Bernard O'Shea: Here are my five dos and don’ts of a camper van holiday

'Try before you buy, it will give you a good indication if you and your family can spend a vast amount of quality claustrophobic time together'

Bernard O'Shea says that it's a good idea to check the size of beds to make sure you fit. Photograph Moya Nolan

Like thousands of other families in the last year, we have purchased a second-hand camper van and we’re just back from our first four wheeled adventure. Here's what I've learned about taking a camper van holiday.

Do buy your camper van from a reputable dealer especially if it’s second hand. It needs to be serviced by people who know what they are doing. You might be handy with a spanner, but camper vans are a whole different kettle of moving fish. Ours is fifteen years old. When a moving house on wheels is that old it’s not a case of "if” something goes wrong it’s more a case of “when” things go wrong. We had a few minor issues and the dealer was able to advise us on what to do and fixed all our problems. We bought ours from Anchor Point, Killaloe. They have been there for years and were excellent to deal with.