Caravan Purchase

Laptop in hand I started my search on the Preloved website by entering in 2 berth caravan within 50 mile radius.  The Swift Challenger 470/2Se popped up and we believed it was an absolute steal!!  There had to be a reason for such a good deal, and there was, DAMP.  The guy selling the van explained he had bought the caravan just over a year ago and had been stitched up - he had bought it in good faith only to discover after a couple of trips that there were a number of damp issues within the van.  When I queried how bad, his response was that he had already started on the repairs and there was just a couple of unfinished jobs, but if the right person had some good DIY skills, the work wasn't too much.  The guy had just had enough and lost heart with the project, and the caravan just needed some TLC.

Off we went, myself, my mother and her husband Rob to take a look at the little beauty close to Cleveland Potash.  It wasn't the best time of day to arrive, it was January at 4pm so pretty dark and natural light was fading - however, at this price my main concern was that it was now or never as I was certain someone would possibly say they'd take it without even seeing it if only for the chassis!  

First impressions were very good, looked tidy on the outside without any nasty dents or bangs.  Then we entered the van....and things weren't so good...floor was spongy, or so I thought!  Rob and caravan guy tried to convince me this was normal...mmmm....wasn't convinced but it didn't deter me.  Caravan guy swiftly (no pun intended) showed me his handy work.  He had done a lot of work on the front section and had done some unveiling in the cupboard and in shower room.  Seeing what there was to do didn't put me off and I was more than confident I could do the job (with the help of my brother Lee Forman).

Within one of the many storage drawers was a folder with all of the appliance manuals, the caravan handbook and a couple of lovely photo's of it in it's hey day, which you can see below.

The awning was included with the purchase and had only been used a couple of times....my mind was made up.  £50 deposit and just had to organise a way to get it home.  Would worry about that later.  Now had to tell the hubby we had just bought a caravan.  Whey Hey!