Campervan experiences please share

[travellingtime]

Considering buying a campervan. Its old but allegedly in good condition. Complete with awning so extra space too. and top bit that extends up for sleeping in.
What good/bad experiences have you all got of this type of holiday. DCs are 2 & 5, and have experience of camping last summer which they enjoyed.
Are we mad or will it be a great adventure?

sounds fun, all my friends that have them swear by them,

we mainly camp, but we have a couple of caravans for glamping additional space, when the weather is bad, as it makes a difference having another indoor space,

make sure it's got a good service history. and keep it well serviced.

We bought one earlier this year and we are having a great time going for lots of weekends away. Next year we'll be going for longer holidays. We have 3 kids and they all love it. Is there a particular van you've seen?

Can't recommend it enough. Kids absolutely love it. You can go off camping at the drop of a hat. Comfy beds. Safe from rain. Can stop at side of road in beautiful place and make your own cup of tea. Seriously you won't regret it - as long as you buy a reliable van and maintain it!!

I had one which I sold last year, a vw t25. Had some fantastic holidays, weekends away with dd. Sold it due to the expense, they eat money. Bodywork deteriorates in front of your eyes, not good on fuel consumption, then taxing, servicing, insurance. Then any repairs, etc. Mine was in very good nick when I got it and wasn't cheap.

I underestimated how much it costs to keep it in that condition. If you use it a lot then you'd get your money's worth out of it. I was spending so much on it I couldn't afford to use it. Plus as dd got older she didn't want to go away at weekends as much.

I do miss being warm, dry and comfy with a fridge chilled beer though! And the sound insulation is fab. If you do get one though personally I'd get a high top not a pop top. Warmer, less leaks and more storage.

I'm not trying to hijack but once you are on a camp site how do you go about travelling if the campervan is your transport?

Dh massively keen, I'm more keen on a caravan as then you have your car to go exploring.

You use thecampervan for travelling about. So it's a pita every morning having to pack everything away in the cupboards, put the beds away, turn the gas off.

I used a pop up tent to store bags/bikes in so that would Mark our pitch. But you can get a "motorhome off pitch" sign.

We are campers. We rented a campervan for a week. I found it too small, not flexible enough when going somewhere (either catch a bus or pack everything away) and I found it noisy to travel in. We went back to tents, but I dream of owning a caravan.

Plus it can be a pita finding parking spaces for a van when out and about. I couldn't parallel park it, lots of car parks have height barriers on.

Have a T5 and love it, going away on Saturday for our 4th trip this year, rain not a problem

It does cost to keep it roadworthy and have annual habitation check (gas, electrics etc). It's cheeper than hotels but more exensive than a caravan

We keep coats, Wellies, breakfast stuff and sleeping bags in it all season then all you need is a change of clothes and you're off.

Quick to set up when you arrive, journey easier than towing. We have a base second 4 person tent that we throw out the door ( or a really simple 2 man pop up if it's just a night) and put things in there so that day trips are easy, you just put the roof down, turn iff the gas and drive off.

We don't often get electric hook up, we wild camp or stay on cheeper pitches, most things run off gas and the battery lasts over a week

We used to have a detachable awning but found it made day trips much harder as you have to line up carefully to reattach it. That's why we got pop up tents. We decided it was cheeper to get a Flamina wind out awning that pay for a divorce. Sadly we argued like mad over reattaching the awning tent.

The joys are wonderful and you also have fab cheep days out as you can make your own coffee and lunch

Can you tell I'm a fan

Just seen comments about height, yes barriers are a problem, but a VW s a doddle to park, great visibility