AIBU to think it a good idea to get a caravan!

[Effnjeff]

Was thinking it would be nice to get a cheap 2nd hand touring caravan for spontaneous breaks/cheap hols etc.
DH def not keen, says they're a PITA and way too expensive for what they are

and remember the water you use you have to fetch from the tap - usually in an aqua roll or similar and empty from the waste water. So if alot of you are showering you might have to plan around that

We dont use our tourer as much as we used to but i love getting away sitting outside in the evening is bliss it only takes an hour to set up now we are used to it. we can get a site for 180 at most for a week it depends where you want to go really. When kids were young we would go to big commercial sites and have a great time. We are thinking of getting a smaller 1 for me and he

First of all check what your car can actually tow
experiencefreedom.co.uk/handy-tools/towing-advice-tool?gclid=Cj0KEQjwgI6pBRDak6aRovWNqLsBEiQA8zZSLpYerqkd4rGTQgsjKf6pbdJk5vDe5rE6rDOJieP9Zl0aAnEN8P8HAQ#/ and then whether your driving licence will allow you to tow without having to do another test.
Then research storage prices if you can't store it at home.
Then look at what you can get for how much you want to pay for the van/yearly insurance.

If all this works for you, then go for it!

Well we've just had our first trip in a motorhome (after years of a campervan - too small and no loo with 2 kids is problematic) - and it was greAt fun. Why not rent a motorhome?

We have had a static for 3 years. We love it. We just pack fresh clothes and go. The DCs love it.

I love ours! It's a cheap old thing from eBay and prob does look 'naff' but much more comfy than our old camper van which always broke down. We use our lots but it is annoying having to pay storage fees for it.

We've just bought a static caravan.
We have had our other caravans on the same ( lovely) site for 6 years.
I think because my first holiday home was a cheap static, when you could get such a beast in 1979 we've just stuck with the idea of having something sited.
Even though the last three vans have all been tourers but the site we are on is mainly statics and sited tourers. The owner occasionally lets a visitor on at Easter or summer if he has a spare pitch.

We are now paying £1700 for the year which includes winter storage. We use it every week we are at home for two nights a week, sometimes we might have three or four nights.

Working on a travelodbeing £55 a night, we'd only have to stay 30 nights to get our money back and we easily do that even allowing for holidays away in the season.
Personally I think that's the best way to get the use out of your van. You have the best of both worlds. Our neighbours are taking their van over to France for 3 weeks next week and they are here every weekend.

I think it much more difficult with children. Parties, football games other sporting and social commitments bite into caravanning time and teens reach the age where they just don't want to go . The beauty of our site is it's only 45 minutes/ 40 miles away so if you do need to nip home , it's no big deal.
Chap next door sometimes hitches a lift with his mate next door on a Friday and then his wife joins him Saturday afternoon after she's been to work.

It's what works for you.
This is a beautiful van. I'm sad to sell it on . It's the best I've ever had but we wanted something bigger. Something I can bring a couple of ankle biters away with me without feeling on top of one another.

I just hope I'm not making a huge mistake.