Updating an old caravan

The way to get email notifications is to click the red 'follow' text' to the above left of this post.  This means you will get a daily email if there have been any responses.

I think you may need to be a little more specific as to what exactly you want to update on your caravan.  My own personal thoughts is that you might be limited as to what you can update.  It all depends on your van - but the other thing is you could very well spend a lot of money which may be better put towards buying a newer van, in the long term.  I would be interested in hearing the opinion of others.

Do let us know what you have in mind, Mickey.

David

It also helps if you don't start two threads on the same topic!

Our first caravan was a 1980's Elddis Shamal and when we bought it, the furniture was a nice light colour, and in good condition but the curtains, carpets, etc., were a ginger brown stripe.  We updated it by removing the old carpet and replacing it with lino, I re-upholstered all the cushions and made new curtains, and my OH refitted the electrics with extra internal and external sockets.  I spent just £33 on fabric (£1 a metre), we had left over lino, and the sockets were from OH's 'bits and bobs' drawer in the garage.  We sold it less than a year later for more than we paid for it.

It does depend on what exactly you want to do, and just how handy you are.

There seems to be a growing interest in vintage caravans, so perhaps caution is required in case you actually reduce the value by the "updating".

There's huge interest in old caravans and people are doing some amazing things with them. A lot are superbly built, the quality of build, fixtures and fittings in a lot of cases only needs a bit of TLC to get them back in use and keep the running. Many are done up to be pitched permanently as a holiday let, with a premium price to stay for those wishing to do something different. Others are transformed into niche mobile catering units and bars, finding a new lease of life at festivals and special events. Some, like us, have hung on to a treasured well built van, and used it, loved it, repaired it and are still enjoying holidays away in it, not bothered if it doesn't have the technology of new ones. We met up with a delightful couple in their 80's last year, proud owners of two very old vans. They were heading home from a vintage van rally, but were full of excitement about taking their other van overseas later in the year. True caravanners, modifying and mending a treasured possession. Without the stress of damp, dealers and resale value!

Example: http://lucyjaynecaravans.com/vintagecaravanhotel.html

My caravan isn't old as in vintage - since it's only eighteen years old however, it's one of my hobbies keeping it working well.   Many of the jobs I've done on it are described in a section of my blog.

It might help if the OP could say what caravan he wants to update. Otherwise we are knitting with smoke.

Ours too is eighteen years old, but still 'new' to us!  We still love it as much as the day we bought it, it has had few problems except in the very early days, and like the first caravan we bought I re-upholstered it and made new curtains - but that must be ten years ago, and really they need renewing.  

We will keep 'Speedy' going as long as we can - and hopefully storing in France, covered, will keep the damp away!

With old(er) caravans I would imagine weight is an issue- depending on how old will dictate what you can do. Adding new kit to vans like mover, bigger battery possibly a solar panel all chews into the weight. Keep your eye on that- you may of course be able to get it replated  to increase the laden weight. Best of luck with your project- I bought an old towcar and did that up and it was a very good purchase!  

 Another 18 year old caravan here, a Rapido from 2000, much loved by its delighted owners of less than 2 years.

I'm glad you've posted this, I was thinking of starting a new thread to comment how we've repeatedly encountered people who look at our low-tech little van and launch into (a) quite long accounts of how their old van was similarly basic and they loved it, and wish they'd never parted with it, and/or (b) lists of the problems with their new vans, usually including a rant about all the complications of setting up all the gizmos, often with another rant about how unreliable they are.

We get to wonder why it is that all this stuff is deemed necessary to sell vans, when it evidently creates so much tension. There was an interesting article in a magazine recently, lamenting that as a society we head out into the wilds to enjoy the simple life, then take all our suburban trappings with us.

It'll be interesting to read where this thread goes.

Enjoy your van!