weights. Your car should probaly be able to tow most caravans.
Damp is the biggest thing to look out for when buying a second hand caravan. You can buy cheap damp meters for few quid off ebay but you have to probe their prongs through the finishes into the wall behind and some people/dealers may not want damp monitor marks all over their vans. I think caravan experts may have some that you dont have to do that with. If you are buying private I dont think youll have any comeback but if buying from a dealer you may have. If you dont spot damp, pay full whack and then find damp it will be very hard to sell your caravan so it really can wipe out your investment. It is really, really important to try and find any damp before buying.
Other things to check for are tyres. Make sure they are in date and not cracked. A heavy single axle caravan will be putting almost double the load through it's tyres than an average car so they need to be in good condition. Some caravan insurances will specify they must be a certain max age. They aren't massively expensive but just another cost.
I'd check the caravan has been regularly serviced (internal habitation and external stuff like brakes) and if not get it done when you buy as they have gas systems onboard with a risk of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning if not tip top.
Otherise check everything works. Most of the big brands are much of a muchness, but don't go for a hobby as some sites wont let you on i've heard as they are the caravan of preference for a certain type of person.

Good luck!

Edited by chrisga on Monday 19th April 12:24

[Jamescrs]

You will almost certainly need a B+E licence for towing a caravan, as you rightly point out the max weight for towing without one is 3500kg but that inclusdes the weight of tow car, item being towed and all the contents inside and as your starting point is an X5 you will quickly exceed the towing limits.

I don't have a caravan myself but it's always a discussion in the track day forums where people like to tow their cars to track days and the same principles apply.

[littlebasher]

Be very careful

The increase in popularity during lockdown has lead to a massive rise in st for sale. Caravans that had been sitting on grass for years, suddenly dragged off and pushed into service.

Damp, rotten chassis, knackered brakes, spongy floors, dangerous gas appliances - you name it. The caravan forums are full of stories from people who have bought massive lemons with concealed damage recently. To give you an idea, a couple of years ago i went on the hunt with a budget of around £8K (so 9 or 10 years old). I viewed about 20 caravans, all but one had significant damp - luckily i knew what i was looking for.

I know i sound a bit all doom and gloom, but expect the worse!

Should you find something you do fancy, there's always the option of paying a caravan engineer to do an inspection - probably around £100.


And as above, you will need a B&E licence. The gross weight of an X5 is nearly 3000Kg, so all you can tow is a caravan with a MTPLM of around 500Kg, which don't exist.

[Captain Answer]

Most decent points already covered, you would need B&E for towing when paired with the X5 - I am doing mine at the end of May, but the caravan I just bought sits inside the rules of not needing B&E when paired with the tow car I have

Just bought up a small 4 birth caravan I saw on gumtree for £850 to see how we like it as a family and if we like it spend a bit more on a bigger caravan but its in solid condition both the chassis, floor, walls etc - getting it serviced in a couple weeks

Layout wise will fall down to where you want the kids and if you want them together in a bed or separate - personally I don't want mine that near me, I like my own space

When we were in my parents caravan last year we were in the fixed double at the back, they did a couple nights sleeping "along" the sides of the front double without the centre in place to try that and they slept "across" with the full double bed up - but they sleep in the same bed together at home to have sleepovers - I think in ours they won't be able to sleep along, but they are happy enough being in the same bed

Another config you see is rear bunk beds, which could be handy as long as you trust one of them to be able to climb in and out and the bunks look decent

[surveyor]

We used to have a Sprite twin axle. very low weight at around 1350 KG. Still not low enough to avoid B&E with a X5 though.. We sold it for £5,300 3 years ago... must be some around somewhere.

Had bunks which with younger daughter and inevitable friend worked really well. Still miss it. Replacement should be nicer, but not...

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhTiL6h

[billshoreham]

I've got an Eriba Puck L weighs in at 850 kg. 2004 model gave £7500 for it in 2010. if I were to sell it it would go for the same money. Never had a vehicle before that had nil depreciation. Can be towed with most small cars. no worries about weight. Only 15 ft. long and 6ft. wide so you can easily forget that you are towing. There is a range of Eribas starting at mine and getting bigger and a bit heavier. take a look at forums but be careful they fetch silly money sometimes. An old-timer around 1960 to 1985 can be a good buy but really popular with retro peeps. Good luck, if you have kids there is a bigger version with twin bunks at the front and a toilet cubicle.

[stevemcs]

I started looking at 5k Caravans, i'm now looking at 18.5k Swift basecamps .... other than buying the caravan and fitting a towbar also consider

Insurance for both van and car
where your going to store it
all the bits that you need, awning, cooking, service, tyres
breakdown recovery for the car and the van
Where you intend to use it, most campsites are full from May until October.