The best used caravans for sale (part 1)

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Avondale Bianco 55 used caravan for sale

Find the best used caravans for sale, from £2695 to £18,695, courtesy of Raymond James Caravans

We find several tourers ideal if you're thinking of buying your first caravan, including a 1997 model in amazing condition for just £2695!

Budget buyers will find a good choice at Raymond James Caravans; we found several tourers for about £5000. There’s an emphasis on offering options with the purchase of a used caravan here; on selected caravans you can choose between having a free motor mover or a starter pack plus an awning.

Raymond James gives a 15-month warranty on caravans from 2001 onwards, a two-year warranty on caravans from 2007 onwards, and a three-year warranty on caravans from 2010 onwards. The site extends to eight and a half acres, with an awnings showroom, a great stock of essential caravan accessories and a service centre.

Avondale Bianco 55

Year 2004 Avondale Bianco 55 used caravan for sale

Price £4995
Berths 4
MIRO 1130kg
MTPLM 1340kg
Body length 5.51m
Overall length 6.98m

Layout

Side dining area, rear shower room.

We selected this caravan for three reasons. Its light weight puts it within tow scope of a vast number of cars. Its low price places it within budget for many families who may be looking for their first venture into caravanning. And because it’s an interesting and unusual take on the side dining area theme.

The door is forward of the kitchen. There is a sliding door to the rear washroom. The kitchen has a circular, porthole-style window, and a lot of surface, in two areas, both to the left of the hob and to the right of the cooker. Avondale did things differently and this is an appealing example of a layout we don’t see among today’s new caravans.

Condition

The peachy bolster-style armrests show some sun fade, but that’s not surprising given that this caravan is 10 years old. Careful inspection revealed one tiny mark on the seating fabric. But we’d overlook that if we were considering buying this caravan, for everything else is impressively close to pristine.

There’s one mark on the (pale peach and very attractive) carpet. If we bought this caravan we’d also buy a small rug to cover up the mark, for this lightweight Avondale is a stylishly different and lovely buy in brilliant condition, waiting for a first-time purchaser. Bearing in mind that when new it cost £11,995, this is a cracking buy.

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Bessacarr Cameo 525

Year 2001 Used Bessacarr caravan for sale

Price £4995
Berths 4
MIRO 1380kg
MTPLM 1700kg
Body length 5.36m
Overall length 6.96m

Layout

Nearside dining area, offside kitchen.

If you like country cottage-style fabrics you’ll love this Cameo. At the time this caravan was built, Bessacarr was the Swift Group’s flagship line. Today, Swift still makes Bessacarr, as a special edition for one dealer, Couplands Caravans. This rare chance to get a Bessacarr for less than £5000 earned it a place in our selection.

It’s an unusual layout by today’s fashion, with a U-shaped lounge. The kitchen has excellent cabinet space and is slightly curved, with the cooker set at an angle.

A sliding door leads to the enormous shower room.

Condition

The cooker and sink are in good order, showing little sign of use. The cottagey fabrics, with two patterns, in cream and pink, exhibit a little sun fade on the backrests and a couple of minor marks. The carpet, fitted under the furniture (as was the style at the time of manufacture) is without marks and retains its pile; testament it its quality.

For its age this caravans is in impressively good condition and is an example that shows you don’t need to pay a high price to get high quality.

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Compass Rallye 524

Year 2006 Used Compass Rallye caravan for sale

Price £7382
Berths 4
MIRO 1342kg
MTPLM 1525kg
Body length 5.34m
Overall length 7.06m

Layout

Side dining area.

The open plan aspect of this caravan’s layout gives it wide appeal, both as a caravan for two and as a family choice, using the dining area as bunks.

The settees are long enough to create single beds as an alternative to a double.

Rallye is the top-spec range of the Compass brand. This one has an extractor fan and an alarm system. Compasses made in 2006 had darkened windows at the sides; always something of a Marmite feature but there’s plenty of light coming into this model through the large rooflight and clear front windows, so no risk of it looking gloomy.

Condition

Amazingly the hob, oven and grill are virtually indistinguishable from new. The slightly textured finish on the steel used for the sink makes it resistant to scratching, which is why it looks pretty much like new.

The upholstery retains a firm feel and the fabric, an unusual pale blue shade, is unmarked.

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Buccaneer Clipper

Year 2012 Used Bunccaneer Clipper caravan

Price £18,695
Berths 4
MIRO 1728kg
MTPLM 1930kg
Body length 6.35m
Overall length 7.98m

Layout

Twin beds, rear shower room.

If you yearn for a twin-axle Buccaneer but would rather not pay the £30,000 that it would cost you to get one new, this example demonstrates that you can achieve top luxury and all the trimmings at a price level which is considerably less.

The Clipper has a tower-style fridge-freezer, an extractor fan and Alde heating. Its kitchen has excellent storage capability, in a range of drawers and cabinets. Its washroom is truly enormous. The toilet is ceramic and the washbasin is made of a substance that really looks like fine-grain grey granite.

This caravan exudes luxury in a plush way. The fabrics are tactile and the woodwork is rather dark, giving it a warmly traditional look.

Condition

The woodwork at the front edge of the kitchen is very slightly scratched. That could be easily covered, we think. And even if it couldn’t, this caravan is a cracking buy. We doubt anything had ever been cooked in it, judging by the gleaming condition of the entire kitchen. The microwave, at a conveniently low height, above the fridge, still had its original instruction book inside.

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Lunar Zenith 4

Year 2006 Used Lunar Zenith caravan

Price £5382
Berths 4
MIRO 945kg
MTPLM 1150kg
Body length 4.63m
Overall length 6.1m

Layout

Rear dining area, offside toilet room.

Lunar made the lightweight Zenith range for only a few years. They were priced in budget territory (about £11,500 for this model) and had appealingly light weights. This example, at only £5382, makes an ideal first caravan for a family with two young children, the rear dining area making into two bunk beds and giving the kids their own daytime space, too.

The kitchen has plenty of surface; it’s well up to the task of making meals for four.

The shower and toilet share a room but, at this money and this ultra-light weight, we’d put up with that.

Condition

The four-burner hob, grill and oven have survived with minimal evidence of use. There are fine scratches in the base of the steel sink, which is typical of smooth steel sinks even after only a few years’ use. The fabrics have survived without any marks. Sun fade is just discernible on the bolster armrests.

The pale green carpet is truly as new. It’s fitted under the furniture, as was the style of the time this caravan was built. For the price, this is an amazing caravan which demonstrates that just a few thousand pounds can buy you into the caravanning lifestyle.

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Elddis Odyssey 540

Year 2012 Elddis Odyssey used caravan

Price £13,362
Berths 4
MIRO 1307kg
MTPLM 1500kg
Body length 5.59m
Overall length 7.31m

Layout

Fixed bed, rear shower room.

Up in the nearly-new selection we chose this Odyssey because we felt it typified the fact that you can buy a caravan that looks new by getting one that’s just a couple of years old. When this caravan was new it cost £17,749.

Equipment includes an extractor fan and iDC, the stability control system from chassis maker, BPW. The three burners have individual pan holders which are exceptionally easy to remove for cleaning.

Condition

There’s a slight scratch on the hob but we’d overlook that if we were considering buying this caravan. We’d ignore the scratches in the base of the sink, caused by a washing up bowl, too, because everything else is simply lovely. The fabrics are free of any sign of use.

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Elddis Hurricane Vogue SE

Year 1997 Elddis Hurricane Vogue caravan for sale

Price £2695
Berths 2
MIRO 881kg
MTPLM 1100kg
Body length 4.55m
Overall length 5.99m

Layout

Parallel lounge, offside kitchen.

We had set out to choose caravans in a wide price range during our visit to Raymond James. We hadn’t, though, expected to find one for as little as £2695. In excellent order. And with a wash-dressing room configuration that impressed us with its ingenuity.

The toilet and shower share a compartment on the offside. The door has two frames, one inside the other. The inner door opens to reveal the loo and shower. Its outer frame, though, is hinged on the forward end, so that the door and its outer frame close across the corridor, forward of the shower-toilet compartment. This segments the wardrobe (on the offside) and the washbasin (in the centre) from the rest of the caravan, creating a true dressing room.

Condition

Finding this Elddis was like turning back time. My parents had a similar model which they bought new and kept for two years. The condition of this little gem, 17 years on, is just as I remember my mum and dad’s two-berth Elddis.

The floral upholstery seems to be the only thing that pins this caravan back to its era of manufacture. Its awesomely good condition belies its age. We’d chosen nine caravans, all of which had gleaming kitchens. The condition of this tenth choice’s enamel hob, sink, oven and grill is every bit as good as the other nine and better than some. Amazing!

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