Caravan or motorhome?

[MsMiaWallace]

We have a 6 berth caravan that we love for our family.
I'm interested to hear what others prefer?

I'm told that motor homes can be quite limiting but you don't need to tow.

Noise when travelling just doesn't happen if you pack correctly. I am not talking about wrapping every plate etc in bubble wrap but just simple measures like making sure thinks can't move. Ours is a 6-birth and noise is certainly NOT an issue.
That said, I was with a friend in their 4-birth once and the noise was terrible. So much so that I helped them re-load the cupboards and the difference was both immediate and remarkable. I think they had just been turning up the radio to drown the noise!

With regards to height barriers I am not certain about an App (probably is as there seems to be for everything else these days!) but we just work it ourselves and make mental note for next time.

I've got a VW campervan, the downside is you don't have a second vehicle, if you want to leave a site you have to go in the van.
Usually we take the awning down (attached to the van) and leave our set up in situ, chairs, table etc, kinda marking our spot or a new arrival will take your space while you're gone.
The upside is no towing, everything is with you, you can pull over and pop in the back if you want a wee, pull into a lay-by or the side of the road for a break without causing havoc because it's the size of a normal large van.
You're totally contained, it's fast, it'll go anywhere, it's easily manoeuvrable, we've been over some rough terrain without any issues.
It's easy to drive and park which is great for long journeys as you can swap drivers, even not confident drivers.
As for what a pp said we've never had a problem with caravanners or motorhome owners, in fact I've been invited inside, for a nosey, in more motorhomes and caravans than I could possibly count and have returned the invite, most people are just out to enjoy themselves.
I'd go for a motorhome especially if it has a shower and a working toilet (my van doesn't, we wee in a lidded bucket)😂

We had a caravan for ten years and loved every minute of it. It meant we could take so much of the children's things on holiday (packing for a flight now is a shock when you can't just chuck everything in!) and the freedom on camp sites is fantastic especially for the children.
I don't know if wet would have done as much travelling from the camp site if we'd had a motorhome because of how much would need packing up just for a journey.
Our caravans have been great as well because when the children were younger, their bedroom area could be closed off and adults didn't feel obliged to go to bed at the same time.

For our motorhome I use the Search for Sites app, both for finding places to overnight and to park in daytime. Height barriers are a pain, but most tourist locations have an alternative for larger vehicles. On some bits of the UK coast though the car parks suitable for taller vehicles are becoming scarcer. A height barrier is seen as a cheap solution to prevent overnighting.

There are other apps, but SfS is the go-to app for everyone I know with a campervan or motorhome.

Thanks @DogInATent that is very helpful.

You need to pick your VW Camper carefully, most barriers are 2 metres high. A converted VW Campervan will have had the roof altered and maybe over this height, depends on conversion. A factory fit VW Campervan, the California is under 2 metre, it’s something to think about if you are going to use as a daily drive.

I have owned tents, a touring caravan, a static caravan and a motorhome, as others have said, it’s down to the type of holiday you like.

Caravan if you want to head somewhere, pitch up for a long weekend or more and tour the area by car. It is great once you are there but a pain en route setting up for a single night, but once you have a routine not too bad.

We actually reverted to a tent for warmer European destinations after a while and used cheap hotels en route for overnight stops then pitched up when we arrived somewhere we wanted to stay for a week or so. By far the most flexible option.

Motorhome if you are heading somewhere where you want to either just sit outside and relax on site or are happy to plan carefully where you go and do things within walking/cycling distance or you are right by good public transport. It’s great for long distance travel, you can pull up in a lay-by, turn the gas on and relax. We found large European lakes good places to stay as there are usually cycle paths and ferries to help you explore.

For UK weekends we found the Motorhome better than the caravan as most sites want you to leave at 11am on a Sunday. As we usually arrived after work on a Friday night, we were within two hours’ drive of home so with the caravan you only really had Saturday to explore. With the Motorhome and some planning you could find somewhere to visit on Sunday before heading home. Coach parks often allow Motorhomes and if you call ahead and ask at National Trust places they can be helpful about parking.

With kids I think caravan. Trying to herd a family to walk to the supermarket and carry provisions back sounds like hell. Many places have height barriers that mean you can’t park a Motorhome.

Of course if you are considering a Motorcaravan you have to consider weight (which can have a significant impact on the size of the vehicle you can drive).
Many younger & older (70+) drivers may not have the C1 licence necessary to drive a Motorcaravan over 3500kg (fully loaded with passengers, clothes, food, water etc) and have to apply for it. If you want to go away with the family (and everything a family wants on holiday) you need to take this into account.

We are lucky that both of us have a C1 licence and can drive our 4250kg motorcaravan.

The same goes for cars / caravans which have there own weights and towing limits.

Caravan for me. New to it this year after years of camping. Motorhomes aren't big enough with two Labradors and we leave site every day for most of the day to sight see etc and would prefer a car to do that.

Wow! Judgemental or what!!
We've had a caravan for 19 years and I'd be interested to know whst 'type' of people you think we are!

HookeyWookey29 I was reading the thread and thinking the exact same thing.

What are these kind of people like?

I was shocked to see this message
Probably is reflective of you more than the people who tow vans
Think about it
Xx

We had a caravan when the kids were still at home. I don’t think a campervan would have been as convenient, or comfortable on long trips to France/italy.

Now they’ve left home, we have a campervan.

Me too. Here I am sitting with DH in our caravan in South Wales this morning drinking our organic coffee we brought with us, halfway through our holiday.

We are both degree educated, I also have a master's degree; we're both in professional tech jobs.

We travelled independently for our holidays for years, backpacking in Asia, US, Europe. Now we're doing something different and spending time travelling in the UK.

We've averaged 20km hikes each day, coastal walks this week, moving to a new site today for Brecon Beacons hikes.

Our caravan is tiny, a bit different from the usual, but still a caravan.

We find people very friendly on the campsites, both motorhome and caravan owners.

Are we these kind of people? And would we somehow be more interesting if we'd chosen a motorhome, which wouldn't actually be practical for us?

I was smiling at the snooty anti caravan comment, thinking they sounded like someone you wouldn’t want to be next to!

We had a caravan for ten years. We rarely went to a conventional site, more for events we were attending, so we were usually in stately home’s deer parks. We loved the room (we had two labs) and the big windows - which just doesn’t seem the same when you are in a motor home. Also I prefer an actual big settee set up than spinning chairs round from the cab, which often seems the case in a motor home. We often went off in the car too, so it was nice to have everything set up when you got back.

But I do see the advantages of a motor home. When I was a child we toured a lot of Europe in a van my dad converted, and we also took a tent, which we kids slept in, and which got left on site when we went anywhere.

The other off putting thing about motor homes is the price. They’re massively over priced. My husband is a mechanic and winces at the state of some of the older ones, yet they’re still £10k.

I can see this is quite an old thread, but I am wondering what to buy, so am joining.

We need a new family car to replace our ancient Volvo estate- and it would be great to have either a campervan or a caravan. Some vans could double quite well as a family car (we also have a second car, an ancient Honda Jazz which we are also keeping.). So we are wondering whether to get a van or to get a caravan.

Not considering a big white motorhome at the moment.

Our problem is that we are all quite tall, and though there are only 4 of us, we have 6 foot DH and 6 foot DS so finding a caravan with 3 separate beds, 2 of which are 6 foot +, has proved surprisingly hard.

Likewise, the campervan option presents a bed issue, though we could go for 2 double beds and a tent for DS (he has his festival tent now!)

any tips welcome!

If your motor home breaks down , you can't use it . It is easier to use an alternative car , and still be able to use your caravan.

@Netcam , is that a Go Pod? I'd love to have something small I could tow and handle myself instead of being reliant on DP to tow the big 4 berth.

Caravan for me, you could buy a top of the range caravan brand new & still have thousands left over from what you would pay for a motor home. The newer 8 foot wide caravans are like a tardis inside, there is so much space, you don't have to take it everywhere if you want to explore, no battling to find a parking space big enough to park in, you can use your car if you want.

I had a caravan for 10 years, it was our bolthole, ds was a caravaner from birth, we took him for the first time when he was 6 weeks old. We have stayed on sites on racecourses, big commercial sites, CL sites with no facilities, all kinds. We stayed on one site that was at the side of a canal right in the middle of a small town, it was like an oasis, you couldn't imagine you were 5 minutes from shops, McDonalds & Greggs. Some of the time we just left our caravan on a seasonal pitch where we could leave the awning up & everything set up, all we needed to do was plug inthe electrics, sort the water & we were done, we used to pick up ds from school on a Friday, drive to the caravan, I would leave exh to set up while ds & I went to the Chip Shop, by the time we got back, everything was done, the table laid ready for tea & settling down to relax.

I would consider the ease of driving and parking. Do you want to drive a long way? On wide or small roads?
I would choose a small campervan or a small caravan and also take a couple of swags.
Cater for two sleeping comfortably.

For a family of six you would need the seatbelts so I would not buy a massive campervan but a great car and a small caravan/camp trailer with extra swags, food, etc.

Some gooseneck horse floats are not as high nor wide as a campervan and you could hitch to a dual cab tray vehicle.
Also some horse trucks might be cheaper and more narrow than campervans.

Ideally, with four children, I would stay in caravan parks and hostels that are affordable but have great camping facilities.
You could pack light tents/swags and all gear into a comfortable car.

A friend has recently got a quite large motorhome, with a smart car she tows behind.

It's a Trigano Mini Freestyle 290. They are a similar weight to Go Pods with similar dimensions, but have more internal space as they are a different shape. Ours has a really good fridge and a proper washroom with flush toilet.

We also have a fixed water tank, hot water and a shower, although they don't spec them for the UK with those features anymore.

They are imported from France and build them with UK sockets to the spec of the UK importer (where we have it serviced): www.threeshiresleisure.co.uk/new-trigano-caravans/

They sell Go Pods too, so we've seen them inside as we usually have a look around when we go and pick it up. The Go Pods seem really small inside in comparison, partly due to the very small pop top, although still quite cute.

We love it and it fits in our garage, which was a big selling point for us as we wouldn't have otherwise had space at home for it.

I've had both. Caravan for family holidays and then a big motorhome for a lengthy tour of months.

Now... for two of us, I want one of these

globecar.co.uk

Basically a small motorhome but low enough for most places, and a loo/shower.