MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Right, stay with me here... My dad called me the other day and said 'son, why don't you buy a small caravan so that the missus, your two dogs and yourself can get away at weekends and chill out more on the cheap" i nearly put the phone down and run 100 miles to where he lives just to give him a good hiding at even the thought of me having a caravan.
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!
I suppose the point is, can i really persuade myself to be old and have the stigma associated with buying a caravan? 🙂
Sounds like a very practical option......in the same way that going on a cruise does.
lol, just about sums my feelings too.
Would a campervan be a better option for a short weekend break?
I look at ours as 'somewhere to sleep and cook' and not a means in itself like some of the people than own them. Cant beat them for the weather in the UK if you ask me.
Would a campervan be a better option for a short weekend break?
If I had to have either, I would choose a caravan. Why?
It has one purpose so there is more room (unless yo have an American monster that won't go round most UK corners).
You can unhitch a caravan and drive like a normal person once you have got to where you are going, as opposed to having to tie everything down every time you want to go somewhere.
I would love a camper van, but too expensive and it would be sat doing nowt in the week.
And you don't have to MOT/Service/Insure a caravan
(although you might want to insure an expensive one, it isn't compulsory).
campervan, can wave a flag for the Fiat Hymer here, did cornwall in it and as long as you don't mind living below 50mph you'll be fine 🙂
Our camper also doubles as bike transport as the seats slide to create more or less space so it's used for both camping and general bike duties so multifunction 🙂 this way it gets used for general stuff.
Would be dearer than a caravan though, and as we don't out trinkets on shelves it's pretty quick to head off somewhere if need be.
Oh and the camper can overtake the caravans 😉
I look at ours as 'somewhere to sleep and cook' and not a means in itself like some of the people than own them. Cant beat them for the weather in the UK if you ask me.
Marcus talks a lot of sense. My main problem with them (and it is [b]my[/b] problem), is one of image. On the one hand you have the road blocking doddering old gits which clog up the nations rural roads from March to October. On the other, you have the upwardly mobile fat chav element which park up on campsites with their crates of stella, copies of the news of the world and muzac. Their kids usually have BB guns and terrorise everyone else on the campsite.
You get a better class of chav in a tent as it takes a bit more work.
On a practical level, they do make a lot of sense though.
Oh and yes I am a complete and utter snob.
Just get 2 Bivvi bags and a roof rack
I've got a caravan and have spent about 45 nights in it this year. I normally take half a day on a friday if we are going for a weekend and generally drive about 50 to 100 miles. We have also had a week in Devon in August as well. We leave ours with everything in except for clothes, so we just have to put a couple of bags in.
Generally if we stay on a Caravan Club site it is about £35 for the weekend and the week in Devon was about £140.
I don't know what the legal requirements for servicing are, but we get ours serviced for about £150 a year, and insureance is about £250, I'd highly recommend both, having had to claim on mine for repairs and a new awning at £3000!
Oh and the camper can overtake the caravans
But when you get there, the car that towed the caravan will overtake you back 😉
Hate Jeremy Clarkson nearly as much as he hates caravans, burn them all.
But when you get there, the car that towed the caravan will overtake you back
Fail to hitch the caravan properly and it will overtake the car. 😆
with a campervan you get the benefit of not being reliant on campsites.
Fail to hitch the caravan properly and it will overtake the car.
😀
Have you seen the Inbetweeners caravan club episode?
if you have young family and a partner who is willing to go in one then I imagine you can have lots of quality time together for a good few years.
Cant see kids older than 12 being interested in being in them though, they normally start having other interests at 13 ish and dont want to hang with the old folks.
[i]they normally start having other interests at 13 ish and dont want to hang with the old folks. [/i]
we've reached that point now.
I intend to take my 13 year old camping with us for at least 2 more years.
Mostly to get my own back for those early morning wake ups and endless winter afternoons I spent in softplay centres with him when he was younger.
We had one for about 6 years- I think the 'just get up and go' idea is a bit of a myth- we always had to spend quite a bit of time packing/unpacking- I also hated the towing (albeit we did end up with a monster twin axle job) and my knuckles would be white when in narrow country lanes for fear of 'the tractor' coming the other way!
Admittedly better for rubbish weather but we took the view the cost of insurance/ servicing plus depreciation just werent worth it- so we bought a family tent- albeit we will only use for long weekends and used the rest of the money to go and get some sun ( after 3 consecutive summer holidays in cornwall washed out!)
You may also have to change your car to be legal for towing 😉
I got a caravan recently, and am loving it!
The driving part of it is not as good as a campervan, but it's got loads more space and you don't have to sit in the driver's seat turned around when you stop. Definitely more room in caravans imo.
HOWEVER, the cost of camper vans is a total pisstake. We spent a grand and got a solid free from damp 2 berth van (big enough for us and the 18mo cos the bed is huge) with a shower, hot and cold running water, oven, motor mover, cartridge loo, leisure battery and blown air heating. Plus, we get to travel in a comfy quiet modern reliable saloon car with airbags and the rest of it. Ok the decor is naff as hell, and it's old, but it's brilliant.
£1k gets you a heap of junk campervan if you are VERY lucky! I've seen campervans at £5k that are 15 year old vehicles with crappy tiny interiors. Total madness.
Then we looked at brand new caravans recently - brilliant new ones that are massive inside, separate shower cubicle, really lovely and they only cost £16k. Compares pretty well to the £40-50k campervans that I see at the dealer near my folks' place.
I'll put up with 60mph driving if I can have a caravan.
I have exactly Whe same problem with my opinion as the OP. They seem like a good idea on many levels but the white wobbly box (I would paint any caravan of mine) image kills it!
Having said that I've been tempted since I 've seen my fokes new one, seems good for the autumn and spring when rain is more of an issue. I think small it beautiful as it means better towing easier to manoeuvre, store e.t.c With a tent on the side the area is still big. Their one still has hot water, electric e.t.c and complete length is only 14 feet. It's one of these Polish freedom things, even my Mum's little 206 diesel will toe is comfortably at 60 mph on main road and motorways.
Molgrips - you are right about vfm on caravans but the residuals on caravans are rubbish- we paid £17k for our last one- 3 years later had to sell for £10k- that plus the servicing insurance would pay for alot of 'proper holidays'. We justified it because we lived in it for 8 months while extending the house but if not (and even with) its a big hit.
Campervans on the other hand hold their value really well albeit a decent size one would be just as much of a pain in the arris around small villages/ narrow lanes etc
we paid £17k for our last one- 3 years later had to sell for £10k
Shoulda bought a 3 year old one then 🙂
To be fair to campervans - heard that the depreciation is so low that you can buy one on a 25 year loan, then sell it later and make enough to clear the loan. So you are basically leasing it off the bank for £100-£150/mo or something.
I am well fed up with tent camping though. So much crap to pack. We spent an hour or two packing up the van last time we went out in it, but that was just sorting out clothes and food. All the cooking equipment, eating utensils and basic foodstuffs were already in there which helped loads.
And the feeling of closing the door on a crap drizzly day (big bike bash anyone), lighting the stove and brewing up; then sitting on a warm dry comfy sofa drinking tea and eating biscuits as the rain runs down the windows can't be beaten 🙂
Caravans are a great idea, we took ours to Dawn till dusk and were mighty glad we did.
We had hot showers, cooked meals, heating and a comfy bed to sleep in.
Motorhomes are also a great idea but very expensive and a faff if you want to do the simple things like pop into town to get some shopping. 😆
Can you get decent ones for a grand then?
I must admit I would quite like a caravan now I have a young family but my wife isn't so sure.
My brother just bought one last year...
Then moved to Cornwall anyway (and took it with them???????!!!)
I did, but it wasn't easy. I wanted one with a shower (for mtb races), so that means hot water too. I looked at some right piles of crap for £1500 being peddled by some extremely dodgy geezers. Some of them the floor was so rotten I though I was going to fall through when I went in! I saw vans at three locations before finding one that was being sold privately.
It's two berth like I say, and they tend to be significantly cheaper. I had to change the tyres on it too since people tend to look at the tread and think the tyres are ok, but the tread doesn't wear on caravan tyres, they just age to the point where they fail.
Extremely pleased with it, but I'm gonna have to change the lampshades as they are so nasty it's untrue 🙂
If you want to be a nasty shed-dragger, go ahead.
However, do the maths first. Tell me how many weekends in a nice B&B/hotel you could have for the same money - given that you'll be driving the same distance, just without a frikkin shed dragging behind you. Then put that against a shed you'll have to park somewhere, maintain etc etc.
Is it really any cheaper? I really doubt it.
. Tell me how many weekends in a nice B&B/hotel you could have for the same money
B&Bs are no replacement for caravans/campervans.
They tend to be highly variable in quality, and you can't make yourself at home in the same way. Plus, in B&Bs you hanging around in the daytime is usually out, and you have to eat in restaurants which is expensive and a pain in the balls after a while - depending on where you are.
We used to do 5 week holidays in the South of France when I was a kid in our caravan. It cost the same as our friends' 2 weeks in Torquay in a hotel (seriously). We had the caravan for what, 12 years, it didn't owe us much!
Chillin out on a warm evening in the open air, plenty of food and cold drinks, good scenery, good company - definitely beats B&Bs.
Oh and B&Bs are usually in short supply at Mayhem 🙂
Tell me how many weekends in a nice B&B/hotel you could have for the same money
Wanted to go to Cornwall in August for two weeks - it would have cost around £1400 for a self-catering cottage.
Actually going in two weeks time for a week and it is costing us £585 for one week.
So, as we have a young family and it is my sincere intention to have them experience our own wonderful country rather than making them sit on a beach in Magaluf for two weeks, it wouldn't take long.
There - took me 8 minutes to do the math 😉
Have to admit, the Eriba (stylish retro caravans) brochure did slip throygh the door this morning.
However having just spent two nights at a rather s****y hotel, it would be a bit tough caravanning it...
Does have some appeal though.
Caravan, as an alternative to family camping. Much much easier, everything is already loaded up. Just book in, hitch up and away you go.
Dogs? in a caravan??
Even a little bit chic
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However having just spent two nights at a rather s****y hotel, it would be a bit tough caravanning it...
Hotels are less mobile tho 🙂
Check out this beauty - the 2010 Bailey Pegasus!
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However having just spent two nights at a rather s****y hotel, it would be a bit tough caravanning it...
I have done s****y many times (possibly the s****iest was a suite in the Ritz-Carlton at Powerscourt). But I also love camping and getting close to nature - it's just a different sort of experience. Still to convince my wife though 😐
Charlie, I absolutely love those things, but they are only 2 berth no?
molgrips, they are, unfortunately.
OMG, just checked and there is a 4 berth. It's.. beautiful...!!
Just as expensive as other 4b though 🙂
Mol - nice but still not a patch on this! Get a locals discount too which is handy.
http://www.stmoritzhotel.co.uk
Puts tin hat on and ducks - I have a caravan.
Molgrips - thanks for the compliment, that's the one I have (top and bottom picture). It's very nice.
As someone said up there, it's best if thought of as a place to sleep/cook whilst doing other hobbies, rather than an end it itself. We spent around 6 weeks in it last year, including 3 weeks in France. Kids (11 and 9) love sleeping in the awning, leaving the main area free for us. The chav element are certainly present, but not really at the outdoorsy campsites we go to.
Depreciation isn't anything like as bad as a car. Bought the last one for 11k, and got 9k (and a discount) off a new one after 3 years.
As for holding people up, I pull over if I'm at the front of a queue, but honestly, it's rare that I'm holding anyone up.
And it's a handy spare room for guests....
Great! That'll come in handy next time I want to go to North Wales won't it?
We spent around 6 weeks in it last year
To compare to hotels, that's 42 nights at say £120/night, that's £5k. You'd pay for it in 2 years at that rate.
As for chav element - when I was a kid we stayed almost exclusively at CLs which are basically fields with a tap way out in the countryside. Not a chav for 50 miles.
Going to get geeky - which layout did you get cheshirecat?
[img] http://www.millwall.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/forums/get-attachment.asp?action=view&attachmentid=4467 [/img]
Great! That'll come in handy next time I want to go to North Wales won't it?
No but this will be handier. It's very nice.
I am completely aware of the negatives when buying a caravan. The wife spent her (very happy) childhood going away in one at every opportunity and fought tooth and nail to convince me. Victoria Wood did a very fun skit on people with caravans, calling them snails - having their homes on their back.
Molgrips, I have the 534. 4 berth with a fixed double bed and bathroom at the back. Front beds are easily long enough for my two, but they sleep outside most of the time anyway. This seemed to have the longest front beds and still remain a single axle. French (and Cornish) campsites this year had water and drainage, so no fetching and disposing of water.
Mat, stfu.
Hotels aren't comparable to caravans, the entire experience is completely different. And you're talking to someone who's spend almost every week for the last 14 months in a luxury hotel!
Chicken - I can't decide between fixed bunks or an end dinette. Don't want fixed bed for us since we have a very young family so want to be able to shut the kid(s) away early on and still stay up. The fixed bunks are nice but you have to have a combined toilet/shower, whereas the end dinette has a separate shower cubicle 🙂
Yep, exactly the dilemma we had. Last one was side moveable bunks and large rear bathroom (stay on CLs etc.), but hated making the double bed up every night. Kids now stay up as late as us on holiday, so fixed bed is OK.
Mat, stfu.Hotels aren't comparable to caravans, the entire experience is completely different. And you're talking to someone who's spend almost every week for the last 14 months in a luxury hotel!
Nice Mol - really nice. I bet "your" hotels were [b]far more[/b] luxury than "ours" too as well eh? 😉 😆
Back to caravans...
Yeah, back to caravans, so stop posting hotels! And you're the one who bought up luxury...
Anyway - off to my luxury 5 star hotel. I wonder if I'll get a suite upgrade with free minibar, king sized bed, egyptian cotton sheets, free movies and large seating area this time... 😉
Yes Mol, a work perk by any chance?
We all know you could never afford a decent hotel yourself...
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My parents just bought a static caravan. 😳
My parents just bought a static caravan. 😳
But it's a 10 minute drive from Kirroughtree 😀
How come a question from the OP has descended into an argument between hotels and caravans? I'm in a hotel in Germany right now (definitely not 5 star), and it would be tough to tow a caravan across here for two nights.
Like a nice hotel as much as the next man, but it's tough to take a load of bikes to a luxury hotel.
Spent many a happy holiday in a static in Treyarnon (Cornwall) before we moved down. They will always have happy memories for me.
Also lived in a caravan (bought very cheaply) for two Summers and two Easters nr Polzeath - it was a bit scabby but did the job very well in those late teenage pulling years...
I wonder if there is a STW of the caravan world - "what tyres for the M4" or "What gear ratio for my single speed towing car"
Exactly. Like to take the wife away (when we can get a babysitter) to a nice hotel, but family holidays are more relaxed on a camp-site, where they can make as much noise as they like (within reason) and roam around with gangs of feral children.
Hey it wasn't hotels vs carvans - they are totally different things. Just saying we got a brochure today but think we'll stick to tents or hotels for now.
We all know you could never afford a decent hotel yourself...
No, not when I'm saving up for a Bailey Pegasus 525 🙂
I wonder if there is a STW of the caravan world
Christ alive.. DO NOT get near people who treat caravanning as a hobby in itself, when they get together. They have utterly pointless gatherings called 'rallies'... gah..
Although I must admit when searching for a few things I did find useful info on caravan forums 🙂
We got our caravan three years ago. £4500 for a 9 year old (then) ABI Dalesman.
It was owned by the type of chap who leaves plastic on car seats to keep them nice. He even had carpet runners made up in the same colour as the caravan carpet, to keep the carpet nice.
As a result, we got a bargain caravan (if 4.5k is a bargain) that was almost immaculate inside.
We've had one holiday in France in it, and maybe 10 weekends away as well as most half term weeks up at the lakes or in North wales. 2011 holiday is in France again.
I wouldn't call us carvaners, more like a family that likes to get away but isn't rolling in it.
We tried the camping thing but Mrs Coolhandluke found it cold. I found it noisy and a pain in the back stooping everywhere and grovelling around on the floor and we hated the dampness of it all. Next logical step is a caravan, unfortunately.
Get over the stigma and you'll love it, a bit like owning a Skoda. Which incidently pulls my caravan along nicely. It is a VRs though 😀
No, not when I'm saving up for a Bailey Pegasus 525
Molegrips, I assume you mean a Bailey Olypus 525? We got one in June, it's fantastic!! We have had a few minor issues with it, but it is brilliant.
We had a Bailey Pageant Moselle before with a side dinette and found when the kids (4 and 2) went to sleep if we tried to sit inside they always woke up. The end dinette means they'll go off to sleep and not wake up. We don't make up the bunk at the bed, we just make up singles at the back. Also the bathroom is bigger than a fixed bunk layout
No I mean Pegasus. Oh wait tho, that's the layout that only comes in Olympus form.. damn...
Currently, lil grips will sleep if you can put her down in the dark and be quiet - then you can start talking again and she stays down.
What do you new caravan owners tow with?
Those new Baileys are supposed to be more economical to tow due to aerodynamics, have you noticed that?
I towed my mum and dads Dethleffs out to there house in France and there it has stayed.
I lived in a caravan for 5 years so i dont mind them.
I have had very good family holidays in a caravan.
Do it Simon you know you want to.
I tow with a Freelander 2 diesel. We get around 29mpg out of it, compared with 35 solo. Used to tow with an A4 estate before and got worse fuel economy, I'm assuming the FL2 is punching a bigger hole in the air already than the A4 used to so the FL2 doesn't notice the air resistance from the caravan(if that makes sense).
The thing I have really noticed with the new one is the smoothness of the journey. It has shock absorbers on and Alko ATC which stops swaying and potential snaking.
Before choosing a caravan have a really good look around, even go to a show (there is one at the NEC next week I think), rather than just some local dealers.
The other thing we've had on this caravan is a motor mover, 1500kg of caravan is not the easy to push when 2 kids are running around!
Can you not get the kids to help push the van? They won't add much but they might not be running about.. we used to help with that 🙂
They will help, but it's still a heavy caravan for 2 adults to move. It's ok on the flat but anything uphill is difficult. It just makes it easier and quicker to move and set up on site.
To be honest our 4yr old is getting helpful, she'll hold an awning pole or bring pegs out, go with me to get the water etc. Our 2yr old just wants to explore and runn about, just because she is excited about being in the caravan.
If they had done the 525 layout in a Pegasus we'd probably have had one, but we like the olympus, I wouldn't swap it now!
'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.
Lol!
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??
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
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.
OMG [i]Caravans FFS[/i]
Anyone considering a caravan without very good excuse really has given up on excitement in their lives and settled for beige
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.
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.
'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!!
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.