hi all looking to get my hands on a conway cruiser about 1993-4 would you recommend it for a family of 2adlts+3 kids. are they good to tow i have 1.5dci scenic.
You will be able to tow it with that car, it is within the towing limitations, I tow a similar size and weight camper with the megane sport tourer 1.5DCi.
More than enough sleeping space but have you considered living space? If you get a cruiser without an awning imho you will struggle for living space without one. And remember you need to budget for some sort of heater be it gas or electric. And remember the crusader is heavier but bigger and you do get a washroom and an oven. Just food for thought...
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
Well, we never had a problem with living space, although we had the awning, which I think is important.
We had a marvelous alternative to gas or electric heaters - I don't know if you have come across them. Basically they are a big "tube" of woollen thread linked together. Two smaller tubes come off the sides. The whole thing is called a "jumper".
Also, bear in mind that the Crusader offers exactly the same living space as the Cruiser, as the extra living space is taken up by putting a toilet in the FC where everybody can hear you fart, as opposed to out in the toilet tent where you have a little privacy. Just a thought....
I personally would'nt buy a Cruiser that had'nt got an awning. They are an important part of the unit but you obviously have the option of not putting it up.
We had a 1994 Cruiser for 2 years and had many happy times in it. Easy to put up and even the awning is'nt as daunting as it may seem at first.
/agree with racletcharlie!!! Awning not too bad to put up if you have 2 people and at least one of them is tall! The centre pole in particular is a pain of you are vertically challenged! And even if you are too tall to be comfy in the beds (thats another story lol), putting up the awning on your own is a pain in the ****!! But once it is up it is a nice place to lounge, as long as you have some lights and heaters on the extension lead otherwise you will be sitting in the dark and cold wondering why you bothered almost killing yourself to put it up in the first place! Then (as it always does in Great Britian) it will start to rain, water will start to run through the awning and your feet will get wet and muddy. Then (unless your extension lead is up off the ground) your ELCB will trip, plunging your whole unit into silence and darkness. Some people enjoy these challenges. Personally i detest them. I bought a folding camper for ease of use and convenience. If i wanted a challenge i would buy a really difficult to errect tent and truly terrible cooking equipment and impossible to use (easily) furniture and accessories! Instead i got fed up with wet, cold and challenging camping and turned to the dark side and bought a caravan. A pain to tow, but a joy to camp in, whatever the weather. No more draughts, wet feet, no need for an awning or the fight to put it up, no more worries about packing away wet, loads more luxuries (central heating, double glazing, shower, fixed bunks, tons of lights, tv aerial, big fridge, oven, gas & electric hob, mega storage, gas bbq point etc etc etc). Guess what - i am sold on the idea of 4 season camping with the convenience of the van. But i must admit - i miss the sound of rain gently pattering on the canvas. A soothing and relaxsing noise. But i do not miss the aggro of drying the same said canvass out. Enough said !!!
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
I've never been somewhere so badly drained that water came through the awning!
Personally I would never go "camping" in a caravan - the lack of space and/or apparently beds made of hessian sacks stuffed with nettles and nails, which you need to spend 25 mins struggling with every night simply to put up.
All so you can then spend the rest of your life worrying about damp. No thanks!
Quote: Originally posted by racletcharlie on 06/11/2009
Correction. The awning isn't as daunting as it seems at first so long as you are either a) 6 feet tall, or b) equipped with a small stepladder.
If you are 5'6" with only the camper step to stand on, and you are doing it solo, it's at least 17.3 times as daunting as it seems as first.
and if you are 5 foot nothing...............................
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
Do you have a step ladder Jan? On our first go at putting the awning up on our Pathfinder we struggled a bit, zipping the top bit over from inside. We then bought an aluminium folding step one, quite cheap and very light, from B & Q and it made life so much easier. We still use it for our recently acquired caravan, and it takes up hardly any room in the car and being very light doesn't have a weight penalty.
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Topic: conway cruise
