[from edge2edge]

Mrs is considering getting a static caravan(she just doesnt know it yet) just wondered if any of you guys pick up work when on holiday in one and if anyone has bought one to enable me to give the pluses and negatives for her to decide(buy one on site or get one from somewhere else delivered)..........Any help always appreciated guys..............Alan(swindon)

[jasonl]

Neil Williams is your man , he has a nice set up , and lots of experience in this.

[JandS]

I had one for 15 years...as regards work wise did the
odd one or 2 now and again but site owner wasn't keen.
He sent me the new rules for the site in Dec 09 one of
which was you can't park sign written vans outside your
caravan.
This ped me and the joiner 3 caravans down off and we
both packed in in Jan 2010. He had DG advertised on his.

If you want a static onsite you'll almost certainly have to buy
it through the site owner.
Ask about the selling conditions....ours was pretty good...you
had to let the site owner sell it for you for which he got 10%...
which is good because there's encouragement for him to sell
it for the best possible price so he gets a bigger cut.

John

[John Kelly]

By a big tourer. There are some sites where you can pitch for the season. This way you are not stuck in the same place for ever and any problems you just hitch up and move somewhere else.

[Tony Gill Carpet Smart]

Got to agree with John or even better get a Motorhome and see a different place every weekend Happy Days

Cheers Tony

[jim mca]

Alan

When you go to look find out ever detail site fee, electricity & gas are there extras for rubbish collection, meter reading if your buying second hand check the bathroom floor and just inside the doors for damp Ive had mine for 3 years and really love it but its to far away for me to travel for jobs just go and relax but as John says a big tourer might be less hassle but the toilets not plumbed in  oh and defo check the sell on clause and if the park has age restrictions on the vans.

Jim 

[Neil Williams]

Neil Williams is your man , he has a nice set up , and lots of experience in this.

We've got 3 now spread across 2 different sites, the intention is to get another 2 and that'll be our income for retirement sorted.
Alan, give me a call (numbers are on the websites) and I'll try and cover the pros and cons.
BTW it's very very unlikely you'll be able to buy direct from manufacturers, I did try as there can be £6k markup between manufacture price and sited price, so you'll be stuck with buying from the site you pick, albeit you can buy any caravan from any manufacturer.
Do I pick up work? As an owner you eventually make friends with our owners and what I do is arrange at the beginning of each season to do as many as I can. There's not much money in it but having a 'holiday' whilst putting in a few hours which funds the fuel makes it all worthwhile.
One of the sites (Parkdean) isn't too enthusiastic about having a marked commercial vehicle on site during the summer months but aren't bothered during the quiet  months, the other (family owned) are so much better with their attitude.

[Ian Gourlay]

Just curios how long do you keep a van before it needs to be replaced.

[Neil Williams]

Varies from site to site, as I mentioned before we are on 2 different sites.
Site 1 is a 12 year license and they are strick about it being 12 years and off it goes.
Site 2 is a 10 year license but they then run one year extensions based on how well the caravan is kept ( and I believe the relationship built up with the site owners). I'm not saying this site is unlimited but I know there are some on there that must be 16 years or more, and I believe there is a policy that it is better to have a site 75% full of aged caravans than a site 25% full of 'indate' caravans.

[pncleaning]

Going back some time ago I owned a static caravan at Sandy Bay in Exmouth and their policy use to be no caravans over the age of 10 years. I have a caravan at Carmarthen Bay now and as long as you keep them in good condition they can stay indefinatly.

Paul

[AshWhite]

Going back some time ago I owned a static caravan at Sandy Bay in Exmouth and their policy use to be no caravans over the age of 10 years. I have a caravan at Carmarthen Bay now and as long as you keep them in good condition they can stay indefinatly.

Paul

I was in Carmarthen Bay for a week last week. The evening entertainment was just about the cheesiest I've ever seen, but we had a nice time visiting New Quay, Pembrey Country Park, and walking along the estuary. Not a bad park, and it's only 45 mins from me

[pncleaning]

Going back some time ago I owned a static caravan at Sandy Bay in Exmouth and their policy use to be no caravans over the age of 10 years. I have a caravan at Carmarthen Bay now and as long as you keep them in good condition they can stay indefinatly.

Paul

I was in Carmarthen Bay for a week last week. The evening entertainment was just about the cheesiest I've ever seen, but we had a nice time visiting New Quay, Pembrey Country Park, and walking along the estuary. Not a bad park, and it's only 45 mins from me

Glad you enjoyed Ash 

[pncleaning]

Its a family park and our kids love it. 

[Carpet Dawg]

Are the caravans rented out quite easly them Neil? Would you say its a good investment?

I was thinking about buying a few caravans so that I could rent them out years ago.

But a customer of mine who is an ex-caravan saleswoman at my nearest site said not to bother as they are not designed to be "money makers"!   she kinda put me off the idea!

Obviously you have a different experance as you have a few and noticed you've owned them for some time.

[Griffus]

By a big tourer. There are some sites where you can pitch for the season. This way you are not stuck in the same place for ever and any problems you just hitch up and move somewhere else.

Spot on John. All the benefits but none of the hassle / extra costs.

Buy a static off-site and you'll not get it accepted anywhere. Just ring around before you buy and tell them you want to site your van, cold shoulder is what you'll get, and that'll be the better replies. I was shocked, but it's a licence to print money for the site owners.

[from edge2edge]

Morning Guys I really appreciate the input(neils setup seems to work but that seems quite big time at the moment) I didnt realise there were so many variables with age on site etc.We werent looking to make any money really just maybe cover some costs and have a place away from sunny Swindon to have a beer and a walk really.A tourer would be great but they do seem to be quite a lot of money from what i have seen..........Regards Alan

[Griffus]

Morning Guys I really appreciate the input(neils setup seems to work but that seems quite big time at the moment) I didnt realise there were so many variables with age on site etc.We werent looking to make any money really just maybe cover some costs and have a place away from sunny Swindon to have a beer and a walk really.A tourer would be great but they do seem to be quite a lot of money from what i have seen..........Regards Alan

We paid £3500 for a ten year old one just last year. Little bit of work and it's like new. Ours is over 6 metres long and we have an awning that more than doubles the size.

The kids love it, my 4 year old daughter wants us to "live here always" 

I couldn't be doing with towing it all over the place though. We've set ours up like a static on a site set up for this. Costs £1300 for the year although October 31st to March 1st the site is closed, so storage only, albeit in its regular pitch. Can't fault any of it.

[Neil Williams]

Are the caravans rented out quite easly them Neil? Would you say its a good investment?

You have to go somewhat to compete on google natural listings against the big names, so nearly all our bookings come from either one of the holiday advertisers or repeat customers.
Good investment? Probably not on a singluler caravan or even 2 but it's when you get to 3 that it shows dividends. 5 is my target at which point we will have a rolling stock and a decent retirement income. Currently we take nothing out as all money is put aside towards the next one.

But a customer of mine who is an ex-caravan saleswoman at my nearest site said not to bother as they are not designed to be "money makers"!  she kinda put me off the idea!

If there's something that makes me more determined it's someone saying "You won't be able to......"  The one way to ensure you don't make anything is allow the site to subcontract off you, so that you end up with 50% of whatever the customer paid for their holiday.

Obviously you have a different experance as you have a few and noticed you've owned them for some time.

6 years since our first one, the latest only about 2 months

[Carpet Dawg]

Thanks Neil. Food for thought.