Anybody bought a static caravan or lodge?

[cranbury]

We are considering this and will probably be trialling a couple during the summer holidays.

Why did you buy? What has been your experience been to date?

We've got two pre-schoolers and looking for a place to retreat to during the pre-school and then school holidays. we want somewhere for the children to be able to roam, go to the beach, ride bikes etc... which they can't do in the city.

We bought a static last year after being fairly seasoned campers (will be flogged!)

Bought it last June - it was about 18mths old but the previous owner only used it for 10 nights so got a better deal than on a new one.

We spent all the summer hols there, most weekends, October hols. We LOVE it - it's 3 mins walk to the beach, so don't have to rely on the car once we're there.

Everything is there - food, beach stuff, bedding, toys etc etc - so don't need to spend time packing. We've bought 2nd hand canoes we leave there, the kids have old bikes there. There are other children to make friends with. When they're older they'll be able to join the sailing club to have lessons.

It sleeps 8 incl the sofa bed, so we had friends to stay a lot - great when DH wasn't there, and DD loved having her mates to play with, and I loved having friends to sit outside & drink wine with in the evening.

We spend much more time outside (need good waterproofs, but kids don't care about the rain if they're dressed appropriately - we even built sandcastles & dams in the rain)

We also spend more family time together - no excuses for DH to potter in garden/sit & watch rugby etc

Kids are now 5 and 3 next month - they love it!

It's definitely not a financial investment - they're expensive, the rent isn't cheap - but we're rubbish at planning ahead to book holidays in the school holidays - I reckon on up to £1000 per week to book a cottage in school hols, so that puts it into perspective a bit more.

Ours is 2 hours from home door to door - any further than that and I think it would be a bit far for weekends.

We were both quite wary about buying one - I thought I'd get bored going to the same place (I used to go backpacking all over the world!) but I realise that kids on the beach = happy kids = happy parents = happy hols

Which area are you thinking about?

how much do they cost? or is that a bonkersly useless question? i'd love one, for exactly the reasons you say, amazon. what are the fees like?

I think as amazonianwoman says: so long as you see it as a family treat rather than a financial investment. As they do only go down in value as they age. If you can afford it, it'd be lovely.

Am almost too embarrassed to reveal prices

We paid £29k for ours - worth about £45k new but got it cheaper cos was 18mths old. The actual caravan is cheaper than that, but that's the price you pay on that particular site. Apparently after 12 years you should get back around 20% (not sure if that applies with 2 kids + dog wrecking it)

Fees including gas/elec/council tax/rates all in are about £3k pa

I've seen sites with much cheaper fees but our site is immaculate & well cared for - the owner constantly has bare-chested fit young Aussie boys out grass cutting/hedge trimming (I'd pay £3k a year just to watch them ) - and is right on the beach with top views.

I try to think of it as an investment in my childrens' "happy growing up" memories...

wowsers. i want to buy one of the aged 20 per centers i think... but agree totally on the investment thing. sounds like a lovely site.

We looked into getting one a while ago and got a campervan instead. If you get one you need to be careful as some sites will say to you when your static is X years old that its too old to be on that site anymore and you need to leave or buy a newer one. So find out what the deal with that is at any site you look at.

A friend of mine has one and loves it, was too expensive for us.

Am new to camping...have just posted asking some advice...am thinking now i might prefer a caravan for the exact reasons amazonainwoman has posted...sounds fab ! Do you rent it out & whereabouts is the site ?

We went about 3 years ago & the site was awful, I am sure there are much smaller & nicer ones.

Having said that, the campervan also sounds fab...how much would you expect to pay for a campervan ? (am thinking campervan/caravan/knock lump sum off mortgage?!)

how long is a piece of string! caravans are on the whole the cheaper option. if you go second hand you get more bang for your buck than a campervan but you do need a car capable of towing.

we got a campervan because i thought it would be easier for nipping away at weekends and for daytrips etc.

Hi,

Me and my partner have started looking into a static, seems to make sense and will take all the stress out of arranging holidays!

We have been talking to a company called Park Holidays UK. They have quite a few sites along the south coast, but we have been mostly been looking at Essex.

Prices seem to start from under 10k and the staff that we have spoken to so far have been ever so helpful, and arent heavy on the sales spiel.

Take a look for yourself, there are loads of caravans for sale on their website, so you can have a look without committing to anything.

Hope this helps

I have friends with static caravans on Coghurst Hall and Beauport Holiday Park from that Park Holidays website.
They're both really nice, so I'd imagine any of the others will be too.

We aren't allowed to rent it out, only close family can use it without us being there (told you it wasn't an investment!)

Some sites allow you to sublet, but not many AFAIK.

I think there are about 50 statics on the (independent) site in total, plus space for tourers and tents. Oh - and longterm tourers - this could be a good option. Buy your own tourer (less than £1k up to £20k!) and leave it on a site for the season. Think it costs about £1k for the season on our site (1 Mar to end Oct) We were exploring this option cos I don't like the idea of pulling a van (too dangerous!) - only got the static because it was available then & there.

Then if you get bored, move it to another site next year

Ours is on Anglesey, North Wales. Going next weekend for the first time this year. Can't wait!

a couple of things to remember,
visit many sites, the more you see the easier the choice becomes.
Sites look very different on a Friday evening to a wednesday afternoon; visit your short list at the busyest times.
Try to negotiate a longer lease before you buy, an extra year is a long way off in 10 or 15 years time, but it makes the whole thing far more cost effective.
Be honest about how much you will use a van, if its less than once a forthight then forget it.(This usually translates to under 2.5 hours)

For some reason Holiday Caravans tend to focus marital problems..! If things are a little rocky then give it a miss..

Good Luck

we loved ours, kids loved it, it was 50min drive away, we went loads at weekends, hols

But.....only get one if you are sure you can pay the fee's for quite a few years to come. we couldnt in the end and you lose so much money when you sell it. But we had researched and knew all this.

the owners of the site can put the fee's up as much as they want, and don't believe them if they tell you it goes ups around £50 a year!! they dont!! we got a huge shock

But it was lovely to go to, no pc!! lots time together as a family, was great

Go for it if Money is not a problem, if you have totally a spare 2k plus each year go for it

oh and also insurance for it, and maybe gas and electric