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?

We had a campervan and we really did love it, but the entire process of going anywhere really did start to grind on us by the second year, we now have a static.

I’ve got a tiny (6ft x 9ft) Freedom Microlite touring caravan which I tow on my Ford Fusion! We have an air awning which over doubles the space and is dead easy to put up and take down. I upgraded from a folding camper as my back isn’t great (understatement of the bloody year!) and I just couldn’t manage to put it up and down any more.

Mine is so light that it doesn’t really kill my fuel economy too much (48mpg when towing as oppose to 55ish without) and takes minimal setting up - I’ve got a Milenco wheel leveller which saves messing about with wedges, and I’ve not yet got a motor mover as it’s so light I can generally just push it into place, although I am looking at getting one to make life easier getting in on and off my drive.

Downside I guess is that it’s tiny, but it has 2 single beds which could also be a double, 2 ring hob and running water. It does the job for me, ds and the dog! I love it so much :)

We keep tinned/dried food in there, plus bedding and some clothes, so we’re ready to go at short notice.

We don't use ours as much as i thought we would when we bought it (second hand) It is in storage most of the year. It is nice to have all our own things in it. We have had a couple of problems (it is a bit old, luckily my husband has fixed most of them himself)the sliding bed room door came off it's runner, the bathroom door lock doesn't always lock, the water connector got blocked with limescale There is a knack to putting away the double bed, which only i seem to have. The awning gives so much extra space, but the instructions come with a warning not to get cross with your helper(s)smile] but having said all that whenever we go to clean/ service it, we always get excited about taking it out again.

We started off with a 'starter' van 11 years ago...love it...our old dog loved his trips away with us..went all over UK....now we have upgrade..planned round DH and I rather than kids, they are all adults now. Going away end of April, and it will be prettypups first trip..cant wait!

As others have said a motor mover is a godsend..the van can be packed with most stuff and be weekend ready, so you can go as the mood takes you. Vans these days are well insulated and can be toasty even in cold weather. Some have air con for hot weather too!!

If you have an awning...practise putting it up...they aren't called 'divorce in a bag' for no reason!

We have had five and are currently free. They are great BUT take time, cleaning, storing, paying for storage, paying for servicing, insurance, all the bits, gas, paying site fees, time to travel at max 60. After a while it all got a bit much and that was with a very very loverly van inc shower, two dvd, bbqs point etc. Had done it to death over twenty year. So we are on a break.

Do your math.....and all caravans get damp, even those that say they don’t!!!

Gas and electrics should be checked regularly.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Lots to think about. It doesn’t end up that cheap with servicing storing and insurance.

If storage is an issue then you might want to consider a folding camper like a PP suggested. We had one of these for years and I loved it - something about being curled up reading a book, drinking hot coffee or chocolate whilst the rain spatters on the canvas.......... Its much smaller than a caravan and easier to tow but there are downsides. Unless you get top of the range you don't get the toilet and shower inside (wasn't an issue for us as we used campsites with nice facilities!), there isn't the same level of heating or insulation available which, whilst it lessens the damp issue, it can be miserable if you are on a wet holiday.

It is possible to do it cheaply, our first van was only 1k and lasted a few years, we didn't have it insured because it was low value and you're covered by your car insurance when you tow. (the car not the van so it is legal)

You can choose sites with lots of facilities but could end up paying £50 a night or use basic sites and pay £20, we use our own toilet and bathroom so don't need shower blocks.

It's hard to compare a hotel holiday with a caravan because they're completely different and all depends what you like, we love the social aspect of it and the days spent outside just relaxing, there have been many times when we haven't moved the car once.

I've just worked out it costs us about £1.15p a day over the year for the storage and insurance and holidays are £20 per night for a family of four.

You'll only get the benefit if you use it a lot, it's definitely expensive if you only plan to do a fortnight a year.

We’re on our second.

I kept a spreadsheet for costs for our first and by the time we sold it it cost us £49 per night away. (4 people and two dogs). That includes everything. Site fees, insurance, servicing and repairs and depreciation. I haven’t bothered with our current van as it paid for itself very quickly.

The kids don’t come with us any more so we now have a two berth. We use it a lot, 50-60 nights away most years. We take it to festivals, rallies and shows, we stay on sites with pools or sites in a field and we are just as comfortable whether we have electric hook up or not. We’ve used it twice to avoid extortionate room costs at weddings. Just found a site nearby, paid our £25 and the £200 difference more than covered the £10 taxi fares.

If you buy a good second hand one you’ll get an idea of what it can offer. You’ll move it on easy if it’s not for you.

When I was married we had touring caravans, I really miss it now. We started with a very cheap & old caravan, then after a few weeks knowing that we liked it traded up to a slightly better one, when DS was born we bought a better model that had a proper bathroom & as he got older we bought a 6 berth twin axle with fixed bunks & a massive bathroom. There are always loads of routers for sale, look on Facebook selling site or on caravan trader. Make sure you have a full damp check done as well. We kept our caravans on a seasonal pitch that meant we didn't have to mess around putting the awning up & down each time. We used to go at least 26 weekends a year plus 6 weeks in the summer, when I was on maternity leave, we spent 4 months in the caravan, we loved it all year round.

Thanks everyone. What do I need to look out for when looking at a caravan?

Well the most important thing is weight. You will be limited to how much you can tow by what your car is legally allowed to tow. Also do you have towing on your licence because if not your gross train weight is limited I think to 3500kg.

Then think about lay out? How many beds? Do you want a fixed double? End bathroom? Fixed bunks?

Then find something which isn't damp and meets your criteria.

This is a good website as you can search for caravans by weight. There's also a layout search which if you have a look at will give you an idea of possibilities.

www.caravanfinder.co.uk/caravans.html

You need to check whether your driving licence allows you to tow a caravan without taking a test.

www.gov.uk/towing-with-car

We are Motorhomers and love it, but it's a large initial outlay.
Benefit is it's parked on the drive so no storage cost and much easier to just get in and go, we use it all year.
Takes 10 minutes to set up on arrival at the site.
Not for everyone I know as usually have less room inside.
Try asking the knowledgeable folk on the below friendly website, particularly on the technical aspects
www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/

Great thanks all. I’ll start looking.