Hello everyone,

I am looking to purchase a small caravan to be towed by my Citroen Berlingo van.  I have had a towbar, 7 pin plug and an Anderson plug fitted to the car.  My original plan was to buy an AVAN Sportliner and the towbar was put on to facilitate this, after advice from an AVAN dealer that the vehicle would be capable of towing it.  I have now had a different opinion from a second dealer who says it won't be able to.

So my quandary now is do I purchase the second hand AVAN Sportliner I've seen or do I purchase a brand new Euro Glider caravan which is much lighter to begin with, as it's made out of fibreglass.  But the Euro Glider is about $8,000.00 dearer and I have not been able to locate any second hand Gliders.

To tow the AVAN (if I buy it) I would need to purchase a new (or second hand) vehicle  -  perhaps something like an early model ute, not the big muscle car utes which seem to be so common nowadays.  I have a Greenspeed recumbent trike which I would like to carry with me, hence the van.  But a ute would also carry it, albeit out in the open.

Can the forum members provide an opinion on which van may be better?  It would be great to hear from owners of both of these vans.

I am a 62 year old single woman who would like to go on the road in the near future.

Welcome to the gang Jane, enjoy here and out in the playground.

When I was only a solo Brave I had a Avan Sportliner and was able to move it around by hand with eze. I had some great times and met great people. I loved everything about it. Being a fold down camper it travelled low unlike the Euro Glider that I felt was top heavy. I spent 8 out of 12 months for 3 years in the Sportliner and never felt cramped.

Yes, the Sportliner is small but I was and still am solo so had no problems. I always said though that if a married couple left for a trip in one they would come back divorsed.

I towed it with a Ford Sedan at first then a Toyota Prado until it went to the gods then a Holden Colorado briefly.

When I became a full time 'Chief' I got what is listed below and sometimes would still like to have the Avan Sportliner. I now tow with the Colorado.

May I suggest you try and hook up the Sportliner and see how it tows with your current tug first. I would be suprised if it didn't do the job. 

That said, a ute you mention would do the job and if you got a 4x4 ute, it might get you out of trouble one day as it did for me a couple of times.

Feel free to PM me if you want.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

A warm welcome from me also, Wheeling Along

Although I have had no experience with the vehicle and vans you mentioned, I agree with Doug above

The salesman who said your Citroen Berlingo Van, is suitable to tow the Avan, should be able to show you and print out the weights involved
If he really wants the sale, he will probably hitch the van, and then drive it around the block with you

As for your recumbent trike, could you remove the rear wheel, and fit it into Citroen

Unfortunately not many people look into this part of the forum, you may get more answers if you copy and paste into the General Forum

In the meantime below are the weights for :-
Citroen Berlingo Van which has a towing capacity of 900 Kg if the Avan has brakes fitted
Avan has a tare weight of 710 Kg

I have no idea if the Avan has brakes

G'day Wheeling along and welcome to the forum.  Don't forget to try the two ongoing games here - 'Who is This' in the 'I Digress' section and 'Pick this Place' in the 'General' Section - a great source to find new places to visit. To expand from Dougwe and Tony Bev's postings if you find the Avan has brakes you will still need to fit a brake controller from what I have read, otherwise you are not deemed compliant, that is you can only tow more than 500kg if the tow is braked.

Pete & Marion

Thanks everyone,

I appreciate your input.  I am dipping my toes into a whole new lifestyle and having never purchased or towed a van, or even a trailer, I want to make sure I make the correct decision before venturing on to the road.

I like the size of the AVAN as I feel it will suit me perfectly and I've watched a few being erected in caravan parks.  They seem very easy to use and I like the idea they can be moved around by hand if needed.  Not sure of my reversing skills just yet!  As I'm a single person it would be just me in the van and I'm used to going bicycle touring so can pack minimally  -  and hopefully not overload the van!

I've seen a second hand AVAN Sportliner at Campervans Australia at Albion Park Rail in NSW -   http://campervansau.com.au/listings/avan-sportliner-caravan/

My problem is I live in Brisbane so cannot personally inspect the van unless I drive down there, which I am intending to do.  It looks good so I have my fingers crossed.

Tony  -  the trike easily fits in the rear of the Citroen Berlingo van.  That was originally why I bought it, so it could carry the trike and the other bikes a friend and I use in our cycle touring business.  And thanks for the tip about re-posting into the General Forum section of the site, I will do so.

Cadet  -  yes I was pretty sure I'd have to fit a brake controller but didn't want to put it on the Citroen if it wasn't able to tow.

If I decide to purchase the AVAN I will take a friend with me rather than take my car.  He tows his caravan and has a brake controller fitted to his 4WD vehicle so we will easily be able to tow it back to Brisbane.

Thanks once again and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions to ask of all the knowledgeable people on this forum.

Jane

Hello wheeling along and a very warm welcome. Personally, i would ditch the idea and  buy a hiace or similar van With a hard top. Have a friend who lives in hers and it has canvas popup Roof. the canvas is all mouldy and needs replacing. She says she wishes she had bought the solid van.