There is a lot of very unhappy club members

.......so should the Club make more investment in tent pitches to encourage younger members?

David 

Then we have another dealer (ours) telling me when i booked our c/van in for its service,they are getting a lot of enquiries asking if they would take a m/van in px for a c/van,  as they are thinking of getting rid of the Diesel? engined m/c

Tent pitches that we have seen at Ferry Meadows and Hillhead are very popular during school holidays (young families) and they seem to have all the kit but with more space inside 

In my opinion no. Or at least not at the expense of caravan pitches and even more so because of their shorter season with families. With normal pitches they are obviously most popular during peak school holiday times. Many older folk avoid this period but do take up  lot of the slack during other times. I cannot see many of the older folk wishing to tent. 

If you go to FaceBook a new closed group started up on there only a couple or so months ago named Caravanners UK it now has over 18.500 Members, its own Website started this last week.  Stickers and Mugs etc. Going fast.  They are all Caravans a lot of New ones but more Second Hand ones and many many new folks to caravanning and younger folks too.  Within the group is another closed one for Kia Owners with Caravans started couple of weeks back which already has 214 Members.  A very go ahead Main Group and very active.

Dianne

Cannot get on with Face book sprogs keep wanting us to join but can never find our way through the jungle so do not go there

It is on that part of the old yellowed parchment map marked as 'Here be Dragons'. 

Actually I do not find forums on faceache to be in a very readable format

So who buys what type of outfit when, sometimes seems to be misinterpreted.

Purely based on what I heard (and overheard) looking at caravans, both trailer and motor, at the Scottish Caravan Show a lot of those viewing who were not already owners were liking the idea of a motor caravan as to them it seemed the simplest way to start. No licence or towing/reversing worries, etc.

However, those expressing a liking for trailer caravans were existing owners of both forms. The main basis appeared to be flexibility - it was easy to change the size or number of berths, or layout, without a huge investment, simply by trading in. Similarly a few had recently changed tow vehicle and were looking at what opportunities that now provided.

Exactly right and that's reflecting what I see in my hometown. 

It's a very big potential market. This club seems to have decided that they want to go for a different market and that's their choice.  I do know a couple of people with T5 and T6 conversions as we go to many vw rallies and festivals but they camp with 'bus' clubs, go to rallies or wild camp. 

It's difficult to know who the future market will be but I feel this club is aiming at the 45-55 sporty, outdoorsy couples. I fit the age profile but nothing else 

I don't think you can read much into the shows. For example my friends and I look at little campervans, teardrops and tents because they are different from what we have but we've no intention of buying.  

At the Manchester show we heard a few families in the motorhome area discussing how they wouldn't work for them. I understand that because they wouldn't have worked for us. 

A lot just go to compare layouts so they know what to look for second hand