My new hobby

[ukracer]

also on motorway services caravan has to be locked to car and a person left with the car/van, if stolen insurance void also van on site has to have approved hitch lock and wheel clamp or insurance void also some insurance state van must be alarmed also too much of a minefield.
you may find car insurance void if you don't have separate insurance on the van
you need to check
that van is max length allowed be aware of max weight of van pulling it with disco not a problem vosa do stop motorhomes and vans lots of problems for over weight as most are

motorhome much less bother but a lot more to buy

Also a PITA to pack up everytime you wish to go out more than a few hundred yards.

 

[ukracer]

also on motorway services caravan has to be locked to car and a person left with the car/van, if stolen insurance void also van on site has to have approved hitch lock and wheel clamp or insurance void also some insurance state van must be alarmed also too much of a minefield.
you may find car insurance void if you don't have separate insurance on the van
you need to check
that van is max length allowed be aware of max weight of van pulling it with disco not a problem vosa do stop motorhomes and vans lots of problems for over weight as most are

motorhome much less bother but a lot more to buy

And even more to buy but combine the best of a motorhome and caravan.

p.s that's not actually mine but write have same colour truck and almost identical rig. They all have their ups and downs.

 

[Migmac]

just for you migmac
http://empirerv.co.uk/vehicle-category/rv-sales?filter_vehicle-class=a

Very close. On the one we saw nearly the whole side came out on both sides.

 

[octo0072000]

There have been cases where people have bought posh campers, only to find they're too long and illegal to drive on UK roads.

that law has now been changed for the width

How large a caravan can I tow legally in the UK?
A touring caravan with:
» with a maximum laden weight not exceeding 3,500 kg
» overall width not exceeding 2.55 metres
» overall body length not exceeding 7 metres (excluding drawbar and coupling)
is the maximum size that can be legally towed by a motor vehicle whose maximum gross vehicle weight is less than 3,500 kg (so most 4x4s and even Transit type vans are not allowed to tow caravans that exceed the above dimensions). There are very few such large caravans in the UK, but it is as well to be aware of this.

 

[octo0072000]

And even more to buy but combine the best of a motorhome and caravan.

we won't go into the big grey area of fifth wheel campers

 

[rtbcomp]

that law has now been changed for the width

How large a caravan can I tow legally in the UK?
A touring caravan with:
» with a maximum laden weight not exceeding 3,500 kg
» overall width not exceeding 2.55 metres
» overall body length not exceeding 7 metres (excluding drawbar and coupling)
is the maximum size that can be legally towed by a motor vehicle whose maximum gross vehicle weight is less than 3,500 kg (so most 4x4s and even Transit type vans are not allowed to tow caravans that exceed the above dimensions). There are very few such large caravans in the UK, but it is as well to be aware of this.

I was referring to camper vans/mobile homes rather than towed caravans.

 

[MattF]

Now, THAT would be a 'project' worthy of the name!

Modern day Italian Job style.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Now, THAT would be a 'project' worthy of the name!

Use to be very common in 60's - 70's as stockcar transporters.

 

[ukracer]

we won't go into the big grey area of fifth wheel campers

no grey area mate...

 

[octo0072000]

I was referring to camper vans/mobile homes rather than towed caravans.

the width law is the same now on camper vans etc the yanks used to be too wide
to be legal in uk law used to be 2.1 metres i think not sure on that usa stuff is 2.5m

 

[F.J.]

We bought a caravan this year also. Tried a motor home but found you were stuck for transport once you got set up on site. Caravan is much better as you can pitch it, then go out in the car.
Hope you enjoy your new hobby as much as we do.

Luckily the places we stayed at had numbered pitches so if we left site for the day we knew our pitch would still be there. We would leave stuff behind while we went out for the day but it was still a chore having the make sure everything was put away and secure before setting off

 

[F.J.]

Now I am retired and we have a caravan parking compound a few hundred yards away I have also been giving it some thought, albeit at a very very early thinking stage at the moment, something along the lines of a small as possible but very well equipped van just for the two of us.

Does it add much to the car insurance? can't imagine it's a massive difference.

I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I did, we have never done anything like this but we had a ball.

I'd say to hire one first to see if you enjoy it Steve then take it from there.

Not sure on insurance yet, I took out a separate policy for the motorhome which cost £160 for the week.

The first thing on my list though is a towing licence!!

 

[F.J.]

Keep an eye out for the total weight of the caravan compared to the towing weight rating of your car, if the caravan's over the limit of the car then your insurance would be invalid.

Tim

I have a Disco 3 so I'm covered in that it that's a very valid point

 

[Kayos]

I'm very tempted by a cheap caravan myself, stayed in a static with my boy and it was one of the best weekends we've had.

There is also a camper van hire place down the road and everytime I hire a Luton or similar I always have a good look at them

 

[F.J.]

I'm very tempted by a cheap caravan myself, stayed in a static with my boy and it was one of the best weekends we've had.

There is also a camper van hire place down the road and everytime I hire a Luton or similar I always have a good look at them

Before we went away in the motorhome the wife's brother asked if we'd be keen to go halves on a caravan and a £10k price was thrown about!! Considering we had never done this kind of holiday before I wasn't keen to spend £5k on something I may not like.
we bought this for £1500 and it's ours, not to share and even if we decided to sell next year say then I'm sure we'd get the same again

 

[rtbcomp]

the width law is the same now on camper vans etc the yanks used to be too wide
to be legal in uk law used to be 2.1 metres i think not sure on that usa stuff is 2.5m

Width - that makes more sense than length given the size of lorries.

 

[Barlidge]

I got a caravan four years back, me and the kids have had some fantastic holidays in it, There is loads of variation on the sites you can go to and so much cheaper than renting accommodation, its surprising how many you can fit in, mine has 2 sets of bunks at the back for the smaller ones, two sofas and if I go the whole hog two annexes.

 

[brewdexta]

Ah, well if it has canvas walls and a hard roof then technically it's a 'folding camper' as a trailer tent is all canvas Conway and Pennine make the two most common ones but there's a French and a Spanish one you sometimes see.
I had two T/Ts, the first was built from a kit of parts advertised in The Mirror back in the 60s (I bought it in late 80s from the family whose dad built it ), classic orange and blue canvas and the second was a Conway Corniche DL I bought from a lotto win in 1997.

Its a Pennine, all canvas roof, the bits you sleep in fold out and are very tent like but your off the ground on a comfy mattress. Quite quick to put up even in the rain if you leave the awning until later.

 

[Mikey D]

I quite fancy one of those little teardrop ones , no good for a family . Good for a couple tho, saw a great one matched to a 1950's? American pickup recenty on the A34 .looked great

 

[octo0072000]

Before we went away in the motorhome the wife's brother asked if we'd be keen to go halves on a caravan and a £10k price was thrown about!! Considering we had never done this kind of holiday before I wasn't keen to spend £5k on something I may not like.
we bought this for £1500 and it's ours, not to share and even if we decided to sell next year say then I'm sure we'd get the same again

just remember with the disco the caravan has to be slightly nose down when coupled up you may have to fit a drop plate you do not want to tow with van nose up, also when packing van all heavy stuff on the floor over the axles after 40 years on the road most of it on HGV wagons i have seen too many caravan crashes with the tail wagging the dog and that van is big enough to wag a disco with no bother