November 2011 issue

WELCOME to Practical Caravan. This month we continue our look at 2012’s new caravans with offerings from the big five UK manufacturers. It’s essential reading if you’re considering upgrading your caravan this autumn. Read our reviews then see for yourself at the NEC show next month.

Away from new products, we have a compelling travel section with plenty of ideas if you’re still looking to get away. Claudia Dowell travels to Dorset to revisit some of the places she caravanned in as a child, while readers Joe and Elaine Ormerod stop off in Fife and discover a whole new area to be explored.

If you’re looking for advice on running your caravan, then don’t miss our Caravan Genius section. As well as our regular Doug’ll Fix It column, we cover hitching up in our new Caravan College series, and our Elddis Whirlwind project van gets a new door frame fitted.

Anyone interested in buying a second hand tourer should check out Used van buyer, which covers the ABI award, and we explain why the Chrysler 300C makes such a good-value pre-owned towcar, in Used car buyer. We also look at entry level family vans for less than £5000, in this month’s Second-hand shootout.

There’s much more, too, including Talking Tourers, Talking Towcars, New Kit and our round-up of the Top 50 caravan accessories. And don’t miss Andy Jenkinson’s Scrapbook – a celebration of the odd and the old from the quirky world of caravans – and one page of classified ads for caravans, awnings and accessories. Enjoy the issue.

November 2011 contents in full

Here’s the full list of contents for this issue:

Noticeboard
Stop here first for news, tips, deals and our crossword puzzles
Planner
Get an eyeful of autumn’s amazing displays around the country
Letters
Your news and views from the sites, and discussion from our Forum
Caravan bore
Caravan insurance isn’t required – but it’s definitely worth having

GREAT ESCAPES
Dorset
Claudia Dowell heads to the south coast to revisit old haunts and discover new ones, too
7 things to see
Dorchester has plenty to explore – here are some of the top sights
Culture vulture
On the trail of Lawrence of Arabia in the village of Moreton
Walk: Durdle Door
Follow the coast path to one of our best-known natural landmarks
Grand day out
Head to Victorian Weymouth for traditional seaside attractions
Where we stayed
Corfe Castle Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Cut out and keep
Save our pocket-sized guide to the great, the fun and the essential
Getaway
Joe and Elaine Ormerod discover the delights of a walking holiday in Fife
Ten of the best
Peter and Ann Frost stop along the UK’s motoring heritage highway
Your postcards
Grand estates and places of natural beauty are among the highlights
Site reviews
Your views on the best sites

SHOWROOM
2012 New caravans
We get inside some of the new season’s most exciting new tourers. Read our verdicts before deciding for yourself when these models are launched at the NEC show. We review the Lunar Lexon 420, the Coachman Pastiche 460/2, the Elddis Crusader Shamal, the Sterling Eccles Sport 514 and the Bailey Olympus 540-5.
Live-in test
Niall Hampton and family try the spacious 2011 Coachman Amara 570/6
First drives
Audi’s latest A6 Avant estate and Volvo’s updated, more powerful S60
Towcar test
The Peugeot 508 and Renault’s Laguna compete to decide which is the better mid-size family towcar

CARAVAN GENIUS
Genius ideas
How to teach your old TV new tricks, plus kit, tips and Talking Tourers
Doug’ll fix it
Have caravan queries or quandaries? Ask Doug King, our Mr Fix-it
Project van
Doug King repairs the door frame of our old Elddis Whirlwind
Caravan College
Take our class in hitching your van, taught in plain English
Advice special
Bailey and the NCC solve a problem faced by three models
Our fleet: update
The latest about the Practical Caravan team’s vans and towcars
Used caravan buyer
ABI Award
Subscription offer
Save 16% of the cover price and get a copy of John Wickersham’s Caravan Handbook, FREE
Second-hand shoot-out
We compare entry-level vans under £5000
Talking towcars
From matches to motors, send your tough tug questions to David Motton
Used towcar buyer
The Chrysler 300C was a bargain – and is better still used
New kit
Empty your van’s pipes of residual water, plus other touring gear
Caravan basics
Essential touring knowledge for beginners and experts alike
Buying and selling
Find a great deal on a used caravan, awning or accessories
Caravan scrapbook
More vans from yesteryear, courtesy of Andrew Jenkinson

BUYER'S GUIDE
New caravans
Updated with the latest prices, this is the best listing of new vans
Awnings
Confused by the variety of awnings on offer? Check our guide to make sense of the market
25 top new cars
Here’s our choice of the 25 best new towcars available
50 top accessories
Our pick of the essential kit for caravanners