2 kids (both under 6) big sappy Lab. We take our tent weekends away in UK and camp in France.

Why would strapping a white plastic tent to the back of my car be better.

What to look at?
How much does storeage cost?
Etc?

Start here

Car size may dictate your choice
Look at as many ‘vans as possible to decide on which layout suits your needs

Buying private check all appliances work, all corners and window seals for damp

Costs me £25/mth for secure storage which just happens to be just down the road

Have just moved up to a 6 berth to accommodate my 2 kids and 5 grand kids 🙄

The bank of mum & dad is depleting ever so slowly 😳

2 kids (both under 6) big sappy Lab. We take our tent weekends away in UK and camp in France.

Why would strapping a white plastic tent to the back of my car be better.

Warmer and a bit more wind proof in our climate. Need to stick to speed limits may be a downside as is fuel consumption, I manage 30-35mpg.

Ta, will take a look.

Car is big, so can tow just about anything.

I’d say buy as small as you need not as big as you can.
No-one likes being held up on the hills. 😉

I know, nearly as bad as those bloody cyclists 😕

Have you ever tried running over a caravan? 😯

Are you getting old? Do you wear beige slacks with an elasticated waist?

After last weeks storms in my trailer tent…. I want one too 😆

Erm, yes gypos live in them!

Don’t.

My wife bought us one when I was out of the country, which was a shock on return!

The towing was fine, never any traffic ahead of me. Manoeuvring a PITA.

The humiliation of towing a 28′ van behind my T5 was hideous; looked a right pikey.

The biggest problem is that having owned one, I am tainted with the knowledge that I was a caravanner once. Bit like sh@gging sheep I suppose. If you did once but don’t now, you’re still a sheep sh@gger.

TandemJeremy – Member
Are you getting old? Do you wear beige slacks with an elasticated waist?

Must be!, thirty something now!

Currently wear grey walking trousers with elasticated waist.

I know, tragedy

don simon – Member
I’d say buy as small as you need not as big as you can.
No-one likes being held up on the hills.

Nope, buy as big as you can afford/tow with your car. I got a big single axle, but within a year I want a bigger twin axle.

TandemJeremy – Member
Are you getting old? Do you wear beige slacks with an elasticated waist?

Ooh, casting aspertions on something you have no experience of again Teej? On most of the sites I’ve been on, the beige slack brigade probably make up a third of the caravanners at the very most.

mikertroid – Member
Don’t.

My wife bought us one when I was out of the country, which was a shock on return!

The towing was fine, never any traffic ahead of me. Manoeuvring a PITA.

The humiliation of towing a 28′ van behind my T5 was hideous; looked a right pikey.

The biggest problem is that having owned one, I am tainted with the knowledge that I was a caravanner once. Bit like sh@gging sheep I suppose. If you did once but don’t now, you’re still a sheep sh@gger.

Manouvering is fine with some forward planning and half decent driving skills.

The humiliation was all in your own mind mate, other than that a bit of a daft view you have there. Actually consider it logically for a few minutes, then come up with some reasons as to what is wrong with owning a caravan.

but within a year I want a bigger twin axle.

You’re showing the classic mistake of confusing want with need. I’m sure you want a bigger caravan to show to your mates, I doubt very much that you really need it (except as an ego massaging exercise).

Is a twin axle like an Orange 5 then?

Yeah right

Enjoy wearing your beige elasticated slacks TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR?

My two lads love it

Car is big, so can tow just about anything.

Not if you passed your test after ’97 you can’t. I’m in that boat and it makes choosing your van and car a bit more interesting.

How much does storeage cost?

We pay £350ish at Scotch Corner, we usually head south, or too the lakes, so we keep the van an hour down the road.

We have a Series 6 Bailey Ranger 500 5, and whilst there is no bells and whistles with it, it’s a fantastic van. The back partitions off so that the boys (5 & 2) are out of the way and me and Mrs Oxo can get drunk in piece and quiet.

Go for an Alko stabiliser as they get good reviews and supposedly stop the van snaking.

Join the Camping and Caravan club for cheap insurance

Join the AA!

don simon – Member

You’re showing the classic mistake of confusing want with need. I’m sure you want a bigger caravan to show to your mates, I doubt very much that you really need it (except as an ego massaging exercise).

Occassionally I’ll admit your beliggerant critcism of my persona may be justified don, but that comment is a right crock of shit.

I never claimed to ‘need’ a bigger caravan and I can’t imagine any of my mates being impressed by any size of caravan to be honest.

Having had a reasonably big caravan for a year, I ‘want’ a bigger one, with better comforts and more space – simples.

Not everything has to be over analysed and beaten down with anti-cock-waving snide comments. I’m quite sure you don’t need a huge cinema screen projector to watch films, but hey ho.

Just for TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR.

Home-Cinema-Room por kala y simon, en Flickr

did the camping, then caravan when the kids were small but found the cost of caravaning-initial purchase, storage, extra fuel towing,site costs and unless you use it regularly it worked out not so cheap (depends where you stay/go). we usually try find cabin/static caravan.

TAFKASTR

there ain’t much wrong with my manoeuvring skills, just 40 feet of vehicle/ twin axle van (as i said my wife bought it in my absence!) was pretty unwieldy on some campsites despite best planning, but thank you for your thoughts. My everyday vehicle is 137 feet wide and 112 feet long and I’m pretty adept at manoeuvring her around in tight spaces too.

The ownership aspect was a headache (water ingress in a new van cost me lots of money on resale despite warranty) and yes, I did find it humiliating holding up traffic; I’ve always thought any trailer towing vehicle should pay a disproportionate road tax for their trailer due to their effect on traffic levels.

Plus the kids (and I) preferred camping!!

Trekster:

What do you have that tows a 6 berth caravan and still returns 30-35mpg!? I want one……less the tin tent ;O)

First, let me say we have a carvan and have had one for about five years now.

Now, here’s the truth.

It’s hard work. Loading it up, loading it so it’s balanced nicely to tow, towing it, until you get confident and competent, then it’s hard work to set up, especially of its lashing down. Reversing onto the pitch with everyone on the site watching you. When you do get it in place and level etc, the awning that you will undoubtedly get will be a pig to erect. You will probably thread the awning into the caravan awning rail only to find you’ve got the awning inside out.

Next you have to fill the loo with chemicals. Then get the water, put the pump in, sort the electrics out and put the water heater and caravan heater on.

None of this so far sounds remotely relaxing and holiday like because it isn’t.

When you get the caravan set up, warm, plumbed, and so on you can relax for a bit and have a beer until the water runs out you need to refill it, you will also need to empty the waste water container too.

When it’s bed time, you have to go routing under the caravan seats for the sleeping bags / duvets and them turn the caravan into a place to sleep. You will be lucky if you do sleep much too. The beds can be uncomfortable and narrow.

next morning it’s p155 container emptying time. Lovely, NOT, followed by caravan convention time again, to a place you can eat breakfast in and so on.

All that said, it’s way better then camping in a tent, warmer for one, and quieter. We love the locations we can get to, with bikes, the dog, kites, for walks, days out. It’s quality time with the little girl too, with no distractions, we have a great time as a family.

I’d recommend a caravan to anyone brave enough to realise its not all relaxation. If you’ve camped before you will have a good understanding how much is involved before you can sit down.

As for buying, our first caravan was off a bloke whose family didn’t want to caravan any longer (teenage kids) and so we got the lot, everything we needed. It was fine as a first carVan, to see if we liked it.

The caravan we have now is much nicer, a better layout with seating areas at both ends and kitchen and loo / “shower” in the middle. We were advised to think about the layout, we didn’t really. We were told we wouldn’t use the caravan shower, it’s true, our shower in the first caravan became a storage cupboard. First one had an end bath room with a very nearly full sized shower!

Id advise you go and sit in loads and see how one might work for you.

We pay £400 a year for storage, insurance is bout £200 a year, servicing about £150 a time. Car does 25 to 30mpg when towing.

You dont have to go far from home to have a good time either.

We’ve been to France three times in ours, load of places in the Uk and its been great, apart form the hard work bits of course.

Have fun, you’ll love it.

molgrips must be sick or something, no sign of him on this thread

Can someone pop round his and make sure he’s taken the milk in etc? 🙂

It could just be he’s fallen onto a nice little earner tarmacing a drive or two on his way back from a weekend away though 😉

Luke,

That’s a good summary. We did use our shower occasionally and we were lucky enough to have a fixed double bed at one end and bunks in the middle so the ‘lounge’ didn’t need to be touched. Layout was important

Main reason for thinking about it was we could take the dog to France with us. When it’s a bit warmer dogs and tents don’t really work.

Maybe the trick is to borrow one first.

We have a Discovery with twin electrics and towbar etc already (for boat towing) so car not a problem.

Love the fact people quote +30mpg, ours does 25 without a trailer 😐 but then it seems to do 25 with a trailer also.

I’ve had a caravan for over 12 years but have now decided to sell it.
Usually i go abroad with it but with the extra diesel,ferry and toll costs its now just not worth it.Going out of season there are good prices on mobile homes, with companies including ferry crossings.
My caravan is lightweight and i get 30 to 35 at the most so with a big double axle and car to match its going to be nearer 20 or less.
If you are just going to use it a few weeks a year its not worth it,and it will depreciate,but not as much as a car.
If you are still thinking of buying look privately first.Dealer margins are high and privately you usually get all the extras thrown in.
German vans tend to be well built but heavy,and not as popular with secondhand buyers.
Big caravans,especially twin axles, look better value than smaller lighter ones because less people have vehicles able to tow them comfortably.
Go to a caravan club site and see couples with massive caravans and 4 wheel drives.I wouldn’t join the Caravan Club as its a “my caravans bigger,longer,heavier,newer than yours” meeting point.

The Mrs and I have just bought a motorhome and it’s great, feels like cheating. Went Lakes last weekend and it was so nice to collapse on a real bed after my ride.

Some good replies here. The missus was brought up with caravans, so she decided about 5/6 years ago that we should have one, and so we did (against my better judgement). My one caveat was that I would never empty the toilet (she says it’s not too bad).

Top tip that I would offer is to go to a caravan show, and whilst this may seem like one of the Seven Circles of Hell, and you will be amongst the youngest there, it’s a really good way of looking at lots of layouts and seeing which one(s) is right for you.

Our first caravan had a pair of bunks, whilst our more recent one has a fixed bed for us, and the kids either make up the front bed for themselves (no work for us) or sleep in the awning. We do have a decent bathroom because we are plumbed into mains water and drainage on holiday in France, and we use our own shower.

Re: car – there are some fairly light caravans out there to suit most cars. Don’t exceed 85% of the car’s weight, and look out for the noseweight (buy a gauge). The car we use is fairly strong, and we don’t find ourselves holding too many people up. Some modern caravans also have a kind of stability control that engages the brakes selectively to prevent snaking.

Good luck. Once you get over the embarrassment, it’s a pretty nice way of being on holiday with bikes, wetsuits, body boards etc. Our kids are now old enough to disappear with walkie talkies and roam the campsites with friends.

EDIT: Didn’t see the LR Discovery comment.

Trekster:

What do you have that tows a 6 berth caravan and still returns 30-35mpg!? I want one……less the tin tent ;O)

VW Touran 2.0tdi

+1 for Luke’s info.

caravans are ace. I got sick and tired of having a crap night’s sleep before a big bike race and worse, seeing the wife and kids huddled in a damp tent while I was racing and it was raining.

I don’t feel embarrassed at all. That might be because I don’t watch Top Gear 😉

If you dont want to tow a big plastic box look at folding campers.

I don’t feel embarrassed at all. That might be because I don’t watch Top Gear

My comment was slightly tongue in cheek. I find it fairly stress free driving with it. All you can do is 60mph, so set the cruise control, sit back and relax.

^^^^^^^and keep your eyes on your mirrors for arctic lorries overtaking you, compensate by keeping over to the left 🙄

going by the above, I must say that a motorhome appeals to me much more.

The choice is bewilidering though.. and some seem super cheap whilst others vastly expensive..

going by the above, I must say that a motorhome appeals to me much more.

Motorhomes are a great idea in principle and a PITA in practice. At least with a caravan you turn up at the campsite, pitch it then leave it there for a week while you use the car to get around.

Motorhomes you need to shut the whole bloody thing down, batten down the hatches before you can drive it anywhere. Only really practical if you’ve driven or towed a car along with you on holiday as well.

You’d still need a car as a normal day-to-day vehicle anyway – my grandparents made this mistake when they bought a motorhome. They’d always had caravans, then one day my grandfather decided that a motorhome would make a nice change so sold both the car and caravan for a small-ish motorhome. Cue him banging it off every bollard, wall and parked car whenever he drove to the supermarket or to church and complaining that there was no space to carry anything. 🙄

😆

You’d still need a car as a normal day-to-day vehicle anyway – my grandparents made this mistake when they bought a motorhome. They’d always had caravans, then one day my grandfather decided that a motorhome would make a nice change so sold both the car and caravan for a small-ish motorhome. Cue him banging it off every bollard, wall and parked car whenever he drove to the supermarket or to church and complaining that there was no space to carry anything

My wife’s parents did exactly this.

Go for it! I’ve had a caravan for 13 years. It’s perfect for holidaying with the dog and bikes. You don’t have to worry about making a mess/mud/hairs, you can stop wherever you like, you always have your own toilet with you. If there’s lots of traffic you can just pull over and make a cup of tea/lay down/read/go to sleep/take the dog for a walk. You’ve got your tv, internet, books, stereo – fab.

Mine’s a twin axle, it’s very very elderly so I’m not in the I’ve-got-this-year’s-model set. Twin axles are much easier to tow than single axles but slightly harder to pitch as you have to position them with your car (rather than unhitching and shoving them around manually). Then again you can get a power mover (but this will eat into your weight allowance). Yes, people on sites watch you but so what? Ignore them, take a breath and concentrate. I manage and I am the only human in my outfit.

The Camping & Caravanning Club do some really good fact sheets about weight, insurance, the law etc. I know they do them in hard copy, but may be available to download these days.

Motorhomes you need to shut the whole bloody thing down, batten down the hatches before you can drive it anywhere. Only really practical if you’ve driven or towed a car along with you on holiday as well

or cycle to places…

Ignore them, take a breath and concentrate.

They only point and laugh for a short while before pitching in and helping.