Caravanning?

[wonderingwondering]

Does anyone have a touring van? We are thinking of ditching the tent (too wet, too much setting up for a weekend, too much stuff to carry) and getting a tourer, leaving it on a site for a few months at a time. Anyone do anything similar, and how does tenting/caravanning compare?

ooh we have just sold our camper (sob sob) as too much money tied up in her and are just discussing getting a fabby tent or a little caravan....the thought of towing petrifies me TBH but as you said it is the wet thing in a tent and I know we would want to go all year round.....hard choices!

I suggest that you head over to those lovely people on ukcamping and their founts of wisom on the caravanning thread.

Towing is apparantely easier the bigger the thing you are towng (according to my dh and our manic camping trailer)

There are soo many different layouts though that you really need to do some looking at them.

You aren't near Manchester are you as the caravan and camping show is on 21-24th jan at G-Mex.

ooh lucycat we are in Manchester thanks. We only want to get a small OLD caravan but be good to have a gander at show anyway

We got a caravan late last year, having had a 5 berth tent for a couple of year. Our last camping holiday this year was damp and cold, so DH set about investigating caravans when we got home. We eventually found a second hand 5 berth van on ebay! It's a 2004 model and the config is an end bedroom which the kids use (bunk bed style). It's got a sliding door so we can shut that end of the van off in the evening. We love it - took it away at October half term (when we wouldn't have considered camping) and it was great. Very warm at night! Joined the Caravan Club and got into a really good campsite at Burford.

We haven't left our van on a site as yet but hope to use it on a regular basis this year.

HTH.

Well we went away in our camper last Feb half term and it was freezing, BUT due to being in our camper we could come home frome wet sandy day at beach and out the heater on etc and be lovely and cosy - so yes caravan it is

Not near Manchester, unfortunately.

I think it's just the image thing - 'camping' (tents) is seen as cool, caravanning isn't! And I don't know why. But I can't be doing with tenting any more, the variable weather and hassle in packing up meant we didn't use it at all this summer, and I really missed our quick weekends away.

And I like the idea of being more year-round with it, esp the Feb & Oct half terms, when it can be difficult to do much.

What about a camper van then? I will miss ours sooooooooooo much

DH said absolutely not, as we'd have to pack up everytime we wanted to drive anywhere (DC's are too young for cycling far). But campers are cool, tents are cool, caravans are ... not so cool . But I do like them.

Hmmm, not if you get a free standing awning - they are fab, give you more space and you just unhook it from the guttering, leaving it looking just like a tent. Come back, hook back up! Ta dah!

See, I didn't think tents were cool......caravans can be you know. I have seen some FAB caravans at VW events, not modernt things mind you, they are most def not cool, but some fab old ones, very retro and very cool lol

I have been a camper for a few years and then when the wet weather got the better of me we bought a really cheap (£350) caravan. I can honestly say we hav'nt looked back. Its easy to get away despite the weather, you have more home comforts, easier with small children as there are proper beds etc. the car doesn't get loaded down cos the stuff is all in the van. Love it, love it,love it. No its not as cool as a tent....or as wet either. try and buy one before the spring as the prices start rising then.good luck

ok, here's the thing. DH and I used to go away in a tiny tent and have a lovely time .

Then along came DD and the tent was no longer the little haven it once was so we started to use parents touring caravan. Proper bed, a toilet and more room for us all. grumpy DH could not be convinced to buy a caravan of our own (as moaned about the storage, servicing and car related costs) so we bought a small campervan with a huge drive away awning and DD (aged 10), DS (8mths) and their mad parents feel very cool and comfy.

milkybar what caravan have you got? We are picking up (weather permitting) our towing car at the weekend so on the look out now for a van.