When a caravan is past its prime

What do you do with a caravan when it has past its prime? The easiest answer is to sell it for scrap. With a little imagination, there are a number of things you can do with an old caravan to give it a number of years of added use.  

Restore the caravan

Old caravans can be given a new lease on life by having them restored to their former glory. You may even choose to make a feature of the van by giving it a retro look, or painting it specifically so that it stands out from the crowd.

Store extra belongings

An old caravan can make a useful storeroom. You could use the existing cupboards and storage areas already fitted, or you could adapt the interior design to fit extra storage space.

Let the children play

The interior of most caravans is fitted out to resemble the interior of a house, with 'bedrooms', a 'sitting room' and a 'kitchen' area. An old caravan parked in your garden will make a lovely play house for children, as a scaled-down version of the real home they live in.

Convert the van into a shop

One other use of an old caravan is to strip the insides out and refit it as a snack shop, ice cream van, or some form of food van. A caravan is fairly spacious and can, in fact, be used for any form of portable shop.

Open up for performance

The side of an old caravan could be cut open and the insides stripped to allow the bare insides to be  used as a performance venue for an audience sitting / standing outside and looking into the interior of the van. Alternatively, the van could be used as the 'backstage' area for a stage / platform built  out from one side. This would offer a stage to an organization like a community centre or a school.

Allow people to change

Film production companies use caravans to house various members of the cast and crew when shooting on location. On a smaller scale, an old caravan can be used as a dressing room for performers in a community theatre. You could also park an old caravan next to your swimming pool and adapt the inside to form a changeroom for children or guests, to avoid swimmers traipsing through your house.

Accommodate your guests

An old caravan can be effectively used as an extra guest room, or even mini-guest house. You could either leave the interior of the van as it is and allow guests to use all the facilities; or you could adapt the interior to make a spacious bedroom.

Used caravans need not die, even when they are out of date, too small for your family, or beginning to show signs of wear and tear.

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