Touring caravan , is it worth the cost

[Jamandcheesesandwich]

hi folks

thinking of buying a touring caravan but having done some figures I would be interested to see your thoughts

there is just me and my DP

so say caravan £10k
then insurance, servicing, storage about £1k a year

then your site charges per night

it all mounts up, so realistically you would need to go away a lot to balance the costs , so is it just better getting a airbnb when you want to go away

It very much depends how often you could/would want to go away in your van. We've been caravanning for years and get away more now the kids are up & it's just the 2 of us. We're away most weekends in the high season and a good few weekends over the winter as well as Easter and October school hols. We still have our summer holiday abroad but will also then have a week or so away with the van.
If you've not caravanned before and can be sure you'll enjoy it/use it then I'd go for a cheap van to start to try it out and you can always trade up if you're going to stick with it. It's also worth looking around at different layouts as the right layout can make a big difference - despite swearing I wasn't fussed over a fixed bed I now love ours & couldn't go back.

I've seen rental ones around quite a lot (live in Cornwall), so you could always rent one a couple times to see if you like it?

we looked at the fixed double bed but think its quite wee, so maybe two singles
DP wants the side dinette but that means sharing and making up the double at the front or sleeping on the sofa and not making it up

Would defo agree re trying it.

I did it for three years with kids, then progressed to leaving it on a seasonal pitch, then bought a static.

I couldn't be bothered with all the packing and unpacking for touring with four wee ones, even with two it was a pain.

We loved the seasonal pitch so much we stayed there loads. Not to far from home though, I could be there in forty minutes.

It was still time consuming sorting water, toilet etc, that's why eventually we made the change.

I loved the fixed bed, especially with little ones who nap.

For two I would still go with fixed bed but then front able to turn into beds or sofas. If one wants to go to bed and one doesn't.

Elddis avante 840 has side dinette as well.

Look at loads, and if buying private be sure to get a damp report.

Also it becomes addictive, awning for longer trips, furniture, porch awning for shorter trips, etc etc. good fun.

It's the convenience of having your own home (on wheels) wherever you wish to go. That's one of the things I love (we have a Motorhome though - so VERY different). You know what you're getting as it's your own accommodation. We have double of everything so 'in season' (school Easter hols - October half term) the van is ready to go. It just needs fresh food and clothes popping in. Unlike packing for an air B&B there's a lot more space to transport everything. We only bring all the bedding in the house over winter (we don't heat the van - I know some do).

Whilst the type of holidays we do are very different to what you'd do in a caravan, the ethos is similar. I couldn't envisage flying somewhere or staying in a holiday let. Being stuck in one place, especially if the weather isn't good horrifies me. You can be so much more spontaneous and flexible.

You could easily join one of the clubs - eg camping and caravanning club. It'll then give you access to their 'certified location' registered sites. Rustic, but cheap. You don't have to limit yourself to the big campsites with all the facilities. Likewise you don't have to limit yourself to the UK. France (for example) is far superior for campsites - cheaper, bigger pitches and superior facilities.

As someone else said - do go to a big dealer or the Caravan and Motorhome show to look at them. There are so many different configurations. It's important to get what works for the family. We have two fixed beds in our MH. I couldn't cope with having to make them up/ pack them away. We have a large garage for bikes as we're all cyclists. Think very seriously about the storage available - some it'll be pants. Try and visualise what you'll take, where it'll go and if it'll fit.

Check out the cooking facilities too. Think about if it'll work for how you cater for your family. Ours doesn't have a microwave or grill. But that's fine I use neither at home. I can imagine that could be an issue. Obviously you can get caravans with microwaves and grills. But it does vary!

It’s the flexibility of it which makes it worthwhile. So the initial outlay is big but then each week away might cost £200 plus petrol. You can’t get a holiday cottage for £200. So I have more weeks away throughout the year than I would without it.

if the weather looks rubbish I cancel. I’m with the caravan club so only lose a small deposit if I cancel. If the weather looks nice I might book a Friday off work and have a long weekend last minute.

I leave a lot of essentials in the van, food, cooking stuff, bedding, toiletries. So just need to Chuck some clothes in a bag and go.

If we were just to look at the financials then it would definitely NOT cost in for us to own our MH but financials don't come into it, we just want to own our personal space and have the flexibility to go away at the drop of a hat.

A £100k depreciating asset then tax, insurance, servicing etc plus fuel & site fees when in use.
I bet if we were to work it out it would be far cheaper to pay for a hotel or cottage but life is not that straight forward and there is no way we would be without a MH and the feeling of freedom it gives us.
We don't even go away for long holidays, we just go mid-week for a couple of nights at a nice site somewhere to provide a change of scene.
95% of what we need is left permanently in the MH, we just add fresh food, milk & water and off we go. Midweek there are always spaces at our favourite sites so we never fail to get a booking (although as a rule, we do book well in advance).

Try it as you might just love it and if you don't, sell the caravan. Buy and sell at the correct time and I am sure you won't make a loss.

We are off to France/Holland and Germany on Saturday for 3 weeks in our tourer. Our dog is coming along (he has a Spanish pet passport). We’re staying in about 8 different campsites.

We’ve used the van so much this year, mostly short 4-5 day holidays taking granddog along as well sometimes.
For us it’s more about the experience than the money tbh.
We have changed our van this year to one with fixed bed - will never go back to making up a bed each night.

If you are looking for a cheap holiday its no longer cheap. Sites can cost £30-50 per night yes some are £20 but either poor or full. Its a different sort of holiday so hard to compare, we started off with a £100 caravan, tarted it up went away and had a great time so saved up and bought a better one, had several over the years but now have a motor home which at the moment suits us better. the big advantage of a motor home is many pubs now offer free overnight parking if you use the pub so we have stayed in some great places for basically free, also Park4thenight app shows many free locations that local councils have set up for motor homes to use overnight or for a small fee usually £5-10.
Now the Motorhome isn't cheap to buy or run but again its a totally different experience, we also used the Motorhome and the Caravan all year round.
As mentioned above ours is always loaded ready to go just turn the fridge on and put the food in.
If you do look at a motor home you must rent a couple first to see what lay out is best for you. Remember many of the European manufactured Motor homes and caravans are designed to be used in the winter, some are not so do your home work as its a big investment.
Our last Motor home we owned it for 5 or 6 years and sold it for what we paid for it so no loss only servicing and some minor repairs.
Some people are happy to sit and look at the bank balance but we would rather have the family experience the trips away have given us. Our Daughter now has her own and I can see our son leaning towards one too.

The big draw for me about my own caravan/camper is that you know who has slept in the bed the night before!! Even if you have a second hand one, once a new mattress topper is in place, thats it - its just your skin.

The payback will be over the 5/10/15 years that you own the caravan not just one year so thats already down to £2k per year over 10 years - site costs will depend on where you decide to stay and whether you have the all inclusive pitches with hardstanding, electricity and water rather than just a basic one.

We’ve caravanned for years, now have a motorhome. The biggest advantages for me is having all your own things. I love having my own clean mattress, pillows and bedding. My kitchen has everything I want in it.

We learned very early on that comfort trumps everything else. We tried beds you make from sofas and they aren’t comfortable and it’s a MASSIVE pain to make and unmake a bed every night and morning.

We use cheaper campsites in the summer. The Caravan and Motorhome Club have hundreds of CL sites. These are privately run five pitch sites, which start from as little as £8 a night, depending on what facilities they provide. They all have to provide toilet emptying, fresh water and rubbish bins. Some give you electric hook up, some have showers/toilets and some have laundry facilities. The most we’ve paid was £28 a night but the site was lovely and had everything.

We use our motorhome all the year round for little trips out. Many sites stay open these days. Some commercial sites are brilliant value out of season, as many include the full use of leisure facilities. We go to one that has a lovely pool, steam room, sauna, spa pool, gym all inclusive. It’s lovely sitting in a spa pool on a cold winters afternoon, as it goes dark outside. We then head to the bar and have drinks and a meal.

We’ve been to France and Spain several times, as having your own accommodation makes touring these places easy and cheap.