Help from caravaners.

[Skribble]

As there is no caravaning thread I take it they hide in here.

Well I have inherited a caravan for nothing and found somewhere to keep it all year, kids are dead excited but.....

I need to know when do I start sporting dodgy sandals, getting excited about melamine, worrying about cassette toilets and hankering after a table lamp for the awning?

You see I wonder if I have the comitment to be a proper caravaner as I am unlikely to ever be seen polishing my "van" when I arrive on site and laugh a lot a people (like my PIL) that take it all so seriously.

Love the Lee evans sketch about caravaning .

lucky you! seriously.

i live very near the sea. we have vans just parked up. - no hook up naturally, but no caravan hierarchy either i suppose.

Just wondering, Is it possible to be a flippant camper? Or will I be seduced by the lure of Towsure. Am I still allowed to take the piss out of other campers even though I own one too ?

Sorry I meant ake the piss out of caravaners, I have a bit more respect for campers.

BTW I saw some lovely melamine plates in Somerfields and cutlery sets too .

You will get consumed by the desire for other peoples gadgets!

Have a look at www.youngcaravan.org and see that there are more sane caravanners out there as well as being young and family orientated.

we do proper plates (if IKEA cheapies can be considered proper ) but I do covet my parents electric mover thingy as I'm too scared to even try to pitch our caravan myself. Actually I just want my parents caravan with a built-in loo and the most amazing shower ever.

Caravanning is meant to be cool. The Caravanning Club has been sending out press releases to that effect for the past couple of weeks, but I don't know if any of the papers actually took the story on.

< Snigger >

LOL

My PIL have a caravan mover too, people get really really pissed off sitting in their cars waiting for them to manouvere it in to their drive, because it doesn't even look like they are trying and it takes ages.

PIL think built in showers are ridiculous and use too much water and nothing wrong with traipsing to the shower block in you wrap around towel and flip flops .

DH thinks I am losing the plot as I mentioned joing the Caravan club, I tried to explain we would get cheaper rates on their sites and able to use their little sites, but he decided I knew far to much about it all for someone who declared I hate caravaners and shout "Bloody caravanners!" everytime I see them on the road, well thats just to my PIL I shout that .

I had a look at that young caravaners, its full of tag lines and tickers, loads of hardcore caravan fetishist discussing their outfits (we ain't talking Prada) and comparing sizes. [snurk] .

we love the thought of getting up and going anytiem so cheap holidays and to see the kids lovin it is grt yes there is some geeks out there to serious but htere is some intents to lol get that caravan rocking and enjoy the fun lol

LOL at the thought of caravans rocking . Now caravan ettiqute do you keep your socks and sandals on or just the socks??

lol my mum and dad had a dvd player, digital tv, freezer, double bed, shower and god knows what else. Good luck
L

we've just bought a caravan - I recently bought "practical caravan" magazine and I have to say I'd have been less embarrassed buying a magazine of the top shelf!!! After I'd paid for it I wrapped it inside the newspaper I'd bought in case I bumped into anyone I knew!

Have been away in the "van" twice now and am supposed to be packing now to go away again at the weekend - the kids love it and for me thats what counts! However I never want to resort to sporting the dodgy sandals and I leave worrying about the cassette toilet to my husband!!

Skribble, we got our caravan last year and have been away loads in it, the furthest was the Lake District and it was beatiful. Know what you mean though about the melamine plates!! I was even woken up at 6.30a.m. the other morning when I heard a huge thump on our doormat, guess what....... it was only the Towsure catalogue. My dh was totally engrossed in it for ages and kept calling me over to show me something that we 'really need'!.

We haven't decided to join the Camping and Caravanning Club yet as I'm not sure what type of people go to their sites. (We have four very noisy children ). Have you bought one of those folding essential dish racks yet?

I do have a rather fetching pink folding colander from Matalan. I might get one for at home too as it folds flat and colanders take up so much room.

I have visited or stayed on a few caravan club sites with the inlaws, full of familes as well as older couples. Kids run about all over and play in the parks, but don't tend to cause bother.

I might join either the Caravan Club or the Caravan and Camping club as you get your pitch for about £5 less a night. Might join both if it will bw worth my while.

Hurrah! Some caravanners! I often lurk on the camping threads, wondering if any other caravanners will pop up!
We got our van last year and are gradually getting over the embarrassment and startled looks from our friends . Our van is fab and comfy - DH has installed a CD/MP3 player, we have a flat screen telly, DVD player, heating, hot water and a fridge/freezer big enough to store our wine stash!
We've been away a lot and the main attraction for us is that the kids absolutely love it. If you go to a big site, it might have play areas and an indoor pool; if you choose a small one, it could be on a farm with lots of freedom for the kids to run around away from traffic.
We're members of the Caravan Club (no sneering at the back there!) and you do get access to a wide range of sites - and no nasty surprises when it comes to the facilities.
Final vital info: we do occasionally read Practical Caravan magazine but we don't sport socks with our sandals. Neither do we have matching coats or a floral display in our front caravan window!

Hi Birdly, our kiddies love the caravan so much and to be absolutley honest so do I once the awning is up! We've been thinking about joining one of the camping/caravan clubs but couldn't decide which one to join. Where have you been? We are in the Merseyside area and our local site is in Banks, Southport... perfect as it is only 40 mins drive! We have had a few problems trying to get the van level sometimes and the nightly changing of the dining table into a bed can be quite a battle when the kiddies are tired.

What sites have you been to? .

The fact that you get access to all the CL sites by joining the Caravan Club does appeal as they are 5 caravans max and as long as they have a flushy loo for the solids thats fine for me .

Hi Skribble, what are the CL sites?

Certified Locations - at their most basic, a farmer's field with a cold water tap, at their poshest - heated shower block and electric hookup. Prices start at around £3 per night, maximum of 5 vans at any one time (although has anyone noticed how many fields owned by different people are very close together ). They're only available to CC members, whereas the main CC sites are open to non-members as well (I think).

I think the Camping and Caravan Club do their own version too, sounds more like my kind of site than the big all singing all dancing ones, but a heated shower block sounds good, as I like to wash my hair everyday.

Oh, thanks for that. The last site we went to was in the Lake District, it was called Limefitt in Bowness - absolutely beautiful site but now we have a puppy we arn't allowed .

Browny - agree with you about the awning! It's like a giant kids' playpen, and perfect if the weather is a bit iffy (like this past weekend!).
The CLs are great, but agree with Skribble that it's best to find one with shower block/loo etc. DH likes it too, as he doesn't have to deal with the caravan loo so often!
The big Caravan Club sites we've been to include Clumber Park (Notts), Sandringham (Norfolk), Ferry Meadows (Cambs). They all have great facilities. If you join the Caravan Club you get a book which lists all their sites, including the CLs - and it tells you which ones have loos!
If you ever head for the Cotswolds, try a site called Hoburne Cotswolds, near Cirencester. It has indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor play areas, child-friendly cafe, shop and laundrette - perfect! We did have one or two problems levelling the van there tho' - they have strange half-Tarmac pitches. DH looks on it as a challenge!

PIL have a no solids in the caravan loo rule, even though they have a cassette toilet which is apparently easier to deal with ????

Birdly, thanks for the tips on sites, the one in the Cotswolds sounds wonderful! We'll be going away in the school holidays and I'll be a bag of nerves until we get there. My dh has only towed the caravan a few times and on all those few occasions we've had problems - things like when he's took a wrong turn and have had to try and find somewhere wide enough to turn the van around - we've held up traffic and even disrupted a wedding when we had to unhook the van and manually turn it around in a very posh hotel's car park! The manager appeared, told us he had a wedding party who wanted to take photos in their grounds but they couldn't until we had moved our van!! I just asked if he had any vacancies to stay the night and ordered a brandy for my nerves!!.

Browny - yeah, it's a bit scary at times, especially if you don't know where you're going. The wedding drama sounds like a complete nightmare - I'd have needed a brandy, too! Funny to look back on though (from a great distance!)!
We find it tricky when we're towing and DD says she needs a wee - it's not like you can just stop anywhere with a caravan on the back, and she can't hold on for very long yet! We were really 'lucky' a few weeks ago when we went away: DS threw up down his top just a few seconds before we saw a sign for an HGV lorry park - excellent timing, pulled into the lorry park and got sorted out.
My top tip at services is to park in the lorry park - all too often they direct caravans into the main car park and you end up taking up about 4 spaces and getting lots of dirty looks from non-'vanners