'is this some game or banter which i cannot understand? Why is Surf-Mat being such a nob-end? He goes on about how great hotels are then gets all narky when someone else has stayed in a hotel.
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Anyone have a caravan?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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Lol!
Posted 1 year ago # -
i'm coming round to the idea of a caravan too - we've always camped but with a 2 year old and a new one (baby not replacement 2 year old) due at Christmas, the added comfort and potential to hook up and go does appeal. problem is i dont really know what the options are so dont know what i want. are there standard layouts? or does each manufacturer have their own quirks? i think the potential to put the babies to bed and for adults to stay up is prime consideration.
also, do people use the shower and toilet facilities onboard? being used to camping, i can see the undoubted appeal in not having to make the 3am trip to the site facilities, but surely for everything else, the onboard facilities are surely no match for brick and mortar equivalent??Posted 1 year ago # -
work out the cost over ten years, include depreciation, storage, etc.
then consider the alternative holiday options u could have for the same cash and how much less hassle it would be
Posted 1 year ago # -
I reckon it's only a matter of time before I succumb to one. They make a lot of sense, and if you can get one at the bargain basement end, I can't see how you can lose money.
Posted 1 year ago # -
OMG Caravans FFS
Anyone considering a caravan without very good excuse really has given up on excitement in their lives and settled for beige
Posted 1 year ago # -
TJ - I'm inclined to agree with you, sadly.
Molgrips, we tow with a Hyundai Santa Fe (new shape) diesel auto. Get about 35mpg solo and 25mpg towing (though that's with 4 bikes on the roof). First towcar was a Saab 95 estate petrol auto. 15mpg towing was not fun at all, and we quickly swapped for a diesel.
Petrieboy, best way to look at all the layouts from the manufacturers is to visit a show. It's a eye opening experience, and you'll likely be the youngest there (don't take kids). Our kids use the onboard loo at night but site facilities the rest of the time, though some campsites don't have any facilities at all (pretty rare). Some caravans (like ours) have bigger bathrooms which are pretty usable.
Posted 1 year ago # -
work out the cost over ten years, include depreciation, storage, etc.
then consider the alternative holiday options u could have for the same cash and how much less hassle it would be
Good idea!
I bought it for 4000 pounds, it depreciates by about 500 pounds a year, it cost me £230 a year for storage.so, lets say £750/. So PL what holiday alterantives do you have for me and the family, 2 kids for £750 a year?
tell you what you can add on a few extra quid for pitch fees if you like.
Mind you, remember you need to book at peak time, and we get at least 2 weeks in the summer, a few days at Easter, and a good few weekends throughout they year.
Tell me what holiday options could i have for the same cash? 'cos you're right i could do without that whole hour's hassle each time. It's nearly as bad as waiting at the airport for ages, then queueing up and messing about with washbags and computers. Then queueing up at passport control.
Posted 1 year ago # -
'is this some game or banter which i cannot understand? Why is Surf-Mat being such a nob-end? He goes on about how great hotels are then gets all narky when someone else has stayed in a hotel.
Who rattled your cage? Where did I get narky? Just having a laugh. Now back to school young man.
I checked out Airstreams the other day - they start at £45k - YIKES!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
TJ, we only got one as when we went camping when our daughter was young we couldn't keep her warm or dry as the weather was terrible, we bought one the following weekend.
The shows are worth going to, although they don't seem to have as many good deals at the shows as they used to. Also remember if you are buying a new van you will need to order soon to avoid the VAT increase in January.
I'm with chesirecat on the toilet front as well, night time only usage. We have used the shower in the caravan a couple of times, quite spacious and lovely and warm.
Posted 1 year ago # -
work out the cost over ten years, include depreciation, storage, etc.
then consider the alternative holiday options u could have for the same cash and how much less hassle it would be
We have a caravan, Bailey Series 7, Pageant Provence, sleep 5, anyway, in answer to a few comments from above, last year we spent £3k on the caravan and holidays, this covered the equivalent of 6 weeks away, all the diesel, insurance etc, the lot, food, servicing, you know everything, this was for a family of 4, so, for this 3k what could I get, 2 weeks abroad with a load of nob heads that I usually try to avoid. I prefer the caravan.
OMG Caravans FFS
Anyone considering a caravan without very good excuse really has given up on excitement in their lives and settled for beige
This from a man that has a tandem as he is to feeble to pedal a bike on his own...
Posted 1 year ago # -
dammit, more duplicates
Posted 1 year ago # -
duplicate, bugger
Posted 1 year ago # -
Who rattled your cage? Where did I get narky? Just having a laugh. Now back to school young man.[/quote]
1) You rattled my cage
2) YOu got narky in your two posts above and in fact in the one where you ask who rattled my cage.
3)Oh having a laugh! Yes, now i see the smileys and the Teehee cat, it's clear. hahaha Very good! hilarious. The one about not being able to afford a decent hotel is best. I'm going to tell it at school today! Thanks! Have you considered sending that one in to Michael Macintyre? I bet he could use it in his routine.Posted 1 year ago # -
I bought it for 4000 pounds, it depreciates by about 500 pounds a year, it cost me £230 a year for storage.
Maintenance free as well is it? Needs no cleaning? Fuel to cook? Extra fuel to tow? Water and waste disposal free? Hook-up if you have one for power? Insurance? Additional wear and tear on the car? Tow bar and electrics installation?
Please - do the 'fully burdened' cost of ownership if you are going to throw figures around - not
add on a few extra quid for pitch fees if you like
Posted 1 year ago # -
Sam - I see you're new around here - except I suspect you are an old stalker geek with a new username, probably so you can "hide" when being "controversial." And bizarrely using a famous blues/RnB singers name too - most odd.
Oh well, another tragically sad muppet to politely ignore. STW seems to be a magnet for them.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Maintenance free as well is it? Needs no cleaning? Fuel to cook? Extra fuel to tow? Water and waste disposal free? Hook-up if you have one for power? Insurance? Additional wear and tear on the car? Tow bar and electrics installation?
Please - do the 'fully burdened' cost of ownership if you are going to throw figures around - not
Christ TooTall, are you really that opposed to caravans, anyway did you miss my post, £3k a year all in for me, that is everything mate, for 6 weeks holidays, this is 2 full weeks away plus all the weekends we go away and a few long weekends, we kept a tab on it last year so the figure is correct, if I remember it came in just under the £3k mark
So, next year for out 5 days at Eurodisney with the kids we have spent £2k so far.....
Posted 1 year ago # -
Then i started to think, maybe its not such a bad idea, sling the bikes in it, 2 dogs in the boot and away we go, scotland for the weekend, Cornwall the next, the worlds my oyster!
So to précis -
You want to spend your weekend driving 6 hours to reach a field full of people who really like caravans.Apologies if this has already been pointed out
Posted 1 year ago # -
So to précis -
You want to spend your weekend driving 6 hours to reach a field full of people who really like caravans.Apologies if this has already been pointed out
Posted 1 year ago # -
Anyone considering a caravan without very good excuse really has given up on excitement in their lives and settled for beige
Trolling for sure. I mean - you could drive to the Alps and spend a few weeks mountaineering.. if you stay in a tent then you are cool, if you stay in a caravan then you are boring? That right?
You want to spend your weekend driving 6 hours to reach a field full of people who really like caravans.
Maybe he wants to spend half a day driving to stay somewhere remote with hardly anyone around in comfort?
I don't understand why people are perfectly happy with the idea of camping but think caravanning is something worthy of total ridicule. It's basically the same thing, isn't it? Except one is more expensive but more comfortable.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Mol - I think it's the way you get there and back with a caravan. Slowly.
Then there are the names for them - Marauder, Bucaneer, Pageant. They don't help.
Then it's being stuck behind them on country lanes - most cannot reverse a caravan to save their lives so that annoys people.
And finally it's the way many of them look - like overgrown appliances with beige and orange interiors.
I guess like camping, some just don't get it. Camping is true freedom - you really can go almost anyhwere. Caravans need a level site, a bog emptying facility, electric hook up, etc - hardly "proper" outdooring.
I can see the appeal - I've probably spent more nights in them than anyone here - but that doesn't mean we all want one.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I don't understand why people are perfectly happy with the idea of camping but think caravanning is something worthy of total ridicule. It's basically the same thing, isn't it? Except one is more expensive but more comfortable.
In the same way that the daily express the telegraph are both newspapers
The names of the caravans don't help matters either, I can't help but snigger a little when there's a big beige box called something like 'Swift Conqueror' or 'Crusader Extreme Super Cyclone' wobbling around in front./Edit
Ooh scary coincidence with surf_mat on the name thing Posted 1 year ago # -
A 3 hour motorway trip only takes 20 minutes longer in a caravan. Hardly going to impact your holiday is it?
Yes, some names are stupid (from years ago) but WGAF, honestly?
Caravans need a level site, a bog emptying facility, electric hook up, etc - hardly "proper" outdooring.
Wrong, wrong, and ummmm.. wrong.
Tents need a level site - I can't stand sleeping on a slope. Carvans have legs that you can use to level it up.
You don't need bog emptying - you do it at home or in a normal bog anywhere.
You also don't need leccy. We have these amazing inventions called batteries.
Caravaning is vastly more comfortable, although less convenient with the driving. Definitely worth it for me.
Btw, this is the kind of site I am thinking of:
Posted 1 year ago # -
Being pretty near to the A1(M) and Ripon isn't what I'd call "the Wilderness"
One advantage over a camper though: when you do finally get there, you have a separate car to use. It's a right faff packing up campers every time you want to go anywhere.
Same applies for a tent though.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Wgaf about wilderness? If I want wilderness I'll pack a tent in my backpack. Since when did this become about wilderness?
This is your argument:
Posted 1 year ago # -
Campsites? Some of the best I have used this year. No way of getting a caravan to them
Posted 1 year ago # -
And what's that prove TJ? I camp in places like that too.
This argument is getting ridiculous.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The only way to truly camp in anything approaching wilderness is to use your feet.
On wilderness scale I'd say
feet > canoe > bike > motor bike > 4x4 > car = camper-van > caravan.
Posted 1 year ago # -
In which case Mol, I suggest you visit this lovely caravan site. One minute you want remote countryside, the next you are muttering on about "wilderness."
Best site I know is not accessible by caravan...
And before posting some drivel about clutching at straws, look at what you wrote:
Maybe he wants to spend half a day driving to stay somewhere remote with hardly anyone around in comfort?
Posted 1 year ago # -
The middle one is on a big campsite - but in your caravan you would have been stuck in a row of similar vehicles.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This is the future -
Posted 1 year ago # -
One minute you want remote countryside, the next you are muttering on about "wilderness."
What does that mean?
What I am saying is that I like staying in small caravan sites out in the countryside. They are known as Certified Locations and have a maximum of 5 caravans.
I ALSO like wilderness camping, but clearly I'm not trying to say a caravan is ideal for that..!
The middle one is on a big campsite - but in your caravan you would have been stuck in a row of similar vehicles.
See above TJ - 5 van limit on those sites.
feet > canoe > bike > motor bike > 4x4 > car = camper-van > caravan.
I'd put canoe before feet for real wilderness. Some places are so wild that they are impenetrable or inaccessible on foot, and you need a canoe Voyageur style
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd put canoe before feet for real wilderness. Some places are so wild that they are impenetrable or inaccessible on foot, and you need a canoe Voyageur style
I was toying with which one goes on top. My rational was that you can walk up a mountain and you can usually walk roughly following the path of a river but you can never canoe up a mountain. Maybe put them equal but for different uses.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Fair point.
But again it depends on the wilderness, since the middle of the Sahara say would be really hard on foot (and even harder by canoe) but accessible with a 4x4...
I think though that this thread has officially strayed off-topic now
Posted 1 year ago # -
I thin Ian Hibell crossed the Sahara on his bike and nearly died. Jermany Cleakson drove to the North Pole and unfortunately didn't nearly die. Exceptions to prove the rule.
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
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