Member Since: 09 Jul 2008
Location: Northamptonshire
Posts: 2776
zook69
My advice would be if you can, wait till end of Jan or early Feb if your buying from a dealer on the basis of weather bad = not many people looking to buy, lot full of stock = costing him money, Over spent at Christmas + other bills coming in = Great deals on used vans On a mission to find the perfect Pork Pie. Just Found it (I think)..(Yes I have)
Official product sponsor for "Bloodhound SSC" 1000+ mph world land speed record
1st Nov 2011 3:34 pm
Dexter
Member Since: 21 Sep 2007
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 1394
Quote:
Have any of you got any pictures of Your disco with caravan. Just interested
Same place - new D4. Little goon a year cheekier .............................
Click image to enlarge
1st Nov 2011 4:58 pm
Curly
Member Since: 30 Sep 2011
Location: suffolk
Posts: 687
Nice photo dexter, Love the colour of your disco
1st Nov 2011 5:08 pm
Goofy
Member Since: 07 Jun 2011
Location: Sunny Cheshire
Posts: 100
One thing I would say about caravanning from my experience, I had a Bailey Ranger 500/5 bought new in 2009. It's a twin dinette with a centre bathroom with the option of either a double bed at the back or a double with a bunk over it. The safe weight the bunk would hold was less than my ten year old and the bunk was cramped and not suited to anyone over the age of about 5. SWMBO hated having to make the rear bed up and even more sleeping in it.
After 12 months we ended up trading the van for a 2010 Bailey Pageant Burgundy with a fixed bed. SWMBO liked it better, but still niggles about a couple of small things even after 2 years of ownership.
The moral of the story is there is always a compromise to be had re layout etc..
However the best thing to do is to find a layout you think is right for you and find a company that will hire you a trial van. (there are ones out there). Then take it for a week and give it a 'live in' test before you buy.
May cost you a few hundred quid, but that's better than a few grand in trade in losses.
Hope you find the right van and have many happy trips in the Tin Tent.
Disco 3 TDV6 SE, black, de-badged, blacked out windows, cream leather interior, never seen a dirt track in its life.
1st Nov 2011 8:56 pm
M3DPO
Member Since: 22 Sep 2010
Location: Notts.
Posts: 8243
slow joe wrote:
HI THEIR RICH.
IVE HAD HOBBY CARAVANS FOR LAST 12 YEARS 4 DIFFERENT ONES,
and would not go back to a english tourer again,
hobbys are 8ft wide high inside and very strong,
the one i have now is 25ft 720 exclusive which im now selling to get one without bunk beds as kids are grown up.
discos tow them loverly, would recconmend to anyone who wants a bit of room and comfort.
hope this helps JOE........[/list]
Hobby caravans Are like Land Rovers, once you have had one you don't want anything else.
I bought my first one 9 years ago after trying many other makes(40+ years caravaning) kept it 2 years and bought the one I have now, collected it from Hobby factory in Germany, made to my specifications. It is still as good as it came out of the factory. When it was 6years old I was notified by Hobby that some customers had reported a leaking sunroof and I was asked to take it to my nearest Hobby agent and they would examine it, the sunroof was changed, no charge (hope you are reading this Land Rover).
One of the few caravans you can use in winter without freezing up, you can walk on the roof without doing damage, it even has a built in roof rack with a ladder! A proper hot water heating system, real insulation that Hobby claim to be equivalent to a 9" brick wall!
Hobby do a big range of caravans from as small as 12'. You can understand why our Irish neighbours choose them.
From my experience the biggest mistake a beginner makes is choosing a caravan that is to big for their purpose, keep it small is my advise.It can when others can't,
It will when others won't,
It goes where others don't.
24th Jan 2012 6:46 pm
Adrian T
Member Since: 03 Nov 2011
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 46
We have had 7 vans over the last 20 plus years three of which have been Baileys including our current Senator Wyoming S6, we have had very few problems with these and they have served us well over many years and many thousands of miles, I would agree the bigger the better as this gives you so much more room to move about without feeling cramped or even claustrophobic at worst, there are the two of us, our twenty-five year old daughter (still at home) and our three Border Collies and find the fixed bed and long front seat layout of the Wyoming very easy to live with, dealers are a good place to look round as they will have many layouts to get a feel of what suits you best. Take the whole family when you look as you will get a much more realistic feel of the space/layout. Will try and add a photo of our setup if I can work how to paste photos on here!
24th Jan 2012 9:11 pm
rnlisg
Member Since: 07 Aug 2010
Location: kent
Posts: 209
which van
hi rich
take your time on this,we all have our likes and dislikes.the best advice i can give is go to a dealership or two,spend a LOT of time with the family in different vans to see if the layout works for you ,ie space,facilities,what its got,what its not got.narrow it down to 3 or 4.it also depends on your budget,if poss buy from a dealer where you should get a damp check(MOST IMPORTANT)then have a haggle for any extras it needs,poss awning,battery,cable etc.
cheers
sandys/steel side tubes,door trims with bright inlay,front and rear light guards,half chrome mirror caps,mud flaps,chrome finishers on boot and rear bumper step,chrome finishers round gear shift and cup holders,chrome door handle covers.d/4 grille conversion,chrome foglamp bezzells,parrot bluetooth.***sadly missed**********
29th Jan 2012 5:31 pm
al cope
Member Since: 08 Nov 2005
Location: Oldbury, WM
Posts: 10360
mines for sale at less than 8 grand
see for sale section
AlVolvo XC90 B5 Plus Dark
Gone - MY18 D5 HSE - Corris on 22's with Black Pack
Now gone - MY16 D4 SE Tech, Loire Blue, Almond Leather, Privacy, plus some other goodies.
Old - MY12 D4 SDV6 XS Auto - Ipanema Sand with Almond Leather - Plus other niceties, and D4.com sticker
Older - D3 TDV6 XS Auto - Lugano Teal with Almond Leather, 20" Stormers, Shiny Tailpipes, DVD/TV - and obligatory D3 sticker
Ancient - D3 TDV6 S - Tonga with Ebony, 20" Stormers, satnav & DVD
29th Jan 2012 6:32 pm
rnlisg
Member Since: 07 Aug 2010
Location: kent
Posts: 209
8k???
blimey
thats the cheapest price for a d3 ive seen yet
sandys/steel side tubes,door trims with bright inlay,front and rear light guards,half chrome mirror caps,mud flaps,chrome finishers on boot and rear bumper step,chrome finishers round gear shift and cup holders,chrome door handle covers.d/4 grille conversion,chrome foglamp bezzells,parrot bluetooth.***sadly missed**********
29th Jan 2012 7:04 pm
bambi
Member Since: 10 Apr 2009
Location: south yorkshire
Posts: 2059
Hi there, as said on here take your time , go to as many dealers as possible look at as many caravans as you can,
Uk caravans are bailey, swift, lunar, coachman,there are a couple more, but they tend to be produced by one of these 4 big company's
most have the same layout just different fabrics.
Last year we bought a hymer caravan, door on the wrong side, 85kg nose weight when empty = quite high , 100kg on the hitch when loaded ( most normal cars cant carry this load, and 1700kg, Its fit and finish are excellent, its a 2001 but is a match for any modern uk van.
I cannot see my ever going back to a uk van.
Look at adrias, very good pricing and very solid.
29th Jan 2012 9:45 pm
David W
Member Since: 18 Dec 2011
Location: Preston
Posts: 86
Just spent a lot of time looking at vans.
As we intend to live in it we were perhaps looking at it with different eyes than if we were to be just holidaying in it.
A large fridge was required so that put us straight into the twin axle models. Largely disappointed in the finish of all manufacturers as not up to our 5 year old Dethleff.
The best van by far for space is the Bailey Unicorn Barcelona. Loved it in every aspect except it has a double bed that requires 'climbover' and when you reach a certain age it is not a manoeuvre that you want to carry out with any regularity!
Was very tempted with the Barcelona until the door layout of the toilet and shower in the Bailey Pampelona was explained. When open they isolate the bathroom (midships) and thus rear bedroom, from the front lounge. Just what we need but didn't know it.
Slightly less space than the Barcelona but went straight to the top of the list, until, that is, we started looking at second hand items.
We now have a 4 year old Fleetwood Heritage 640ES (well we pick it up in a couple of days). Quality, not as much space as the Barcelona, mid bathroom with separate rear bedroom.
It isn't perfect, but the perfect van is not out there, and believe me we did a lot of looking.
Best quality overall was definately the Hobby, and if I were starting caravanning with no preconceptions then that would be the van to choose.
Needless to say we have a Dethleff Rally Nomad DD470 for sale
16th Sep 2012 5:03 pm
blue200tdi
Member Since: 23 Sep 2012
Location: Lincoln
Posts: 1094
The absolute best advice I can give you about buying a caravan is take a damp meter and if there is ANY damp whatsoever, walk away. It may take months to choose the right lay out, but there are thousands of caravans out there so any damp, walk away.
Even dealers have tried to sell me a van with damp saying they'll sort it before I pick it up. No thanks, damp in a caravan is like rust in Land Rovers, bad news. In fact it is worse than bad news. Even if the seller says there was a leak but it's been fixed, walk away.
Apart from damp, the next thing to worry about is has it been stolen. Make sure the caravan is on the CHRIS register registered to the seller.
Don't forget to add the cost of insurance, your car insurance will cover it for third party damage but not to repair your caravan. It also won't cover theft of or from the caravan. Make sure your insurer knows the car has a modification, IE a tow bar, you'll be amazed how many people do not notify their insurance company they have a tow bar and tow a trailer/caravan! YES a tow bar is considered a modification even if it's factory fitted.
The insurance should be around £300 a year but you will need security IE wheel clamps and hitch locks.
Where will you keep it? That will be about £250 - £350 a year to store it if you cannot keep it on your drive or garden. Also check your deeds or rental agreement, some houses have a covenant to exclude the keeping of a caravan on the property.
Can your car tow the weight of the caravan? For a newbie to towing the caravan should be 85% of the weight of the car. I'll assume you drive a Land Rover so ignore the weight issue.
Does your licence allow you to tow a caravan, you'll need B + E category to tow a certain weight. If you passed your car test AFTER 1st January 1997 you may well need to do a trailer test.
Sorry but you really do need to do some homework or it could be a huge, expensive disaster. Here is a good place to start http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/ Ultimately you will have to compromise on the layout, here will never be a caravan that suits everything you want but you'll get close.
It all sounds complicated and expensive but once you get sorted you'll love it and will get away a lot more than you ever have done.
23rd Sep 2012 5:54 pm
muddywheels4wd
Member Since: 16 Dec 2010
Location: East Riding of Yorkshire
Posts: 1681
I recommend hiring or borrowing a caravan to try caravanning before you fork out a load of money - it's not for everyone
We did it that way when we decided to resume touring after we started a family and loved it all over again Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW
Still hoping for a S2 one day!
23rd Sep 2012 6:48 pm
MarkOne
Member Since: 23 Jul 2011
Location: County Antrim
Posts: 3345
I would go for a Swift Challenger 570 4 berth if I had the money but that's mostly down the the fact that it looks smart its nice inside. Don't know a great deal about them but I have been close to buying one a few times over the last few years.
Just don't think I would get the use out of it to justify owning it and haven't really anywhere to store it.
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Same place - new D4. Little goon a year cheekier ............................. 
