Caravans.

Given change to family circumstances plus a getting older dog we have never left with anyone other than one family member, we have considered that any breaks we are likely to have in the near-term will be in the UK.  We also have a hankering after having our ‘own’ base plus some flexibility for going to multi day horsey events with my daughter.

So…contemplating purchasing a caravan.

We’ve looked at new Adria and Knaus but our grand neighbours have a fairly recent Bailey they are looking to sell to get one which is better configured to their changing family circumstances.  It’s not all white (I don’t want a white caravan…) and config would suit us perfectly.  They both also have cleanliness and maintenance related OCD which is great.

However, I am curious about practical experiences of caravan brands, therefore sure there will be some on here with measured or even strong views.

Thanks in advance.

We have an Adria that we bought new eleven years ago and it has been great. The real bonus at the time was that they didn’t rot but that’s largely a problem in the past now.

the main problem is when things go wrong they are harder to fix than the British brands, parts are more tricky to source post brexit. I wouldn’t think twice about buying a Bailey

All good these days. Rather than brand I would buy on cost, layout weight, upholstery tolerability, availability and if it’s wood-free which I think they all are now. Bailey wood free construction goes back to 2010 I think, not sure about others.

Bailey and their associated decor are aimed firmly at the older generation if that bothers you.

That said, most caravans pre 2020 aren’t exactly tastefully fitted out

They are mostly decent (i.e. plain) now, I think Sprite and Elddis get better quicker.

This is a current Bailey Discovery (budget model)

And it’s not even white on the outside:

And it’s not even white on the outside:

But it is grey and that for me is a deal breaker…

We recently (almost accidentally) bought a 25 year old van. It had issues that we did not spot, but was a bit of a bargain and has already got us hooked. This weekend we were away in it and spent an of hour walking round about 15 new/newer vans working out what we would want/need in the future.

I don’t want a white caravan…

Periwinkle blue …..

I’ve had quite a few caravans over the years.  Bailey and Swift mostly, one old Caravelle (?) for staff accommodation.  You can get a great or terrible caravan from any manufacturer – I’ve had to have repairs on most of them at some point unfortunately.

Out of them all the Bailey’s have been my favourite – decent layouts, we liked the interiors and the quality was good.

If buying second hand I really recommend contacting a mobile caravan repair service to get them to check it over for you UNLESS the current owner has had it serviced within the last year.  That will tell you where the damp is and whether it’s an issue plus any other defects.  If they have had it serviced check the damp specs carefully.

We had some great times in ours – 3 weeks in Europe being the best!

TS

Our last 3 vans (inc current one) have been Bailey. First 2 second hand and this one new ex-display last year.
previous Swift was nice enough but Bailey seem to be better quality fixtures and fittings.
The ‘Dreamsleep’ sofa cushions of the last van though were truly awful, soft, saggy and uncomfortable. Luckily previous owners had got some replacements made.
We now have a Unicorn Cordoba, twin axle, fixed single beds. Got sick of making up beds every night & we are both quite tall so most of the fixed double beds felt really cramped.
Some of the newer 8’ wore vans do have bigger beds though.
With an older dog (we lost our Springer x Lab at Christmas at the age of 14) more space is a bonus too.
Adria stuff does look nice, Coachman seems popular as well although they can be a bit ‘blingy’ looking the definitely aren’t white!

I will sound like I‘m trolling but I find the amount of hate for SUVs, love for e-cars and acceptance for caravans amazing.

Cycling around my area of N Yorks I have always been significantly more scared of  people who tow caravans 3 or 4 times a year (and normally can’t reverse with them) driving down anything smaller than a major A-road than the locals rattling around in the Land Rovers.

How many of these things sit around not being used for 85% of the time, the reduced fuel economy when travelling anywhere, need for large displacement ICE towing vehicles, freedom as long as you accept staying in an official campsite and I have never understood the payback arguments….

Rant over…

How many of these things sit around not being used for 85% of the time, the reduced fuel economy when travelling anywhere, need for large displacement ICE towing vehicles, freedom as long as you accept staying in an official campsite and I have never understood the payback arguments….

Rant over…

You’re right of course.

We shouldn’t travel abroad, we shouldn’t use caravans, we shouldn’t drive anywhere.

I’m going to catch a bus to the bottom of our garden next year and pitch my tent for our next family holiday

How many of these things sit around not being used for 85% of the time, the reduced fuel economy when travelling anywhere, need for large displacement ICE towing vehicles, freedom as long as you accept staying in an official campsite and I have never understood the payback arguments

Pfft.

I take mine to West Wales maybe twice a year, probably a 250 mile round trip – let’s call it 400 miles if we make it to North Wales.  You don’t need a high displacement car, as you call it – a two litre diesel tows very well.  My fuel economy with a caravan is about half what it is solo, and I use a normal car (not an SUV) so let’s say 30mpg instead of 60mpg.  If I were to drive a typical 12,000 miles a year normally (I don’t) then my caravan usage would bring my carbon emissions up to the equivalent of 12,400 miles.  So I don’t call that a high impact activity.  It does stay in one place much of the year, yes, but isn’t that better than carrying it around all the time when you aren’t using it?

I don’t go on about freedom (that’s vanlife ****, not caravanners), but I do stay in small sites with 4 other caravans at most, that are a field and a tap.  It really is just like normal camping but with better accommodation.  As for payback, my caravan is 23 years old and I bought it for £2,300 about 7 years ago so again, not a particularly expensive way to holiday when your site fees are £150 for a two week stay.

I consider 2.0l a relatively high displacement ICE.
The caravans being discussed above aren’t 23 year old, but I’m still interested in over their lifetime how much per sleeping night they cost when you include site fees.

No comment on the driving style? I’d like to see a requirement for a driving license extension for towing these things (maybe it’s needed now but I can drive some big vehicles with mine, despite not having the ability)

There is no payback in a caravan really. Resale values can hold up ok but repairs. servicing, increased fuel costs, site fees etc. all add up.  Our 1.6 Touran towed our caravans fine so not an expensive vehicle

We used our first van for about 90 nights a year but the last one we used for a week.  We sold it on during COVID. Prices were crazy, and now we just book cottages for breaks.

I loathe caravans, which makes it even more surprising that we now appear to own one and, err, love it.

We have an Adria (Action; very small but there’s only the two of us so plenty large enough).  We looked at the equivalent Bailey and Swifts, but felt the quality of the Adria was markedly superior, which seems to be borne out both by customer satisfaction surveys and our experience thus far.

One of the main reasons for purchase was that we go to several music festivals each year, and the pleasure in having your own shower, kitchen and (crucially!) toilet cannot be underestimated.  We considered a motorhome but Mrs Jate is not a cyclist (she has been known to need to get off her bike to turn a corner……) and so wanted the flexibility of having a car to trundle into towns & villages without the hassle of needing to drive a largish vehicle every time.

Does it save money?  Probably not much tbh once you’ve factored in fuel, insurance, site fees, maintenance etc but we love the flexibility it offers.

And our 1.5 Skoda has more than enough power to tow it.  You generally don’t need a big engine unless you are going silly size caravan.

How many of these things sit around not being used for 85% of the time, the reduced fuel economy when travelling anywhere, need for large displacement ICE towing vehicles, freedom as long as you accept staying in an official campsite and I have never understood the payback arguments….

Rant over…

You’re towing 1.5+ ton, you aren’t towing that safely with a 1 litre city car. For that kind of weight you want something with at least a 1.8 ton towing capacity, ideally more. These generally come with a decent size engine, 1.8/2.0 litre, that’s not large displacement, I’d say that’s about average for the UK.

Agree, a 2 litre diesel is a pretty economical thing, especially when it’s in a saloon car.  Which tow perfectly well.

Also, not all caravans are 1.5t, nor do they have to be.  You can buy massive 2t monsters that need an SUV, but you can also buy 800kg light weight jobs.  Same as choosing a car or a holiday destination, there are good and bad choices.

 I’m still interested in over their lifetime how much per sleeping night they cost when you include site fees.

Well, if you pay £20k and keep it 10 years it’ll be worth maybe £8k conservatively, so £12k over 10 years, £1200 a year.  You can easily pay £10 a night on a small site, let’s say £15 at most.  If you stay three weeks a year that’s £315 so you’re up to £1500 or £500 a week or £70 a night or thereabouts.  Can you get a holiday home for that, for four?  And that’s assuming you buy a brand new caravan.

I don’t think maintenance is as much of a thing as dealers like to make out.  There’s really not much to maintain.  And re insurance, ok so mine is a cheap van but it’s £8/mo and I only buy it because I need to store it.

Back to the original post !

We have had Baileys,an Adria,a Swift,and a couple of Elddis’s. Our present Bailey,a Pegasus Modena,is the best so far. Lightish weight,1275kg MTPLM,and a fixed bed.
<p style=”text-align: center;”>If you look at consumer ratings of British manufacturers generally Elddis come out worst.</p>
  Build quality and finish seem pretty good but you do get the odd screw coming loose. Not surprising as caravans take a bit of a pounding on UK roads.

I don’t agree with some of the points about the interior fittings being styled for the older generation.Maybe pre 2010 but not now.

With the caravan you are not restricted to staying on “regular ” sites. The CCC has rallies all around the country,and special interest groups including biking.

It’s not a cheap holiday like it used to be as campsite prices have increased,together with things like storage costs.

Just a quick mention about towcars. I know diesel is the work of the devil but walk round a campsite and see how many petrol towcars there are. I’ve towed with a turbo petrol and turbo diesel and both pulled the van but the experience was far more relaxing with the diesel. Depends on the weight of the van as well.

Agree, a 2 litre diesel is a pretty economical thing, especially when it’s in a saloon car. Which tow perfectly well.

Also, not all caravans are 1.5t, nor do they have to be. You can buy massive 2t monsters that need an SUV, but you can also buy 800kg light weight jobs. Same as choosing a car or a holiday destination, there are good and bad choices.

True, some of the tiny 2 berth must be around that weight, max payload they’re probably around 1000kg. I’d still want something with around a 1.5 ton towing capacity though, it’s not a pleasant experience towing with something that’s not really heavy enough.

Yes, but point is that’s not hard to find and it doesn’t need an SUV either.

My folks had a couple of ‘vans over the years, IIRC one was a Sprite the other a Bailey. Both perfectly decent for their purpose, with the second one they used it several times a year, mostly down to Dawlish, they particularly liked it there, but they quite often took it across to Chepstow Races as well. Both were retired, so suited them perfectly. Not really my sort of holiday, although probably more comfy than a tent, even a big one like my inflatable. It’s just the places I like to go, one in particular, are a complete bastard to access with a caravan – very narrow and often steep roads with blind bends; bad enough in a car.

I see this thread is starting to lean towards:

‘My little caravan is fine, but if you buy a big one you’re an idiot’ 🤣

Anyone got experience of a trailer tent? Seems like a good compromise but is it really just camping on top of a trailer?

We had a trailer tent before we had caravans.
They seem to go for around £300-600 second hand all the time, so you can get in to them pretty cheaply.
Good if you don’t have space for a caravan as footprint is smaller and some even have things you can use to store them on their side!
Smaller and lighter so towing with a smaller car is possible. Lower too so not as affected by wind. We had a rack on top of ours for bikes.
Plenty of space and usually 2 beds, which are off the ground.
But the bottom line for us was the fact that you tow, like with a caravan but you then have to put a tent up. So it’s kinda the worst of both worlds.

I pull ours with an smax not an SUV.

Also get 30mpg.

Also use it regularly.

Currently sited by llanbedr every summer for £1800. That’s 8 months a year. Excellent value for money.

If you buy a bailey check the corners on the floor. 2010 onward is alutech. The walls and roof should be fine but the floor remains ply. Water ingress is nearly always the four corners.

Not lost a penny on ours. Had this one 5 years. 2013 model. Still sells for what we paid for it.

@mattbee.  Haha, that’s a fair summary and what I expected. We’re into our tenting at the mo so will see how long that lasts.

But it is grey and that for me is a deal breaker…

Large, flat and uncomplicated surfaces. Perfect for wrapping.

Big caravans are ace

A sofa each – no need to turn them into a bed at night. TV in the lounge and bedroom. Double bed – full size due to 8ft wide van. Full size fridge and cooker, built in microwave. Decent sized shower, with a toilet that’s not actually sat in the shower cubicle. Underfloor wet central heating, aircon. Hydraulic self levelling, motor movers. Big awning to sit around in/eat in. It’s well documented that I use mine and my tow vehicle for work though – not entirely sure I’d have one (albeit I’d still want one) if it didn’t pay for itself.

2016, had it 4 years and would sell for nigh on what I paid for it.

No issues driving it to be honest – 43ft train length

Motor movers are a marvelous invention.
We went the same way with the shower/toilet facilities, nice big shower cubicle with the toilet situated elsewhere.

If you’re looking for an awning too, then inflatable, 10 minutes from dumping it out of the bag to being fully inflated and bashing a few pegs in. Poled awnings are not the best idea for marital harmony, especially if you chuck in a bit of wind and rain, good spectator sport though 😀

Abbey vogue 2, picked up for £6k last year, one owner and dry stored all it’s life.

OP – I’d be buying your neighbour’s caravan. It sounds ideal.
We bought our last one from an older couple. They had really looked after it. It did need a ‘spring clean’ and a refresh (I made new curtains and scatter cushions). Their oven was pristine and hardly used, these are things that make a difference.

Anyone got experience of a trailer tent? Seems like a good compromise but is it really just camping on top of a trailer?

My Grandad had a trailer tent for year, my mum and her siblings went all over in it – throuygh Germany to Switzerland ever year. He always used to say that he chose the trailer tent because you could tow it at 100mph behind his XR4x4, but a caravan wouldnt do that. Slightly tongue in cheek… but not as much as you might think.

We are keen campers, I have zero interest in a Caravan but am tempted sometimes with a trailer tent – I think it makes sense when you are talking about omne of the smaller versions. Effectively gives you a bunch more luggage space, a ‘tougher’ more heavy duty canvas tent more akin to a Eurocamp or Caravan Awning style setup, some better bed bases and mattresses and a half decent kitchen setup. Some of the smaller versions you can also stand on end and use casters/skates to stick them down the back of a garage or side alley which is very useful.

Once your up to the large trailers, the same footprint as a small caravan, I’m not so sure theres much of a reason not to just get the van, especially as though lower, they are not exactly aero, with a bungeed on vinyl cover, whereas modern vans are getting quite sleek.

Motor movers are a marvelous invention.

Heavy though, take up a chunk of your payload.

When I was considering our car options, we did look at trailer tents because you can just about get a small thing at 500kg and you can get a relatively inexpensive (relatively being the key word here) EV that can tow 500kg.  But it was too marginal and too tent-like, because at that size you don’t get a kitchen or any mod cons.

Caravans are ace though 🙂 I love being able to see out of three sides, especially so when it’s not too cold and you can open all the windows and watch it rain in cosy comfort 🙂

If you’re looking for an awning too, then inflatable, 10 minutes from dumping it out of the bag to being fully inflated and bashing a few pegs in. Poled awnings are not the best idea for marital harmony, especially if you chuck in a bit of wind and rain, good spectator sport though 😀

Definitely this ^

Heavy though, take up a chunk of your payload.

True, they do, 30-35kg depending on the model.
Necessity for us though as the drive is steep and it allows us to tuck the caravan in nicely against our fence so it can’t be towed off the drive without manoeuvring it out first, good for security.

In terms of brands, my understanding is that Knaus and Adria are both decent. We bought a 2010 Hobby in 2015, sold it in summer 2020. We looked at many brands of a similar age but Hobby was standout better than others, and layout was perfect for us. Zero damp when we bought it but started leaking around the front grab handles after a year. Fixed by seller under warranty. Unsure if we were unlucky or not.

We’d happily have another IF we could store it at home, but we can’t. Storage was our issue: high cost and very restrictive access hours.

We had overlap between buying the caravan and selling our campervan, what a combo that was:

Aviemore in -14degC:

Storage was our issue: high cost and very restrictive access hours.

What were you paying?

£425pa for my big twin axle – would be £25 cheaper for a smaller van

Caravans? I would have thought something like this would be much more STW…

You can sit on the step trimming your beard with an axe while your chain bubbles on the hob in a pan of Putoline.

I would have thought something like this would be much more STW…

Would love one of those. Would prefer one of these though

We pay £90/quarter for a top notch fully secured 24hr security guard patrols. It also has a chemical toilet point, water and a washing station with gantries and hoses. And in business hours you can buy gas and they stock the lightweight cylinders too.

We paid something like £60 for the last place which was secured but 24hr access, but it was on the wrong side of town.

You can sit on the step trimming your beard with an axe while your chain bubbles on the hob in a pan of Putoline.

Oh, is Putoline an STW thing now? Am I ON-TREND??!