We've had our Combi camp Koala for about 3 years now. We hardly used it last year due to family circumstances, and now our daughter who is just about to turn 13 has decided she doesn't really enjoy camping any more, which has left us a bit stumped. We rent a garage to keep the TT in, and recognise what a fab thing it is when we do use it, however realistically now not sure how much we will if our daughter hates it.
In the meantime we've been lucky enough to buy our own land where we keep our horse. There would be space there to park a small caravan for the summer and it's a nice space to go to for BBQs etc and an overnight sleep. I'm not sure what the planning implications would be for keeping a small caravan in there permanently (although we wouldn't be living there!!), and would probably look to put it in a proper storage place in the winter if we thought that would be an issue.
The issue, in my head, with replacing the TT with a caravan would be that we most likely wouldn't want to take it anywhere else as it's more of a pain to tow than the TT. At the same time having a caravan would offer better home comforts.
Budget wise we would definitely be restricted to something very old as our budget for a caravan would be whatever the TT is worth.
Would be interested to hear people's thoughts on what is obviously a pressing and important first world problem!
We had a Combi Camp many years ago and loved it! If we only ever camped in France or in the UK summer I would not have got rid of it. In my opinion, it is the perfect camping unit for the summer, especially in hot weather and is so easy to put up. I used to really enjoy the astonished looks we would get when we arrived on site and had the main part of the tent up in 2 minutes and the kettle on!
The reason we changed to a caravan was because we loved getting away for short breaks and wanted to extend our ability to do this throughout the year. The earliest we were really able to use the Combi Camp comfortably was Easter and even then it was too cold some years and then we couldn’t comfortably use it later than September most years so it limited our ability to get away.
We are now on our third caravan and love being able to get away all year round (when work allows) but sometimes when we are away in hot weather and the caravan is like a furnace inside, I do think longingly about the Combi Camp!
If money (and storage) wasn’t an issue, I would have both. I would use the Combi Camp for our month in France in the summer and the caravan for the rest of the year in the UK! However as money and storage are issues, the Caravan is the most sensible option for our situation.
You would be very lucky, I suspect, to find a storage yard that you could get in to for the winter months only.
They would more than likely only take your van on a yearly basis.
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Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
When I decided it was time to upgrade from an ordinary tent (I was finding it too much faff, struggling with erecting on my own, problems drying if packed up wet etc.), I considered TT's and folding campers and even looked at folding caravans, but then stood back and thought, anything that you tow has much the same disadvantages - reduced driving speeds, somewhere to store, ongoing maintenance etc., so the leap to a full blown caravan was not really the giant leap it first appeared to be. I'd decades of towing experience of all sorts of things (except a caravan!) so that didn't daunt me at all, but certainly the caravan has been the biggest thing.
Once I'd ruled out TTs and folding campers, the folding caravans ruled themselves out as far too expensive for minimalist comforts compared to a full van, set a budget at a suitably high figure, then started pondering Camper/MH or caravan! Decided on the caravan as the most cost effective and flexible, and here we are, 5 years on and a very happy caravaner! No regrets, spent time pondering the pros and cons, did my research well on caravans, and found a very reasonably priced 4 berth van that I'd very happily go out and buy all over again if I needed to.
I can't say I find towing the caravan much of a chore, once in the mindset of towing, it just trundles along behind the car without needing to think about it too often, only time it needs more attention is in towns and narrow roads where it's 7ft width and swing need consideration. A caravan is MUCH easier to reverse than smaller trailers which tend to jack knife with such ease and often are invisible in your mirrors!
As blueexpo97 says, winter storage may be a problem, storage in general has been hard to find in many areas for a few years now, and winter is when most people lay up their outfit until the next season, so demand at it's highest.
Different strokes for different folks, so no universal rights or wrongs, and of course budget constrain most of us to greater or lesser extent.
Thanks for that insightful reply. You're right really, when it comes to towing something around what's the difference really (by the way I'm a seasoned tower of horse trailers and there's nothing more nerve wracking than knowing you've got two live, very precious animals banging around in the back, a caravan would be a DODDLE in comparison!)
I think the only constraint for us currently, as mentioned previously, would be budget. For lots of reasons we couldn't splash out on something expensive currently so it would be a case of finding an oldie but goodie that's been well looked after.
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Topic: Combi camp Vs caravan WWYD?
via mobile 30/5/2023 at 11:44am
