Folding caravan

Daveluck · 28th July 2016, 13:21

Hello, can you give me your views on these?

I ask as I we are considering one of these as opposed to a normal caravan. The reasons are

1. They seem to be light weight. This is important to me as here in Spain if I can keep the weight down to less than 750kg then I done have to have the thing motd each year, have less paperwork etc.

2. Height restriction is an issue at our house. Only have a 2.5m clearance on approach to our house.

I'd find a suitable awning.

We thought about a folding camper but are thinking of doing some winter touring and thought that the campers might be too cold.

Thanks

Dave

Darcydog · 28th July 2016, 16:53

We had one Dave as our first caravan from a tent. We had looked at Trailer Tents but they seemed an awful "Faff" to put up.

In contrast our Gobur style Sterckman folding caravan was superb. If you Google Sterckman Folding Caravan you get some nice pic's of them. They seem to be white with the Gold band - not seen any in different livery.

Towed easily. Up in seconds. incredible use of space.

With an awning - these are ideal Tourers.

Hold there price well - go on condition - not age.

Mothman · 29th July 2016, 21:41

We have a British built Gobur Carousel 12/2TD and love ours. It is an absolute dream to tow but the down side with most folders is the minimal payload space and so the car has to be used for carrying duties. Goburs are well built and many models will be slightly over 750kg unladen weight but they do a slimline range some of which will be under if you can live with the narrower width.

Goburs are expensive new but find a good used one and it should hold its value pretty well, though I guess down your part of the world your more likely to find French offerings from the likes of Esterell which will probably be both cheaper and lighter, if weight is an issue.

Mothman · 29th July 2016, 21:50

May also be worth looking at pop-top caravans from the likes of Eriba, Rapido, Fleurette, Rubis, Trigano etc.

Darcydog · 30th July 2016, 05:28

We have an outlet near us that specialises in Folding and Pop-up caravans.

I have visited them in the past regularly and found them helpful - but never bought anything other than spares from them - so I cannot say how good they are as a second hand caravan dealer.

But they have a good selection of both types listed on their website so you can check out both types.

https://campersandleisure.co.uk

Daveluck · 30th July 2016, 11:32

Thank you very much for your replies. This seems to be the way to go for us.

I don't mind loading up the car...we travel pretty lightly as a general rule. Ex hikers so we are pretty used to taking just what we need.

All I need to do now is wait for one to come up here in Spain. The thought of the trials of trying to import one of these just sends me into palpitations. The research I've done would class these as a trailer rather than a caravan. Importing caravans is a possibility but a trailer...not much chance.

Cheers again

28th July 2016, 13:21	#1
Daveluck Gets stuck in 75 saloon 2.0 diesel Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Panton, lugo, Galicia Posts: 945 Thanks: 236 Thanked 192 Times in 143 Posts	Folding caravan Hello, can you give me your views on these? I ask as I we are considering one of these as opposed to a normal caravan. The reasons are 1. They seem to be light weight. This is important to me as here in Spain if I can keep the weight down to less than 750kg then I done have to have the thing motd each year, have less paperwork etc. 2. Height restriction is an issue at our house. Only have a 2.5m clearance on approach to our house. I'd find a suitable awning. We thought about a folding camper but are thinking of doing some winter touring and thought that the campers might be too cold. Thanks Dave

28th July 2016, 16:53	#2
Darcydog This is my second home Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 5,428 Thanks: 3,123 Thanked 3,170 Times in 2,096 Posts	We had one Dave as our first caravan from a tent. We had looked at Trailer Tents but they seemed an awful "Faff" to put up. In contrast our Gobur style Sterckman folding caravan was superb. If you Google Sterckman Folding Caravan you get some nice pic's of them. They seem to be white with the Gold band - not seen any in different livery. Towed easily. Up in seconds. incredible use of space. With an awning - these are ideal Tourers. Hold there price well - go on condition - not age.

29th July 2016, 21:41	#3
Mothman Loves to post Rover 75 CDT Club SE Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Newbury, Berkshire Posts: 252 Thanks: 47 Thanked 31 Times in 27 Posts	We have a British built Gobur Carousel 12/2TD and love ours. It is an absolute dream to tow but the down side with most folders is the minimal payload space and so the car has to be used for carrying duties. Goburs are well built and many models will be slightly over 750kg unladen weight but they do a slimline range some of which will be under if you can live with the narrower width. Goburs are expensive new but find a good used one and it should hold its value pretty well, though I guess down your part of the world your more likely to find French offerings from the likes of Esterell which will probably be both cheaper and lighter, if weight is an issue.

29th July 2016, 21:50	#4
Mothman Loves to post Rover 75 CDT Club SE Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Newbury, Berkshire Posts: 252 Thanks: 47 Thanked 31 Times in 27 Posts	May also be worth looking at pop-top caravans from the likes of Eriba, Rapido, Fleurette, Rubis, Trigano etc.

30th July 2016, 05:28	#5
Darcydog This is my second home Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 5,428 Thanks: 3,123 Thanked 3,170 Times in 2,096 Posts	We have an outlet near us that specialises in Folding and Pop-up caravans. I have visited them in the past regularly and found them helpful - but never bought anything other than spares from them - so I cannot say how good they are as a second hand caravan dealer. But they have a good selection of both types listed on their website so you can check out both types. https://campersandleisure.co.uk

30th July 2016, 11:32	#6
Daveluck Gets stuck in 75 saloon 2.0 diesel Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Panton, lugo, Galicia Posts: 945 Thanks: 236 Thanked 192 Times in 143 Posts	Thank you very much for your replies. This seems to be the way to go for us. I don't mind loading up the car...we travel pretty lightly as a general rule. Ex hikers so we are pretty used to taking just what we need. All I need to do now is wait for one to come up here in Spain. The thought of the trials of trying to import one of these just sends me into palpitations. The research I've done would class these as a trailer rather than a caravan. Importing caravans is a possibility but a trailer...not much chance. Cheers again