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!

@CaptainMyCaptain oooh small world have you been before?

We keep our van there permanently and go regularly. It's a lovely site and the staff are really friendly too.

[quote 2me2u2u2me]@CaptainMyCaptain oooh small world have you been before?

We keep our van there permanently and go regularly. It's a lovely site and the staff are really friendly too.[/quote]
No, but it had been recommended and I watch their live feed on Facebook sometimes.

We hired a T5 for a trial weekend. Loved driving round in it and stopping for lunch. Hated living and sleeping in it. It rained.

If I changed from the caravan we ended up buying it would be to a long wheel base van conversion with a loo and shower and somewhere to sit while the beds are made up. I’d be looking for an old ambulance to convert

My dd used the quiet site a lot when she attended the homeopathy college in the lakes

We had a tourer which we didn’t tow
It was a swift conqueror deluxe with a good sized bathroom
We took out all the end furniture andput a proper double bed in it
Just left the cupboards above and bought a bed with storage underneath
No more pulling beds out
Was fab and the van had a little screen you could pull across on a night

There was a full size kitchen
And in the lounge we made it L shaped by turning one of the sofas round
There was a free standing table you could tuck away when not in use
So we were still able to eat at a table

I bloody loved that van . The cabinetry on it was excellent

But I wanted more space and a bigger bathroom for longer stays
We are here at our static now for a week and then moving onto a hotel tomorrow
Quite sad as I love the peace and privacy here
We’ve been the only one on site all week

Hi OP,
We have had a few different VW vans and a motorhome, and DH converts them for a living so can answer most questions haha!
For just us a couple a long wheelbased T6 has worked best as once the bed is made there is still enough floor space for the loo to be inside. We used to have a LWB Hightop T5 which was even better for space as we had slot of over bed storage, however that was harder work for driving around a lot as it didn’t fit under and height barriers (much like the motorhome!)
I’ve used each of those vans as my daily car never have issues parking them etc.
However, the space inside out motorhome is brilliant. We have an overcab king size bed, bunks at the back for the kids and full size fridge/freezer, oven and shower room. It’s an arse to drive though (I won’t drive it) and we don’t tend to use it to go out once we are at a campsite. This year I’m actually taking the T6 down to Cornwall while DH drives the motorhome just so we have a vehicle once there to get around.
If you’ve any questions about converting your own van etc let me know and I’ll try to help

Thanks to this thread I've just fallen down a pop-up caravan rabbit hole 😂...love this!!:

www.foldingcaravans123.com/product/do-1996-pennine-pullman

[quote Laquila]Thanks to this thread I've just fallen down a pop-up caravan rabbit hole 😂...love this!!:

www.foldingcaravans123.com/product/do-1996-pennine-pullman[/quote]
we had one of these before our hard shell pop up one, they're brilliant

We used to have one of these

www.opuscamper.co.uk/

but it was a bit of a faff. You had to build the cabinets inside each time you set up and we didn't have enough space at home to dry it out if it was packed away wet. It was easy to tow though and very spacious inside.

Me and dh have spent the last 2 years hiring various camper vans and motorhomes

They all have their positives and negatives

We now know exactly what we want, the layout inside and what things are important and what aren't. Somethings have really surprised us and we'd have never realised without hiring first

I HATE camping. But we bought our motorhome 4 years ago and haven't stoped using it. It's fantastic, having said that, we are lucky we live in Dorset, can park it on our driveway, it has shower/loo, oven, heating. We've got a telly and Fredrick, so can get most stuff on TV. It's eminently comfortable, I sleep better in that than I do at home, ( do get a memory foam, though)
We do actually, just get home on Friday and pack up and head out, locally or further afield. It's the best thing we've ever done.
We did hire one first, and researched the layout we wanted, I would recommend sound this....
But it gives us both huge, huge pleasure, freedom, and a real feeling that we've got away. I'd say, do it, but do your research beforehand, you really need a loo/shower and proper cooker/grill/hob and ability to adapt it if you want to.
Probably too far away from you but there is a campavan/caravan/motorhome weekend festival at Shelton Mallett in Dorset on 10th/11th Sept, I think. We've been before and you can get a taste and lots of advice about layouts etc...also live music and really good food.

"Frederick"? I meant Firestick!

Watching out of interest

Off topic but could campers who've been to the Quiet Site please tell me how well stocked the shop is? Do they have fresh produce? I think the site is quite far from anywhere else to shop, especially if we are leaving the van parked up. Should we stock up with food before we go?