Caravan holiday with three young children - am I crazy?

[3littleowls]

Hello! New to Mumsnet although a longtime lurker. Hoping some experienced caravan owners can help me out with making a decision on whether to buy a caravan for family holidays. I have three young children (5, 3 and almost 1). We have always loved the idea of owning a caravan and family holidays but is it realistic with this range of ages? Would a 5 berth be best or could we get away with a 4 berth for three years while the youngest is in a cot? We were thinking the youngest could go in a travel cot between our beds but don’t know if this would work. Any advice and has anyone made it work? What have been the biggest challenges for you with young children and caravans and how have you overcome them? Appreciate all experience and pros and cons!

Thank you so much @normalmumandwife, @ODFOx and @Funf for all your views. I’ve been on a big research mission the past few days as we’re really keen on the whole idea now. @normalmumandwife I know exactly what you mean about how sought after 6 berth ones are. I’m narrowing the layout down and ready to keep an eye out for used caravans. It’s a whole new world but I’m enjoying the escape in my ideas for the summer and weekends away...once lockdown ends of course...

Its worth doing some research on Damp in Caravans so you know how to look for it.
If you are good at DIY possibly buy an older caravan to try it out then save up for a better one?
Make sure you see everything working before you buy and make sure you have a jack and spare wheel, make sure any breakdown cover you have covers caravans, it all sound a lot but its simple stuff, the kids will love it.
What part of the country are you in?

I think that’s a really good idea @Funf to
buy an older one first to try it out before committing a lot of money. Also means I won’t be so worried about mud and marks on all the upholstery!

We’re in East Anglia, so the hope is we can also use it for a night’s stay at weekends in Norfolk and Suffolk, plus do some longer holidays further afield.

One thing that’s still puzzling me is how to provide somewhere to sleep for our baby (almost 1). We have a baby Bjorn travel cot but I think it may be a little big to fit in the caravan as it would block the middle of the caravan. We’re not good at co-sleeping as our baby is so fidgety and I can’t sleep. Maybe one of those Koo di bubble cots between the single beds? Has anyone solved this one for their baby and caravan?

Geta plastic tray to leave shoes in leave it under the caravan in the day time to keep mud out, it isn't for ever one and as some one said to me on our first trip " Your kids have had as much fun in your £150 caravan as the kids in the 10K one" Ours where older when we started, I have seen people just block the walk ways but its not ideal, have a look on a few Facebook caravanning groups as I am certain some one will have a great idea we haven't thought of, usually the Lounge bed is massive could you not partition it off some how?

Check what your car will tow and fuel consumption can be eyewatering low .
A cheap weekend away can can cost a fortune if your cars only doing if 20 mpg
as for damp we used to run a dehumidifer in our for a day when we got home to dry it out.

Thanks @Funf for the tip for the muddy shoes - sounds easy and effective. The lounge bed might work actually. It’ll be a short term problem to solve as DD will hopefully be able to sleep in a bed with a portable bed rail in about 18months.

That’s so true @rwalker about fuel consumption. Our car is a bluemotion type so hopefully that will help. Also means we have to go for a lighter weight of 6 berth caravan as well. Lots of costs to weigh up. Like the idea of the dehumidifier. Did you have a mains powered one or battery type? The place I’m thinking of storing the caravan doesn’t have electric to the pitches so we’d need a non mains powered one.

@3littleowls

If a caravan is damp, it means that the seals have failed and reality is that the repairs will be either extremely expensive or the caravan will be fit for scrap. Use if a dehumidifier will be useless and not solve the creating rot that it will suffer.

Any prospective purchase....get it inspected by a NCC approved engineer.

No we had mains dehumidifier. The caravan wasn't damp itself it was just to make sure it was dried out after using it .

I’ll look into that - thank you @Sunflowergirl1. Damp sounds to be the biggest problem for caravans I’ve read about so far.

Thank you @rwalker - it’s that same use I’m thinking of. How to dry it out a bit after use as it can’t fit on our drive so will need to sit on a storage pitch for a week or so between us dropping it back from a trip away and then going back in to properly tidy etc

We first took our little one away in a 2berth caravan, using a Sun Essentials Pop-up Travel Cot placed on the double bed. Little one slept fine, and the cot folded right down to a small bag, and we could use it on the beach or grass too as it offered UV protection.

I'd just check size of bed and pop up cot or could be a tight squeeze!

Later on we swapped to 4 berth van and used a rolled up spare quilt under a strechy bottom sheet with spare cushions from dinette to make a high bumper on the edge that they rolled into but never over!!

Caravanning is great fun, just needs a bit of planning.

Hi OP.

We have a 6 bed tourer and our DC are now 11 & 13 and doing everything they can not to come on holiday with us this year. However we have had 5 years of lovely caravan holidays with them.

We have a double bed that remains permanently up at the back with sheets on - when the kids were little they slept on bunks above, now they are older they have a blackout tent each in the giant awning. I DO NOT convert the front seats - that way madness lies. If someone wants to come in from the awning they have to sleep on the sofa with the dog!

We keep ours on a seasonal pitch all year round in Cornwall, we are allowed to leave it all year and never have to move pitch.

It is important to get 'fully serviced' so that you have your own constant water supply and grey water drain, meaning you can keep the hot water coming all the time without having to roll your water butt to collect and dispose of water. A holiday does not involve rolling a water butt.

We also have coffee machine/steamer, flat screen internet tv which we connect to our phone hotspot, some games etc. As we leave it there, we have a storage shed with the awning, wetsuits, body boards etc. at the back of the van.

We also have a thick feather matress topper for the main bed, as well as feather pillows and white cotton sheets. There is absolutely no need for standards to drop whilst sleeping in a field!

We 'pimped' our van, stripped out all the brown and beige, painted it white and grey, put faux oak flooring, stick on 'metro' tiles behind the sink and heatproof white paint around the whole kitchen. We had navy cushions covers made and put those star curtains in the ones that are a bit cath kidston'y.

And the most important point is - no poos in the chemical toilet.

OOh and if you do go ahead and take the plunge, your most important items in the caravan will be a roll of duct tape and a multitool knife!

Our spare dropped out from under the caravan on the a34, we only knew as we were making sparks from the spares frame which was dragging on the road. DH used a roll of duct tape to hold it up until it could be fixed!

Ah that’s interesting @Robinonaspade - I had been researching those pop up cots this afternoon and so it’s really good to know how it can work. Thank you for the tip with the bumper and sheet - fab idea.

Thank you also @actiongirl1978 for all those fantastic tips! Right, so sounds like a fully serviced pitch is a great idea. I’m with you - rolling a water barrel is not for holidays! Love the idea of all the little luxuries you mention. Will definitely invest in a mattress topper and coffee machine. Great idea with the season pitch as well! I can see that working for us.

I think I’ve seen a 6 berth tourer that can work! The side dinette converts into two bunks and then there are two bunks at the rear and a lounge area at the front. No separate shower cubicle but I’m not sure how much we’d use the shower in reality. I’m going to Google all the caravan pimping ideas now you’ve mentioned them @actiongirl1978 - love the dream and yours sounds amazing!

We bought one 5 years ago, thinking we would use it a lot, but in reality we found that it's actually not as easy as we thought. It was great once we had arrived wherever we were going (we keep in on hard standing that we put down in our small field). But packing it perfectly so the weight is just right, towing it and parking it, looking after all the electrics/gas/waterworks aren't exactly what you would think of as a 'holiday' and more often than not we've gone abroad or rented a cottage for our main holiday, just using the van for smallish breaks here and there. Now our boys (13 and 11) are outgrowing the bunk beds and don't want to sleep out in a tent so we're in the process of selling it. I would definitely say they're for young children or couples. Also I'll be glad not to have it parked at home - they are an eyesore! Oh, and we paid £10k and it's now worth about £5k so it's worth remembering that the cost of your annual total holiday would need to include that £1k depreciation.

Agree, agree, agree about the mover - especially with little children - husband can play with the remote control while you look after the DC. And also the air beam awnings.

We ended up with 2 fixed singles at rear but our children were older when we bought and they sleep in the awning (has attached bedrooms) or they make up the lounge bed if it’s just one of them.

I’m always buying my caravan little presents - we use those plastic shoe boxes in the overhead lockers, makes the space more usable. I’m also always on the lookout for small versions of kitchen utensils etc. so they don’t take up so much space. We take a tv, make sure the site has WiFi and we have lots of games in our lockers (again, travel versions)

Our youngest is about to fly the nest so it’ll be just the 2 of us from now on and we can be set up in an hour. Some good points from @AlwaysLatte though

I would disagree about the water barrel - fully serviced pitches are more expensive and get booked quickly - it really is no problem to do the water with the barrel - we probably only do it once a day.

I used to have a caravan but the hassle of towing it and setting up was too much.
In normal times I collect the sun savers vouchers and book cheap get always in static vans. Much easier and cheaper

Thank you @NotSorry, @candlemasbells and @AlwaysLatte for your thoughts. Feeling slightly nervous about the warnings about the faff element with setting up as we’ve gone and taken the plunge and put down a deposit and due to complete the sale soon. We don’t mind some faff too much, so long as the end result is worth it. We’ve gone for a 6 berth Bailey Pageant and quite an old one so hopefully that will minimise the depreciation aspect. I do like the idea of buying my caravan presents too @notsorry . I can see that becoming a hobby for me! My two eldest are already planning out their bunk spaces and what cuddly toys they’ll bring. We’ve got an air awning in with the sale too. No motor mover yet... But I’m taking onboard all the advice for that part. Thank you to you all on this thread - it’s been hugely helpful for tips and perspective.

We regularly toured with a van and trailer tent and 4 kids when they were under 13. They loved it. We spent hardly any time inside the van, mostly on the parks or in the huge awning. It's all about prep and to be honest how fun you make it. Any experience can be rubbish if you are not in great company, are with someone with high expectations of what will happen, or have no imagination to play games with tired kids in the car or haven't planned for nearby indoor activities in case of bad weather etc.

We’ve got setting up down to a fine art - don’t worry, you’ll love it! It’s very exciting

Thank you, thank you @Jobsharenightmare and @NotSorry! That was just the kind of encouraging replies I needed - especially this week when we’ve just finished the sale and were in the eeeek what have we done phase! Now I’m down to the details of what to put in it and I’ve started a new thread for advice and tips: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/camping/4208347-Little-things-to-help-a-touring-caravan-holiday?msgid=106106783

I’m so touched by all the time everyone has taken on this thread to reply to my question. Massive thank you!

Good for you. Enjoy!

Hi @3littleowls - great thread and it really relates to my current situation too. A lot of my questions have been answered reading through here.

We are really undecided whether to go for a caravan or a static, or whether it's a good idea at all. We would also need to change our car to one that can tow if we went for the caravan option so there is a lot to think about.

I'd love to know how you are getting on with your caravan? Have you managed to venture out much?

Hi @littlegold! Yes! We’re several months in now to owning our own touring caravan (went for a 6 berth Bailey Pageant Bretagne 2007) which we tow with our VW Touran. It’s within the safe towing limits but recommend doing a thorough check on the car and caravan match before buying either because we found it surprising what is a good match and what isn’t. Some caravan dealers will run a check for you on their system.

So, all in all we’re really pleased we’ve bought the caravan and we’re embarking on a big trip with it over the holidays and can’t wait. However, it has been a massive learning curve and I think it’s good to be prepared for that. There’s a lot to learn (unless you’ve got knowledge already or grew up caravanning). We are/were novices and this holiday will be another step forward. It works well for our children right now - 1, 3 and 6 years old. The 1 year old sleeps in a small travel cot in the dinette area and the other two are in fixed bunks at the rear. We sleep at the front on the double and there’s the toilet opposite the dinette almost. We have an air awning which doubles our living space and is easy to put up. We’ve managed to make do for now without installing a motor mover. It took me a few months to properly kit out the caravan but now we feel like we have a second home on wheels. That was an upfront expense. Also the B+E qualification on my husband’s license - that was about £800 to have lessons plus take the test. Not everybody needs to do that if they are already allowed to tow on their license, but we didn’t have it on either and currently only my husband can tow the caravan. We’ve loved our two long weekends so far and hoping to do more. It’s definitely a commitment to own and run a caravan but hoping it will even out over time to some great family adventures. I would pick a touring caravan over a static one for the freedom it gives but can also see the appeal of static homes. Let me know if you have any other questions about our beginner experience so far!

Hey @3littleowls Oh brilliant!! It's great to hear you're getting some use out of your caravan and you feel it's been the best decision for you.

I'm a complete novice too. We've been thinking about a static for a couple of years just for the convenience of them really, but the idea of being able to explore different camp sites/ different areas in a caravan is rather appealing.

I have a 2.5 year old and a 3 month old, so it's just working out what will suit us as a young family. Are your children enjoying the caravan life?

Ahh yeah my partner will also need to complete the towing course and test, it's all these things that add up, but I guess once it's paid for and passed then that's it forever then.

We are thinking of swapping our car to a Kia Sportage. We've spoken to a caravan salesman and he said it's a good option and it will tow well so we are going to view one over the weekend. I think we will have to do it all in stages though as I'm on mat leave at the moment.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. I really appreciate it xx