Like the day it suddenly comes to you that you should really have petrol powered garden implements rather than ones with cables and the day you realise you would actually quite like a garden shed I may be going through another transition...
I might, only might mind, be it ever so slightly, thinking only at this stage you understand, nothing decided yet and no research done, I might just...ahem...be a tiny bit of a mind to investigate the, um, feasability only of course of...um...er....a caravan.
It'll probably wear off but what if it doesn't? Is there suitable medical help?
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Hire one, that single experience will tell you if it's the life for you.
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We have stayed in Eurocamp / Keycamp ones in France and Spain before now and they were ok. Big things though. This is more about impromptu weekends away and stuff. Maybe...
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Motorcaravans I get, I know a fair few people with them, but towed ones, seems like a lot of extra hassle, never been tempted. Lots of those Talbots about in nice condition even the old ones although the gearbox on them is comically bad.
I hanker after a day van as they call them in some parts, not sure what id do with it, but something I could drive off to the seaside and sit in a comfy seat and have a coffee, maybe a lie down, seems rather nice.
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>>Motorcaravans I get,
Different requirement. Wouldn't be much good for us at Delamere for 4 days, wanting to visit N Wales - we have to pack everything movable and go in a motorhome, instead of just closing the caravan door and getting in the car. They are difficult to park if you want to visit a town, heavy on fuel etc.
A pal and his wife (retired) have a motorhome. Spend 3 months a year at least over the channel, rarely stay more than one night anywhere, and it's much easier to wild camp with no booking required.
I do have a yen for a VW bus though. Just don't have much use for it!
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>> Different requirement. Wouldn't be much good for us
That's what they invented A-Bar towing frames for Manatee :-)
Humph, there's a reputable outfit on Station Avenue in Caterham, Surrey, just a couple of doors up from the train station. The folks there will look after you, they're well experienced in potential caravan buyers of a mid years age.
:-)
Last edited by: Skoda on Tue 3 May 11 at 23:12
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>> We have stayed in Eurocamp / Keycamp ones in France and Spain before now and
>> they were ok. Big things though.
They would be statics though wouldn't they? A lot more space. A friend of mine stayed in one up North. He complained about the cold floor (forgot his slippers). I can't believe that they don't have insulation in this day and age.
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>> He complained about the cold floor (forgot his slippers).
Actually Humph, you being a connoiseur of footwear and all that, would you only be seen in a certain make of slipper?
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Embarrasingly enough, I don't own a pair. Tend to use an old pair of Timberland driving shoes ( sort of heel-less moccassins ) for any purpose which might require a slipper, usually bare feet around the house despite tiles and wood most places. I might be getting to the caravan stage but haven't quite got to the slipper one yet.
:-)
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Slippers? Never had a pair. Wear flip flops.
Dont own jim jams either.
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>> Slippers? Never had a pair. Wear flip flops.
>>
>> Dont own jim jams either.
>>
too much information.
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Well you've got the car for it as long as you don't get too carried away with the size.
Are you interested in caravans per se (probably not treatable unfortunately, and will end with Crocs and a jogging suit) or for where you can go with it? Our 2 week UK tour last summer took in Northumberland, North Yorkshire, and the Marches.
I don't mind a country house hotel weekend in the winter, but if what you want to do is get out and walk, explore, visit or whatever, and dislike holiday resorts, a caravan might suit. We spend very few daylight hours actually on caravan sites.
There are people who like nothing better than to pitch up on a site and stay there, and I'm happy for them, but you don't have to be one of them. Nor are the matching fleeces obligatory.
Spontaneity is easier if you are flexible as to where you go. You are likely to find specific sites in areas of interest are booked up if you leave it to the last minute.
Mrs Dugong wants to visit Chester this year as it happens, so we have a few days booked at Delamere Forest. I have no idea whether it's a good idea, but the marginal cost of finding out is low, we'll sleep in our own bed, and if we don't like it we'll move elsewhere...
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Delamere is beautiful. Take your bikes. Chester's interesting but a day or two will cover it. North Wales coast pretty accessible from where you're staying too.
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Currently going through the same dilema myself........and I should know better.
.*******
Now here we are in 2011 and after a good, but hard camping trip with small children trying to "help" I found myself thinking how much easier it could have been in a caravan :-)
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swear filter appears to have removed the bones of my post....
Anyway, did have one for a while and it was more hassle than I expected, but with small children now I am considering trying it again
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These look nice - not quite as old fashioned and twee as some
stealthcaravans.co.uk/
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Do the sums and caravans just don't make sense. £20,000 plus to buy, insurance, site fees, somewhere to store the thing, a bigger car to two the thing and then there's the feeling that you have to take holidays in the damned thing for the rest of your life to get your money's worth.
And then there's the caravan enthusiasts you would have to talk to about awnings and the people who take their entire tinned food supply with them to France so they don't have to eat foreign muck.
And not forgetting the waves of pure hatred you will feel from motorists chugging up the hill behind you.
And communal shower blocks.
Don't even think about it.
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Yes indeed the awning chats are a bit of a worry. Would we need to wear fleeces too do you think?
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Fleeces are of course obligatory as are sandals and socks
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>> Do the sums and caravans just don't make sense. £20,000 plus to buy, insurance, site
>> fees, somewhere to store the thing, a bigger car to two the thing and then
>> there's the feeling that you have to take holidays in the damned thing for the
>> rest of your life to get your money's worth.
Not true unless you want it to be. I could tow my Eriba with a Focus, I keep it at home, and when I don't use it I'll sell it. It didn't cost £20,000 either. In fact about £10,000 5 years ago, and it's worth almost that now. It's used for about 30-35 nights a year, at about £20 a night in site fees. It doesn't stop us having other holidays if we want to. Insurance is c. £250, servicing £300 every two years. There is some feeling that we should use it as we have it, but invariably we enjoy the time away that we probably would not have otherwise.
A friend (not short of brass) bought a £250 caravan on a whim last year - he sometimes joins us for weekends and we have a few days with him and his SWMBO booked in the Cotswolds this summer. We'll plan a few decent walks, have some good meals out and just chill. Looking forward to it.
I think we'll move on sometime. We had a share in a narrowboat for about 8 years and when we had mined that seam and sold it, we decided to try a caravan for a year - that was in 2006. On the other hand, there's the rest of Europe to explore...
I'm not trying to convert anybody of course - don't want any more pressure on the good sites.
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>> swear filter appears to have removed the bones of my post....
Oh, they're that good eh?
:-)
A "stealth" caravan! I like that idea!
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Tue 3 May 11 at 21:15
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They're actually coolish aren't they ?
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They are a bit - not for me though, the owner of a caravan nor slippers....although the porcelain tiles in the new gaff are a little cool on the foot.
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Bet you can do fab sock-slides though?
I can't get the thought of Zero naked apart from flip-flops out of my head. It's not nice.
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Now that image has bumped across to mine. Talking of imagery Just been a a neighbour's house for a "jangle" as they say around here......apparently our prospective neighbour was here the other day in Mini-skirt, Boob tube and Marigolds - there got rid of Zero..
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>> apparently our prospective neighbour was here the other day in Mini-skirt, Boob tube and Marigolds
What was his wife wearing?
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But how many holidays could one get for the cost of the caravan? You still need to pay to put it somewhere decent.
We often go to the lake district and stay in a static caravan or lodge. We were last there in March in a 4 berth static with central heating, working toilet, shower, TV etc for £129. You'd obviously do without the space, central heating, working toilet, shower, etc.
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I know rtj, it makes no sense at all but it's the gadgetry thing I suppose. Probably just a notion anyway.
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How much is a Chateram/Westfield these days ?
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Less than a caravan...Beggers to sleep in though.
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Buy a Westfiled - sleep in a hotel.
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I have a friend, no really, who has a caravan which he gets his wife to tow with the family car and the kids with her. He travels on his Ducati moltohugio-valvole-sportivo-testagrossa or something like that and meets them where they're staying.
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I like his style Humph - very much.
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How about one of these?
www.khyam.co.uk/image/products/video/Ridgidome%20med.flv
Almost as much space as a caravan but goes in the boot and winters in the loft.
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Won't open for me Bromptonaut. Sorry.
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During the period May - September a police Armed Response vehicle should be chosen at random to stop a caravan once every week. The driver would be removed from his car, made to kneel by the side of the road in full view of other motorists and shot through the back of the neck, the body left in situ for 24 hours. It would not interfere with anyone's God given right to tow a monstrosity the size of Windsor Castle up and down windy single track roads in an underpowered car as much as they want and the chances of being that month's victim would be small, but by God it would make them think twice about it first as well as providing some enjoyable sport for those who have been stuck behind it for miles.
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...Won't open for me Bromptonaut. Sorry...
Probably wouldn't when you got the damn thing on site, either.
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We're getting the big white box of delights out on Friday morning, dragging it 26 miles to our favourite little farm site at Byley.....not too far from Humphwich. A quiet field with mains electric, about a tenner a night and very peaceful. SWM will read a lot and I'll sleep a lot !
I'll be in the awning at night...reet cosy like.
The van's 17 ft long with the last 3 ft being a shower/toilet room. Piping hor water manufactured on board, beer/wine in the fridge and the rarity of a cooked brekkie every morning....perfick !
Back home for lunch on Monday, though.
I commend it to you Humpy.......Pat will agree !
Ted
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>> I'll be in the awning at night...reet cosy like.
Do you snore then? :-)
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>> How about one of these?
>>
>> www.khyam.co.uk/image/products/video/Ridgidome%20med.flv
>>
>> Almost as much space as a caravan but goes in the boot and winters in
>> the loft.
>>
>>
>>
Thats the same tent I have, and it really is easy to put up, but not as warm and dry as a caravan, although it does hold up well in bad weather. Ours is 8 years old now and gets a fair few outings each year
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>> I know rtj, it makes no sense at all but it's the gadgetry thing I
>> suppose. Probably just a notion anyway.
I sometimes get the urge for a gadget. Was going to get a Macbook Pro but didn't and now the urge has gone. Maybe I'll get one at some point though. Similar to thoughts on an iPad or Android tablet.
I'd go for the Caterham R500 then.
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Oh yes Rob....go for it....!
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I might hope for a 500 on Saturday in Tuscany but that would be a FIAT 500.
Spent loads the last two months paying for holidays, anniversary present, decking, fencing, flights for step-son.... the list goes on. How did I manage with a mortgage!
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>> I commend it to you Humpy.......Pat will agree !
I spent a fair chunk of Sunday sitting in Pat's awning with my kids, it made all the difference in the combination of blazing sunshine and 20mph Peterborough breeze.
I agree with Ted, go for it :)
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That would be truckfest then! The wind over the fens is COLD today.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 3 May 11 at 22:30
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I can never see myself in a caravan, although I love wild camping in my Hilleberg Akto tent.
My friends in CA have a 5th wheel which sits completely within the bed of the truck body. You lower the supports and drive away in the truck. Equally great for winter in Yosemite, or for camping on the beach in Baja CA.
Probably less scope here in the UK, and that Toyota Tundra 4.7 V8 sure sucks gas!
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Caravans and mobile homes are groteque, horrible and always in the way.
Humph, get a mercedes sprinter with the biggest available engine and highest possible rear axle ratio. Fit it out inside to your taste. Skylight, couple of peepholes in the sides and rear, everything within properly secured, you have an invisible capable vehicle which is a secret caravan. What could be simpler or groovier?
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Never get on a Caravan Club site in that AC :-)
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Been there, done that. It was ok when the kids were young but space snd tidyness are at a premium.
Enjoyed it but you are under each other feet. Found caravanning hard work. Preparing, packing, unpacking, cleaning, drying, storing and general maintenence. Spit on them and they dent.
Nothing better when the weather is good and warm but hey how much of that have we really had over the last few years? Its always cool and damp on an evening and sat in the awning becomes uncomfortable.
I do prefer handing back the keys to a cottage.
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I wanted to return to caravanning on retirement.
My intention was to buy a smallish, well equipped tourer and store it in a part of the country we hadn't visited, to save dragging it around too much and then arrange storage in various parts of the country we wanted to visit.
SWMBO vetoed this idea. I still can't get out of her why. Pat?
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>> A "stealth" caravan! I like that idea!
Then you'll love this 'project':
tinyurl.com/stealth-camper
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Excellent idea tubby tommy, and SWMBO doesn't know what she's missing.
It was Truckfest Z, and we were there from Friday lunchtime until Monday evening, with a brisk wind but sunny beautiful days.
The reason for me not posting yesterday was I've lost my voice:)
It was almost gone yesterday morning but a couple of days of not talking much after the show, usually sees it back again. A long phone call yesterday and it's gone completely this morning!
I love the caravan and it was so nice to sleep in our own bed each night, to open the door after the winter and find all the equipment there already to use, only needing clothes and food to be put in it.
We had heating on all night, and a fan heater to use in the awning which housed nine of us easily for a BBQ each evening.
We don't use Caravan Club sites because for us, they are too regimented and have too many rules. We get intimidated by the 'jolly caravaner' types and are a bit antisocial, I suppose, when on holiday.
As a financial investment it would never be possible to justify the £10,500 spent three years ago, but then again can any of you justify the investment you made in your holidays for the past years?
Yes of course you can, you enjoyed them and that in a nutshell, is what a caravan is for.
We don't feel obligated to use it, we want to use it.
We have a couple of weeks booked in PU countryside in June, and a week in Iffy countryside in September.
We have never used the oven or hob in ours, much preferring to eat out all the time and like someone else said, never stay on site during the day.
As a base though, it's our own home, our own space and has everything we need in it all year round.
Go for it Humph, I do believe they do bike racks for the back of caravans too:)
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>>>I do prefer handing back the keys to a cottage. (Fullchat said)
Me too. However Pat's summary of what they like about a caravan is spot on for those that it suits. As a young kid I thought it was great when parents took us away in a 14ft Sprite with no toilet. As a mid teenage I wasn't very keen.
Any positive thoughts towards a caravan were then completely finished off a few years ago when we liven in one for a couple of months in the paddock next to our house while it being modernised.
These days I want our holiday to be in a better place than our own home and the idea of squeezing into a van with our two teen girls is unthinkable.
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...As a financial investment it would never be possible to justify the £10,500 spent three years ago...
I think you are being too harsh on yourself.
A well looked after sensible spec caravan always has value, so you might be pleasantly surprised what yours is worth.
Manatee - above - reckons his van is worth what he paid for it a few years ago.
That's probably unusual, but the cost is purchase price less what you could sell it for.
In depreciation terms, I think tourers perform better than statics.
Some tourer prices here: dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/101842/used-caravans.htm
A lot of six to eight-year-old vans are still making £6K or more.
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I succumbed to caravanitis about 10 years ago. I caught it by accident. I was looked for a cheap and instant garden shed, so advertised for a cheap caravan, in any condition as long as it was towable.
I got a caravan for £50 which on examination seemed too good to relegate to a shed. So we stopped being campers and became caravanners.
After several memorable and enjoyable holidays, the children getting older, we have all gone off the idea. But the caravan makes a perfect summer house in the garden, great for sitting in with the door open on those days that are too cold for meals outside, but too nice to stay indoors.
You can never say you have been cured exactly, but I have been free for several years without further treatment, and the caravan remains benign.
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I have caravanned for 20 years + and still enjoy every minuet of it. Our van stays packed all year like a 2nd home so we dont have to do lots of packing and unpacking ! We give it a quick clean before leaving our last site . We replace our van every three years and tend to loose very little, less than 3k and we use most weekends and spend a month in Europe each year as a family of four so value for money is excellent.
Towing with a suitable vehicle is no hassle what so ever and coupling up has never been easier with just one thirteen pin socket an an alko hitch with built in stabalizer its connected in seconds.
These day the chassis are so well designed that they tow a dream and all this business about being stuck behind a caravan is caused by those that shouldnt be towing !
My motto is if your stuck behind me its because I'm stuck behind a Nissan Micra on the way to a garden centre !
When I last towed back from the Med I covered 860 miles in 11.5 hrs towing a 29'10" twin axle van, nothing slow about that cracking on at 85 ish even up the inclines was no problem.
The freedom in Europe combined with the weather and some fantstic sites with 100-150 m2 pitches with waste and mains water and elec on the post means simplicity in its self.
i enjoy the luxury of AC and microwave, and my own shower plugged into the mains water direct means copius water and a clean fixed double bed thats mine and clean with no bed bugs !
I also holiday in hotels and B&B's but they cleanliness does vary and there are some beds on close inspection I have refused to sleep in ! I do hate the delays at Airports and the time it takes to travel.
The freedom of the channel tunnel and the network into Europe is fantastic and evn though are kids are grown up now we just cant stop them comming with us ! when we use the van!
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AC and microwave
I assume you take AC along for his witty repartee and cooking skills ! :-)
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>
>> We have a couple of weeks booked in PU countryside in June,
Uh Oh. So have I, its gonna get busy up there PU!
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I'm not telling you when or where:)
Pat
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Oh go-on, at least so I don't get stuck behind your caravan!
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I'll probably be on a beach somewhere - really need a break now, house selling, moving and the four letter curse that is work.
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here we go Hump d'bout
Taster of what you could expect in Europe
s739.photobucket.com/albums/xx33/injectiondoc/
1 View from site into the Alps
2 Fantastic temps and just live in shorts and flip flops !
3 Tranquility by the lake ! we used to leave all our windows open at night and blinds up and watch the moon reflecting of the lake ! Our van is where you can see the blue jag ! just a dot. Only 9 vans on the whole site, 33 degrees every day and good fishing and fantstic resturant.
4 Spotless toilet blocks on a Dutch site near the Med. Dutch owned sites in france are always best.
5 Again a Dutch owned site with spotless pools.
I hope if you get the bug you enjoy, most that mock have never done it in style
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...most that mock have never done it...
Caravanning does have an image problem, but then so does golf, trainspotting and many other enjoyable activities.
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It's in my "not for me" box....but respect other people's choices...
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Each to his own of course but it perfectly possible to enjoy all those things without having to trail a caravan half way across Europe.
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>> but it perfectly possible to enjoy all those things without having to trail a caravan half way across Europe. <<
No, it isn't.
But the above is a perfect example of someone failing to accept that their opinion is not the only opinion.
Pat
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I'm sorry, Pat, but you're doing exactly that which you accuse others of doing.
Of course it is perfectly possible to do without dragging a caravan behind you. You can simply rent one which is already there.
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No I'm not Alanovic.
CG has backtracked slightly in his subsequent post by adding twice that other opinions are available!
In the opinion of someone who likes it, dragging a caravan behind you halfway across Europe, is all part of the overall experience we enjoy.
The point I'm trying to make is that there are some of us who enjoy the whole experience and although it isn't everyone's ideal, it cannot be discounted simply because another person doesn't find the prospect attractive.
Anyway, the fewer people who enjoy it means we can enjoy it more!
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Wed 4 May 11 at 14:14
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'CG has backtracked slightly'
Not difficult if you don't have a hideous beige box behind you.
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Not at all difficult for me if I have.
Pat
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I admire your skill. Getting stuck up a narrow road and having to reverse with a caravan behind me is the stuff of nightmares to me
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It's no big deal CG, it's my job but I have no doubt that I wouldn't be able to do your job either:)
Pat
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Getting stuck up a narrow road and having to reverse with
>> a caravan behind me is the stuff of nightmares to me
>>
One reason why I'm fully supportive of the new trailer test for would-be roadblockers. Wouldn't be the first time I've been confronted with one down the Gower, been unable to reverse the lorry due to a queue of traffic behind me, and watched with a growing mixture of incredulity and frustration their pathetic attempts to move the beast a mere couple of feet backwards without jack-knifing. On one occasion I ended up getting out of the cab, politely asked the car driver to stand aside, and reversed it myself.
In fairness, most regular caravanners are reasonably adept at such manoeuvres, and have the good sense to avoid roads which are likely to cause problems.
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Did I not say "each to his own of course' ?
And what particular aspect of a holiday in particular is not available without using a caravan as accommodation? Obviously a lot of people like the lifestyle but it is not immediately apparent to me at least what the attraction is as there doesn't seem to be anything that a caravan gives you that is not available without one.
That's my opinion but other opinions are available
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>>>And what particular aspect of a holiday in particular is not available without using a caravan as accommodation?
Obvious... take a hotel or cottage holiday and you'll miss out on the walk to the shower block carrying towel and washbag :-)
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It's the acoustics from the toilet that put me off vans. Every little sound is amplified through the thin partitions and a beer and curry fueled excavation treats those in the living room to a performance of the 1812 overture that would do the London Philharmonic proud.
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I prefer as said before to have my own accomodation with all our own personall effects , and my own clean bed that no one lese has ever slept in.
I have seen some horrid mattresses in some hotels and some very dirty accomodation in B&B's and holiday cottage accomodation.
Fortunatley not everyone enjoys caravanning which suits me otherwise caravan sites would be very very full !
we have many personal aspects of caravnning that you cannot enjoy using other peoples holiday homes or hotels
I also have my own large shower, also heated and heated towl rail , withgout having to walk across to a shower block and I also used mains service pitches so have mains water on tap so no fetching or carrying ! Unlike those that have discribed fetching and carrying water are ignorant of how camping has now evolved
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Now, don't start a 'mines bigger than yours' fued ID :)
Pat
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Mine's bigger than both of yours.
But you'd need Pat's tank truck to tow it.
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Injection Doc makes a very valid point about having a clean bed.
Has anyone else experienced bed-bugs from holiday accommodation? It's not an experience I'd recommend, least of all the cost of replacing stuff you feel the need to throw away and the treatment with insecticide of the rest!
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>> Injection Doc makes a very valid point about having a clean bed.
>>
>> Has anyone else experienced bed-bugs from holiday accommodation?
No, never. The dog got fleas from a hedgehog once tho, does that count?
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Well, now I am confused. I thought I was going to burned at the stake for impure thoughts and offensive suggestions but it seems there are a few enthusiasts here !
Maybe we'll try a tent this year. Sort of test the water thing. Halfords have got some for about £150 so its got to be worth a go...
Hmmm, tent, Westfield, post everthing else inc. H Jnr. to destination...
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TENT!
what the hell does Tent have to do with caravaning! That's a left field swerve.
Its like saying I want to know what making love is like, and then sleeping with BBD.
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Tents are cheap. ( Och aye ! )
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>> Tents are cheap. ( Och aye ! )
Not as cheap as you'll feel after a night with BBD though.
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tesco's are doing a 6 man tent fro £75.00 reduce from 150. Its a bit snug for 6 but Ok for 2 or 4.
very different to caravanning though!
My friend have just come back from florida where they hired a Villa and bed bugs were rife ! their oldest daughter got so many bites they had to move her out !
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If you move out you get bitten by the mozzies. You have to understand Florida was never designed for human habitation. It keeps trying to remind its residents of that by various means.
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I think it would be the pitching which would enrage/confuse/defeat me. I can just about manage to assemble an Ikea lamp but a 6 man tent might be a bridge too far on reflection...
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>> manage to assemble an Ikea lamp but a 6 man tent might be a bridge
>> too far on reflection...
And now think about doing that with a fractious, whining, tired, hungry family after a 6 hour drive, in the pouring rain, and a gale.
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>>My friend have just come back from florida where they hired a Villa and bed bugs were rife ! their oldest daughter got so many bites they had to move her out !
But did they bring any back with them?
Apparently they're often transported in suitcases and shoes, because those items are placed under the bed and the bugs hitch a ride. They can go for months without feeding - pernicious little bugs!
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>> tesco's are doing a 6 man tent fro £75.00 reduce from 150. Its a bit
>> snug for 6 but Ok for 2 or 4.
I considered one due to the good internal height, but decided against as the reviews were disappointing. Poor build quality, chronic water leaks and snapping poles were the main complaints. Pity, because it would've fitted well on the bike and was fairly light.
As with everything else, you get what you pay for.
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>> As with everything else, you get what you pay for.
...apart from this forum of course :)
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If you want a 5/6 man tent look to spend £200min or be disapointed... and keep to major brands.
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"Its like saying I want to know what making love is like, and then sleeping with BBD."
I don't make love. I take women to the edge of heaven. Then slap them around a bit.
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Caravan confession - -
