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Touring caravans wanted for my clients in New Zealand. Most vans considered!
Cash on collection of course. Give me a ring on 01202 576351. 07857 602090 for honest advice
The website price guide is up to date , though I am finding fluctuations
in sales prices of touring caravans. As we draw towards the end of the season, caravans will become easier to purchase at
more reasonable prices.
Best time to buy a caravan is November. worst time April just before Easter and July just before
school holidays.
Buying; drive a hard bargain with hard cash.
Selling; throw in a few extras like awning
to tempt any buyers around
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6 tips to help you buy a touring caravan
and save money.
1. check the tyre walls for cracks, as cracked tyres will be a problem sooner or later,
and could be fatal.
2. Quickest way to check if fridge is working is to feel if warm air is coming out of fridge
vent on outside. if no electric ask to try on gas.
3. Walk in van and check for bouncy floor, though not serious,
its a pain cutting out carpet to repair delaminated floor. Look underneath van make sure no 4x4 timber wedged in chassis.
I have seen that before.
4.Buy a damp meter, failing that look for soft, stained or uneven wallboard. damp repair
always costs hundreds of pounds and takes ages to repair as the van needs to be dried out ,regardless of what the seller says
about leak stopped now and damp no worse or simple repair, damp always gets worse, if the wood structure frame
is not rotton, it soon will be
5 Once inspected van, pause and then recheck all the little things like blinds,
heater, tap and water pump.
6. Always cris check a van. cris number stamped on all windows from 1992, simple call
costing a few pounds will tell you everything you need to know. 01722 526911
No good buying a bargain if the bargains
costs hundreds of pounds to repair. or indeed not really a bargain.
27.7.10
Times they are a changing.
It does seem to me that the days of the overpriced touring caravan are over , Always I am amazed at prices people
pay for load of trouble. Buying a van , do you damp check the van! Do you ask for electric to be supplied to check fridge,
£700 for new one at least.
Ask yourself the question would you buy a second hand car without checking the log book
or starting the engine.
20.07.10
My client in North Island is offering to hire out a car and touring caravan
to cover the 2011 rugby world cup , anybody interested give me a call 01202 576351.
Bought a new Freedom caravan
last week, can be towed by a motor bike, for my NZ clients . I never knew the electric plug was changed in 2009 . so now we
have just one plug which does everything. nice and neat but a nightmare to rewire with so many wires.
From 2010
new vans vin year ID has changed back to Letter. 2010 is A,
Caravan Revaluation time.
I am about to complete a revaluation of
touring caravans , the first in over 12 months, the process will take about 2 weeks. Prices will be revalued downwards, I
do know there is demand for touring vans which has pushed up prices but has Margaret Thatcher once said, every body is wrong
and I am right. I just cannot justify currant prices. if and when the Euro devalues and holidays abroad become cheaper, demand
for caravans will fall. Drive a hard bargain especially with dealers who are adding £500 / £800 to recommended
retail prices.
Time to service your van
As we eagerly await the hot sultry summer
days which are bound to come soon, spare a thought for your friend the touring caravan, neglected for sometimes 6 months now
is the time to make sure all is well.
In particular the gas system should be checked by an engineer, the water system
and tyres.
Tyres crack on the wall due to weight and UV light , always check the back of the tyres with a torch.
www.southerncaravans.com offer 10% discount on servicing if you mention my name, as acredited engineeers they may well save you money and a lot of
time enjoying your caravan.
Good News for Hobby
caravan owners
The law has recently changed regarding towing caravans over 7ft 6in wide . Now you
do not need a towing vehicle with kerbsite weight of 3.5cwt or over to tow them. They can be towed by any vehicle which is
up to the job, The police took no notice before but I have heard of insurance companies refusing to pay out on claims using
the law as an excuse, insurance companies don't you just love them.
I find the hobby range of caravans the
most difficult to value, usually they are not included in the cris scheme and can be buggers to identify the year of manufacture.
www.hobbycaravansuk.co.uk would be a good place for information
15/03/2010
CRIS [Caravan
Registration Identification Scheme]
All UK touring caravans from 1992 have a 17 digit ID
number etched on all windows, this process is done before the van leaves the factory by the manufacturers, A telephone
call to the Cris organization will allow them to check for stolen , outstanding HP, previous insurance claims
and former keepers and year of manufacture. The 10th digit denotes the year and is the most important.
Caravan year runs from September 1st to August 31st. As an example a van with 6 as the 10th digit for valuation purposes
is a 2006 model even if the van is purchased in September 2005. There are times when vans are at dealers for quite a while
for various reasons , a van used as a demonstrator is one of them. If that van is bought in this example new in January 2007.
it is still a 2006 model and valued the same as a van bought in Sept 2005.
The oldest trick in the book is to advertise
a van newer than what it really is, usually sellers say they are selling on behalf of friend with no internet access, yea
right! sellers always know what they are selling.
Always check 10th digit on all windows, No digits on any
windows mean windows have been changed, and at approx £200 a go there must be a good reason, usually stolen in the past.
10TH DIGIT Code is;
N 1992
P 1993
R 1994
S 1995
T 1996
V 1997
W 1998
X 1999
Y 2000
1 2001
2 2002
3 2003
4 2004
5 2005
6 2006
7 2007
8 2008
9
2009
A 2010
08.01.2010
Why go
on Holiday when it is worse than home!
From approx year 2000, touring caravans have improved with smarter more
modern upholtery, better heating, improved showers and digital arials. to name a few improvments. The British caravan
is one of the few manufacturing industeries left which we excell and revered all round the world, I know because the demand
for our caravans in places like New Zealand and Australia is huge. People go on about EU vans as better built , load of rubbish!
they may have better insulation when visiting the Alps in winter, but I find them boring, lacking flair and sometimes down
right ugly.
Buy the newest caravan your budget can stretch to, add a good awning , hey presto
great holidays for years to come.
6/01/10
Merry
Xmas and happy new year.
It has been a difficult year to buy a touring caravan with very high prices. It does appear
that start of 2010 may be just as difficult. To be honest I really do not understand the market at the moment, lets consider;
we have credit crunch, high unemployment and terrible weather and still heaps of junk are selling for over inflated prices.
What I do know is buyer beware!, I know I bang on about it, but why the hell buy an old caravan without damp checking
the van and making sure all appliances are working. My email is full of horror stories, with damp, damaged and broken vans
bought with regret.
Dealers are asking daft money , always make offer,and reach an agreeable deal.
25/12/09
How to buy or
sell a caravan
I recently had the privilage to buy an Abbey Aventura 318 2003 fixed bed model from Sutton on Sea,
in between Grimsby and Skegness on the Lincolnshire coast, it was a bracing day but not raining. Now consider I live in Bournemouth,
a long day. The gentleman who I bought the van from was 82 and ex army boxing champion of the army. He has been caravanning
for over 50 years. Time to retire he said.
I was so impressed , he laid out all the extras inc awning, had the
power on to check all the appliances, gas and electric, cooled down the fridge and demonstrated the motor mover He had
the cris document at hand and really made an effort to show the caravan .
I have been to buy caravans so many times
when I can not check equipment or no documentation, with unhelpful sellers usually because they has something to hide. If
you are selling a caravan do what this gentleman done, if buying insist on checking all appliances and documentaion.
Ask the question would you buy a car without starting the engine or looking at the log book.
20/11/09
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The price guide is up to date , It has been a year when caravan prices have
held steady, Top of the range large twin axle models seem to be less popular, quality 2 berths are making a comeback. Demand
for cheap family vans has trailed off as the season comes to an end.
One of the most popular models seems to be the single
axle island bed layout. New caravan sales have increased which should provide more second hand stock in the new year.
Have you ever thought what might happen if you buy a caravan with no spare
wheel, and you have a puncture. Well it is a bloody nightmare. This unfortunate incident happened to me a couple of years
ago when I bought a caravan without a spare wheel. Punctures always happen miles away on motorways at night never outside
your home.
RAC could not help, motorway breakdown could, for £350. Caravan wheels are reinforced and usually
5 stud a pain in the neck to replace.
Always check before purchase that there is a spare wheel, where it is and
that it is ok.
06/11/09
I can smell damp!
Well, you can not usually smell damp when the wood frame has rotted, what you can smell is the musty material
on the seats. Water penetrates the seals over time on a caravan, usually one corner or side facing the prevailing wind and
rain, and eventually saturates the wood frame and wall board. The saturated wood sits tight against the metal exterior of
the van and slowly corrodes the metal, tell tale signs are small blisters on the metal, under windows, bathroom ,behind the
fridge and worst of all where the sides are joined to the floor, all areas to examine.
At this stage the integrity and strength of the van has been compromised, the van is good only for spares
and potentially a death trap when towed unless expensive repairs are carried out.
Owners who keep their vans inside are just as much at risk, especially if the van is kept inside during the
summer. The sealant can dry and crack during warm weather, first trip out in the rain and the leaks start appearing, sometimes
without your knowlage.
Caravans should be resealed every 4 years, this is an engineers job as the awning rail has to be removed not
an easy job. Believe me the only way to treat damp in a caravan is to remove the wall board cut out the rotton wood, and replace,
not a quick or easy job especially if the damp is behind appliances or furniture. I do smile when I see caravans advertised
with damp but now dry, or damp with simple repair job!
Remember the saying; Buyer Beware!
Rock and Roll
Just spent a great few days at blues on the farm Festival, most performers were older than me. makes
a change.
Got me thinking about caravans rocking and rolling , towing in general. The tow ball should be greased if
using an ordinary tow hitch [ metal friction] and dry if using an stabilising hitch [ grease counters the friction pads]
The safty chain is not there to keep the caravan on the back of the tow vehicle , it is used to help
stop the caravan in a straight line. To fit a new safety chain requires a special spanner, no idea why the job is made
so difficult
Providing the outfit meets the weight ratio guidelines of never towing more than 85% of the tow vehicle, keeping
within the towing speed limit of 60 miles an hour max on motorways , less on other speed limited roads, and no sudden manouveres
are undertaken when towing ,and of course no tornados, there is no practical reason why caravans should start rocking
and rolling.
Always check lights and indicaters, condition of tyres and spare wheel , no spare! big problems'
Lastly drive 10 yards stop! go round checking everything is closed tight and safe.
I do appear to have a glitch on my website with the lines of prices all over the place, sorry for any inconvienience
as I try to sort the problem, bloody thing!
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