No more tents for us...stepping up to campervan, caravan or motorhome?

[Sunflowermoonbeam]

So my husband and I have camped for years, absolutely loved it and found it easy. Had a few years off after our first and only child and jumped back in this weekend with our 4 year old. To sum it up it was a DISASTER!

Pouring rain putting up the tent, pouring rain putting down the tent, dreadful snorer in next tent kept me awake all night and poorly child who then got stung by wasps! Obvs the last two are unrelated to camping but everything feels harder in a tent, in the rain!

So we've driven home agreeing tents are just not for us anymore and that it is time to step up to some other version of camping but we are not sure what to choose. Has anyone done this and what did you go for?

There are obviously loads of options and we have a medium budget.

A newish VW Campervan feels fun and can be used for day trips plus awe could use it as a main vehicle but again space is limited.

Caravans/motorhomes mean we would have to find storage but the space and ease inside would be a luxury! We rented a motorhome once to go to France and it was incredible.

Anyone made the leap? What did you choose and was it the right decision?

We had a campervan and 2 small boys, was hard work packing up when we wanted to go out and about. If you have somewhere to keep it I think a caravan is much easier with a 4 year old. Good luck with whatever you decide

This sounds a dreamy plan and a very worthwhile dream to pursue ☺️

Thank you, really helpful information, we had no idea what to estimate for storage and insurance

We camped once and decided that although it was fun, it wasn't for us. So we bought a 4 berth caravan.

Pros are;
It's very comfortable compared to a tent, full size fixed double bed, comfy sofa bed, fridge, decent oven and hob, toilet for the nighttime, plenty of storage, very warm, can handle the wind and rain.

Lots of brilliant accessories, we've got a fab awning set up.

So essentially all the fun of camping with a lot more comfort

Cons are:
You will need a towing car. Not as simple as you may think

Storage and insurance is very expensive

Not great for teens in my experience

Bit more faff to set off in although this isn't too bad once you've got everything together.

Slowwww on the motorway

We are selling our caravan after one last trip, possibly looking at a motor home. We simply don't get enough use out of the van.

Also to add, the shower in our caravan is shocking. This may be different for other vans, but although it's fine for a quick wash. The water goes hot and cold, the tray floods. So still need decent on site facilities.

I LOVED our caravan. Just bung stuff in the drawers, take clothes on hangers straight from wardrobe and hang in van, leave basic stuff in caravan all the time, go where you please, go on the spur of the moment if the weather is good, take your own mess with you - freedom! It was wonderful. But had to be sold to buy a new boiler!! 😣

And when not in use it was in the garden under the fruit trees and became a wonderful playhouse for the children.

I'm a fair weather camper. We've had a caravan in Dorset for 16 years, first a Bailey, then a hobby, now swift.
Caravanning in the rain is not fun. This summer has been awful. We were caravanning for week a few weeks ago, came home a day early because we chose to pack up in the dry. Doing everything in the pissing rain is just not fun.

We opted for an older VW, not so old we've had any reliability issues, but old enough we do have to keep on top of getting it checked and it has needed some spots of rust repaired.

Its fab in many ways, love not having to set up much when we get to site. However it does feel quite small with all 4 of us in it. Theres always a lot of shuffling stuff and people having to move so you can open a cupboard to grab a tea bag or whatever.

For anything longer than a weekend I much prefer having an awning as well, makes such a difference when a couple of people can sit out there if others are still in bed or need space to cook. Also gives you somewhere to leave chairs, bbq and whatever else rather than having to pack everything away each time you need to drive off site.

Honestly though, our family tent is easier to pitch than the awning we have, I often think that might be easier for longer adventures.

It is great for day trips and one or two nights camping, but we won't be doing longer trips till the kids no longer want to come with us.

Campers are fun but tiny for more then 1-2 and no loo etc …
motor home - lovely but expensive and lots of height restricted places now -including seaside

We have a folding camper. This gives you all the setting up/packing down issues of a tent, but once up has all the comfort of a caravan. We have 2 double beds, a toilet, heater, sink (and hot water with an EHU hook up), fridge, grill, and 3-burner hob. We also have an awning which over doubles the living space. Because it packs down into a trailer, we can store it easily in the garage (some will store on their side too, which takes up even less space) and because we can fit lots of our kit in it, the car is no longer as fully packed.

I would happily upgrade to a caravan to make the set up/pack downs quicker and easier, but we would have to pay to store it, which I'm too tight to do! Our DCs are in pup tents now, but whatever our set up, I would want one with enough beds that the sofa could remain as a sofa. I don't want to be remaking the bed every night!

I would avoid a camper van at all costs because you are then trapped on the campsite or at the mercy of local public transport/have to pack up every time if you want to go out for the day.

We’ve just come back from a wet camping trip too and have had the van/camper conversation.

We’ve ruled out all of them!

Caravans are restrictive with were you can go… we like off the beaten track and campsites with no ehu.

Sprinters/Transporters/Motorhomes too expensive and it would be financially more worthwhile to stay in air bnbs.

I was in a garage the other day that was selling motor homes for £900 a month for the next 144 months!!

Plus if it breaks down you have to have it towed away, which is annoying if you’re supposed to be sleeping in it

Caravanning can give you best of all worlds provided you do your research and can afford the right layout, tow car and equipment.

Eg our cars van is great all year, heats up more quickly than the house in winter. Fridge cooker hot water and heating all run on electric hook up or gas.

Fixed bed as I don't want to unmake:make it every morning and night.

We mostly use rallies, temporary sites etc from April to October and then sites with hard standing November to March. Often we'll go abroad in the summer - 2/3 weeks in France and/or Spain relatively cheaply.

Tow car - if going off road then 4x4 is very useful but not an absolute- main point is it's heavy enough for stability and powerful enough to tow. Nose weight can be tweaked by adjusting how you load the caravan.

Storage (midlands) around £500, insurance (new for old, fair lot expensive caravan) £600 ish, servicing £300

If you get breakdown cover such as Mayday through Caravan Club, it's double cover - will take you to and from your holiday so no need to miss it.

you don't need a new caravan but you do need to decide on what layout etc is important to you - and the newer the caravan, the more likely it is to have features such as radiator based heating, dual fuel cooker etc.

Caravans are restrictive with were you can go… we like off the beaten track and campsites with no ehu

Thats another reason why we use a folding camper. If the car can get there, so can the trailer.

We bought a VW Beach during lock down and it’s been great. Just come back from two weeks in France - the weather was variable in the first week and it is great to know that you can sleep in the dry and keep your stuff dry too. There are two beds one in the pop top and one in the main cabin so would be ideal for a family of three. We use the awning and a cheap gazebo tent thing from Decathlon for cooking etc as I prefer not to cook in the van. It’s my everyday vehicle and fits on a normal parking space you just have to watch for height limiters as it’s 2m high.

Be prepared to spend some money if you want a newish campervan but once you've got one the world is literally your oyster.
I have a VW with a pop top, ideal for DC (I don't have DC) you can also buy the sides for an awning and sleep in that if the weather is fine, I think I've attached a photo, seat converts to a bed, there's a microwave, TV, sink, two rings and fridge.

Caravans are restrictive with were you can go… we like off the beaten track and campsites with no ehu

You don't need ehu for a caravan, in fact many caravan club rallies don't have it. You can run the water pump and lights from a leisure battery, and the hob and fridge work off the gas. For longer trips, you can take 2 batteries or recharge the first with solar panels.

It’s not just the ehu. It’s the windy roads. I live in the Lake District and curse caravans all the time 🤣

Started with a £100 caravan, cleaned it repaired it stopped most of the leaks, had great holidays for the next 6-8 months even in winter. Saved up bought one with a toilet and shower for £750!, used it several times a year then got first of a few camper vans. In general Camper vans are too small, motor homes can be too big but we now have a 6M motor home and its great as its designed for all year use and well insulated.
The big advantage over tents is no matter what the weather you should be warm and dry, friends of ours took a motor home to yorkshire, weather was awful so just drove a few hours to Wales as weather was better much easier in a motor home. One thing we really like is the pubs that allow you to stay over night as long as you eat or drink in the pub, had some great adventures.

We have a VW T5.1. It was a very expensive impulse purchase a couple of summers ago. It's is covered to a camper van and DH uses it as his daily drive. We're off in it at the weekend. Just got to pack the awning, bedding and clothes and we're away.

Actually following this thread is interesting seeing the finances involved. I’d dearly love a campervan but we just don’t have the cash and when I did a lovely excel sheet around the numbers we worked out far far cheaper over the year to run an economical car and just rent a caravan or cottage a couple times a year, plus an overseas hols, than running costs of owning a caravan or campervan. Once the kids are done with school (4yrs…& counting!) we are going to revisit the idea but it’s the first thing I’m buying if I ever win the lottery or inherit some cash.
We actually live in a holiday area and the sheer volume of campervans is ridiculous now, I counted over 100 parked up in a short stretch and we just don’t have the waste disposal systems in place for them it’s gross what folk do with the human waste in a nature reserve they have come to ‘enjoy’, I just wish the council would get their act together and put in waste facilities and charge appropriately for them!

I agree about the number of campers & MH's which are wild camping with nowhere to correctly dispose of waste, unfortunately this has taken off big time since lockdown and the world and his wife are out there.
You only have to look at some of the FB groups, as soon as a suitable location is found it is shared around so it is soon overwhelmed.

I also agree about the finances of owning a MH.
Ours is just shy of £100k so is a serious investment but it means we are free to come and go as we please. Have NEVER been fans of wild camping, we book our sites in advance and enjoy being somewhere different every week (we go mid-week when sites are quieter).

Same here. 2003 T4. We've had it 5 years and it's been faultless. We do keep on top of maintenance.

We use it a lot for day trips. Camping if we do 2 - 3 nights we just take a toilet tent. Over that we have a drive away awning. Best of both worlds.

We use it more for day vanning than camping but it's very versatile. We don't have kids, just a small dog but I have colleagues who have similar vans and it works well. I'd not invest in a motorhome or caravan unless I was camping A LOT.

Just bought a 2010 VW T5
we will use it as our second vehicle, it’s actually shorter than our last 7 seater car.
like PPs, will be mainly just one or two nights for us two and the mutt.
we live within an hour’s drive of some beautiful places.