Question on Vans with Caravans built on....

willdbill

all a matter of perception of course. there are some really badly done bodge ups,there's a few round here- wouldn't get on a c&c site but i doubt they care, more concerned about being warm and dry i expect,
and a lot of modern motorhomes, while looking nice and shiny, are built in the same cost-cutting, weight-saving way as a caravan, just a different shape, so putting one on a flatbed or chassis cab isn't much of a leap ,especially when you realise that early Eriba and Airstream m/homes were built exactly like that, and i'd love one of either !
so i reckon it's a good money saving idea,and buying a caravan all ready fitted with working appliances and a good interior means you could get the equivalent of a 40-50 grand m/home for a fraction of the price.

and why would thay not get on a c&c site if thay are fully payed up members thay cannot be turned away a loot of snobbery in the c&C butt hay cannot refuse entry to a fully payed up member
i know i was once that member
bill
 

Deleted member 36

I reckon that's precisely what was being asked ...

I'm sure the OP will say if it isn't.

Well that is not my interpretation, but hey ho what does it matter:wave:
I don't think the opening poster has acknowledged any posts
 

mandrake

exacty grath ,and yes its nice to hear from you again ,know any more of the old crews whareabouts ,anyway . putting caravans on the back of pick ups like transits was pretty popular a good few years ago ,i knew a few that did it ,and made quite good jobs of them .nowadays not so popular because basicaly there are quite a few inexpensive motorhomes out there ,ok some are not as well equipped as a mid priced caravan but there out there . for the price of say a decent transit pick up 2k plus 2k for a good but old caravan ,then say another grand to convert the caravan to fit the pick up so it not only fits securely but looks nice aswell your looking at roundabout 5k then theres the your time ok free but i doubt you could do the job yourself honestly you going to need help and as has been said earlier ,caravans are not as sturdy as many motorhomes they dont realy need to be ,ive seen some nice decent coach built even A class i belive there called for round that price ok they may need some money spent on them ,but so do old 20 year old caravans ,sometimes things that arnet readily apparent as ive found out .by the way anybody any idea just how wasps can get in the middle of a sealed double glazed caravan window ,more to the point HOW THE F%&k DO YOU GET THEM OUT .
 

Deleted member 36

exacty grath ,and yes its nice to hear from you again ,know any more of the old crews whareabouts ,anyway . putting caravans on the back of pick ups like transits was pretty popular a good few years ago ,i knew a few that did it ,and made quite good jobs of them .nowadays not so popular because basicaly there are quite a few inexpensive motorhomes out there ,ok some are not as well equipped as a mid priced caravan but there out there . for the price of say a decent transit pick up 2k plus 2k for a good but old caravan ,then say another grand to convert the caravan to fit the pick up so it not only fits securely but looks nice aswell your looking at roundabout 5k then theres the your time ok free but i doubt you could do the job yourself honestly you going to need help and as has been said earlier ,caravans are not as sturdy as many motorhomes they dont realy need to be ,ive seen some nice decent coach built even A class i belive there called for round that price ok they may need some money spent on them ,but so do old 20 year old caravans ,sometimes things that arnet readily apparent as ive found out .by the way anybody any idea just how wasps can get in the middle of a sealed double glazed caravan window ,more to the point HOW THE F%&k DO YOU GET THEM OUT .

Yes, still in contact with a few, even was speaking to Sam earlier tonight, she is OK but missing motor homing. I hope she is able to get another soon!
 

mandrake

Yes, still in contact with a few, even was speaking to Sam earlier tonight, she is OK but missing motor homing. I hope she is able to get another soon!

great i wondered what had become of some of them , i have a caravan now basically for convenience with travelling with two grandkids ,did look into the possibility of replacing the single front seat with a double belted type no real probs there ,but then there's the problem of fitting adequate seat belts to the rear with the correct layout for wife and daughter legally and safety wise that was out . i came to the conclusion it was either a motor home properly equipped ,looking at 4 or five grand min ,no goer realy as i would still need a car for daily travel double expense so a caravan was the only real answer ,mind you given the choice ,and if it was just wife and myself i would still have a motor home any day , i still miss my old bedford funnily enough ,even though it was old and had some problems .
 

caferacer51

Well that is not my interpretation, but hey ho what does it matter:wave:
I don't think the opening poster has acknowledged any posts

(Sorry, I drive a school and college bus, then come home and put a 5 months old to bed... just sat down now!)

Many thanks for the replies and pics!

It's not the pick up I was thinking of, but literally and Transit style flat bed, minus the bed!
The key would be to mount the caravan as low as possible, whilst retaining the original floor. There is a fairly good one on fleabay at moment. The roof line of the front of the caravan just creeps around and over the cab, then panels have been made to effectively join the two together.
I doubt it would be as polished as a Hymen, ie built for that purpose, but fairly good vans can come in under £1000 and caravans considerably less.
If it were just a 3 front seat cab, you'd only have 1/3 the bodywork welding to do!
We certainly don't plan on joining the CC (absolutely no disrespect) and I believe I could do a better job then just looking like I've reversed a Transit into a caravan at high speed...

I'm usually quite good at the old Google search but just drawn a blank with this one?

When converting the inside of a van is so logical or towing a caravan is convenient, I guess it's not a huge surprise there aren't loads out there?
 

n brown

Forum Member
i've fitted out all sorts of vehicles, lengthened them, raised roofs, stuck vans on top of vans and added lutons to panel and box vans. but i've never fancied sticking a caravan on a chassis cab or flat bed. main reason is the shoddy build quality of most caravans, which to be fair, are only expected to travel on nice flat roads to a site , then maybe a couple of weeks later, back home again, and this only a couple of times a year. so a 10 year old trailer probably hasn't had a lot of abuse, but i think putting it on a lorry base ,and using it a lot more might speed its life up a bit !
on top of that, there's so many joins on caravans that can leak, and the timber frames are just no good at handling damp
 

maingate

Forum Member
(Sorry, I drive a school and college bus, then come home and put a 5 months old to bed... just sat down now!)

Many thanks for the replies and pics!

It's not the pick up I was thinking of, but literally and Transit style flat bed, minus the bed!
The key would be to mount the caravan as low as possible, whilst retaining the original floor. There is a fairly good one on fleabay at moment. The roof line of the front of the caravan just creeps around and over the cab, then panels have been made to effectively join the two together.
I doubt it would be as polished as a Hymen, ie built for that purpose, but fairly good vans can come in under £1000 and caravans considerably less.
If it were just a 3 front seat cab, you'd only have 1/3 the bodywork welding to do!
We certainly don't plan on joining the CC (absolutely no disrespect) and I believe I could do a better job then just looking like I've reversed a Transit into a caravan at high speed...

I'm usually quite good at the old Google search but just drawn a blank with this one?

When converting the inside of a van is so logical or towing a caravan is convenient, I guess it's not a huge surprise there aren't loads out there?

Some of the long term members might remember Lenny who used to be a member on wildcamping. His Brother (or Brother in Law) grafted a Caravan on to a chassis cab body and made a really good job of it. I took a photo of it at Druridge about 6 or 7 years ago but cannot find the photo now.

So, it can be done.
 

mandrake

Some of the long term members might remember Lenny who used to be a member on wildcamping. His Brother (or Brother in Law) grafted a Caravan on to a chassis cab body and made a really good job of it. I took a photo of it at Druridge about 6 or 7 years ago but cannot find the photo now.

So, it can be done.

i remember lenny .was it a caravan that they did or did they remove a motorhome body of a rotten chassis and replace it on a crew cab , think it was an ldv . but as for a caravan ,ok some motor home bodies are rather flimsy ,but a caravans different there not that strong at all they dont need to be realy ,dont get the stresses a motor home body has to put up with ,as pick up bodies because basically thats what there built on flex quite a bit ,especialy older type design rear wheel drive ones which the majority of the pick up /flatbed ones still are . most motorhomes now seem to be built on a special alco type chassis nowadays that are fitted to a front wheel drive chassis minus the ladder frame rear wheel drive set up awell ,more on the caravan design and probably of less substance than older types .my avondale sport of 1998 vintage is on a alko chassis with i found out a alko euro axle ,no dampers no springs as such .
 

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