Want to buy a caravan

motherof3girls

Hi all, my hubby and I have decided to buy a caravan, we have three children (10,6,3) and feel they would benefit (and cherish memories) from the caravaning experience. We dont know anything about buying a caravan and would welcome advice! We have looked (on a website) at a hobby VIP 2008 and were impressed, very spacious and up to date decor. My husband has a hilux so it should'nt be a problem to pull. Is this too big for our family? What should we be looking out for in a caravan? Can anyone recommend a layout or brand that would suit our family? We would be grateful for any advice, big or small:)

steelboots

Don't think this is the correct forum, this is for Motorhomes, but as it happens I was in a similar situtation to you and started out looking for a Caravan, but ended up buying a Motorhome. I have 4 kids ages 2,4,6,8 and was going for a caravan with fixed double bed, and bunks 3 beds one on top of the other. Would suggest this is the best layout as you don't have to convert any beds. On the downb side to this if your planning on holidaying in Ireland/UK where weather may not be in your favour then maybe a fixed double bed is not the best plan as you have less space to move around, play hide and seek

My ultimate suggestion is to but a motor home, kids love it and very easy to go from place to place and wild camp.

Good luck.

WildWater

steelboots wrote: »

My ultimate suggestion is to but a motor home, kids love it and very easy to go from place to place and wild camp.

Good luck.

+1

We have 3 kids 8,6,4 and we just love our motorhome. We bought a u-lounge configuration and find it great (especially with our weather). Yes there is some bed making to do but he extra space is fab. Kids can play/colour down the back while we get some grub going. Later if they are getting to watch a bit of a DVD we can be down the back relaxing with a cuppa

In addition to overnights and trips away we also use ours for a lot of day trips. Can't imagine getting near as much use out of a Caravan. But horses for courses.

Best wishes.

db

The two things you need to consider with caravan size are 1) Can I tow it and 2) Do I have room to store it. The Hilux should be suitable for towing but I would check a site like www.whattowcar.com to check. There may be issues with the driving license as well as that outfit would be around 4000KG. That leaves the question of storage.

Hobby caravans have a very good reputation but I would be very careful about who I was buying it from if private, and do all the checks on the CRiS website.

As regards motorhome or caravan, each has its own advantages. A caravan will allow you to set up a base and travel around in your car. This is great if you like to stay in the same place for a few days or longer. If you want to stop for a night and move on the next day then a motorhome is more suitable. It is easier to take off whenever you want in a motorhome but if you want to park in a town or even go for a pint of milk, it can be awkward. Caravans are also cheaper than motorhomes, a 2008 caravan would be about 1/3 the price of an equivalent motorhome.

Vote 4 Pedro

Caravan's are great fun for family breaks and holidays, we go out with our caravan loads and the kids love it,
and you don't have to pack everything up and put it all away just to go off for the day or even down to the shops as you do in a motorhome.
The only thing is the Hobby might be a very nice well made caravan but you will get the "funny looks" with one and some site owners are a bit reluctant about letting them stay on there sites
because the Hobby is one of the favored brand of the travelers.
The caravan layout has to suit you and your family and to know what might work for you you'll have to get out to some dealers to check them out,
even if there out of your budget, it's the layout your looking at rather than the actual caravan. This can be a good day out in itself and you'll get a feeling for it.
Caravans are fairly good investment and as long as you look after it they wont cost to much to change in a few years down the line.

margaretmcl

:)Hi if your looking for a caravan I recently bought one from a dealer in Naas who was very approachable and helpful. Caravans were very clean and my caravan came with a free step and electrical lead and everything was shown to us working before it was delivered. This gave me great piece of mind and even when we went away on our first holiday to trabolgan any issues we had were resolved with a phone call to the dealer. Great after sales service and caravans in good condition you can never be to weary now where you buy things as you often don't know the history of the caravan but we were given the log book and told how many previous owners it had etc. They are based just outside Johnstown, Naas. Beside Johnstown garden centre if your intrested.:)