To wonder if a camper van is worth it? Have campervan envy!

[malificent7]

I am in a campsite in a tent with campervan envy.
They are so lovely but very ecpensive and i am on a budget. If i did get one it would be 2nd hand. Any advice / recommendations about owning a van without breaking the bank?
It is the mechanics that worries me most after hearing some horror stories.

We had a VW westfalia as we travelled a lot in Europe and prior to DC's we had fun.
However, the downsides were you would arrive at a campsite, sort of unpack, get out all the cooking equipment, bedding etc then oops you realised you had run out of bread/local currency/water/wine etc etc so unless you have a bicycle strapped to the back (we didn;t) you had to pack everything up to drive out to get some. This was also the problem when you wanted to go on a trip/tour of the area you were camping in.
The problem was a lot worse when we had Dc's, we got an awning for all the "gear" that we didn't want to take out with us every day, but it was a nightmare lining up and re-attaching the camper after each trip.

Also agree with BlueCurtains, it's not as simple as you imagine just "packing up and going" and "stopping wherever you like". Good campsites get booked up well ahead, and shit campsites are very depressing :o In Scotland, it's easier to wild camp and mostly legal but you still need to plan ahead and research decent places, if you don't want to end up parked in some grotty layby next to some bins. In adverts people are always glamorously parked next to the sea and stand looking out over the waves clutching a coffee. That can happen but you need to know where that's going to work. (Mull, IME)

Same here but I can't justify the cost

Just the two of us atm and we have been using the estate car as a camping car? Its lie flat at the back for two of us (we ar both short) But takes some rearranging, pop the back of the boot where we can do our cooking with portable camping stove(done this in the rain, not ideal but we had to eat) then we move all food and sports equipment and clothing into front seat to sleep in sleeping bags.

Tip though some bigger camp sites wonts allow you to use a car to sleep in but some do.

VW Transporter fan here, we have one, absolutely love it, gets used as a daily driver, a builders van and a camper.
I thoroughly recommend vanning holidays, we have been all over the uk in the van and plan to get the ferry to santander and do south of france/spain in it soon.
I hate camping with a passion but I love van life.

It was bloody great for going to Ikea, I'll give it that. Kind of more expensive that just paying for ikea delivery though :)

We bought a two year old caravan in 2012. It cost us £13,000 and we have used it a lot. It is still in great condition and I expect it to last another ten or more years. To me is seems a cheaper option than a motorhome.

How often would you realistically use it? Equivalent of 4 weeks or 10 weekends a year? You can rent a top of the line VW California for that time for the cost of running a 2nd hand Bongo all year. We’ve done the sums!
Want to use it a couple of weekends every month all year round? Buy one.
Got cash to burn? Buy one!

If it’s going to be every holiday you have and you’re very outdoorsy go for it

We've pondered a campervan ourselves, but with the cost of tax, insurance, maintenance, initial cost etc not sure we can justify the cost. We do have something coming up later in the year where we'd need to transport quite a lot of stuff 400 miles away plus accommodation, so we're trying out a campervan, as basically it ticks all the boxes and is cost effective (train is £1,000 for all three of us). It's costing £130 pd to hire and it'll be a great way of trying one out. It starts off full of fuel, water and apparently can generate enough electricity if travelling around, so you don't need hook up.

Please God - NO. The roads around here are infested with them. People can't drive them, or park them properly. They take up more than a car parking space. They drive slowly and do not allow overtaking - even on single track roads where it is the rule of the road to pull over into passing places.

Get a better tent. Or, better still, spend the 20k on staying for 400 nights in a B&B.

Worse still, the owners put little into the local economy. They arrive with a big Tesco shop and then buy little. They empty their disgusting toilets into burns and along the side of roads.

They are terrible for the environment - some of them are like driving small, diesel lorries.

Stay in your tent. Be a good person.

Friend had one. She sold it when she worked out she and her DP could have stayed in nice hotels when they went away, for the same cost. I think it would be great though if you are retired.

@venusandmars Do you do Britstops? I thoroughly recommend them if you don't.

We spent 2 nights in a pub car park in Cornwall last summer. We had the place entirely to ourselves on the 2nd night (pub was shut on Mondays), we had amazing views, lovely walks on the doorstep and it didn't cost us a penny!

We're planning on getting a motorhome when we retire. We'd have one now if we had the room to park it.

It's going to be expensive (£60k?) but it will have all the bells and whistles, inc a separate loo and shower.

We plan on touring in Europe.

I have a camper van. It's a small one as it's just for me and DS, so it wasn't very expensive, €3000, and it has everything we need. A couch/bed, captains chair front seats that swivel to use as armchairs, oven, hob, grill (electric and gas), a fridge that runs on electric and gas, a proper sink and draining board and, most importantly - a little bathroom with toilet and mini-shower. And lots and lots of storage. The cost of the van itself is pretty much negligible, as they hold their value really well. In fact as I'm crafty I have jazzed it up a bit since I got it, it's now valued as worth more than I paid for it. Insurance for a leisure vehicle is dirt cheap, €280pa.

I use it throughout the year from early Feb to December. It gets used on a lot of weekends through the school year, leaving straight from school on Fridays. And a lot of holidays in the summer. I bought it following a horrendous tent camping experience where despite a lovely weather forecast the rain bucketed down and we were trapped in a damp tent for about 20 hours. (It didn't leak but the condensation was unreal.) And I had to make mad dashes to the campers kitchen to make food that was disgusting by the time I'd made it back to the tent. A huge, huge factor for me as a single parent is also the freedom of having my own toilet to safely use when I need to pee in the middle of the night/early morning and can't leave a sleeping DS.

I do have a huge drive way that my van fits easily on and it is tucked up on an unobtrusive spot that doesn't interfere with my daily use of the drive. It also proves very handy for day trips as it's nice to go to the beach with a fully stocked fridge and be able to have a hot lunch followed by ice-cream. Or to go for a winter forest walk and have hot soup/hot chocolates when you want. The same is true for camping. I never need to bother with onsite cafes or shops as I have a well stocked fridge and freezer, so am paying Aldi prices for treats.

Is there a degree of expense to it? Yes. I'd say across a year I spend about a grand and a half on van expenses and campsite fees. But for that I have about 80 days of holidays in what really is lovely comfort. Waking up in the morning after a good sleep on my memory foam bed, putting on a proper coffee and warming a slice of quiche/frittata/healthy breakfast brownie while using my own bathroom. Then setting myself up outside and having breakfast overlooking the forest/mountains/lake/beach/etc while reading a book/browsing online/even watching a movie. Letting DS sleep very late as he tends to in the van while my friends rouse themselves and join me, is just a super way to spend a weekend/holiday break. The day will continue with my DS and his friends having freedom for all sorts of adventures that kids these days so rarely have. I have all the luxury of being in a tiny house and all of the beauty and freedom of camping. And it really is an amazing way for a child to grow up. Kind of like an Enid Blython adventure crossed with a 1950s rosetinted-glasses view of American childhood. It's not so much about a holiday, but about a lifestyle.

it is great when you get your first Motorhome you have to pay £20,000 + for a good one otherwise you will have issues with it and you don’t want that as it will cost a small fortune

We spent £4k on ours, it's nearly 30 years old! We didn't want to spend loads and discover it wasn't really our thing, and risk losing money if sold it. We've had it 5 years and if we'd spent more than £500 on it in that time, I'd be surprised.

We fell in love with it, and for a while I fancied buying something much newer and smarter. Then we decided that as we like to get off the beaten track, which means narrow lanes with overhanging hedges, there's absolutely no point in getting a really smart van as we'd be reluctant to risk scratching it.

We're looking to upgrade now, but haven't seen anything for sale that meets our needs that isn't hundreds of miles away.

I too want a camper can. DH always says it is cheaper to invest the money and use the returns to hire one or stay in a decent hotel. Let someone else pay for the running costs and depreciation.

But I still want a camper can , I meant van but can sounds funnier.

Which is the cheapest one for a few over nights stay plus a tent say.

Worse still, the owners put little into the local economy. They arrive with a big Tesco shop and then buy little.

I'd like to know how you get a big Tesco shop into a motorhome fridge! Even big vans don't tend to have big fridges.

And anyone who empties a chemical toilet at the roadside is just disgusting. I can't believe people actually do that (not disputing what you say, just find it incredible).

So what would a hotel user do to put into the local economy that a campervan user wouldn't? Not goady, just interested.

I'd love one, but can never make the sums work. It's on my retirement plan though, so we can go travelling round Norway. In the UK, it's too hard to go anywhere on a whim, which is what appeals to me about a campervan

There are lots of issues with human waste just being dumped, hence the restrictions at places like Loch Lomond and Black Rock Sands.

The "wild camping" is a problem round here as the restrictions the Council are bringing in to combat it mean it's harder to use my van on a day-to-day basis.

It's our only vehicle and it's great for dogs and stuff carrying. I wouldn't be able to justify having one parked up doing nothing. We might even camp sometime...well, maybe, if we get round to it.

How do the rules work regarding drinking and sleeping in a vehicle you are technically in charge of?

I thought that if you are over the drink drive limit you are not allowed to sleep in a car. How does it work with campervans?

DP says it doesn't apply, because the vehicle is designed to be slept in.

Also, the law only applies if you're on the public highway, so not an issue in a car park or on a campsite.

@LakieLady many thanks.

SkiingIsHeaven That's an interesting point. You can be arrested for being asleep and over the limit on the back seat of your car, so is there a clause that camper vans are ok?

Oops... cross post with Lakie