Talk to me about buying a campervan

[72WayTooCool]

We had a proper shit year last year. I had a cancer diagnosis, nearly lost my job due to the the pandemic and coupled with the realisations that we're not getting any younger and you only live once, DH and I have been talking about getting a campervan. The DC are adults so it would purely be an indulgent purchase for us to get away for the weekend - we're lucky to live in a very popular, holiday orientated part of the country, so weekends away are literally on our doorstep - or we may think about travelling a bit further when things get back to normal.

We ca afford to buy a decent secondhand one outright. We're looking at VW T5s or similar, but it feels so extravagant. We've never had the money to splurge on things like this before, but my critical illness cover paid out so we have the cash to spend.

The thought of being able to finish work on a Friday, drive 50 miles and pitch up for the weekend sounds amazing, but I do wonder if it really is that easy? If you have one, how often do you use it? What are the running costs like? We'd use it as a second vehicle. Is a T5 the best, or are there others we should consider? Do we buy converted or not and get it done ourselves? DH is super keen, but I'm a bit reluctant to part with £20k+ without doing a LOT of research first.

Interested to hear from other campervanners!

I have friends who hired a campervan before buying.
They actually decided to get a caravan instead.
They said that once set up on a campsite you can't just pop to a shop or a restaurant without packing up.
With a caravan they could lock up and jump in the car for a day out.

As above.

Caravans are not as "sexy" as campervans but they are a hell of a lot cheaper to buy and maintain, plus being more practical when you get to your destination (more space and being able to separate the car).

I'd definitely look to rent before you commit to a camper.

Compared to a caravan the inside space is very cramped.

My parents had one and got rid of it within a year for a caravan for the reasons above.

I would agree, hire one a few times first.

I love our VW campervan but would have a different layout in our next one.

Running costs are average. Ours is fairly new so isn’t even due an MOT any time soon, fuel is comparable to my daily use car and it could definitely be used as a daily vehicle.

We’ve had caravans and motorhomes in the past and we are enjoying the campervan the most. It makes me pack light and minimal, and we do lots of spontaneous weekend away (pre covid). Between now and end of September we are booked to be away about every 3 weekends, and we will have a few additional last minute trips. I’ve booked to be off work Friday and have literally just now booked us in somewhere for Fri/Sat night.

“Popping” to shops or restaurants has never been an issue for us, it takes less than 10 mins to pack up and be ready to drive off site. And likewise less than 10 mins to be set up when we are back on site again. We both absolutely hated towing a caravan around the Lakes, Cornwall or all of those lovely little places with single vehicle lanes - stressful!

There’s a really good female only Facebook group 1 VW Camper Chicks 1 where you’ll get some brilliant advice from other women.

Another vote for hiring one before
buying. We abandoned our plans after a damp cold cramped weekend away in a rented van.

Loved the idea, hated the reality!

Just watch a youtube video of somebody going through costs and depreciation. Buying for £40 000 and being worth £30 000 10 year later seems common, although the market is a bit inflated now due to you know what. They do hold value well though. Particularly quality brands.

We don't have the storage at home for a caravan and DH just wouldn't tow one, I know that. We are actually in Cornwall so know that caravans and tiny country lanes are a bad mix! Hiring one does seem like a good idea to me, but DH is adamant that we will use it and there is no need to 'try before we buy'. Space isn't really going to be a problem, it's just the pair of us and I think we would probably get a drive away awning for extra room.

Apart from a boat I’ve had just about every kind of holiday home going and one of the things we’ve never fancied is the idea of towing.

So a camper van would win on that point. To me the campervan is great for a spur of the moment, let’s drive to so and so and sleep in the van overnight but for a weekend I’d want a bit more space and luxury.

Tourer caravans we’ve always left on site and just driven down to it and I think for anyone wanting to try other areas then you could move site every season.

We love N Yorks so stay put and drive down every week.

There is another option that not every one is aware of and that’s a
Pop up caravan but it does need to be towed but as it’s low down you don’t have rear vision obscured
My dd loves hers . It has everything a caravan has to offer and takes her 20 mins to pop up and build
It has a hard roof, you winch up the sides, she has a loo . It sleeps 6 with two double beds and 2 singles . It has an oven, sink and wardrobe and yet it all packs away to something that is only about 4 feet high

She doesn’t mind towing it yet she would never tow a caravan
The make is Conway if you fancy going down that route

She often tows it 8 miles from home to a deserted beach if she wants a night away from it all and her friends meet her there. One has a campervan and the other a small caravan

Watching with interest as DH is super keen on getting one but I have my doubts. I HATE camping (I never sleep well as I can’t get comfy) so wondering how much better a van would be?! Admittedly we only have a cheap crappy tent & camping gear.

I also HATE other people’s noise - is a van better than a tent on noisy campsites?? I’d like one with a shower/loo so we could stay off the beaten track & not have to use big campsites.

We would 100% rent one before buying & wouldn’t buy in the near future as prices inflated right now

Here’s a link to a pop up
Unfortunately he doesn’t show you him building it

We have a 1984 T25 campervan. We love it, we use it every weekend we can, our fuel economy isn’t great but that’s what we expected. We have had ours for 3 years and used it mainly for weekends and days out pre COVID.
Last year we had 2 weeks driving round Cornwall during Storm Ellen & then storm Frances. We then bought a drive away awning (vango galli 3 an air beam one) we used it on our October week in Dorset, made a huge difference x we pack light and can be away in 15 mins from a campsite as we can leave the awning. Ours fits in any standard parking space so we can use it anywhere.
Genuinely the best money we’ve ever spent

I know what you mean about other people’s noise
We have a static now and there’s only us in site and one other person over the other side
It’s quite astonishing really as many of the owners are retirees
There were only about 5 caravans occupied at the weekend

We are just sat listening to birdsong on the balcony

Like I said , I’ve had caravans, statics, a country cottage, a villa in Florida, a small chalet in france and you just can’t beat getting away on a whim into a little bit of heaven be it beach, mountains or just the countryside
Our is less than an hour from home and we are in another world.
Love this time of the year with the long days
We been to the cinema and still haven’t had dinner yet
That’s how easy it is to lose track of time

DD and her partner are very outdoorsy..tubing, gorgewalking, canyoning,wild swimming etc. They were thinking about a campervan but recently hired a 4x4 with a pop up sleeping area in the roof and loved it. That's what they are going for. Partner told DD he could afford a wedding or a vehicle. Sensible girl chose the vehicle!

100% hire one first, I wish we had! We were full of idealistic ideas, when we brought ours, sold it when it was a year old. The negatives were, lack of spontaneity, good sites get booked up well in advance so you have to be organised, when you got to the site you felt stuck, unless you tow a small car or have bikes etc. Some people love it and you might too OP, but hire first and see what you think.

My dd paid £1000 for her pop up when her friend was selling

Our static was a good bit more but still way, way short of what the big guys charge

From March to November we are here every week... if no one in Westminster stops is

We have about 4-6 days a week but this week we are staying a full week and then going to a hotel about another 45 miles away for 3 nights
Again that’s the beauty of this place

If we are going south we will
Stop here for a night and cut an hour of our journey

We love ours! We had a T4 up until a few months ago, and we’ve now got a T5 ready to convert.

The T4 needed a lot of maintenance and spent quite a bit of time (and money) being repaired, but we didn’t get much less when we sold it compared to what we bought it for + getting a pop top put on it. We are hoping the T5 will spend a bit less time in the garage!

The T4 was converted when we bought it, the T5 will be converted in exactly the way we want which will probably cost us more but after having a van you learn what works and what doesn’t for you.

We use it for both camping and for trips to the beach - it’s great to have somewhere to get changed/sit comfortably/eat a hot meal after surfing/kayaking/paddle boarding. It’s much warmer than tent camping, and more comfy.

I wouldn’t get a driveway awning, we had one and lining it back up after trips out was a major headache. Instead we’ve bought a tent to pitch next to the van with a canopy style awning in between to extend our living space.

We are at the rent it stage.

You’d have to rent an awful lot of 85-100 a night to make it worth a 20k van.

If you’re worried about “popping out” and space then a stand alone awning will be a game changer. No need to pack anything up, just zip the doors down, detach and go. We’ve got one with the poles all attached, now takes us about 15/20 mins to get it up and in position and pegged out. They can still be a bit of a pain in the arse to drive around small little villages but if you have a bike rack you could take bikes to get out an about.
The bed is the best bit for me, I love camping but the sleeping on sims or air beds just isn’t comfy anymore, but the bed is lush and proper pillows and duvets! The noise is better than a tent but obviously still can hear some things. The sound of rain on the van is super soothing, and if there is a strong wind it’ll rock you to sleep

We had a bongo for years and had some fab holidays but midnight trips to the loo and having no storage made us decide to upgrade to a motor home.
Only an old second hand one but it is immaculate and very low milage.
Downsides for me are having to run an extra vehicle but apart from that the pros are.
Can keep it on the drive and thus pack up really easily.
It's roomy and comfy if weather is bad.
I can keep it stocked up with sun cream, colouring stuff, toiletries, beach toys etc.
I have a proper cooker and a fridge which runs on gas or electric.
We can stop anywhere overnight so long journeys can be broken up.
I found with the smaller one we could do that but had to take out a lot of stuff to use the beds.
I love mine and as dh works a lot of weekends I can just go off on a Friday with DD and any friends who fancy it and just have a little break and use the facilities for the weekend. It takes seconds to set up and pack up to leave too.
We normally do a couple of festivals too and it's lovely to be able to have a shower and also shut out the noise at night.

There isn’t much room inside a campervan so you often see kids, one person, outside or sitting in the front seat while the beds are made up etc. You don’t have a loo so consider what you will do in the middle of the night if you need to go.

R
Have a look at a motorhome, a bit more room to live basically but equally great fun.

For £20000 you could possibly get a second hand residential caravan on a site. More of a home from home.

If you change your mind and do go for a static give me a heads up
While its an absolutely fabulous life style there are so many pit falls
And people have lost their life savings/ inheritance etc

And there’s no guarantees that it won’t happen to me , which is why I say never invest more than you afford to walk away from
I’m pretty sure though that this is not what you’re after but if you want to give me a shout and I’ll pass on any helpful tips

I love my T5. Pop top roof gives it the perfect mix of enough space inside and able to use as a second vehicle without worrying about parking etc. I don't like driving big cars but am more than happy to take the camper anywhere.
We bought a very old, big camper originally for about £3k and once we knew we liked it, upgraded. We went to a show with a £15k budget but ended up spending £27k. Justified by the fact that it doubles as our second car. The important criteria for me in the end was

1. Able to stand up in it, get changed etc
2. Quick and easy to make bed without having to faff every time you want to drive somewhere
3. Reliable - not worrying about breaking down at any moment
4. Easy to drive - specifically cruise control.
5. Not too big - can park in normal space and not got a high fixed top which causes issues in car parks.

We used out T5 for a number of years as a commuting vehicle for years - v good to drive and parking fine in a normal space. We hired a larger motor home once abs it was a nightmare in small spaces

We are 4 people so have an inflatable awning and can just drive away on campsites. We have a porta potty loo which goes between the tent and the van. If you get a pop up roof and only 2 of you then you could have it in the van at night.

Before we bought ours we hired one from VW for a weekend on a test drive basis. Then worked out the configuration wasn't ideal so bought a van, an interior (rock n roll bed, captains seats etc) off eBay and converted ourselves. We've had it for 10 years and it's fab.

We bought a t5 5 years ago and love it! We thought we’d do spontaneous weekends away but our life never fits around one.

The set up time is amazing compared to a tent! Comfort is way better than a tent.

Ours has been a rental for a year and we bought her at the end of the season

She is fabulous!

@SummerSazz

We used out T5 for a number of years as a commuting vehicle for years - v good to drive and parking fine in a normal space. We hired a larger motor home once abs it was a nightmare in small spaces

We are 4 people so have an inflatable awning and can just drive away on campsites. We have a porta potty loo which goes between the tent and the van. If you get a pop up roof and only 2 of you then you could have it in the van at night.

Before we bought ours we hired one from VW for a weekend on a test drive basis. Then worked out the configuration wasn't ideal so bought a van, an interior (rock n roll bed, captains seats etc) off eBay and converted ourselves. We've had it for 10 years and it's fab.

Was it easy to convert @SummerSazz? And was it cheaper than getting a company to do it for you?

That's another option, but our DIY skills aren't great. There is a company near my work that do it, but a full conversion is in the region of £20k If we could get it insulated and carpet lined, then I've seen DIY furniture packs that was could probably manage to do ourselves.