New to touring

As you are on this forum you must be a member of the club so your question is not clear. Are you currently a motorhomer or trailer tenter?  Give us your starting position and someone will be able to help you.

This forum is open to non-members and members alike, Waffler. Non- members are able to post to ask questions just as ALees has done.

 

ALees, I have a feeling that if you’re unsure then possibly a caravan isn’t for you but why not hire one and see how you like it? Have you looked at vans on dealers' forecourts to get a feel for them?

Me, I just knew I wanted one. No doubts at all.

 

 

Waffler, the OP does not need to be  CC member to post a comment or question on here.....in that respect it's an open forum.

ALees, your question is difficult to answer in my opinion. Many of us love the ability to tour, both here and abroad, without the restrictions that come with staying in hotels etc. It also depends on how often you intend to get away, because if you can't use your caravan in a regular basis then it's an expensive hobby. Hope this helps and no doubt others will give you their slant on ownership. All the best and keep asking such probing questions.😁

Towing a ‘box’ on wheels isn’t for everyone, indeed, it can be daunting. But once you get used to it, it gives you a real sense of freedom. You’ll get to stay in some wonderful locations, with your own things around you, your home from home. Once the initial outlay has been made, you can look forward to inexpensive holidays.

As a young family we could usually had one two week package holiday but we also wanted to have mini trips over weekends, usually in the Lakes. We tried a tent and that worked well enough in the warmer months but usually got too cold by September. We looked at the figures and if we used the package holiday money over a few years it would be the same as buying a caravan which we could then use all year. It would mean giving up the European holiday but that was, we thought, outweighed by being able to go away all year usually most or every other weekends as well as staying away all the school holidays. And that turned out to be true and we have never looked back and we had, and still have, some fantastic family holidays. It 

Now finances are better we do both again but enjoy both equally.  

There are many things that can promote the ownership of a caravan. My first purchase of a caravan was 4 years ago when I was married with a 9 year old and a 6 month old girl. My wife did not work other than 6 hrs a week as a doctors receptionist. I did not have a high wage and wanted simply to take my family away as often as possible. I purchased a 7 year old 5 berth caravan and used a mixture of CLs (5 caravan sites) and some commercial or caravan club sites. It provided me with an affordable base for hill walking, visiting museums, trading flatfish, rockpooling and was a great family activity spending time with the kids. It was replaced with a 4 berth of similar age about 13 years later after much usage. We were able to spend 7 weeks touring in it (my wife, me and 14 year old daughter). My wife died shortly afterwards but my daughter and I had regular holidays in it and when she went to college I used to use it for long weekends (usually 4 nights) a couple of times a month to go fishing of various types between start of April and November. The whole point is that for me, in choosing to caravan, the outlay has to be commensurate with the usage and particularly so with my first purchase when I was less well off. 

When my present OH moved in with me 15 years ago we decided to buy a new caravan and towcar. The caravan was a 5.4m Swift Charisma and my sensible head said that it needed to be of use for around 70 nights a year to make financial sense of buying a new car and caravan compared to renting cottages and staying in guest houses, hotels etc. with a smaller car. I knew that the first year we would get no more than 6 weeks away but w bought in the August and had 6 weeks in Scotland. By next year OH had retired and I had reduced hours and we had 12 weeks away in 3 trips. Since I retired in 2008 we are away on three tours totalling 4 months and a two week Christmas Chill out. It saves me over £3,500 a year compared to the alternatives and suits my lifestyle.

If you don't know whether you will like it then the only real answers are:

1 Go to a dealers, take the keys to a caravan of the sort of size that interests you and spend half an hour sat with those who would travel with you - without a salesman in tow. That is what I do when choosing caravan layouts.

2 Either hire a caravan or buy one if you think it is for you. If you eventually buy and are  unsure I recommend buying a second hand van privately after getting it checked over by one of the many travelling techs. By buying in this way you can always try and recoup money by reselling. 

 

I enjoy it because I like my own space, dislike hotels other than for a couple of nights or if meeting friends; I am happier in cottages, apartments etc but organising for 7 weeks as an example and wishing to move on every 4 nights or so is a pain I find. With the caravan I generally move every 5 nights.  

Very much the same as me Cornersteady (except for the package holidays). The year that I was 24 I could not afford to run the car and pay our mortgage. I used my motorbike instead and hired an old car from a backstreet chap that kept old cars in superb mechanical condition small cars like the Viva and Chevette that I hired with 150k on the clocks. Age 26 I changed departments at work for one which had a car allowance attached and was back on the road I bought a basic second hand trailer tent after a years use (age 28) and with a new baby I bought a 4 year old Vauxhall cavalier using a preferential loan from work and our first our first secondhand caravan. 

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We bought a caravan a lifetime ago - there were few alternatives then -  we were poor, caravans were simple and cheap, and sites were even simpler and cheaper.

Things are not like that now - there are so many other alternatives  - and none of my four grown up children nor my multiple nephews and nieces have followed in my footsteps. But they certainly go places.

I am very envious of what they do and where they go and if I were starting again I would travel as they do and certainly would not buy a caravan. The alternatives these days are endless.

So whether a caravan will suit you as things are in 2020 depends on your age, your situation and your personality. Good wishes to you. 

 

 

For us it was just a natural progression. We had tented for over 30 years, initially with the kids and really enjoyed it. However, as we got older, although wanting to continue a similar type of holiday, we wanted a bit more luxury. This came in the form of 6.4 metre Abbey. Replaced after 8 years with a larger more high tech Bailey and a year ago with a Hymer MH.

The reason for our latest change is perhaps something you need to give a bit of thought to. Although we liked the caravans and the fact we still had a car to get about, we did find them fairly restrictive in terms of touring abroad, where we would have preferred to move on more frequently and use the network of Aires. Others may disagree but for me caravans are great for a week at a place, then move on (which is what we tended to do). Where as with the MH it might only be a night or two, as set up is so much easier.

If you have never tented or caravaned before I would advise hiring a caravan and perhaps a MH and see what you think. It's a bit like Marmite, not for everyone.