Static caravan or tourer

[Rayn]

Which one is better?

We have camped but I am older now and need some home comforts.

We have decided we won't be going abroad again in the next few years so want to buy something we will use about an hour away!
We spend about 4K normally for a weeks holiday abroad and I find it a hassle.

Have done both on holiday as borrowed my sisters tourer and booked statics lots of times!

I am wanting a static as I want to leave work on a Friday and not faff around getting a tourer all ready.
We have three children who will come 13 , 9 and 4.
I know the site fees are expensive but can rent out to family and friends to hopefully cover a lot of it.

Husband veering towards a tourer as thinks statics are expensive. I am not bothered about travelling new places. We have a hectic life and I just want to be able to relax not cramped! I think in a tourer it may be too cramped!

I like going on holiday to the same place as it helps me relax immediately! I used to work in the travel industry and not bothered to see new places.

Please can you hit me with your experiences of either. This will be our holidays for the next five years which I am happy with.

Everyone putting me off statics due to the cost and site fees but we are not doing it for that reason. It's more for lifestyle!

How about a large tourer with a seasonal pitch? I have friends who do this and have a new pitch each year. You also have the choice of moving elsewhere for a week or so if wanted.
If you have an awning you can leave it set up and then just go for a weekend?

We have a Motorhome and love the freedom. Can go anywhere and if we don’t like it we move somewhere else. Very little hassle on arrival in setting up and we have been all over France and the UK in it.

For statics, as well as the site fees, check the T&C. A lot of sites only allow sales through them, you essentially buy the unit from the site or using them as an agent, and can only sell through them... they get commission of course. And some have rules about rentals- they don’t allow it.

I'd do a tourer with a seasonal pitch too. Then you have the flexibility to move sites as the kids get older and want different things, or take it somewhere else for a holiday, rather than having it close enough to pop to for the weekend.
Seasonal pitch means you can have a big awning that you leave set up, and the older kids can sleep in there or a pup tent

We have a tourer. Last year we booked a seasonal pitch on a site 20 minutes from our door. It was fab. We still took it away for a week to a different site but had lots of weekends at the seasonal pitch near home too. So best of both worlds. We hadmve an awning and left it set up all season so we had plenty of space.
The summers before last we have not had the seasonal pitch and travelled to different sites.
This summer we would have put it back on the seasonal pitch but obviously that's not going to happen

You have to have incredibly deep pockets for a static IME. How often will you use it? Do the dc often have weekend commitments that would mean they don't want to go?
I think pp suggestion of a tourer on a seasonal pitch is a good one.

You have to have incredibly deep pockets for a static IME.

I agree with this.

We've looked at a static in the past but for the cost of just the site fees we could have gone away for the equivalent of 2 weekends every month through somewhere like Hoseasons or even a cheapish hotel. Not the same as having your own place though. If I win the lottery I will have a static at the coast as a 'bolt hole' but it will be with the knowledge that it's never going to be an investment.

Also check the T&Cs. A lot of parks won't let you move pitch unless you upgrade your caravan and you may have to buy/sell exclusively through them.

Definitely a tourer. I can’t think of anything more boring than going to a static caravan in the same place every time. Part of the fun of camping is the adventure of exploring new places.

I have a static and absolutely adore it. The site fees for us are £2k+vat a year. That includes water. Electric gets billed separately, and the cooker and heating run off bottled gas which we pay for as and when - we used less than a bottles worth last year. The amount of use the caravan gets during the year makes it well worth it. There are t&cs as have been stated above (we can only buy or sell through the site), and we aren't allowed to rent it out for cash (although we wouldn't anyway, we happily let friends and family use it for nothing). We bought ours quite cheaply (it was 20 years old but immaculate. You just have to be sure, with a static, that you love the area. I'd happily live in mine of I could.

The site I am looking at has fees of 3500.

Joined a Facebook group and sites are still charging full fees even though people can't go.

Tourer it is! Thanks

For me its a no brainer, statics loose so much money, as mentioned above large tourer on a static pitch, I know of some one who bought a massive hobby and had it delivered to a seasonal pitch as they only have a small car, when he wants to move he will just pay some one to move it

On the face of it, from what you say a static makes sense. But, yes you need deep pockets which will continue. Many sites only allow you to keep them ten years and then insist you buy a new one. Selling and buying has to be done via the site at inflated prices, although you can go second hand with a reduced period before you replace. Ongoing rates and site fees add to this.

I have a couple of mates who had them. You really have to use them a lot to make it financially viable. They found going on a weekend with kids tricky due to household jobs and kids football etc.....

Both ended up selling theirs after 3 years ish..They said they were bored with going to the same place and now both bought tourers and also use them for their main holiday travelling Europe. Tourers tend to hold value reasonably although they are forecast to be in huge demand due to CV

Some excellent advise