And another newbie with questions

Hello and welcome to CT and our hobby.

As tempting as it maybe to use your 10% discount don't go mad - everything made for caravan use has a much larger premium attached 😂.

Work out what you need, be mindful of weight because off payload, and price via online comparrisions and then decide. I had my eye on Correlle crockery, pricey but not melamine, when someone in CT gave heads up for some similar IKEA crockery at 50p each saving of £60+ as an example.

A low wattage  travel kettle is often much cheaper than a caravan shop one etc etc.

I've not been to a show but have been round stalls at The National, so much looks so good and useful plus expensive. So many of us have cupboards/sheds/garages full of such items 😂😂. If you go leave your wallet somewhere so you have time to reconsider the purchase while you fetch it and be very firm with yourselves 🤣🤣

But get away asap, make lists whilst you're away, you've got everything you need indoors for a trip! Test it out locally or even your drive if the forecast winds are blowing, you can pop back for anything you've forgotten 😉 and make sure everything works. 

Enjoy

I would have thought your dealer would have given you a "starter pack" with your c/van,but as Bakers posted do not go OTT with the Discount? we, as probably plenty more, have numerous "we need one of them"items in our spare room/garage gathering dust,,so just use it and then find out as you go and think *do i want it" and then "do i need it?"

Thanks you for the replies , the dealer has given us a starter pack and the discount is valid until we pick up the caravan . 

We may just go and leave the wallet at home then , and get so e ideas 

We go to the show every year ,often some good deals from the big retailers . So i’d Go to the show with an empty boot and a full wallet 😉👌

That said the best thing with the show is your able to browse all the stuff and you can compare one with another on the day . 

You can allways search online after you’ve selected 👍

We have previously bought an awning at one of the shows were the deals were good, we could see what we were buying, we ordered and our awning was delivered to us.

Half the fun in having a new caravan is in buying the bits that you need to fill it; or so my wife tells me. 

My job apparently is fitting all the discarded bargains into the garden shed. 

I think we all get swept up with enthusiastic buys only to find that we only ever used the left handed noodle soup spoon once, before consigned to the shed.

Part of the fun is finding out what you need, finding a forum where you will get conflicting replies, then making an informed wrong choice 

Happy travelling

Welcome Lff64.  Hope you picked up the caravan OK and everything is well.  Look forward to hearing how you get on with it all.  Hope you get chance to try it all out soon.

David

 Hi  Lff64,  I  hope  you've  had  a  spare  10  minutes  to  browse  thro  the  van's  HANDBOOK  !!  &  found  a  safe  &  obvious  place  to  store  it  --  IN  THE  ' Van  !!  it's  no  good  it  sitting  by  your  recliner  in  your  conservatory  when  your  out  in  the  wilds  &  your  heating's  just  gone  pffft  and  it's  minus  plenty  in  the  sh sh shower  room  .  That  apart  some  good  advice  already  gone  your  way  such  as  :--

First  break  on  a  site  fairly  close  to  home,  then  you  can  easily  pop  back  for  those  little  things  you've  not  so  much  forgotten  but  more  likely  never  even  thought  of  such  as  oven  glove,  decent  bottle  opener  etc  etc.  {  or  just  a  decent  bottle  or  three   ?}

As  for  the  "Must  Have"  list  much  stuff  you've  already  got  probably  --  you  cook,  eat,  sleep,  wash  etc  at  home  I  suppose  but  25 metre  Electric  Hook-Up  cable  is  a  Must, {unless  you're  intending  to  "Wild  Camp"  all  the  time }  decent  sturdy  caravan  steps,  fresh  &  waste ( grey)  water  containers  etc  etc  etc.

When  you  get  on  site  first  few  times  be  a  "Curtain  Twitcher"  and  see  how  other  folk  manage  but  don't  forget  to  TALK  TO  'EM  !!  They'll  soon  be  popping  round  to  show  you  their  own  little  bits  'n  bobs  to  make  life  easier  believe  me  !!

Dammit,  I've  even  forgotten  to  ask  whereabouts  you  live .

Caravan  show  at  N.E.C.  Birmingham  is  great  for  a  stroll  with  a  notebook  &  pen  while  your  c/cards  are  having  a  rest  at  home.  But  it  can  be  a  long  slog  of  a  day  if  you  live  in  Cornwall  or  Durham  never  mind  Thurso     so  don't  forget  there  will  be  another  similar  one  along  in  February  so  you  can  practise  your  driving  in  the  snow, hail,  fog  etc