New to caravanning looking for tips & advice

First thing to consider is the towing capabilities of your car, no good getting a caravan and finding the car cannot tow it!

All comes down to your own choice on layouts, caravan size / weights and equipment. We have a 2 berth, large rear washroom with a big shower and wardrobe, it does us all year round. We now have Alde heating which is far better than our last caravan, the choice is endless.

I agree start with the car and establish what weight you can tow. Ignore the makers towing capacity if it is more than the cars kerb weight as towing a caravan that weighs more than the car is potentially unsafe.

It is recommended that when starting out the caravan should not weigh more than 85% of the cars kerb weight but if it is not included in the cars kerb weight you can add 75 kg for the driver.

The 85% figure is not written in stone and it can be exceeded a bit but I would not go beyond 90% at first.

If the cars towing capacity is less than the kerb weight then that is the maximum you can tow and generally these cars can be underpowered but not always. The towing capacity is basically the weight the car can restart five times on a 12% hill and has nothing to do with towing in the real world.

As for size and layout these are all personal things and what you buy will also depend on your budget. As ever for the same price you will get a newer more basic model or an older more luxurious one so it is really what suits you.

If buying from a dealer you should get a guarantee and legal rights if things go wrong. You will pay less in a private sale but have no useful legal rights in most cases so you have to weigh up what is for you

With caravans damp is the thing to watch out for. If buying from a dealer then you should be given a damp test result if buying privately I would get a caravan engineer to check it out and you must make sure that it is the sellers property. The checks are basically the same as buying a car so ask for service records.

Make sure all the electrical and gas fittings work and you get a thorough demonstration of how they work.

There are plenty of good caravans out there so if you have any doubts either about a caravan or seller just walk away and find one you are happy with. Good luck.

 Also, if you buy from a dealer, see what else you can get included.

We were returning to the hobby after many years so had no essential items like water carriers etc. They threw in a water carrier, waste carrier, leisure battery, loo chemicals, step, EHU lead etc as part of the deal. all we had to buy was the gas. 

Do you have somewhere to keep it, If not good storage can be hard to find and expensive, and may not be close to your home.