Hey Up Lads, I’m considering working away on construction/quarry sites etc and was thinking of maybe looking into buying a cheap caravan for living away etc…anyone any idea of the things to look for in buying old caravans ? do they need MOTS etc, any decent brands to look for ? whats best way to hook up to mains ? invertor ? any creature comforts to look out for ? how longs a gas bottle last ? sorry for all the questions please feel free to try put me off the idea lol…if anyone does know anything about them please feel free to post up ebay links if you see any you would call a good buy. Cheers!
They don’t need MOTs but they do need to be legal - tyres, lights etc. so whatever you get it’s a good idea to get a basic service done - if you are at all mechanically minded you can do most of it yourself but you will need a qualified person to check any gas appliances. The main problem with any older caravan is damp - this would be checked if you get the caravan professionally serviced but if you open the door and there is any smell of mould/damp then I would recommend walking away.
Anything under 15 years, probably even 20 years, will have battery, gas and mains as standard so it depends on what facilities are available - mains hook-ups need a cable which may come with it or can be bought at any caravan accessory store. Inverters are rare - most caravans have both 12v and 240v lighting, heating is done by gas or mains, as is the fridge, cooking is by gas. Gas bottles vary is size a bit and it depends on how much you use it so difficult to give an estimate but you should have two on the van anyway so one is always full.
First thing to do is set a budget, then check what your car is capable of towing - this is shown in the handbook or you can check on caravanning websites.
No particularly good or bad caravan makes these days - some are high quality/high price, many others are all produced by the same major manufacturers under different names.
My caravan is around 23 yrs old, no damp, but the floor had de-laminated so had to have that done.
The floor is made with 2 pieces of wood laminated together, when they delaminate you get ‘springy floor’.
For damp, as advised above, initial smell is important, but people selling will most likely have air fresheners in and windows open etc, so check ALL the cupboards but especially the corner ones, top and bottom.
Check all appliances if you can, when I bought mine, took it to the 1st site and that’s when I found out my water didn’t work, water pump was gone (very cheap to repair / replace), then found out the hot water cyclinder was knackered, again not expensive but still a cost and meant no hot shower.
The built in showers are known to be a cause of damp, especially if you like a HOT shower like I do, so again, if there’s any on site, use theirs.
5 yrs on and I don’t use any of the water systems, I just carry a water can with a tap and use that and on-site showers etc.
I’m still using my 1st gas bottle, but we only really use the van as somewhere to lay our head, so it runs the heater when it’s cold and boils probably 2 kettles per day - unless we’re on electric hookup in which case the kettle is electric.
We don’t run an inverter, but very simple to add one - same as any, just run it from the battery, inverters depend on what you want to do with them because they can be a) expensive (for a good one) and b) drain the battery REALLY quickly.
Our battery gets charged by electric hookup or off the car when being towed. But, as I said, we don’t use much in the van so I’ve never had to take it off to charge it properly.
We have a car stereo fitted to the front of the van and carry a laptop with a car charger (fitted a cigar socket from the caravan battery to charge the laptop when not on electric hookup) for entertainment - laptop sound plugs into the car stereo to boost the sound. Never bothered fitting a tv as the laptop is 17" anyway and doesn’t stay in the caravan when we’re not there.
Depending on site, a generator might be a better idea for your electric?
look out for a decent 4 berth van if you are going to spend a fair bit of time in it . you can keep the bed made up and live in the other end .it’s a pain in the bum having to remake the bed every night . a couple of 6kg propane bottles is an ideal set up , each one should last a week to 10 days if you are running the heating . a 1 kw generator is handy if you don’t have a 240v supply handy ( about 200 quid ) , but try not to charge laptops or phones on the 240v circuit , it;s safer to use the battery for charging as many generators can damage electronic equipment . don’t forget a quality hitch lock and/or wheel clamp or your home could vanish while you are at work .
I bought a 1990 Swift Corniche 12/2 two years ago for attending Citroën Car Club rallies.
I paid £1200 and haven’t had any problems with it.
Bought a new leisure battery and waste/fresh water containers.
With occasional use of the blown air heating and cooking, I managed to get six months use out of a 6 kg bottle of gas.
Make sure you check the condition of the tyres, as standing for long periods of time doesn’t do them any good. As others have stated, have a good sniff for signs of damp, I’ve been quite lucky with mine, as despite being 24 years old, there aren’t any signs of damp penetration.
Depending on the towing vehicle, a ration of 70 % of van weight to towing vehicle weight is recommended.
Good luck with it. I quite enjoy the freedom of the caravan and have found fellow caravaneers to be very friendly and helpful.
mds141:
I bought a 1990 Swift Corniche 12/2 two years ago for attending Citroën Car Club rallies.I paid £1200 and haven’t had any problems with it.
Bought a new leisure battery and waste/fresh water containers.
With occasional use of the blown air heating and cooking, I managed to get six months use out of a 6 kg bottle of gas.
Make sure you check the condition of the tyres, as standing for long periods of time doesn’t do them any good. As others have stated, have a good sniff for signs of damp, I’ve been quite lucky with mine, as despite being 24 years old, there aren’t any signs of damp penetration.
Depending on the towing vehicle, a ration of 70 % of van weight to towing vehicle weight is recommended.
Good luck with it. I quite enjoy the freedom of the caravan and have found fellow caravaneers to be very friendly and helpful.
Mine is also a Swift, I have the alouette diamond, good vans if a little heavy.
I tow with a BMW 530d touring with self levelling rear suspension, brilliant tow vehicle.
I tow with a Citroën XM 2.1 TD auto, with hydro pneumatic suspension. Easy 30 mpg with the van on the back. 
mds141:
I tow with a Citroën XM 2.1 TD auto, with hydro pneumatic suspension. Easy 30 mpg with the van on the back.
I’ve had a few (read a lot) of Citroens, including 3 XM’s, 1 was a 2.0i turbo petrol, 1 was a 2.5TD and 1 2.1TD, the petrol was a hatchback other 2 were estates.
I’ve also had 2 CX’s, 1 BX and 7 Xantia’s including an Activa
I’ve also got a BX. A 1989 Gti 16 Valve. Great fun.
We toured France and Switzerland in 2012. There were 9 BX’s, a 40 year old GSA and a ZX. Total mileage :- 2597 mls in just over a week. We have a good online forum BXClub.co.uk and there’s also the XM forum ClubXM.co.uk. 
If you are just using it to site it and live in go for a twin axle HOBBY they are a lot bigger than normal vans,i belive the laws have changed on towing them ,good size for long term
I reckon you throw a ball park price up that you are willing to pay and the guys can advise on what your likely to get for that price 
Cheers Boys some good info there, I would only want 1 to live in on a site, im more a hotel guy for holidays lol 
if you buy any kind of hobby van you will be looked on with suspicion on a lot of sites , they being the caravan of choice for the Caravan Utilising Nomadic Travellers . another downside is the size , 26foot x 8foot 2 inches .
rigsby:
if you buy any kind of hobby van you will be looked on with suspicion on a lot of sites , they being the caravan of choice for the Caravan Utilising Nomadic Travellers . another downside is the size , 26foot x 8foot 2 inches .
Yes, this is what I was advised when I was looking at a Hobby. Also, the door was on the ‘wrong’ side and some sites won’t let you on with that either 
A damned nice van though if a) you can get a decent one (the ■■■■■■ have all the good ones tbh) and b) you can afford one.
mds141, I was on the ClubXM forum when I had them, but we’re going back a few years now, gotta be 7 or more years.
1 of my BX’s had done over 1 million miles, it was a 1.7TD on an F reg and was an ex-taxi owned by the company and used by anyone with a private hire licence and also for any running around etc…
Only problems I had in the time I owned it (about 2yrs) was the fuel cut-off solonoid broke - the metal at the top corroded and the wire came off, and the plastic on the back of the throttle that holds the cable broke - new pedal from scrappers. Then a drunk idiot in a stolen car crashed into it 1 night outside my house, and that was the end of it. My old boss at the taxi firm wouldn’t forgive me for weeks.
A grand should sort you out with a half decent tourer. Probably be around 20 years old at that price, but the older vans tend to be built far better than the new offerings and lighter to tow.
Bought mine off Fleabay from a guy that had bought a holiday home and was giving the vanning up. Came with all the accessories and more besides.
LIBERTY_GUY:
A grand should sort you out with a half decent tourer. Probably be around 20 years old at that price, but the older vans tend to be built far better than the new offerings and lighter to tow.Bought mine off Fleabay from a guy that had bought a holiday home and was giving the vanning up. Came with all the accessories and more besides.
Good point about the accessories,I got my 2001 swift with loads
of goodies,saved me a fortune.