netcam replied on 27/01/2022 11:02
Posted on 27/01/2022 11:02
Having done a lot of research recently, we have been thinking about getting a Trigano SIlver Mini Freestyle 290 from Highbridge Caravans in Somerset. It would actually fit in our garage if we cleared it out and is not much bigger than a Go Pod or Freedom Discovery, but the Trigano actually has a little toilet room with shower and hot water, an important factor for us. Even though the shower room is little, we are both quite small and I think we would manage to use it when necessary.
I am yet to fully convince my partner of the joys of caravan ownership, but he is committed to the garage clear out as a start. We would also need to change our garage door to a roll up type, but now our house is 10 years old we are permitted to make that change. The caravan would be 200cm wide and 200cm high and the garage openings with a new door would be 225cm wide and 210cm high, but there is a 6m paved drive which goes straight to the garage so I think we would be able to push a light caravan (MIRO 688, MTPLM 1000) in from the road as we could park temporarily to do that in front of our drive. It is a terraced house with an integral garage and we realise we would need to store the gas bottles in the garden, but that is manageable, but other than that we hope it would be OK to have a caravan in there. Once through the garage door there would be more space to move it into place.
We are taking a long term view as we are hoping to retire in a few years, by which time my teens should be independent and hopefully at university, so it is something for us when we have more freedom, but we are wondering about getting one sooner so we could start using it for some holidays before that.
I used to have an Eriba Troll when I was married to my ex-husband and the kids were little and we loved it, but it went along with the divorce and for the past 10 years holidays have been different. In fact for the past 2 years they have been non-existent due to Covid. Even the smallest Eriba is too high for our garage so that is not an option this time. We really want to be able to store it at home and don't want to move, which we realise limits our options, but that is OK with us.
If money and space were no object, we would probably prefer a campervan and love the look of the Wildax Pulsar, but there are restrictive covenants in our area and as our house is terraced, sharing a drive with next door, we wouldn't want to spend that much money and find we couldn't park it there, despite it not being much bigger than some cars. We also don't really want to get a diesel and would prefer the next vehicle to be hybrid or electric.
We've been looking at Hyundai Kona hybrid, Kia Niro or Ford Kuga PHEV, or Skoda Enyaq Electric as possible tow cars for the Mini Silver, but a new car is a big investment and we have to be careful not to spend too much or the impending retirement won't be possible. At the moment the 10 year old Hyundai i20 is still going fine, but at some point in the next few years it will need replacing and that would definitely be the case if we end up with the Mini SIlver to tow.
So at the moment we are exploring options and any advice, particularly if anyone has experience of the French Trigano Mini Silvers. Additionally, any advice about getting a small caravan into the garage and storing it there, alongside the pros and cons of motor movers, would be really welcome.
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