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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

Original poster

Campervan Regret

69 replies

BoomVan · 06/05/2022 21:23

This is a confession.

DP and I bought a van last year which was meant to be a joint project to convert to a family camper. The reality was that DP converted it alone while I looked after DC as they would get in the way if we both worked on it, plus I'm much less experienced with any DIY.

Anyway DP has put a huge amount of effort, time and (our) money into the conversion and I fucking hate it.

The DC spend the whole break away arguing and we're going away in it all the time because that was the whole point of it. It's too cumbersome to drive to interesting remote places so sometimes we're on a site and just reading about roads to places and then ruling them out. It's costing a fortune as an extra vehicle to run and then these extra breaks away that I don't even find enjoyable. If we don't do them then the van is pointless but because we have the van we can't afford to go on any other type of holiday. Oh and the packing up beforehand - we've improved on this but it still feels like a fuckton of stuff needs to be done beforehand and put in a very exact place to fit it all in. And then afterwards, basically cleaning everything and loading it back up while kidding yourself it will make it easier when you pack up next time.

We have always been campers. One week a year in a tent is great! But not this.
'
So I'm confessing to you all as I absolutely cannot tell DP after all the work he did.

OP posts:
Original poster
BoomVan · 06/05/2022 21:25

#vanlife 🚐

OP posts:
Isitcake · 06/05/2022 21:28

Can one of you take the camper and another take the car so you can go for days out when you get to the site?

FlamingGoat · 06/05/2022 21:31

We take a pop up tent and fire everything into that if we want to go off site for the day. It makes van life so much easier and neater!

summerdrinks · 06/05/2022 21:32

How big is the camper for it to be too big for roads (honest question, not meant to be snarky) and what kind of set up do you have?
Could it just be that you're all learning what you need to take/ where it goes?
We have a caravan and I ended up buying a complete second set of everything to save on the packing/ unpacking.
I also have a list (I'm a massive list girl) of what I need to pack each time and what we forgot previously. The kids get given one plastic box and their school bag - all their stuff much fit into that otherwise their not allowed to take it.
Any spare space, fill it with wine and drink whenever needed!!

MoltenLasagne · 06/05/2022 21:36

Ah OP, I'm so sorry for the stress. Would it make you feel better to know you're not the only one? I've had a couple of friends confess they're feeling obliged to go on camping holidays to justify the van they bought over lockdown. I think its a common problem even if no-one is admitting on Insta #vanlife.

pictish · 06/05/2022 21:42

Interesting thread as I have hankered after a van all my adult life. My parents had one when I was small and have stayed in friends’ vans at festivals and so on. As outdoors pursuitsy people who love camping, I have always felt a van would be a great set up for us.
Dh is far more dubious for reasons you mention…cost, packing, restricted parking and negotiating narrow remote roads. Plus all the maintenance - he isn’t inclined to tinker with engines at all. I’m rather disappointed by his lack of resolve and enthusiasm. Perhaps I need to hear more from the likes of you.

AmberLynn1536 · 06/05/2022 21:45

Camper vans are so in demand you could probably sell it for a good price. Honestly if was you I would just hold my hands up and say the dream is far better than the reality and you just don’t enjoy it, we all make mistakes, sell it, move on and chalk it up to experience.

darlingdodo · 06/05/2022 21:50

We swapped the campervan for a caravan for this very reason - arrive at destination, set up caravan, freedom to go anywhere in the car, no packing up the bed, kettle, unhooking power etc every time you want to go somewhere further than walking distance.

Also, we pared equipment to the absolute bone so we're not continually moving stuff about. Some people seem to require the same stuff on a camping holiday as they have at home - fairy lights, every toy the kids own, fire pits, tea light holders, cake tins 😁. To me, the whole point of a camping holiday is to keep it as simple as possible.

Zazdar · 06/05/2022 21:58

We looked into getting a motor caravan before the whole #vanlife thing erupted. We decided that a trailer camper was a far better option for our needs. We haven’t regretted it.

Furball · 06/05/2022 22:02

I'm sorry op that you found out the hardway with this. Everyone says 'oh a camper is fab you can go on holiday any time you want' - no you can't you've got to do all the chores in your post.

BUT, I looked at the big picture, in that we got away at least once a month even if it was just to a campsite 15-20 miles away for a weekend. We did have good olde fashioned family time and played cards of an evening. We took bikes and cycled off for the morning and after a year or so, we'd go to France for a couple of weeks in the summer.

We did have a lot of fun over the hard chore of it all and you do get into more of a routine with going and what needs to happen to go.

But I totally get you OP - Hopefully it will become easier the more you go

CaptainMyCaptain · 06/05/2022 22:11

We don't have children but go away in our camper van about once a month. Once we are there we don't drive it around but use public transport or walk. You can check on the campsite website if there is a bus stop nearby. The last place we went had a bus stop outside the gate.

If you really don't like it you could sell and make a profit as prices have shot up in the past year. It isn't for everyone I suppose.

Original poster
BoomVan · 06/05/2022 22:27

Thanks all! We can't sell this year, it would be soul destroying for DP. But I won't discount it for next year! Without wanting to sound like a hideous parent, the DC are what make it worse. We had a weekend away in it without them last year and it was great. It was a seaside town rather than a rural place and I'm realizing that could be a factor. We already live rural and I said from the off that I wanted to see more UK cities / towns and bus it into them from some sites I'd seen on the outskirts. But actually we've just been doing countryside camping!

Btw the van isn't huge, we just both feel like we're driving a tank - even a year on!

OP posts:
ExtraordinaryBehaviour · 06/05/2022 22:30

I am also interested to know what you have that can't be driven on scenic roads. Milk tankers get down the most unsuitable roads on route to farms so is it bigger than that?

Get the children involved, have less stuff but if it isn't for you sell now whilst prices are high

pictish · 06/05/2022 22:31

CaptainMyCaptain · 06/05/2022 22:11

We don't have children but go away in our camper van about once a month. Once we are there we don't drive it around but use public transport or walk. You can check on the campsite website if there is a bus stop nearby. The last place we went had a bus stop outside the gate.

If you really don't like it you could sell and make a profit as prices have shot up in the past year. It isn't for everyone I suppose.

What if where you want to go isn’t within walking distance or on a bus route though? This is the case 9/10 times for us. Remote means remote.
I always wanted a wee van that would be easier to manoeuvre around the truly mountainous and remote roads. I don’t think we’d get on with a larger van.

WombatNo12 · 06/05/2022 22:32

Drive it more. We have a Transporter as our main car & I don't think about it being big. Mind you, practically every other vehicle around here is a van now. 😁

pictish · 06/05/2022 22:34

Milk tankers are driven by professional drivers. My dad was such. They don’t let Billy Nextdoor jump in the cab and take off in one of those.
What a daft thing to say.

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 06/05/2022 22:35

I would be a little sneaky - suggest that your DP has a bonding weekend away with his kids, whilst you stay home and do something like paint a bathroom or one of the kids bedrooms. Something sooo much easier to do with everyone out of the way.
He may come to the conclusion that it’s not the right fit holiday wise for the family.
Or you could say the family Budget needs to be shrunk and the van has to go?

JennyForeigner · 06/05/2022 22:35

Haha solidarity OP. We bought one two years ago - it was me who did the conversion though, and then promptly had twins and realized even if we might have used it in future, it wouldn't have been for years.

We didn't manage a single night away and yet I refused point blank to consider selling it after working so hard... until my husband persuaded me to list it just to 'see.'

It sold for twin money for a year. Every painful hour with the chalk paint turned out to be worth £££. Imho your husband will feel better when he realizes just how much... but you will want to explore the market now before foreign holidays are completely normalized again and prices fall 😉

FirstFallopians · 06/05/2022 22:43

but you will want to explore the market now before foreign holidays are completely normalized again and prices fall

100%, this!

Why don’t you test the waters with DP? You might both be waiting for the other one to broach the subject!

ExtraordinaryBehaviour · 06/05/2022 22:52

pictish · 06/05/2022 22:34

Milk tankers are driven by professional drivers. My dad was such. They don’t let Billy Nextdoor jump in the cab and take off in one of those.
What a daft thing to say.

Not really, few vans are milk tanker size, restricting where they go due to size seems odd. Many a campsite are down winding roads and loads of non professional caravan and campervan drivers manage it just fine.

ContactMeFirst · 06/05/2022 22:53

We had one about 10 years ago. We are experienced campers so really thought it would suit us down to the ground. It didn’t! Was just so much hassle to pack up, we barely went away at weekends because the dc had sports stuff and whenever we wanted to go away the sites were shut (over winter) or fully booked (over summer). We kept it 2 years but luckily it didn’t lose any money. And went back to the trusty tent.

Dh and I were talking about retirement travels the other day. All the other mumsnet threads talk about dreams of camper vans. We are dreaming about a tent and a car and the freedom that gives you

artisanbread · 06/05/2022 22:59

We used to have a campervan pre-kods and it was great. Awful once the kids came along and you were all stuck in it so we sold it. How old are your DC? If they are older I would be tempted to keep it so you can look forward to some lovely child-free trips. I do kind of regret selling ours now that the time is approaching when I might enjoy it again. We did need a proper car though. If your DC are still young I would just be honest with DH that you don't enjoy it. If he's done a lot of work on it you could get a decent price for it if you sell it.

artisanbread · 06/05/2022 22:59

pre-kids

Original poster
BoomVan · 06/05/2022 23:02

Eeek I just don't know. He seems sad every weekend we don't go away! Will see how our next weekend goes and try to broach it after a few drinks.

It's a fiat Ducato so bigger than a transporter which I reckon would be ok. I see vans this size all the time with yodel etc but we're just not getting past the wary stage.

OP posts:
WombatNo12 · 06/05/2022 23:16

Ah, it's both bigger & wider & longer then.

I was going to say use it as a day van but yep, size will be an issue.

We're going for our 1st attempt at camping together next week. We've owned a part-conversion, a van & caravan and now a full fat camper & not really managed to camp properly, so I do understand the dilemmas...