Your experience buying your first caravan

It was a case of that'll fit the bill, will you take £75? Right, it's ours.

Pretty much the same, except the sum involved was £1300.  

May be the club could publish a what to look for, what specific problems certain makes and models have.  Don't worry only joking wouldn't want rock the boat. 

We rented or borrowed vans for nearly 20 years before deciding to buy about 6 years ago.  Never referred to the club as it seemed to be older, middle class people who haunted it corridors.  

We did a lot of  research, visited no end of dealers until Mrs One's eureka moment when she set her heart on a Lunar Steller.  We didn't join the club till nearly a year after our purchase.

That was big money, Boff. 

Hush, you'll worry the avertisers. 

Great idea, mind. Really useful.

Asked my brother for advice as they took the plunge a couple of years before us. Visited his dealer, even though they were 300 miles away, looked in about 20 vans until we went in a Bailey Pageant and both knew straight away it was the one for us. Plenty of wheeler dealing later we were the proud owners of a fully fitted out van which my brother and his wife towed up to Perth for us a couple of weeks later after it has been serviced. Near 25 years later we still love it.

Advert in the London Evening News,  £299. we didn't have a clue but off to Kent the following weekend

When we go mad with money we really go mad.  It was this millennium to be fair. 

Given the replies so far, many of which date from many years ago and before the current era of modern caravans with electrics and running water (just joking), would not this thread be more relevant to our most recent caravan purchase?

Or more specifically to caravan/motorhome purchases in the last couple of years. 

Then you will get information about mptlm, various heating options, solar panels, motor movers, awning types, dodgy dealer's etc etc.

Quite right, Simon. I carefully read the OP before replying as I wouldn't want to knowingly go off topic.  

And your comment was on target in our case as there was no lekky, running water, toilet, washroom, fridge, heating, oven.....

Perhaps we should quantify how much more enjoyable it has become. Now we have moved away from. The prehistoric staying on a field and siting on a bucket school.

So what does a beginner need to know:

1 MRO just a number a manufacturer makes up

2 MPTLM an unachievable number that it only slightly higher than the MRO

3 CMC is not a campaigning organisation so you are on your own. 

4 You need towing mirrors, unless you have X ray vision

5 Don't over think all of this it is about having fun. 

6 Towing course is probably money well spent

7 If you join  Mayday and need it make sure you tell the Greenflag call centre that you are entitled to double journey cover

8 You really don't need ehu. 

9 It's better to have spent £300 pounds on a van and enjoy your stay   Than to spend £30 000 and spend the whole time worrying about it getting damaged

10  Most people you will meet are nice   Their are some people who just want to be miserable and complain.  These people are willing to make considerable efforts into achieving this  

This list isn't exhaustive and sorry for any misspelt words that might of have crept in.