Touring caravans

[Whyareweallhere]

Does anyone have a touring caravan?
Is it a lot of work to up and go and is it cheap compared to static van holidays?
Is it worth it?

My parents have had one for years - I borrowed it once and loved it. The bliss for me is knowing exactly whats been done in it!! ie no one else has been sick in it, weed in the bed, bled in the bed etc etc. They have their own pots and pans which they leave in their, a set of bedding specifically for the caravan which they store in the airing cupboard. Everything else stays in the van til they use it, then everything else gets chucked in and off they go. Takes an hour or two when they arrive to set up pitch but it gets quicker as you get more used to it.

The biggest thing to be careful of is that you have a powerful enough car to tow it and that you have a towing license. Also good to go on a towing course if you can and learn how to reverse the thing.

I would much prefer a tourer over a static anyday!

Blobby - thanks for that🙂

We bought one last year and, I can't believe I am saying this, I luffs it. It's my little house on wheels. We had a folding camper before that but it was a problem putting down in the rain. Caravan is sooooo comfy. We use on site showers and loos for poo. It's lovely having your own bedding and stuff. However, i've not stored bedding in the van over winter so the spare room is full of matress toppers and duvets!

I camped in October in the frost and it was very toasty. There is more potential for things going wrong and there is more faffing about with levelling and water, electric hook up,. We have an air awning which was quick to put up.

We go to swanky no kids campsites so is peaceful. Last summer ( folding camper still) for two weeks near beach with fab view in the Gower cost us £450. You have to factor in storage costs, insurance, more diesel ( most tow cars arediesel). You need to know your tow ratios, noseweights, etc of your car before you go looking at vans. You need to look at the MTLM of the van and be well within the limit. If you are having to replace a car as well then it could all get very expensive.

Big thing to look for if buying second hand is damp. I suggest you read a few caravan mags, look at the Caravan club and potter round a couple of dealerships.

Oh, and a motor mover is essential!

All of the above, we brought one last year, have 2 small children and love it. We use to camp but this has opened up a bigger holiday window for going in cooler months (we went away Feb half term) we've gone from having one summer holiday to multiple as it's so much cheaper. Once you know what you're doing it takes no time at all to hook up and go.

We keep it loaded up through the warmer months (bedding, food etc) but bring the soft furnishings out over winter and store at home.

We've had one for years, we keep it on a Camping and Caravanning club site and pay about £400 a year for it, it's kept in storage there so when we want to use it we ring up and for £6 they pitch it up for when we arrive and put it away afterwards.

It costs about £18 per night to use it depending on the time of year.

For us it's definitely worth it, it's only 45 minutes from home so we can pick the kids up from school on a Friday and be there sitting down by 5pm and stay until Sunday tea time, I also go without dh a lot in the school holidays.

The kids (aged 4 and 6) absolutely love it, they get new friends every weekend and spend their days outdoors playing.

We don't tend to tow it any more and for our 'main' holiday we hire a static in Cornwall, there's a few reasons, mainly i hate sitting at 60 or less all the way down, I also like having more room for 2 weeks worth of clothing and it's nice to just have a change of accommodation for one holiday.

I'd never own a static though because they lose a ridiculous amount of money, you pay over the odds in the first place, are stuck on the same pitch, huge annual fees which rise annually and when you sell you have to give the site owner a commission or sell it to them at way under market value.

My husband was very much again the car "pulling a damp box" around... however after two camping trips in a tent (which he loved) we are now on our second year with a tourer.

Last year on the holidays we did 16 days... 7 days in st ives, 6 days in padstow and 3 days in breane (which is a place I am really not kean on but the kids bloody love it!)

This year we plan to do something very similar.. a word of caution... ensure you get a damp check done and certificate by an independent professional as van do suffer with damp.

Have a look around lots of vans for the right layout.. we have 2 children so we have a dinette which changes into a bunk then we make our bed up as we go.

Should say the one summer holiday was a cottage as although we camped we never use to go for more than a few nights.

We bought our first tourer 11 years ago when DS was 4, he had just started school and we were in shock at the price of going away in the school holidays. Our first caravan was second hand which I would recommend doing so that you don't lose too much if you don't like it. We subsequently traded up and now have quite a big very comfortable caravan.

Our children have have had fantastic holidays and lots and lots of weekends away. Since the holidays are so much cheaper (think £20 to £50 per night) even in school holidays we go away for nearly every school holiday. We have been to France many times as well as all over the Uk.

I would recommend having a good look around caravan dealers and online or see the different layouts that are available because there are loads, bunk beds, fixed double beds, shower room in different places etc to find the one that suits your family. Some will have warm air heating and others will have Alde wet central heating which is just like the central heating you wouldn't have at home.

As someone has already said you do need to take account of the weight of the caravan compared to your car and depending on when you passed your driving test you might need to take a towing course.

Join some of the fb caravan groups, there are loads, look at lots of caravans and visit some dealers to see what's on offer and give it a go.

We love ours. On our third now. A couple more years with the kids then it's a great couples van. Go for it!

Absolutely hated ours with a passion. Stuck on the drive otherwise it was expensive to store, some of the site fees were extortionate enough that I could have got a B&B cheaper, taking down awnings in the rain, emptying chemical toilets in the rain and actually towing it to where we were going we meet with impatient drivers and roads not even designed for towing the bloody thing up.

I was not built for caravanning and I was thrilled when it went.

Oh thanks so much everyone. Lots of advice, I really appreciate it.

I was thinking of maybe starting out with a cheap one and see if it suits us?

Will it need servicing?

The storage, service, insurance adds up. We must pay around £1,000 a year for all that. But we stay on temporary sites and rallies which keeps the camping costs down. In France we stay on municipal sites.

What we value the most though is the spontaneity. That we can decide on Thursday to go away for the weekend. Pick a rally, pack some clothes and food and away we go.

Thanks

Servicing isn't a legal requirement, we've only had ours done once, dh is pretty handy with cars and caravans so does the main safety checks himself, we've also got a damp meter which was only a few quid.

Definitely visit a dealership and have a look at all the layouts, fixed double beds are popular but you'll have a small bathroom and less worktop space, we had one for a while but went back to making the beds up because we preferred larger wardrobes and longer worktops.

It's all about your priorities and what's more important, sit in them and imagine yourself living there.

Remember you can add an awning for longer holidays to double the size, we use ours for hanging coats, muddy boots, and the bbq but others make into a proper little dining room or bedroom.

There's also a Fiamma canopy you can get which you leave on the van, it rolls out to provide shelter then roll it back and zip the bag, takes less than 5 minutes.
We use ours every time and store the bbq, chairs and outdoor stuff under it.

We had tourers for 7 years
We kept it permanently sited... so much easier
Just fling stuff in s bag and go
We used it every week of the season we were at home
I paid £3,500 for a large swanky one and kept it for three years and got more than I paid for it as we’d done alterations... put in a proper double bed for eg
We have a static now on a site just 6 miles closer to york as we love the area

I’ve always had a holiday home for the past 40 years of one description or another ( never a tent though I like a solid roof and only do warm and dry)

They’ve ranged in price from £100k to £1k
All fabulous

Mine was a Swift conqueror... about 23 feet long with deluxe bathroom and good size kitchen with full size fridge and cooker. Sink that you didn’t have to cover to use as a food preparation service as we had plenty of that
Loads of storage space and a half size wardrobe to hang things in
We had ducted heating and a gas fire that really heated the place up.
Bathroom had a big shower and a flushing cassette toilet

We removed all the sofas and cabinets at the bottom end to put in a double bed. We just left the above bed cabinets
I paid extra for a bed with drawer storage underneath which wasn’t necessary as we had loads
Loved it

( love my static more though lol... it’s almost twice the size all round)

We have one and absolutely love it. DH was very hard to persuade but he's a convert now and would upgrade very quickly. We have indoor storage at home so no costs other than insurance and site costs per night/weekend/week. After every trip I leave it ready and stocked with clothes, non perishables and kitchen equipment so that we only need fresh food when we leave next.

We have a 5 berth with a bunk and seating area/bed at one end which partitions off with a sliding door - ideal for us (2 DC's) as the sleeping areas are separate. It takes an hour or so to get the awning ready on site but the extra space it gives is really useful, especially for stays longer than a few days.

I can't tow on my licence and wouldn't want to so DH tows on either my car or his, both fine for towing ratios.

Would really recommend it Op. We bought a cheap van to start with in case it wasn't for us and if we decided to sell then wouldn't loose too much.

My daughter bought a vintage van at first
It was a five berth with fixed bed at rear but very lightweight.
They paid something like £1000 about 9 years ago...they reluctantly let it go as they weren’t using it.
My daughter got a pop up caravan instead and as it’s low in height compared to a caravan it goes on her front drive so now storage costs.
She tows it herself and can erect it in about 20 minutes.
She’s used it loads as she’s a home edder and takes it when there’s meet-ups during the week
They actually think it’s more spacious than the caravan.
It’s a nifty thing and fascinating how the wardrobes, kitchen etc all slot together.
Just another idea for you op
As for the old one...they still got £200 for it and it was in excellent condition...shame to see it go. Was about 25 or more years old. Built to last

Downer- what is the pop up caravan?

Apparently when you lower the corner steadies you are meant to lower them to the ground and then once more around....not use them to lift the caravan...they do go through the caravan floor

A pop up caravan is another name for folding camper.

This is the type my daughter has
She just finds it easier to tow it herself

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Conway-Crusader-2002-6-berth-folding-camper-like-pennine-pathfinder/173839859820?hash=item2879a9c06c:g:DaAAAOSwGMFcfCrq

We had caravans for about 15 years now started off with a cheap one off eBay and loved it so much we upgraded to a new ones the year after and our boys have all grown up caravanning.

We go away most weekends in the spring and summer and if the weather's nice even in to the autumn and winter.

It really feels like you've done something with your weekend as well and the kids get loads of freedom to run around and have the kind of childhood that I had in the 70s

I'm currently laid in bed in my tourer. I do like it but don't think it's a cheap option. A decent one will be quite a lot of initial outlay. I spend £150 a year having it serviced, about that on insurance and £300 on storage. So £600 before ive gone away or needed to do any repairs.

But I love the flexibility of it. I love the fact it's mine. I go away 3 or 4 weeks a year so I guess if I was doing cottages I'd be looking at at least 2k a year for cottages. I use cheap sites so spend between £10 and £15 a night.

I tow it on my own and don't have problems towing or hitching up. Bloody toilet isn't flushing though and it's little things like that which scupper me sometimes!

I used to camp and now like having a comfy bed, a shower, a toilet, an oven, fridge, tv, sockets to charge the phone up with!