Bought our first caravan

[Sweety]

Well at long last we have bought our first caravan a 2007 2 birth Bailey Ranger:D it's going to be a huge learning curve as never towed a caravan before:o My parents gave up caravaning a few years ago due to health reasons but they kept their awnings, aqua roll, waste master, towing mirrors etc which they are giving to us:D Picking up the van on the 12th of June

[Sweety]

side shot

[Lazy-Ferret]

Nice one.... it's pretty easy, 50% logic, 40% common sense, and 10% patience.

Only down side with having a caravan is now your weekends are going to be really busy, what with working on the truck, you now have the caravan to work on, as well as trying to actually get away on some of those weekends.:clap

[zippy656]

Looks good.

Few caravaners on here.


Not sure what they tow with though.:clap

[Lazy-Ferret]

Looks good.

Few caravaners on here.


Not sure what they tow with though.:clap

Well, it's not a wing and a prayer like a lot of people tow with. :lol

[Sweety]

Nice one.... it's pretty easy, 50% logic, 40% common sense, and 10% patience.

Only down side with having a caravan is now your weekends are going to be really busy, what with working on the truck, you now have the caravan to work on, as well as trying to actually get away on some of those weekends.:clap

I have the time Clive as i'm on permanent sick due to health & being classed as disabled. We normally went away camping during the week as sites are quieter & whiny kids are at school so the weekends should still be free for the truck:lol
The van hasn't got a stereo fitted so that might be on the to do list but i'm thinking of adding some LED strip lights for a bit of mood lighting in the van probably purple as that's my wife's favourite colour:augie One thing is for sure we'll be able to get away more often & over a longer period as won't have a tent to dry out:thumbs normally we would have been away a couple of times by now but the wet weather has stopped us:(

[jims-terrano]

Nice! Wish we still had a van but probably be wasted now as we dont have much spare time these days.

[Banshee]

Only caravans I've ever owned have been picked up for £50 and have had no windows in :lol

I picked one up last week and flogged it for £150.... easy money :naughty

[firebobby]

Just make sure anything heavy...awning etc is be kept on the floor over the axle, tyre pressures are correct and keep the speed steady. I try not to overtake going down hills on motorways, I wait until I'm on the flat or going up hill.

[nemofish2000]

AS already said take it easy, 1 thing i would advise is make sure you get tyron bands fitted, ive had a blow out at 60mph and and it aint pretty but as the terranos are a good heavy truck i got away with it. Also a decent awning is a god send and can double your space.. Enjoy. Also noticed you have an alko stabiliser hitch fitted make sure you have the correct ball hitch fitted to allow it to work correctly and dont forget NO GREASE.

[Lazy-Ferret]

Either Lidl or Aldi, I never remember which, do a great acetone based spray degreaser, for cleaning bike chains, White can, black writing and red cap. I keep a can of that plus a couple of rags to clean the ball before I hitch the van up, as I often have to tow trailers with normal greasy hitches.

[Blocky10]

I have the time Clive as i'm on permanent sick due to health & being classed as disabled. We normally went away camping during the week as sites are quieter & whiny kids are at school so the weekends should still be free for the truck[emoji38]
The van hasn't got a stereo fitted so that might be on the to do list but i'm thinking of adding some LED strip lights for a bit of mood lighting in the van probably purple as that's my wife's favourite colour:augie One thing is for sure we'll be able to get away more often & over a longer period as won't have a tent to dry out:thumbs normally we would have been away a couple of times by now but the wet weather has stopped us:(
Looks a tidy van.
Only uncovered ours this week after winter lay up!

[Sweety]

Cheers for the tips guy's:thumbs @nemofish2000 Bought a new Alko tow ball today as the tow ball i've got on the truck is just a standard one but it's badly worn so needed replacing anyway:augie My parents have 3 awnings for us to try but TBH even the porch awning they have should be big enough for us as it'll give roughly the same amount of room as we had in the living room part of our tent which was comfortable:D
@firebobby my parents who caravaned for years have told be to keep the awning & anything else heavy over the axle which makes sense as you want the centre of gravity as low as poss
@Lazy-Ferret cheers i'll have a look for it:thumbs Alko recommend using brake cleaner so did so as i've got some
One thing I like about this van is the weight as fully loaded it's 1131kg

[zippy656]

Any questions just ask.


See my sig...

[newfy]

Hi I am relatively new to caravans myself going into my 3 rd season
You will soon get into the swing of it. Most of it is straight forward
All I would say is every time I hitch up I use the jockey wheel and
Wind it down and watch the rear of the car going up that way you
Are sure its 100% locked on
That's really what's important all the rest will come
The more you go out the easier it will get

[zippy656]

Just make sure you listen and ask questions on the show out.

[Paultrol]

Hi nice caravan,
One little tip, when reversing do small movements slowly and not lock to lock you will find it easier. (until you get used to it) .
An Electric hob is a useful piece of equipment. it saves money on gas and with extension lead you can cook your bacon outside.

[rustic]

Watch out taking tight corners and roundabouts, the caravan will cut in, if a tyre touches a curb, you can damage the sidewall, so with that in mind, carry a spare wheel too.:thumb2

Leisure battery, and a means to charge it, either transfer to car, electric hook up, solar panel etc

[firebobby]

Hi nice caravan,
One little tip, when reversing do small movements slowly and not lock to lock you will find it easier. (until you get used to it) .
An Electric hob is a useful piece of equipment. it saves money on gas and with extension lead you can cook your bacon outside.

We have a Remoska which we have used for years, it sits outside and cooks so many things, absolutely brilliant bit of kit.
My wife uses it at home to cook cakes too.

[panelbeater]

get yourself into the camping and caravanning club about £45 a year lots of cheap small 5 van sites temp holiday sites club sites most of the year in all areas.from £5 a night.

[Sweety]

All going to plan we are off on Monday & can't wait:D Have spent around 14 hours inside cleaning the van from top to bottom washing every thing down but the worst bit was the cooker that took 2 hours with a brilo pad:eek: at least it now to my standard of clean & the cooker is now nice & shiny. Just got given an empty gas bottle 20 mins ago (that's a nice £40 saving) so that'll be getting changed for a full one tomorrow & managed to redo the silicone around the bathroom sink this afternoon
Cheers for all the tips & advice guy's:thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

[Blocky10]

Quality. Enjoy. Going far?

[Sweety]

Quality. Enjoy. Going far?

Going about 45mins North of us to Belford in Northumberland where we've been camping in the past as it's a nice quiet site & not far from the coast plus we know a few green lanes in the area so may do a couple depending on what the weather has/is like

[Blocky10]

Going about 45mins North of us to Belford in Northumberland where we've been camping in the past as it's a nice quiet site & not far from the coast plus we know a few green lanes in the area so may do a couple depending on what the weather has/is like
The furthest I've towed to is Oswaldkirk. Would like to try further north though. The missus fancy a look at the Beamish museum, so 1 day.

[Paff]

I assume that the place you bought it from has serviced the van and checked over the gas bits for safety?

[firebobby]

All going to plan we are off on Monday & can't wait:D Have spent around 14 hours inside cleaning the van from top to bottom washing every thing down but the worst bit was the cooker that took 2 hours with a brilo pad:eek: at least it now to my standard of clean & the cooker is now nice & shiny. Just got given an empty gas bottle 20 mins ago (that's a nice £40 saving) so that'll be getting changed for a full one tomorrow & managed to redo the silicone around the bathroom sink this afternoon
Cheers for all the tips & advice guy's:thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

14 hours :eek::eek: where did you get it from, if it's a dealers, please let others know as it should have been cleaned.??

[iansjones]

Nice rig.
We stopped caravan in a few years ago but had some great times.