Folding camper, trailer tent or caravan?

[Mithered]

Not sure if it is Ok to ask this question here or in general travel?

I am a tent lover but DH suffers v bad asthma and wont consider camping. Having just had fab holiday in Italy in mobile home have persuaded him after a few beers that we could get folding camper/caravan.

I have seen a folding camper up and was quite impressed but not sure how long they actually take to put up. Just watched the advert for the pennine pathfinder which they claim takes ten minutes but sure it would take us a lot longer.

DH would prefer a caravan but would obviously have to store it somewhere which defeats the object of just going away on spur of moment. With awning I presume there wouldn't be much difference in space for the inclement British weather.

Any opinions or guidance on best website for advice? Ta

The Ils started with a tent, moved to a trailer tent and now have a caravan.

If you are going to use sites with their own facilities like toilets & showers, and want to get away for the odd weekend here and there then a trailer tent is ideal. You can also extend a trailer tent via awnings and even wind breaks. But it is essentially a glorified tent with power, but smaller! It will still need insuring and servicing.

If you want a bit more luxury with your camping (i.e. fixed beds, full oven, bathroom) or get a bit claustrophobic then a caravan imo is the way to go and more to your dh's liking, but unless storage is close by, it's a lot more faff. It is obviously pricier re storage, insurance, servicing. You may want to go on a towing course. Set up time for both was about the same.

Thanks Dinah.
I saw that CC do a towing course which was thinking of booking us both on whichever one we choose.

I just thought with a trailer tent that we could store it at home in garage. Do you know how much storage you get in trailer tent for leaving own gear in there in between trips. With a caravan you can basically leave everything in there and just go - I presume as everything is packed away in a trailer tent there isn't much room for everything else?

A folding camper is different from a trailer tent. An FC is really the bottom half of a caravan with the top of a tent. Doesn't normally take very long to put up - 10-15 minutes for the basic bit. A trailer tent usually only has the beds and a couple of seats inside, with the cooker, etc in the awning and takes longer to put up.

FC costs more, trailer tent costs less.

I have an FC and am very happy with it. It's not quite as convenient as a caravan, but I couldn't store a caravan at home and I can an FC. We usually pack it before we go away. We find the beds and seats very comfortable. I would definitely recommend them.

We had a trailer tent when I was growing up and IIRC there was a lot of storage in the trailer itself but we still always had the car boot full of stuff when we travelled.

we have a folding camper and really only takes 20mins to set up and get kids into bed (we normally travel late). You dont have to use awning but good space if you do. They are great and we hae used ours in april when it was freezing but also just had a week in hot weather and it got quite warm.
Well worth it and easy to use

IloveJudgeJudy and lisa - what make is your FC?
how did you do the research on which one to get? I saw a Pennine Pathfinder when I took DC camping and absolutely loved it. I know they are top end of market but seemed to be worth money and I would buy second hand.

Is there a Which guide to campers/caravans etc?

I dot know about which guides sorry.
We have an old pennine pullman and am hassling DH for a new one next year Ours is an old 1980s one but is strong and well looked after.
I would def go for a pennine, everything i have read suggests they are best make. Pullman is a great size for us but i know the newer ones are slightly bigger, which would be great. I dont know if i would get one with a loo, as we always just use site ones, and feels like a waste of space to me.
HTH

Cheers for the advice everyone.

We are going to have a look at a few on Sunday so fingers crossed I manage to persuade DH

also make sure your legal to tow if you passed your test after 1997 there are limits as to what your legaly allowed to tow without an extra driving test here

Thanks borders - am an old git so passed my test in 1989 but good to know. Anyone been on the towing course?

OMG I did not know that!! I passed my test in 2004, how did i NOT know this??

Hi Mithered, sorry just saw your post. Mine is also a Pennine a 2000 one. We really love it; we've been to Norfolk twice and had really foul weather both times which is a shame as it's a beautiful part of the country. We then decided to go to France for the past three years and have had a brilliant time each year. The tolls on the motorway are less than if you had a caravan.

I agree with Lisa that you don't really need a loo. We have got a porta potti for night time wees only that we put in the awning.

If you buy a second-hand one, please make sure that you get one with an awning already as secondhand ones are very, very difficult to get hold of as the zips were changed at various times throughout the years.

I wish you good luck in your search. The Pennines are marvellous and very comfortable. I really recommend them.

Hi,
I also have a folding camper, a Conway Cardinal Clubman. I've grown up with trailor tent holidays and my parents had recently invested in a caravan. Lacking the storage space for a caravan we got the FC and I was amazed at what is actually inside it!

I agree with Lisa and IloveJudgeJudy you don't need a loo, we have one in our camper and even with a 4 year old we've never needed to use it(and i'm four months pregnant!!) although it is nice to know that it's there for night time emergencies!!

The storage in ours is fantastic, each time we've been away we have never had to put anything in the car. Sleeping bags, toys, clothes etc all fit nicely!

I do have one question though, when a site will only let you categorise as a tent or caravan which one would fit best? Instinct tells me caravan but i'm not sure!

We had a trailer tent and i would love a foldig camper - i used to dream about pathfinders but saw one being towed and couldnt see the car estate towing it it was so huge - i would happily have a sterling or pullman. I can dream. LAst week we saw a caravan with a blown out tyre heaped over at the side of the m1 and that put me off ever owning a caravan.

We bought a trailer tent yesterday and went camping in it last night (even though I had to get up and come to work this morning!) it is fab, I'm so pleased with it. Took us five minutes to put it up (just put up the trailer bit, not the awning). Having a proper bed is just great- no roll together or cold air coming up from the ground.

It was very easy to tow (never noticed the revs higher or anything) and easy to mannover and push.

And its cool

I dont know why you think having a caravan would prevent you going away last minute in fact ts the contrary. You leave everything in a caravan so all you need is your clothes and off you go. There will be a nearby place for storage or ask at a local farm