Campervan Regret

[BoomVan]

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.
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So I'm confessing to you all as I absolutely cannot tell DP after all the work he did.

Is he doing the forward planning/list making/ packing etc? Maybe if you do a bit less of the prep he might be less keen?

Can you have a look to see how much it might be worth now your DH has done the work? If it has increased the value, you could casually drop it into conversation to set the seed... A few weeks later start testing the waters about how eventually it might be nice to upgrade to a caravan, so you get all the benefits of the campervan plus the bonus of a car for day trips (even if you don't actually want a caravan, it gives a chance to gauge his opinion).

Like a PP, we bought a folding camper as an upgrade to our old tent. We didn't want to be without our car for days out and don't have space to store a caravan (the folding camper fits in the garage), so the camper is a good compromise. It's quicker to set up than our old tent arrangement despite us still being much less practiced with it, and has all the comforts of a campervan.

Nope absolutely can't fault him. He packs all week ready for the weekend and I just get involved towards the end and still moan!

I think one weekend with good weather could keep me going a bit longer. We've not had many warm weekends yet.

I would say ours is semi converted actually. It doesn't have a kitchen in it as despite it's size there isn't masses of space after the beds, extra passenger seats, boot and so on. We have an awning that becomes a kitchen. I would say the bits that are done are high spec but it's more a bedroom/lounge really...

Why does it take a week to pack?

Someone may have already suggested this but could you rent it out?

We bought a vw last year and I converted most of it then DH has built the kitchen. We don't have young kids anymore though so it's just us two and it seems quite hassle free but it's smaller than yours. When we had young kids we had a caravan. Much easier with kids. Not as trendy though eh?

We have a caravan and are currently debating whether we want to buy a newer one and continue. The holidays are very relaxing, but we've had rodent squatters over winter and not sure if it's worth the work involved.

Loads of our friends seem to be buying campervans, but it's not for us for the very reasons that you describe op. The only way I would do it was if we had one of those super campers with a small car stowed away. Not going to happen.

I should add that it's just the two of us, so no children to consider now.

Ours isn't huge (long wheel base high top Fiat van) but when we go away it is generally for the walking anyway and a couple of miles to the bus stop or station is OK for us. Once it's set up inside (kettle and toaster out, internal water tank full, toilet set up etc.) we just don't want to move it. We haven't been anywhere so totally remote we couldn't do this. DH always wants to be within walking distance of a pub anyway although that isn't a factor for me.

There are NO buses that go where we want to be. Walking a couple of miles to a bus stop isn’t the issue. There is no bus stop at the bottom of mountains in Scotland. Some are so remote they require 10 miles of a walk in, over remote wilderness before one even begins to climb. I’d be looking for a van to tuck in somewhere in the vicinity to get an early start. There are no bus stops…in some locations there’s barely a road. Getting the bus is fine if you’re on the beaten track. I don’t think you realise how remote our destinations are. I think we are different types of walker.
We do occasionally use mountain bikes.

Sell it and move on. It is really restricting to live in your home when on holiday as you can’t easily go anywhere driving distance away. Must ruin the holiday imo unless you are happy just hanging out in the camping site of course and regularly on the move. You must have increased the value with the work done?

I think you will need to be quick to catch the turning tide. Even now there are so many vans up for sale. It seems the crazy lockdown van purchasing is definitely over and people are now getting rid of the ones they have bought and regretted or just want to use the cash go abroad again, (bit like lockdown puppies! ☹️)

We have a ducato based van, (luckily bought before all the van life thing of the last couple of years, and I think that if we sold it now , we'd get more than we paid for it, that may be worth thinking about OP). It did take some getting used to driving in narrow roads ( but we have plenty where we live to practice in) but I am so much more confident in it now, especially after taking it out on my own . Tbh I am more wary driving it in towns now.
After a few trips out we invested in folding electric bikes which have been a game changer..
We now dont move the van once its on site..
Currently in Cornwall, and its lovely here today ....

I was telling people last autumn that it was the prime time to bag a bit of second hand quality camping gear for a song. With everyone using their week-in-the-sun budget to kit themselves out for their British camping holiday, going once and realising they hate camping, Gumtree was bursting with bargains.

I see a fair amount of two year old Collie dogs on there as well.

Surely the arguing kids is the problem not the van?
Don't go when it's cold or rainy. We go to our caravan for both May bank holidays, have done for 18 years. Went this Easter it was lovely, but previously haven't gone at Easter because Last time we did it pissed down endlessly and normally Easter is a bit too cold for our liking. We are fair weather campers. With wine.

Or, just tell him. And sell.

I agree with Trixiefixer, all the covid buyers are now realising there is hard work involved, trying to sell abs there's an abundance of vans for sale now.

The neighbours tow a small car behind them so they can leave the van on-site. Is that an option?

We converted a van pre-covid and love it! It's a lwb boxer. There are three things that make it viable: 1. A really comfy bed - a big slab of deep memory foam. 2. A set of everything you need that stays permanently in the van, bedding, kitchen stuff, towels, toiletries, coffee etc even down to crayons and colouring books etc for the kids. 3. Get confident driving it, we have taken ours down the tiniest lanes in Scotland and various islands. There's no way to do that other than drive it more. I drive mine to work which has greatly improved my confidence.

Converting a van is no mean feat, you should be really proud you've done it - lots of people talk about it but never do it!

Couldn't tow, our car isn't that small. We don't stay on site the entire time, we drive lots. But theres things where we've thought we don't know what we could be driving into and decided against visiting, that we wouldn't have thought twice about with a car. To the PP asking about Scotland - we've done plenty of roads there where the road has just disappeared and kept going which is fine! Worry more when it's england and busier - if you have to turn back and there's a queue of people behind you while you're attempting a 90 point turn!

My DP isn't too bothered about the money. I don't think it's reached the end of life for him yet but reckon by next year he'll have similar feelings of dread. If we've missed the boat in terms of market value then it's not too big a deal as it was never intended to be a money spinner.

I have been researching more kid friendly places to visit now and have a few destinations in my sights that we could all enjoy. Kind of looking forward to it!

I'd wait until their next argument and then suggest to your partner that it isn't working for the kids and that you both need to look at options.

OK but I don't think the OP is doing that. What you do is not what I do and vice versa and what the OP needs is probably different from either of us.

Where do you live op? It sounds like it’s the day trips out that need the van that are spoiling things.

if you could arrive, park up and not need to move it until you’re heading home would things be more enjoyable?

Somewhere like Pembrey Country Park would be perfect. There’s so much to do without needing to drive.

Our motorhome needs some serious work done to it....dh and l have decided we will get it done and sell it. Fucking thing causes more arguments and brings nothing but misery! It is so juicy on fuel and camp sites just aren't very cheap so after all running costs, we have decided we would rather stay in hotels. Kept saying oh but dd loves it but actually she pointed out yesterday our shoe cupboard at home is neither than the bathroom and she prefers her bedroom to the van and would rather be at home!
Can't wait to get rid now.

We’ve just had an offer on our Camper van, hooray it’s going……….DC no longer what to come away, they are off doing their own thing, we’ve had 6 years of some fab times, mainly down in South of France and Northern Spain, didn’t enjoy UK getaways so much, as I’m a fair weather camper & miserable when it’s wet and cold. Also I’m back working full time and just don’t have the energy to plan and pack up for weekends. It was fun at the time, sad to see her ago, but looking forward to all the city breaks with hotels we’ve got planned with DC.

I’ve had a rare selection of campervans over the years.
now got a mk2 transit autosleeper.
perfect for what we want. Pop top roof so fits in car parks. It’s shorter than a BMW estate car.
40 years old so only costs £150 to keep on the road a year. But you do need to be able to do your own maintenance as I found out the one time I took it to a garage and the mechanic had never worked on a carburettor before.
yeah it’s a pain in the butt fitting everything in but almost got that down to a fine art. Even leave the bed half made up once we’re away and go out for a day.