Buying first Caravan

bbam

Hey folks..
Thought I'd throw out some Caravan questions in the hope of some answers..
After years of going to statics in France we're hoping to take the plunge into a 4/5 berth caravan, but have little experience..

We have a 2006 X-trail 2.2D so towing shouldnt be a problem and I tow trailors a fair bit so it soesnt phase me to be bringing it behind..

We've looked at a few and know what we need in layout terms and have our eye on a couple..

Any advice on buying private Vs from a dealer. There is a significant saving to be had, we were looking at a 2007 caravan with a dealer service history, its a private sale.. all its really missing is the 3 months warranty you get with a dealer, but its about €2k-€3K cheaper. Surely the €2k would well cover the risk since the warranty is only 3 months anyway..

Never used the casette toilet before so a steep learning curve on that one, for a 2+2 family what sort of emptying regime would I be looking at?? Is this a daily task? few times a week or what?? Same for filling flush water??

Same question really for filling fresh and emptying grey water ?
Basic questions but just looking for any ideas..

Any other relavent ideas and advice welcome...

karmaan

a moisture meter is a great tool, they can be hired

haron

we're new to caravanning to and bought private we got ours for a good bit cheaper than dealer prices for similar. best advice would be check everything make sure everything works. we got ours and the skylight had a crack cost nearly 500 to replace parts ain't cheap. look outside for signs it has been crashed especially the back corners. buy a single axle caravan many places don't allow twin axle caravans.
xtrail should have no problem towing what you buy but to be sure check out whattow.
we have a 40litre aquaroll for fresh water and 40litre waste master for grey we fill and empty these daily. we just let the kids use the toilet at night or for emergency use during the day we only empty it once a week.

bbam

Once a week is good for the toilet.
Do people in general try and avoid using the toilet to minimise emptying or is it just more common to use as needed and empty every day.

Another query.
The 3 way fridges, how useable are they? Do people find problems keeping food fresh with them. I'm presuming the ice box are good enough to keep icecream when they are mains connected on sites.

paddyp

bbam wrote: »

Once a week is good for the toilet.
Do people in general try and avoid using the toilet to minimise emptying or is it just more common to use as needed and empty every day.

Another query.
The 3 way fridges, how useable are they? Do people find problems keeping food fresh with them. I'm presuming the ice box are good enough to keep icecream when they are mains connected on sites.

With four of us, two adults, two smallies 2-3 days tops for the toilet.

Three way fridges in good operating condition are grand for irish weather, the cooling is usually up to 30 degrees below ambient when cranked up to the last. The freezer section will be much lower again. Its essential that they are operated level or the solution can overheat and crystallize.

Top Dog

Top tip!!

After having some friends stay with us a couple of weeks ago one thing I'd suggest - educate whoever is using the loo! Teach them that they don't need the amount of flush a conventional toilet does. Just enough to rinse out whatevers in there. I had re-filled the rinse water, and re-charged the waste container on the Thursday, it was myself and my wife on our own the first night, but a couple of friends (unfamiliar with caravans/campers) stayed the second night. By Sunday afternoon the rinse was empty and the waste was overflowing! :eek:

Myself and my wife could get 4 or 5 weekends out of the rinse in the loo by comparison.

Oh and most cassette toilets will have an indicator on the front so you should be able to keep on top of things.

mgbgt1978

If you can't get hold of a Damp-meter (and even if you can) the best way to check for damp is to simply press hard against the walls with your thumb.
Do this everywhere, including under the seating etc. and any dampness will show up as the wall will 'give' a bit as you press.
This is simply because the inner walls are 3 or 4mm plywood and any leaking will soften the wood (and rot it eventually).

newwifey

Have been hoping to get himself to agree to buying a caravan for years and have done a lot of looking!
A great site is http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/caravan-finance/buying
very friendly people, some who have been caravanning for years. They have a great check list when buying, some stuff you would never think of.