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.

They do look really good. If we had gone for a motorhome instead it would have been something like this. But we couldn't justify the cost. We got a brand new car and our brand new caravan for about half the price of one of these.

DH & I are venturing into the world of campervan/motorhomes. We are renting a Pilote p262d as that is the only one available at a very reasonable price near where we live. I’d have liked to have rented a Fiat Ducato Adria twin sport or a campervan like that but as we leave everything to the last minute we have the Pilote!
We are in France and will be heading south. Friends have recommended the park4night app. French passion too looks interesting but I think it’s too late to join before the trip as I think one needs the book.
I have a foldable electric bike so hopefully will be able to zip around on that.
Downside of the rental is there isn’t anything inside so will have to bring everything with us from home.
It’ll be an interesting experiment.
For those of you experienced motorhomers how do you stop everything rattling around? I’ve taken the anti slip mats from our boat and the cutlery, plates etc. Do you take glasses or china mugs? My morning tea won’t be the same in a little plastic mug!!
I like the idea of the shower/ toilet on board but dh and friends have said using it for more than having a pee is not on. Not sure that will work for me. Is it revolting emptying the canister?
Also if you leave your MH/CV and go off for the day what do you do with your valuables? I’m used to a safe in the hotel room or locking everything up on a yacht.

I had a little Freedom caravan for several years, which I loved, but, having some physical disabilities and mobility issues, I found the whole hitching up, levelling etc rather hard work. I bought a small van, which I started to use as a micro camper for festivals with friends and found it much easier, so made the decision to sell the caravan earlier this year, as 18yo da didn't want to camp anymore and it seemed a faff for just me. I'm now hankering after a slightly bigger van though! However, after spending a week in my van recently, I really missed the caravan, as couldn't easily nip out anywhere (have an awning attached to the side, so would mean packing up completely), so wouldn't rule out having another caravan at some point!

For those of you experienced motorhomers how do you stop everything rattling around? I’ve taken the anti slip mats from our boat and the cutlery, plates etc. Do you take glasses or china mugs? My morning tea won’t be the same in a little plastic mug!!

We take proper mugs, proper glasses, wine glasses, and normal plates and cutlery. Take lots of extra tea towels and use them to pack around the crockery. Things rattle, you'll get used to it,

I like the idea of the shower/ toilet on board but dh and friends have said using it for more than having a pee is not on. Not sure that will work for me. Is it revolting emptying the canister?

There are some funny folk about. Use your loo for whatever you need to use it for. It's not a pleasant job, but neither is it unpleasant. Our rule is the first person that uses it for something more than a pee does the next empty, otherwise it's something we take in turns. If you're staying on aires your onboard facilities will likely be your only facilities. In France, you should be using aires as well as campsites for the full experience.

Get the Search For Sites app as well as P4N, sometimes one has better coverage than another in an area. I generally use S4S and always update it with reviews and add new stops if we find them.

@DogInATent, we tend to empty the toilet in the morning before we go out for the day after we've both used it. We always use it for everything. Prefer it to using the campsite toilets. It's fine to empty, you get used to it, definitely better if you don't leave it all day.

Thank you @DogInATent & @Netcam .

It's a lot easier to empty after 20 miles or so, once things have broken up a bit.

I bought a 2 berth touring van on a whim.
We are complete newbies.
We have a lovely second home on the coast which we have always enjoyed holidaying in all year round, but I have always been wistful about the idea of packing up and taking off in a little tin can.
My husband of decades has been a real doll and has rowed in behind my madness.
We live in a great urban setting with a large garden so it has been very easy to tuck it away near an outside electricity point.
I have taken to having my morning coffee and it has become a vino spot when my friends pop in.
The men are bemused but my girlfriends think it is very cute.
We really do know nothing about them so one part of me is wondering will we ever be brave enough to take it anywhere.
Husband is a little nervous at the thought of driving.
I had it delivered so we have to get a hitch organised etc.
It is all very exciting.
I would so appreciate peoples top tips for two newbies.
Thanks.

@Dennaes, I would do a trip for 2 or 3 days at a nearby site to test it out.

There are so many things I could say, but a lot depends on how you're going to use it and what the inside is like.

What type is it? What is the layout, what do you have inside? Would it work year round or is it better for use in good weather? What do you use for filling up the water? Are you intending to use campsite facilities or your own?

It is a small 2 berth touring, with a sitting area that can be converted to a double bed if necessary.
Little kitchen area, loo and shower.
My friends Aunt and Uncle used it for years but have had it in storage for about 5 years and decided to get rid. She had thought about it but her husband plays too much golf to entertain it and all his holidays are spent in Portugal playing.
It has a gas cooker and a water container.
I haven't a clue beyond that regarding the loo.
Husband has just started looking at it and walking around it. We really haven't a breeze, but I do hope to go for a day or two trip at least once or twice next year.
It may be used as a static van as it has been positioned in a lovely sheltered spot that gets lots of sun, and my husband has suggested we have decking put around it and make a hobby room out of it.
I intend to set it up so I can make tea etc as it has an excellent cooker and fridge which is up and running.
I think my husband would prefer the hobby room idea😁
First world problems.

Get some puriclean & clean the water system, you add to your aquaroll,fill the system by running each tap until it stops spitting then turn off, make sure to to the shower as well, leave in overnight, then turn on all the taps & empty the aquaroll, then run 2 full aquarolls of water through the system. Once you have done this, your system & aquaroll are clean & safe. I wouldn't use the tap to drink from, buy a plastic jerry can with a tap on & use this for drinking water, I always filled mine at home as the water where our caravan was gave us the runs.

Get a mattress topper, a memory foam one is good, put in a duvet cover & then at night you have no messing trying to put on a sheet. Turn your base cushions over to smooth out the knee rolls.

Don't load the caravan up with too much stuff, you will be surprised how quickly you are up to the weight limit, if you have an awning, put it on the floor over the axle, otherwise it can cause the caravan to be unbalanced. Take the caravan to a weighbridge if you can to check how much it weighs fully loaded.

If you are going to use the caravan in winter, get propane gas rather than butane, propane can stand much lower temperatures.

Don't be afraid to ask other caravaners on site if you need help or have any questions, most are friendly & will help or answer your questions.

There is a group on Facebook called Caravanning for newbies, there is loads of help on there & someone to answer any question you may have.

I agree with everything @Nat6999 said about puriclean and water, mattress toppers and propane.

We mostly stay at Caravan Club sites and do drink the water from the taps there, but not the water that's been through our caravan water system. Our caravan has a fixed water tank like a motorhome and like to have a serviced pitch so it's easy to fill the water.

We use Puriclean twice a year, once in the spring before the season starts for us and once at the end of the summer/early autumn when we put it away for the winter.

People will all use this kind of layout differently but yours sounds similar to ours, although ours is probably smaller. We don't bother turning the bed into a table/seating area, it is like a fixed bed, although the mattress topper/duvet can be folded back for access to the under bed storage. We sit on the bed with a tray to eat, or sit outside if it's warm enough.

I'm a bit of a 'princess and the pea' when it comes to beds. We have a thin memory foam mattress topper in a cotton cover we got from Putnams.

On top of that we have a lovely wool mattress topper we got from Devon Duvets, with a wool fleece blanket on top, both of which are inside a single duvet cover that is our bottom sheet. We got the single duvet cover from IKEA as they have zip fastenings on some and the single fits our double mattress topper perfectly. Both Putnams and Devon Duvets will make topper to your exact size requirements if you measure the bed.

We have 2 silk filled summer weight Duvets from Soak and Sleep. We really like them as they are light and thin but warm and 2 can join together to make one for colder weather. We also have a couple of wool blankets that we can pull over the duvet if it gets cold in the night (for me, DH doesn't need them).

I'm sure using it as a hobby room would be fine, but consider the tyres if you are not going to move it for a long time. I would also have it serviced if you are going to tow it, unless it's been done recently. And if you're going to use it as a hobby room, with the gas it would still need a habitation service.

Thank you both so much. I barely understand some of it but will screen shot it for husband to look at.
It is in like new condition.
The people whom had it barely used it, never cooked etc.
Hopefully by next year we will have settled into it and be excited to take it away for a couple of nights.
I really do think the look like great fun.
Husband is about to retire so hopefully he will have more enthusiasm for it come spring.
Thanks again.

We have been through this dilemma, we had motor homes and managed to get about on electric bikes or the bus where we could. Then we got our Labrador and being unable to train her to sit on the crossbar moved to a caravan. I have to say although the caravan is a bit more of a faff to set up that I would hate to lose the freedom of having our car on site for days out. We gave up moving the motorhome to go out as the size was very limiting on where you could go. We do however tow with a VW camper van which is fully kitted out but it gives us a day van for beaches etc. it probably depends on whether you like to stay in one place and tour the area or if you go from site to site and are packing up anyway.