Rescuing a neglected caravan
Discussion
Evening folks.
Just spent a few nights away with the wife and family, in our ageing (gifted from family) Swift Conqueror from the late 90’s. It’s getting past it’s best now, brittle plastics, windows with bugs wedged between the panes and a small patch of rot in one corner. It’s also of an age where there’s no fixed bed and the bunk is a fold up job.
Me and the kids love the outside life, wife not so much. The reason we are in a van is she absolutely will not entertain using our tent, that’s for me and the kids ONLY. Then she surprised me yesterday, by suggesting that if we had a newer, less s
tty van, with a fixed bed, she would be much more likely to enjoy it.
Having a quick look around, you don’t get much change out of £10k for a modern-ish van from the late noughties. I don’t have that going spare and I don’t want to entertain selling my toy car.
Then, when sticking our old nail back in storage earlier. I saw this:
It’s obviously been stood some time. All the shutters were down so I couldn’t see the condition of the inside, or the dead body clearly lying in there.
It was covered in moss, some of the seals around the outside compartments look like they were breaking apart but it was all present and correct. No obvious places where rot has got it. Didn’t have a look underneath. It’s also got plenty of beefy looking security on it
I’m mechanically minded but I know fk all about caravans other than using one!! I’m thinking of leaving my details with the storage owner and asking her to provide them to the owner of the van.
If by some miracle I actually get through, what am I likely to face? Am I chasing my tail with issue after issue? Or are they generally Hardy on the abuse front?
I guess I know the leisure battery will be fked, the interior might well be ruined and there might be rot.
So, what says the hive mind? Rescuable without spending a small fortune? Worth anything much as it stands?
Just spent a few nights away with the wife and family, in our ageing (gifted from family) Swift Conqueror from the late 90’s. It’s getting past it’s best now, brittle plastics, windows with bugs wedged between the panes and a small patch of rot in one corner. It’s also of an age where there’s no fixed bed and the bunk is a fold up job.
Me and the kids love the outside life, wife not so much. The reason we are in a van is she absolutely will not entertain using our tent, that’s for me and the kids ONLY. Then she surprised me yesterday, by suggesting that if we had a newer, less s
tty van, with a fixed bed, she would be much more likely to enjoy it. Having a quick look around, you don’t get much change out of £10k for a modern-ish van from the late noughties. I don’t have that going spare and I don’t want to entertain selling my toy car.
Then, when sticking our old nail back in storage earlier. I saw this:
It’s obviously been stood some time. All the shutters were down so I couldn’t see the condition of the inside, or the dead body clearly lying in there.
It was covered in moss, some of the seals around the outside compartments look like they were breaking apart but it was all present and correct. No obvious places where rot has got it. Didn’t have a look underneath. It’s also got plenty of beefy looking security on it
I’m mechanically minded but I know f
k all about caravans other than using one!! I’m thinking of leaving my details with the storage owner and asking her to provide them to the owner of the van. If by some miracle I actually get through, what am I likely to face? Am I chasing my tail with issue after issue? Or are they generally Hardy on the abuse front?
I guess I know the leisure battery will be f
ked, the interior might well be ruined and there might be rot. So, what says the hive mind? Rescuable without spending a small fortune? Worth anything much as it stands?
In my experience caravans are all variable in build quality. For example, i;ve got a Bailey Ranger from 1999 which has virtually no damp, in great nick and everything works bar one light fitting (that ive never bothered to try and fix). Another family member (who sold me the ranger) has a van less than 5 years old which has damp, misaligned fittings which need lots of DIY repairs and generally feels like a friday afternoon built van.
Its certainly worth a look inside. They aren't that complicated really. Check for damp with a meter or by pressing the floor / walls everywhere looking for spongey bits. Check the condition of the waste / water pipes (they can go brittle if stood dry for years), make sure no mice have ripped the foam out the seats and check that all windows are whole.
If you buy it, give the underneath stuff a good look over (brakes, hubs etc) but again, these are generally pretty solid and simple.
Hopefully its been parked up by some elderly person who is now too old to get out vanning and youll grab a bargain. Even better if they owe storage costs and you can use that as part of your leveridge.
Good luck
Its certainly worth a look inside. They aren't that complicated really. Check for damp with a meter or by pressing the floor / walls everywhere looking for spongey bits. Check the condition of the waste / water pipes (they can go brittle if stood dry for years), make sure no mice have ripped the foam out the seats and check that all windows are whole.
If you buy it, give the underneath stuff a good look over (brakes, hubs etc) but again, these are generally pretty solid and simple.
Hopefully its been parked up by some elderly person who is now too old to get out vanning and youll grab a bargain. Even better if they owe storage costs and you can use that as part of your leveridge.
Good luck
Get in touch with the owner, see what the story is and see if theyre interested in selling. It looks like it's not that bad, will obviously need a thorough clean inside and out but you could find a whole host of problems inside. Damp meter everywhere, check in all lockers, side walls, floors. Chuck a battery in and check all electrics work, pumps operate etc. Id reckon the brakes will be seized on given its stood so long so might need some attention.
They're fairly well built Sterling so expect it to be half decent (looks like late 00s early 10s) but don't expect that to mean it's not damp inside!
They're fairly well built Sterling so expect it to be half decent (looks like late 00s early 10s) but don't expect that to mean it's not damp inside!
If you're not scared of a bit of work, it could be a good project esp if the price is right, just some elbow grease to give it a good clean and polish. Once you get it movable, hook it up to your car and take it to your local ATS tyre place and for a tenner they'll put it up on their ramp so you can examine the underside in relative comfort. Go when it's a quiet time and they'll help you out. I do this every year with my motorhome to check underneath. They're not supposed to do this sort of thing but a ten pound note often helps 
ColinM50 said:
If you're not scared of a bit of work, it could be a good project esp if the price is right, just some elbow grease to give it a good clean and polish. Once you get it movable, hook it up to your car and take it to your local ATS tyre place and for a tenner they'll put it up on their ramp so you can examine the underside in relative comfort. Go when it's a quiet time and they'll help you out. I do this every year with my motorhome to check underneath. They're not supposed to do this sort of thing but a ten pound note often helps
I'm lucky in one respect in that i've got a 2 poster in my garage! However, whether there's any chance at all that it would even fit in my garage, or have a point the lift arms could reach to lift on are another matter Gassing Station | Tents, Caravans & Motorhomes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff