Caravan Advice

[givemeaspell]

We are looking at purchasing a caravan in the next few months.  Our car is a mazda cx7 and can only tow around 1400.  So obviously cant get anything too big otherwise we will need to swap cars which we don't really want to do.  Wonder if anyone has any advice on brands etc.  Any other advice re caravans would be appreciated!  We are looking at a second hand van, so also any good sites to purchase? 

[purplecarrot-top]

Poor Swino was hit by a car and killed.


We are travelling. But we have a camper trailer and house sit. Lots of caravans out there with all the bells and whistles.

[the_hawk*]

How far and how fast you want to travel will determin what you need and as with every thing in life its a compromise.

Our first one was a an old popup with pull out ends, it towed fantastic, I had to keep checking the mirrors to make sure it was still there. It towed at freeway speeds and we could over take trafic with ease and got a great fuel return.

The down side was the setting up and packing up every morning which was an extra pain if it had rained.

We then bought a Jayco starcraft pop top, its great for setting as there is really nothing to do, the down side is it uses far more fuel and the wind drag sucks all the cars power when over 100kph  110kph not from the weight but the wind drag which makes over taking a pain, it also makes buffering from on coming trucks quite bad, then the suction effect you get passing the B doubles that drag you in towards them. 

The bigger vans IMO are more suited for long slow trips were you travel only short distances at greatly reduced speeds only traveling at 80 90kph and then you get all the trucks passing you, many a van gets pushed into the gravel edge because they get so annoyed with slow moving traffic that holds them up.

[twinkles**stars]

I found with our second pop top the storage was much better as the fronts of the seats came down rather than having to lift off the cushions and then lift the lid.

We never has any issues with cold or heat as the entire sides virtually zipped down allowing the breeze to flow through. In winter we had a small heater or sat around a fire outside.....it's part of the fun of camping.

Make sure you attach rails on the side for haning wet towels etc. 9inch PVC pipe with screw on ends fixed either at the front or rear are great to hold any poles, fishing rods etc.

[green.fields]

I agree with Hawk, it all depends on what you want to do and where you go.

We have a Jayco pop top (not too old), very happy with it, plenty of storage. We chew through fuel (lpg mainly) with this one as we did with the other vans we've had. It's a fact of life the bigger and heavier the unit the more fuel you use. As for hot and cold in a poptop compared to a normal caravan as far as I am concerned hot is hot and cold is cold in either of them, we have reverse cycle aircond and just a small blower heater. I do not caravan on hot weather.

Neighbours have a newer Jayco poptop with shower and toilet and are extremely happy with it. My brother has a full sized semi off road van with shower and toilet that weighs a real lot and he has spent lots since getting it changing vehicles and last year found the manufacturer miscalculated the weight and for insurance purposes had  to renew the axle, manufacturer wasn't that fussed, wish I could remember who they were.

Why not hire a couple different types for a weekend or so and decide what might suit you best.

[the_hawk*]

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roserobin12 wrote: and last year found the manufacturer miscalculated the weight and for insurance purposes had  to renew the axle, manufacturer wasn't that fussed, wish I could remember who they were.

Why not hire a couple different types for a weekend or so and decide what might suit you best.

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There are a lot of people beaking the law because manufacturers under declare the weight of their vans, many are over loaded, some are in excess of the tow vehicle towing limits and some are over weight for the Axles, wheels, tires and even brakes.

If paying a reasonable amount or buying one close to your cars limit I would suggest you ask for it to be weighed on a licenced weigh bridge and get the certificate stating its weights.

Hiring will give you an idea on what you want or more importanly what you dont want.

We only travel in Autum and Spring and carry a fan heater for those cold nights