My first caravan

Last month, I made my first post and then… Nothing. You didn’t hear a bean from me. A problem I might have mentioned, it’s been so long I can’t even remember, but I should have mentioned is that the issue I have at the land is that after driving eleven miles to get there, I’m pretty fed up and we have nowhere to hide if it rains or suddenly gets cold, nowhere to have a good old spot of tea!

So, I bought a caravan. A 1994 Bailey Pageant Magenta. A single axle box that means absolutely nothing to me. I haven’t a clue what I’m doing! But how I got my hands on it, the ordeal… The ordeal is worth writing about but first, some photos!

That’s what I thought too. Not too shabby for it’s age is it? So far I’ve only found a handful of things that are negative; the jockey wheel is knackered, it’s actually bent and it doesn’t Jack the nose up (it’s a old fashioned one) so that needs replacing; the lacquer in places has cracked or peeled, easily replaced but it’s only cosmetic; the back end has a substantial crack in it but I can epoxy that up, it’s mostly cosmetic but it will let water in; the side lights on one side doesn’t work, that’s going to be the most awkward to fix and will likely need a professional. Otherwise, nothing else has been tested; water, pump, gas lines and appliances, 240v supply, toilet…

So, what was the ordeal? Well, it involves a scam. A daring, opportunistic event of criminality where a criminal mastermind would swindle an idiot into driving all the way from Leicester to Kent after paying a £50 deposit via Western Union after my bank blocked the transaction just to find out that the caravan doesn’t exist. I knocked on the door, a gentleman answered and, exasperated, he explained I was the fourth person so far to buy this caravan. That idiot was me. Now, I know what you’re thinking but hear me out, Lloyds block my card every few days and I’m forever on the phone to their fraud team. But after over a year of this, you can understand why I disagreed with them blocking the transaction. I know, it’s my own fault but on the way back, I made the decision I’m not going home until I have a caravan. Not after a six hour round trip. I hopped on Facebook marketplace and contacted someone about a caravan I’d already seen. And this is it. £750 + £400 on bits to go with it. I took it from Hinckley all the way to Leicester and then to Shepshed this morning (yesterday now). I parked it across from some houses, one lady looked at me very curiously, probably expecting a fleet of other caravans to turn up, I don’t know… Finding somewhere suitable to park it on the road was quite difficult, there’s a “thing” about caravans. They’re like marmite, you love them or hate them and I hate them. I love mine, mine is great but I hate everybody else’s. It’s the same with cars, like just get off the road when I’m driving!

But there we have it, we’re one step closer. We now have a temporary base that will allow us to get started on the land project; rather than travelling to the land daily to build a cabin for the same purpose, we have fast-forwarded and now have an overnight Base for whilst we build the cabin and since buying the caravan, given touring site fees are as little as £13 a night, I’m rather looking forward to going on plenty of holidays around the UK this year! I’ll keep that documented so don’t forget to follow the blog.

The problem with going on holiday with the caravan, however, is that I haven’t a clue what I’m doing. Like… The toilet situation, for example. How do I use the bathroom? Where does the gas go? Do I need a seperate gas can for each appliance? Why aren’t those lights working? Where’s the fuse box?

This caravan came with no paperwork either, so it’s going to be fun learning as we go. Any tips are greatly appreciated!

My next plan with the caravan is to add solar panels and a 2kwh battery giving me a bit of 240v power, for when it’s needed.

I can’t wait until I spend the night in the caravan, it’s going to be brilliant!