Check Before Buying 2

Licence - Does your current driving licence allow you to tow?
(Extract from DVLA site) "Drivers who passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 are required to pass an additional driving test in order to gain entitlement to category B+E and all larger vehicles. In addition to the new driving tests, drivers of vehicles which fall within subcategories C1, C1+E, D1 and D1+E also have to meet higher medical standards."   See the DVLA site for the full text

Take your time -Take the van home and spend some time in the van working out what you need. Get everything working at home, as if on site, water, gas waste, battery, electric hook-up, spend a weekend or at least a night in it at home. It's surprising what will come up.   Make sure you know how the gas and electrics work. There's nothing worse than arriving somewhere to find that you can't put the kettle on or don't know how to get the gas to the cooker or that the beer in the fridge has got warm, because the car wasn't running it while you were driving

Servicing - A caravan need to be serviced ideally every year. Naturally things wear and need adjusting, but caravans suffer more from not being used and if it has been parked up for five or six months, careful decommissioning is necessary.  A service will ensure all is well for the new season. Do book your service early as everyone seems to want it done at the same time. If you buy a second hand caravan from a dealer, then they should have serviced it for you (ask if they don't say they have).  If you buy privately, then ask when the caravan was last serviced.  Doing it yourself is possible if you're mechanically inclined (see the FAQ on Servicing for what needs to be done).  If you don't want to do it yourself, then get the van serviced professionally, even if bought from a dealer. Money well spent for peace of mind. You'll know everything works as it should and find out if they cheated you on anything. Try and be there when the van is serviced, you can get a mobile service agent to come service your van at home and he should be a good source of knowledge about how things worked

Before buying, you should also spend some time researching caravan insurance