VW Camper Van Type holidays - I need to know the Good The Bad and the Ugly

[Gammon]

Hi DH has been going on about a holiday this year in one of these beauties as he calls them.

I am a vw virgin and as he so over the top I thought I'd ask here specifically

1. Any good for a holiday for a family of 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids

1. Willl it cold do we have to wait until the summer or could be risk a weeken i feb/marc

1. Youset uo the awning then the next day you have to pack it up to drive away for the day out then reset up every night?

1. Can we really stay at petrols stations, cart parks and not restricted to campsites?

any help gratefully recieved as after last year washout with camping i need persuading

1. Can anyone reccomend somewhere to hire them from

thanks

We have just had to sell ours and are heartbroken they can be expensive to keep just to warn you, depends if you can work on them yourself, but can take a lot of your time - unless of course you go for a more modern version!!

1. - yes be fine as long as you have an awning to spread out. The T25's are bigger and roomier for a family and really coming into their own. A split screen is DINKY and costs the earth, a bay isn't much bigger. We have known a few people with families move over to the T25's (I have pics of ours if you like)

1. - If you have electric hook up, you can always take a heater. We had a westfalia van and it had it's own heater run from petrol and was very very warm. We have used that and a heater before now. We went last feb and we were fine.

1. - No, get a drive away awning. It just hooks to the guttering. You unhook it and it stays there looking like a tent. Come back and hook back up ta dah!

1. - that depends on rules and regs of where you want to stay tbh!! BUT you can be self contained in these things. We had an LPG tank so coul cook, have heating and run our fridge in the middle of nowhere.

5.- there are quite a few places to hire them from and a good idea to get a rough idea if you like it or not.

They are going up and up in price I have to say, esp for a goo well maintained van. We got a good price for our beloved van, she is going at the weekend and i am very upset about it, but we had a lot of money tied up in her. We would def get one again though - ideally the same one back

Hope this helps. I am happy to answer any other questions you may have

Found this place they hire out T25's 9a lot of places hire Bay window vans out - gorgeous but squishier!!)

here

We go away in our T4, there's dh and I, dd who is 6 and dsd 14. We have a tent, rather than an awning to put clothes, surfboards, etc in and sleep in the van. It's brilliant fun and what I like is that you can be out and about in the van during the day and if you stay out longer then planned, you can just pull over and cook something or have a cuppa. I normally find a fantastic view to look at if we're going to do that.

The earliest we went last year was Easter and the latest was October half term. Neither time I would say it was too cold.

And if you're interested we have one to rent as well, its the white one on my profile!

Oh yes I always forget about the later ones in classic mode sorry!!! Duh...

Bumping - has anyone got any recommendations on places that rent out the old style bay windows ones? I had one when I was younger and would love to remind DH of those days as a surprise.

Ideally based somewhere between South Wales and Devon so we can go that way for a weekend

Maxy i am heartbroken for you! We had so much fun in ours last summer and we are so excited and have started planning this year's adventures already.
Gammon-1. Yep great for a family of four as we are-go for a pop top so the kids can sleep up there and/or a T25 much roomier1

1. I'm a bit of a wimp and like my weather toasty but with duvets and lots of layers of clothing there's no reason why march couldn't be ok. Take hot water bottles for even more luxury!
2. Agree with maxy a drive away awning is so easy and really just like a big tent so you just unhook it from the guttering attached to the van and leave it there when you want to drive off for the day.
3. Not sure if you can stay anywhere.
4. I love this website ahh so idylic! Keep us posted!

Hi Maxy. My name is Sam I work for O'Connors Campers. We hire out vintage vw campervans and are based in the middle of Devon (20 mins from Exeter).

We have customers who take out vans in December(!). The vans have either gas or electric heating in them. However, if it was me, I would opt for hiring in April or May which can be lovely months to enjoy the great outdoors down here in sunny Devon.

As for the awning, it is really useful to store stuff in (and keep your favoured pitch at a campsite) but if you are moving each day then you do have to keep putting it up and down. However once you have mastered this it only takes 7 mins!

As for where to stay contact [email protected] and she can provide you with information about where you can wild camp, and the rules about it. She can also recommend campsites in Devon and Cornwall as recommended by friends and locals. Do not feel you have to book with O'Connors in order to ask Zoe for info; she is very helpful and we are really passionate about campervanning in the South West. We've got a mine of useful info in our heads gathered from previous customers and because we live down here - all about beaches, things to do, great places to stay, fab pubs, good stuff to do with the kids. Just ask and the info can be yours!

Naturally I am going to recommend us for hiring vans - we have 14 vans including a 1970s baywindow that sleeps 6 - 4 upstairs and 2 downstairs. He is called Mr Orange. Visit www.oconnorscampers.co.uk to have a look at all the vans. Please feel free to contact us with questions. Lots of customers have loads of questions to ask as there are lots of vw virgins out there!

Good luck and hope you enjoy your holiday whatever you decide to do! Sam

Hi

Could be a bit of a squeeze, but depends on age of kids. I have a much bigger motorhome (7m long) and there is bags of room.

I would be careful about staying on car parks etc. If you go to France there are "Aires" in many villages which sre often free to stay at and speciafically for camper vans and motorhomes. We have stayed at lots of these and are quite safe.

have fun

Matt