What makes a caravan right for a first time buyer
Your car and the trips you have planned decide the answer.
Four checks decide it. Three of them compare published figures for the van with figures from your car's owner's manual. The last is a judgement only you can make.
1ATM against what your car is rated to tow
ATM is the most your caravan is allowed to weigh when it is fully loaded and standing on its own wheels, unhitched from the car. The manufacturer sets it and it is stamped on the van's compliance plate. Your loaded van must never go over it, however strong the tow car is.
The heaviest trailer with its own brakes that your car's manufacturer allows it to tow. It is one ceiling among several. GCM, the towball limit, the towbar's rating and the towball's own rating apply at the same time, and the lowest one sets your limit.
What to do with it: Put the van's ATM beside your car's braked tow rating. The ATM must be no higher. Our towing check calls a van that uses more than 80% of the rating Close to the limit, as a rule of thumb. Then check the towbar's rating and GCM (Gross Combination Mass). GCM minus the loaded car must still cover the van's ATM.
2Payload against the way you pack
Payload is everything you are allowed to add to the van: water, gas, food, bedding, tools, chairs and the annexe. It is ATM minus Tare, and later add-ons come out of it too. Water is what catches people out, because every litre you carry weighs a kilogram.
Tare is the caravan's weight as approved, with factory options fitted and its water tanks empty. Anything fitted later adds to it. Plan your towing against the ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass).
What to do with it: Write the list before you shop: water, gas, food, bedding, clothes, tools, chairs and the annexe. Add it up, then treat that total as the smallest payload you will consider.
3Ball weight against your car's limit
Ball weight is the downward force the van's coupling puts on your tow ball. Road authority guides put it at about 5 to 10 per cent (NSW) or 8 to 10 per cent of ATM (WA). A maker's figure is often for the empty van. It is carried by the car, so it comes out of the car's payload. Check it against the car's towball limit, the towbar's label and the towball's stamp. The lowest applies. Too little of it can make the van sway. Too much can overload the car's rear axle.
What to do with it: Ask for the van's loaded ball weight, since the published figure is often for an empty van. Check it against your car's towball limit, the towbar's label and the towball's rating. Subtract it from what the car can still carry once the passengers, the fuel and the gear are aboard.
4Layout against the trips you take
What to do with it: Walk through the van the way you will live in it. Make a cup of tea. Get past someone standing at the sink. Work out how you get out of bed at two in the morning without climbing over anyone.
Do the first check now
The tow calculator checks your car against 1,210+ Australian caravan ranges.
Use the tow calculatorBudget past the sticker price
Budget for these on top of the price of the van:
- On-road costs: dealer delivery and registration.
- Insurance: an annual premium, usually higher for a more valuable van. See caravan insurance explained.
- Towing gear: a towbar and wiring if the car has none, a brake controller, towing mirrors, hoses and power cords.
- Servicing: an annual bearing and brake service.
Set them aside before you settle on what you can spend on the van.
On road, semi off road or full off road
Makers use these terms loosely, so read them as a rough ladder. The usual meanings:
On road or touring
Built for bitumen and maintained caravan parks.
Semi off road
Built for dirt roads, national parks and gravel highways.
Full off road
Built for corrugations and remote camping.
Buy the level your trips need. Every step up costs money and adds weight, and your car has to tow that weight. For sealed highways and caravan parks, an on road van does the job.
Compare warranties and support
Read the warranty before you sign. Look for:
- Structural warranty: covers the chassis, frame and walls. Check the term and what voids it.
- Manufacturer warranty: covers appliances and the fit-out, usually for a shorter term than the structure.
- Service network: check for service agents along the routes you plan to travel.
Our warranty comparison puts structural and fit-out warranty terms side by side.
Common questions from first time buyers
Which caravan brands are best for a first time buyer?
Brand is the last thing to settle. Vans from different makers can carry the same ATM, the same ball weight and the same payload. The one that suits you is the one whose numbers fit your car and whose layout fits your trips. Sort the numbers first, then compare the vans that are left.
Is an on road caravan a good first caravan?
An on road van is built for sealed roads and maintained parks. If that is what your next couple of years of trips look like, it is the lighter way in. If gravel and remote camping are already on the list, price the semi off road step before you commit.
What size caravan should a first time buyer get?
Your car sets the size. Work out your car's braked towing capacity, its towball limit, its GCM (Gross Combination Mass) and what is left of its payload once passengers and gear are aboard. Then look only at vans whose ATM and ball weight fit underneath those figures. Length follows from that.
How much payload does a first caravan need?
Enough to carry everything you load, with room to spare. Add up the water, gas, food, bedding, tools, chairs and annexe you plan to travel with, and treat that total as the smallest payload you will consider. Water is the item that surprises people, because every litre weighs a kilogram.
Should I buy the tow car or the caravan first?
Whichever you already own sets the limit for the other. If you have the car, its braked towing capacity, towball limit, GCM and payload decide the ceiling for the van. If you have neither, start with the van that suits your trips, then buy a car rated to tow it loaded.