AIBU to have fallen out of love with campervanning?

[cluckandcollect]

We've had a camper van for a few years. Secondhand when we bought it and nothing fancy and it's now 14 years old. For the first few years it was fun but I've become increasingly aware of how it's a way of taking housework away with us. We've got a campsite on the coast booked for Easter and already I'm sick of the meal planning and cleaning out the fridge and oven and preparing supplies and bedding and clothes and the first aid kit and on and on. I've had 12 solid months of cooking and washing up and now I'm going to be spending the next couple of evenings cooking and freezing and prepping and then, while we're away, defrosting and cooking and washing-up in a van...

My partner cleans the exterior, checks the mechanical. stuff, looks after the gas and the hook-up leads and points, manages the servicing of the vehicle and the gas safety and so on, which is great. We share the chores while we're away. But the fact is it's still the same-old-same-old and I'm so bored of it!

I know how lucky we are to be able to have this escape, and I know there are hundreds of thousands more vans out there on the road since we first had ours, so there are clearly many who love them. But are there other van owners who dread the drudgery?

Can't you just eat easy food when you are there rather than freezing etc?

I don’t have a camper van (though I like them!) but it sounds like some of this is making work for yourself. How much difference would it make if you took ready meals, or went to a pub, or got fish and chips while you were away? You don’t have to meal prep and wash up. You could just grab the duvets and pillows off your beds at home - takes five minutes - and packing clothes doesn’t need to be onerous. You don’t even need a first aid kit - someone on the site will have plasters, and every shop sells paracetamol and so on.

We’ve only had ours a year and it’s a big improvement on tents! We do at least one meal out - pub, take away, each day and quite a lot of easy food.
Chores have to be shared or it’s no fun.

Also, ours is always packed with kitchen stuff, lighting, bedding and the beach stuff is ready in the garage. All we take are pillows, food and a bag of clothes/ wash stuff each.

Cleaning up/ repacking on return is a different story and Not Fun At All!

Not sure why you're doing all the chores.. mechanical or maintenance stuff doesn't take up as many hours as packing, cleaning, food prep and meal planning..

Can see why it's annoying, although tbh every time we go camping I'm insanely jealous of the vans.
If you're sure you want rid, this year will probably command higher prices than next year, when many other new owners may feel similar.

I feel like you're going this about wrongly - the van should be mostly packed and the food should be super easy. The first aid kit should be in the an all the time. I just to have one and it wasn't much work.

Sounds like you’re making it harder than it has to be

They are typos, I'm not drunk

We camp sometimes, caravan sometimes, I never cook more than the odd sandwich or croissant for breakfast just buy stuff prepacked sandwiches, pasties, chips, pub or cafe lunches takeaways it's just not a holiday otherwise.

are you going with children?
from about 8yo they should be able to cook simple meals.

Why are you doing complicated meal planning and cooking? Eat out and make (toasted) sandwiches and easy meals. Delegate the washing up, or treat yourself to some paper plates this time as a one off.

We don’t pre-prepare food, we buy locally. Ideally from farm shops, dairies etc. We bbq most nights, if it’s dry. We eat bread and cheese and drink lots of red wine. It’s easy lazy living.

We just leave everything in the van all the time. So only need to pack clothes and toiletries like you do for any trip.
Regards food we only take snacks and fruit - we go to bakeries, coffee shops, chip shops, pubs etc it costs a bit more but it's supposed to be a holiday!

I agree with others who suggest you're making it harder than it needs to be. Ours is kept permanently packed up so we just need to add clothes, some food and anything you want to entertain yourselves. We do a mix of pubs/takeaway/cooking in the van.

Also we never wash up in the van - we use the big camper sinks on site, taking turns obviously. Whoever isn’t doing dishes makes the bed.

Sounds really tedious and not remotely like a holiday..

To be honest you are just describing every self catering holiday with young children. But with less space I suppose.

What everyone else said (though I’m a novice and can be ignored!) - take bread and cheese, find a good chippy etc. How much time can you spend reviewing a first aid kit?

Why can't you bbq & make fresh and easy meals and salads? Paper plates etc. with minimal washing. Your making things so much harder than they need to be.

**are you going with children?
from about 8yo they should be able to cook simple meals.

I can't roll my eyes enough at this.... just waiting for someone to come along to say their 3 year old would be changing all the beds / washing up / servicing the campervan.......

I love our campervan - can't wait to go away as soon as possible. I'd be happy to go away for months at a time if real life didn't get in the way
We do a lot of ready meals, Greggs, salads & Wetherspoons though.

We used to Camp in our van every weekend due to sporting events we used be heavily into . I'd get my arse to M&S or Waitrose and stock up on ready meals, nice ones . Do you have a micro wave in the van, if not bung them in the oven .

Certainly treat ready meals like COOK which you just buy...definitely not lots of meals you’ve slaved over in advance. Takeaways. Fish and Chos etc.

Washing up rota. Point out to DH if you haven’t already, if you do the bulk of that kind of thing at home and this is your holiday too and you want a rota. Dont be a martyr.

Joint task of unpacking when you get back...not left to you.

Self catering generally isn’t a great break from normal life if you have to make 3 meals a day and clear up. Therefore don’t do that. Eat different food to home and. It just the same old usuals. Aim for a couple of fish and chop those meals and a couple of ready meals and you’ll feel better.

And once you’re away and always have access to an indoors whilst everyone is freezing outdoors and socially distancing, you’ll be thrilled with your camper again.

And if you’re not, well theres a time for these things. You love them, enjoy them, spend money on them and then when the joy is going you sell them on. That’s all part of the cycle.

We have just sold ours. To be honest, once you have paid for everything needed to keep it on the road, you may as well book a hotel! It was the unpacking and endless laundry that got me. It was great when the kids were small, if we found a nice beach, but not so much as they got older. On the plus side their resale value is good now