Advice on purchasing first caravan

Hi Laura,

Im a newbie to caravaning aswell so wont be much help on the caravan otself. Just wanted to say, if you passed your test after 1997 you will need to do a towing licence.

When looking for a caravan you want to aim for a maximum(MTPLM) of 85% of the kerbweight of your car rather than its gross weight. That isn't, of course, the only criteria. Engine performance, particularly torque, will affect your cars ability to tow. Don't get carried away by buying some massive double axle jobby, even oif it is light enough. Think modest to start with.

 .... Just wanted to say, if you passed your test after 1997 you will need to do a towing licence.

Depends what weight of caravan she wants to tow. As she says, she can have an outfit of up to 3500kg

If you pass your test after 1997 and want to tow an overall capacity of 3500kg then you do need a towing licence . I know this , because my husband and I have just bought a new caravan and the dealer we bought this from informed us that one of us would have to do a towing licence if we passed ouR test after 1997. We checked with Dvla , and it was correct . A lot of people who have been towing for years have not heard of this Atall because they never had to do it .

If you pass your test after 1997 and want to tow an overall capacity of 3500kg then you do need a towing licence . I know this , because my husband and I have just bought a new caravan and the dealer we bought this from informed us that one of us would have to do a towing licence if we passed ouR test after 1997. We checked with Dvla , and it was correct . A lot of people who have been towing for years have not heard of this Atall because they never had to do it .

You added B + E to your car licence, you could already tow, but as you say were restricted to an over weight of 3.5 tonnes. Laura is aware of this hence her question of weight of caravan at 1200 or 1300kg

and licence aside, DAMP is the biggest thing to look for (or not - depending how you view it )

3470kg is right on the towing limit without a towing licence and that's without putting anything in it . 

Laura , I genuinely would look into adding this to your licence before towing. 

Back to the original question Laura!  As far as buying is concerned, as you seem to be well aware what you are 'allowed' to tow, but you need to look at any many layouts as possible, perhaps even new ones in a dealership, to decide what layout works best for you and your family/circumstances.  A van which suits a couple is likely to be very different to a van which suits a family with small or older children - and teenagers may need a different layout again.  Once you've decided on the best layout have a look at a variety of manufacturers who offer that layout to see what you like best and see if it is available on the second hand market.  There are lots of second hand vans for sale, and you can get a good idea of what is out there, on line, before committing yourselves to a visit to look at things.

Don't buy unseen - always check what you're buying, and preferably in the company of an experienced caravanner who knows what they are looking at.  Damp can be very well hidden and can be a killer of older vans.

As far as websites to avoid, I'm not sure that any one is better or worse than any other!  Just email the seller and you'll get a feel for if they're a 'real' caravanner with a genuine reason for selling, or someone in the trade trying to make money.  If the caravan comes complete with awning, water carrier, waste carrier, and other bits and pieces then it's likely to be genuine.

Have you any idea what layout you want?  Fixed bed, bunks for children?  Older caravans tend to be lighter than the current model - ours is a fixed bed Swift, which would be within your towing limits even fully loaded, but the newer models of the same layout are much heavier. Ours doesn't have an oven but we carry a small oven which cooks everything we need and weighs considerably less than a fitted one........ so you can adapt a less than ideal caravan to suit what you want from it and make sure you keep within your weight limits.

Perhaps a good place to start might be your local supermarket free ads, especially at this time of year.  If someone is giving up caravanning they may put a postcard in the supermarket before thinking of advertising it further afield.  That was how we bought our first van!

If you buy privately be very careful as there are so many scammers out there.

If you aren't sure about the state of the van you want to buy get a qualified mobile technican to accompany you to carry out a damp check and to advise you generally.

You really don't give enough information to make any other suggestions i.e. part of the country you live, how many births etc.

Not sure where you are from ,but as said be vary carefull if buying from a "card in a shop window /internet" a trip to a few dealers this time of year can be usefull as they are normally looking at "clearing out " used vans,also do not look at the gross vehicle weight of your tow car ,what is the Kerbweight? then look at a van of about 85% of that,