Caravans??

[flandango]

Hi all

I'm thinking of buying a caravan this year. I have two young children 4 and 2 and to go away in half term etc costs a fortune.

I thought I would buy a caravan for long weekends away once a month and just have one abroad family hol a year.

My parents had a couple when we were younger and I got to see a lot of our beautiful country that I otherwise may not have. We also done france etc. It was great, but then again I didn't have to do anything!

Does anyone have a caravan on here? What do you think? Do you enjoy it etc, pro's and con's?

 

[TonyN]

Me personally would hate to tow a caravan. Would rather have a good campervan or something similar. I do alot of camping and get out quite a bit but it's not ideal for kids in the winter months. Problem is, I find these long weekends can sometimes cost a bomb after paying for ya pitch, food, beer, fire wood, parking etc. I think after laying out for a C/van though costs would probably be cheaper in the long run than camping is.

 

[RGuk]

I have one! (Unsurprising, as I've picked up all sorts over the years, cars, trailers, tents etc.)

We like it and use it quite a lot in the school holidays.

The initial outlay was £2,000 all-in, including all the regular accessories, which can soon add up. We bought off a couple who were giving it up, so it came with everything to get started.

The storage charge (it doesn't live at our house) is £156 per year (£3/week) and we just go and get it the day before we want to go away.

We've been all over the UK and even to Europe, although I'd be less keen to do this nowadays.

It can be great fun....sure....as long as you can put up with the whole "community" living idea. Some folks have posh 'vans which have showers built in. As ever with things, you can sort out mod-cons on whatever budget you have. I bought a dvb aerial and we have an lcd tv for evenings and/or rainy days. The costs for pitching up and using the electricity are not expensive (ave. £16-18 per night) and we then use our money on days out and eating out...we rarely cook, although b-b-q's a fun once or twice. It's great with kids....they can play in relative safety.

Overall, I'd say it was one of our better ideas. You need a solid car (we use our old estate to avoid suspension wear on our best car) and patience to tow the thing! We stop regularly and pull over to let fok through.

My biggest advice would be to ENSURE you get a van that is dry (even new-ish ones can get damp) and consider getting a small model and then splashing out on the awning set-up. We have a baby van and a big awning with bedroom annexes and can sleep up to 6 if we need.

Send me a PM if you are serious, there's quite a bit to learn to make a success of it.

 

[medwayjon]

Its all down to budget at the end of the day.

A gypsy mate of mine spent over £100,000 on an imported winnebago and it is seriously like a palace.

Personally, if budgest suited, I would go down the route of a camper, max & paddy style as they are far more comfortable and convenient.

 

[flandango]

I see what your saying jon but I have a car that i would need if we wanted to go out for the day when we are on holiday. kind of stuck otherwise!

i'm looking at about 10k but as its my first, and never towed before i doubt ill spend that much.

also with campers its more to go wrong, more tyres, and an engine to maintain. sounds to much hassle for me!

 

[medwayjon]

£10k will buy you one hell of a caravan mate.

There are plenty of helpful websites that will give good advice I would imagine.

 

[Herbie]

If you are buying a caravan and all the stuff that goes with it, financial concerns are not an issue.

Camping I can deal with, static caravan hols I can see the advantages and disadvantages, but mob caravan to me is a waste of time, money, effort.

Go camping or go to a hotel whilst people still like you.

Obviously I hate caravans...heres my reasons....

Cost thousands to buy and in most cases very very very little use.
You have to find space for them
You have to maintain them
You have to fill them with holiday cack then go on holiday cooking and cleaning your way through your hols then return, only to clean it all out again
They cost a packet in fuel pulling them
Motorists hate them
You have to park them where you are told and become part of a uniformal site (estate) whether you like it or not
You have to pay an awful lot on some sites to park them there.
You have to move everything to make your beds to sleep in them
You have to empty your crapper
They are very cold at night and make you spend on heating
They are nearly always damp in mornings (other than height of summer)
They are very vulnerable vehs on the road
They increase the wear and tear on your car
I found that I could pitch an 8 man tent quicker than a caravanner could un hook his caravan and level it, thats before putting up his awning , emptying out his gubbins so the van could be entered by humans.

If I had money to buy a caravan, I would buy a tent and then take my family on a long holiday in the states in hotels.
I could add more but, the only real value I see in them is if you are a contractor living on site all week, thats about the best i see in them.

 

[backwoodsman]

Some folk have suggested a mobile rather than a caravan. However, one thing to consider is how mobile you want to be once you've "set up home" at wherever it is you've got to. With a caravan, you can naff off in the car - a mobile is more awkward for "popping out" for the day.

My Ma & Da were long-time snails and started with a caravan, swapped to mobile then went back to caravan because of the "mobility" issue. Other than that, pros & cons to both.

Of course, if you can afford the £100K to go down the route of MWJs mates, then you can afford to do what some of the continentals & Americans do, and tow a runabout behind the main van.

 

[Cernunnos]

I've had Caravas, Trailer tents & camper vans over the years.

Thing is with having no offroad parking, parking a caravan on the street is asking for trouble... same with a trailer tent, though a trailer tent or folding caravan is convinient to tow & not too difficault to set up when on the camp site. The camper van I had was great, ver convinient, we could disapear at a moments notice as it was always in a state of readyness & should the car be off the road it was a convinient back up form of transport to go to work if need be. However, servicing was a real issue with the one I had & it drank fuel like it was going out of fashion. 70 ltrs of petrol would only get me from here to Bristol or at best Exeter before needing to be re-fueled, depending how heavy the right foot. Then there was tax & insurance.

The main drawback with caravans is the initial outlay, the storage costs, which when I had mine was around 300 quid, though I could use it where it was stored at a relitively local camp site on various weekends for not much more a night, then of course there is all the rigmarall of hitching up, loading up properly & of course towing the damn thing. Then paying campsite charges.

Now there are campsites that are cheap or should I say competitively priced, though many sites will leave you scratching your head & wondering why you stopped getting self catering cottages.

These days both myself & the good lady have gotten too used to comfortable beds in hotels & being waited on hand & foot at meal times.

There are times of year when camping one way or another is a dream then there are other times & places when an altenative is caled for.

If you want to camp/ caravan at campsites, why not simply rent an onsite caravan wherever you wish to stop around the country. No hassle with hooking up to the tow bar, no aditional fuel usage, no need for additional insurances etc.

I mean imagine how long the hefty outlay on a decent caravan will take to re-coup & how much it will have devalued in that time.

Another option though not one I like the idea of is buying a static somewhere where you want to regularly visit, but why visit the same spot every year, if you are going to do that you might as well have a bloomin time share, at least those you can swap usually. Of course the usual statics most of my workmates own are in an area where I wouldn't dream going to, or even drive through on the way to somewhere more interesting.

Caravans of the towing variety, been there done it & can quite easily say I'm glad I don't now.

 

[theeaglehunter]

I think I've solved the camper van / mobility issue:

http://www.slipperybrick.com/2007/10/volkner-motorhome-stores-car/

 

[TonyN]

I have seen that before, thats just supercool.

Not as cool as the Van on the fockers though

 

[Cernunnos]

My Citroen would never fit in there.

... Oh & I'd need to sell the house several times to afford it.