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Tents are just too cold, damp and noisy for me. Want a warm dry space to come home to.
I weighed up a) buying a campervan and b) converting a van
But I decided I didn't want to drive round in a massive van 99% of the time not fitting parking spaces etc. Also packing up everyday to go on adventures or the shop I imagine is a massive faff (we are not that well organised to keep everything in place with toddler).
We have 110bhp 1.2 golf 7 that will easy tow a small caravan (my dad used to tow big caravans with an Austin Allegro).
So looking at a small caravan + large awning. The Dutch do them well and they are not offensive to look at on the drive:
circa 1996 Kip Kompact (they do make them new too):
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These have a pop top, the dutch tend to keep them in the garage, so are largely mint condition.
Or possibly an Eriba (Hymer) Troll or similar if the budget stretches.
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I feel a road trip to Holland coming on, shame about the €/£ rate recently.
(my dad used to tow big caravans with an Austin Allegro).
I used that logic at first, however caravans are way heavier than they used to be. Always check weights.
I used that logic at first, however caravans are way heavier than they used to be. Always check weights.
Vw Golf 1.2TSI 2013 plated Gross Vehicle Weight 1730kg, Train weight 3075kg
Leaves 1345kg for a braked trailer
Those little Kip Kompact caravans are 730/780kg unladen 900/950kg gross
OK on a B license (post '97) as it will be under 3500kg train weight fully loaded.
1.2 golf can't tow 1345kg
It's 1100kg max
And it's an 1100kg kerb weight.
I like the micro ones, but with the 2 kids and dog I think they’ll be a bit cramped, even WITH a big awning
Not trying too hard but....
2 kids (ones a teen now)
And 2 dogs....
No problems ...
No hot water though 😀😀😀😂👍
1.2 golf can’t tow 1345kg
It’s 1100kg max
And it’s an 1100kg kerb weight.
Where do you get your figures?
Mine come from the data sticker inside the drivers door of my car.
We tow our little van with a Fabia Estate.
Wzzzz you can get a Kip that has a reinforced floor to carry a motorbike too...thats what I want!!!
https://kipshelter.nl/extras/sports-packages/
Also have a look a Tab for small vans.
Well we’ve been and had a look at a load of cars and and motorhome today. We are now definitely in the caravan camp, and have found the layout we like... now to find a car for me to tow it with!
Wzzzz you can get a Kip that has a reinforced floor to carry a motorbike too…thats what I want!!!
The Kip Shelter is very cool, basically what you get in a T5 van but you don't have to drive a van round the rest of the time. £10k new so not bad.
https://kipshelter.nl/modellen/shelter-basic/
Shame theres no pop top sleeping arrangement for small kids tho.
Shame theres no pop top sleeping arrangement for small kids tho.
True, we might get one when our boy is old enough to sleep in a tent next to it.
Well we’ve been and had a look at a load of cars and and motorhome today. We are now definitely in the caravan camp
Yeah you definitely get more for your money with a caravan, and I prefer the interior space too. Even huge campervan feel cramped with the space taken up by the chassis and the cab.
If you end up with a caravan then read up on how to load it and set it up. Makes life easier all round.
@molgrips that’ll be the boss who deals with that! I’m just the donkey! 😂
Good stuff. Done tents and a T5 camper in my past, now have caravan. Great for year-round camping (Aviemore in snow at minus 14 bring our record, so far). Couldn’t justify or afford the cost involved with a sizeable motorhome, and the lifestyle of those doesn’t suit us as a family with 2 x active young kids. Tow it with Transit Custom with bikes inside the back - perfect.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/a11y_m/6qPN43
Horses for Courses.
I spent all my formative years going on holiday with the family in a canvas tent. Took my own kids camping also and we loved it. not great when the weather is against you but you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Kids are grown up now and we wanted to get something a step up. Looked at caravans, and the modern ones are real luxury. However, I really didnt fancy towing. plus my company car cant have a towbar fitted due to loads of batteries in the boot.
So we look at a motorhome. Took the plunge and we bloody love it! fixed island double bed at the back, electric drop down bed for visitors at the front and a decent sized lounge for 5-6 at the front. I love the convenience of it. I can leave work at 3 and be opening a bottle of red at 6 in the Coniston with the bike on the back. Got it in May and been away most weekends. Next year europe.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48569692577_ae2f9d64a6_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48569692577_ae2f9d64a6_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2gZWnsH ]2019-08-18_09-31-42[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave-lowe/ ]Dave Lowe[/url], on Flickr
Tiger, when you're ready to sell give us a heads up, I have a week to come up with a justification and somewhere to store it!
My parents had one of those pop top kips. They're great but some club sights get stroppy because the doors on the wrong side for the "line up on the peg" our t@b is the same so we left the club. Kinda miss coniston site but we'll survive.
They’re great but some club sights get stroppy because the doors on the wrong side for the “line up on the peg”
Eh?
My parents had one of those pop top kips. They’re great but some club sights get stroppy because the doors on the wrong side for the “line up on the peg” our t@b is the same so we left the club. Kinda miss coniston site but we’ll survive.
Unlucky choice of sites then. Complete opposite to our experience, despite having the ultimate pikey combo (Transit plus a German-imported Hobby - all Hobbys have door on 'wrong' side though). Never, ever once been an issue on Caravan Club sites for us.
Henley Four Oaks Caravan Club site:
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Our door is on the back, I dont think we'd fit in!!
Our door is on the back, I dont think we’d fit in!!
That must confuse the hell out of the site wardens!
And there's a joke in there about rear doors and Caravan Club but I'm too classy for that.
Our van door is on the European side and never had a problem on any UK sites.
This weekend we had to have the peg in the middle of the van. Scottish thing 😉
Travelling down to Coniston from here so will have to see
Much prefer to wild camp
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@Tracey - are those 2 piece tie-down straps any good?
We've got the long single strap version and it's not that good.
Its the long single strap with the tension spring on one end, been out in some very windy stuff and its never budged but its anchored down with some big ex army metal pegs that my dad had.
@Tracey - thanks. Maybe the pegs are the key to it? I'll try some different ones.
The pegs that came with it were rubbish, in that they bent. Ours are more like a marquee peg. It also helps to get quite a bit of pre tension on the spring and that the canopy leg clamps are tight so that the strap doesn't pull them down.
We were in the eye of a hail storm in Les Orres and the weight of the hail stones on the canopy forced the legs down but the strap still did the job.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48535761636_eda5303b69_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48535761636_eda5303b69_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2gWWsYu ]2019-08-14_01-42-42[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/85252658@N05/ ]davetheblade[/url], on Flickr
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[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48535904412_ac0c1e2315_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48535904412_ac0c1e2315_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2gWXcq9 ]2019-08-14_01-40-47[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/85252658@N05/ ]davetheblade[/url], on Flickr
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Stunning van mate.
Stunning van mate.
Cheers 🙂
Very nice! We’ve found a deal in a new caravan, and I think the boss is sold, I just need to find a new car! 😁
Just back from a Weekend in Woolacombe with some very changeable weather and some very strong wind. At no point did I think I would have been better off in a tent..
We did keep the pride of being the oldest, tattiest caravan on site too. Beige is coming back I tell you. I think our van was a tenth of the cost of most of the others on the site.
I think my camper van was a 10th of the price of strs trailer tent.
I use rather straps and dog lead screws for securing the fiamma out when it might get windy and I'm away from the van.
Those awnings a tough. We had 4 inches of snow up there after the first night of the strathpuffer. We did sweep it off with the brush mind to avoid it collapsing it.
Very nice! We’ve found a deal in a new caravan, and I think the boss is sold, I just need to find a new car!
If you've found a deal and are happy, then don't want to be a pooper, but not sure I'd buy a new van - they depreciate like cars.
You instantly lose the 20% VAT, plus the drive away loss. Mine's a 2016 Buccaneer Cruiser - £35k new, with 4wd motor movers and Truma aircon added - circa £3k extras on top. I paid £22.5k for it a few months ago
What van?
It’s not *that* bad, just a lot more difficult than a motorhome in sidewinds, when HGV’s go past, plus the additional stresses of driving on country lanes or through towns with a large ‘van.
And if you ever have to reverse back on a narrow road due to an hgv or tractor a caravan is a liability, especially uphill when the brakes decide to engage
You’re not wrong! I used to holiday with my family in South Devon, Beesands, near Kingsbridge, in fact. I didn’t go back there for over thirty years, and driving back down the lanes to the village I was astounded that we managed to drive along those lanes in a Ford Corsair towing an 18’ caravan! I remember us having to reverse back up hill into a gateway, the only passing place for probably several hundred yards, because the lanes down there are single lane, with twenty foot hedges and banks dropping vertically to the edge of the road, and driving my Octavia around steep, narrow roads with blind corners really brought home to me just how difficult it was.
There’s no longer a caravan site in the village, it closed in 1982, but cars are bigger than they used to be; it’s just easier to reverse back into a rare space without an 18-20’ box on the back. 😁
To be fair only the caravan club site at fort William was stroppy about the peg lining up. Most other sites were just be in the area of the peg.
Forfar, a shit club site, were grumpy about me driving on the grass.
but not sure I’d buy a new van – they depreciate like cars.
I agree. We were looking at changing ours & spotted a new 2019 Coachman VIP 2 berth with 3k off the list price & 10K trade in for ours. We hummed & haa'd but I think we'll wait till next year now & see if there's a used one (same model) kicking about.
They seem to lose a fair bit in the 1st year then nowhere near as much after that.
Genuine Q: apart from the door being on the wrong side, why aren't European caravans more popular here?
Some of the ones I've seen in Europe are amazing.
European vans tend to be wider than UK vans - for many years they were wider than were permitted, so it was very rare to see them. I'm no expert but I think logistics is one of the reasons, you;d need to ship them across somehow
why aren’t European caravans more popular here?
the larger ones are often illegally wide for UK roads.
Layouts and facilities often don't match UK expectations/tastes - no washrooms, no ovens for example.
Limited dealer support in the UK.
Imagine buying an American car - you can do it and people do but it's not for everyone.
Genuine Q: apart from the door being on the wrong side, why aren’t European caravans more popular here?
As said - caravanning is a bit different, you often end up without a shower or even a toilet, because all sites have them. In the UK a fair bit of caravanning is done on un-improved sites without showers or toilets.
Also (not sure why this is) they tend to have a longer A-frame which makes them more stable to tow, but quite a bit longer. And with many of our sites down little lanes, even reasonably large sites at seaside locations, this could be tricky. This is something that puts me off. You sometimes get fixed beds without much interior seating, you're expected to do your living in the awning or outside cos it's always so sunny and warm over there...
Some Euro manufs now make vans to UK design though.
it’s a Bailey Phoenix 642
Nice, I like these. Glad to see manufacturers have FINALLY moved on from floral designs. A plain textured fabric!
I'd probably have a 650 though, prefer that layout. But these are getting a bit heavy for our car now.
I've also noticed on the longer A-frame they often have bikes there too.