Hi I am looking for opinions.
We have done tents, caravans, campervans in the past and travelled the length of the country doing this travelling up to Orkney and down to St Ives and had the best times. I was looking at renting a campervan or motorhome but the price of them to hire I could a cheap one and do it up but then it means affordability of having three vehicles on the road as me and the Mr have a car each etc. Anyway I was thinking of going to Scotland and island hopping but want to purchase a folding camper and wondered how easy it would be to put up and take down say every couple of days to move on to our next destination, how long does it take to do this I have no idea and is it better than a tent. I would welcome anyones opinions and what to look for when buying one any advice would be welcomed thanks x
depends on the make and if you have an awning, and what type of awning too...
i have a 2000 pullman 535 with a porch awning.
the unit takes me about 20 mins and the awning a bit less (with carpet ect)
thats my weekend set up (no bed skirts, no storage in awning ect)
add about 15 to 20 mins if i`m there for a week and i put the bed skirts up ect (garage for the electric bikes)
when we had our conway cardinal from arriving on the pitch to putting the kettle on would be 10 mins if that (kids would go and get the water while mum and dad put the legs down and wound the roof up) it took about 20 mins more if we put the awning up, usually tho we didnt bother and it only got used if we where staying more than 3 days
Personally it wouldn't be for me, setting up every couple of days.
We used to have a Pathfinder and did that sort of thing one year going down through France, never again.
We are all different of course.
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As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
This is a video of a Riva Dandy Designer being put up and down. It also shows the inside which is very good for 2. 5 or 10 minutes to erect.
They are not well equipped. Just a cold water tap sink and drainer and a 2 ring plus grille cooker.
Newer ones are very well insulated and completely waterproof and can be folded down wet and left wet for a long time with no ill effects.
Incredibly easy to tow, being 400kg unladen and 500kg max loaded. They are also braked so good for a small car. Have 10 inch mini wheels so rated for high speed.
You can get an awning but best to buy one with one already as difficult to buy just an awning later.
For your short stays don't bother with the awning as just the cabin is all you need. Perhaps one under bed skirt for some external storage although the car will store it as you probably only need a couple of chairs and a porta potti.
Prices can be a few hundred pounds up to several thousand.
With regards to the question is a folding camper better than a tent. Our Pathfinder has electric flush toilet hot and cold water, built in heating, and very comfy beds, For us being in our seventies they suite better than a tent. The putting up and down time is not realy an isue it takes us about ten minuets to set up , and about the same again if using our inflateable awning.
Mainly because of our age we had the idea of going to the next NEC show and buying a caravan,After giving it a bit of thought, this has now been put on hold for the forseable future, as we think we would miss our Pathfinder.
Why don't you head to a dealer and I'm sure they will demonstrate.
There are also videos on u tube.
It usually takes me about 15 mins to get set up.
Awning an additional 25 minutes but for overnight stays we don't bother with the awning.
Small double beds ( one each) heating if required, fridge, hob, grill and toilet what's not too like?
Plus you are off the ground.
We had a 4 man Kampa Air tent, with additional canopy. It was great and very comfortable once set up. The actual tent was very quick to put up, but all the extra paraphernalia i.e. beds, carpet, camp kitchen, stove, cutlery, mugs & plates, table and chairs, electric hook-up and lights took quite a long time.
Packing it all away afterwards, so that it all fitted into the car and roofbox, took even longer.
That was all fine as long as we were staying put for a week, but on our last trip we watched in amazement as a Pennine Pathfinder was folded up and driven away in a matter of minutes.
We've recently bought a 2008 Conway (Pennine) Countryman, so that we can do exactly the sort of thing you describe - overnighters or short trips.
We've done a 6 day 'shakedown' trip to a site not too far away from home, ironed out a few things that needed fixing/replacing and learnt from our experiences.
Our camper doesn't have a toilet, but does have running water, electric hook-up, a fridge and a two ring stove with a grill. The 2 double beds are permanently set up and we use our lovely Outwell sleeping bags on them, to save faffing about with bedding. The 2 sofas are also always there and the table is stored in the unit. Cutlery, plates, mugs and frying pan are now permanently stowed away.
We could manage a night 'off grid' if we had to, the fridge will run off gas (have tested). We probably wouldn't bother to set up the running water if we were doing an overnighter.
We're now confident that we can set up or take down in less than an hour, including attaching the little porch awning that I've adapted to fit the unit.
We have slightly less room in the main unit than in the tent, but more comfort and everything is better organised. The full awning (which would give us more room than the tent) will only be used for longer stays (if at all!)
Watch some YouTube videos and if possible go to see a camper, but I reckon a folding camper will do exactly what you want.
If you’re island hopping, check the fares with the trailer (overall length) on the CalMac app or website - especially for the “hopscotch” tickets, which link up groups of routes into one ticket, excellent vfm. Would certainly be cheaper if you reverted to a tent in a roof bag, some models won’t take much longer to put up & take down than a TT.
And campsites with toilets may be less available, depending on which islands you’re hopping to (you don’t say), the Site Search will help. A portable loo may be essential as so-called “dirty camping” isn’t an option. Many harbours have CDPs for the boats.
Have a look at Gobur folding caravans for ease of getting ready for a quick night stop. The awning takes a bit longer, but have a look at the Youtube videos.
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It depends upon your budget. We had a Holtkamper Astro for several years and toured all over France 3 or 4 months at a time. Astro setting up
For an overnight stop we used the basic unit ( record time for pitching up to being in bed was 11 minutes. Normally about 20).
For longer stays we put up the whole shebang.
Whatever unit you choose, look at how quickly a basic unit can be put up.This is especially important if arriving in the rain!
Hi i have bought a 2020 Raclet Quickstop SE New Folding Camper and i spent most of 2021 looking for a trailer tent that is fast to pitch for just a one night stop and and can be used if we want to stay for the weekend of can be used for a longer stay by erecting the awing we have also bought the sun canopy to erect to the main body if we do not wish to put up the enclosed awing i have put links for where we purchased the Quickstop and a link that you can look at to see it erected and with the Quickstop you can pitch on a hard-standing or grass and the Quick stop comes with cooker and sink so less to pack in the car
Had a Pullman for years with the family. For most stays we didn't bother with the awning, set up took about 20 mins, then you have a roomy area with 2 beds, sink, cooker and fridge. Another folding camper advantage is that you can leave clothes and food etc in the cupboards when travelling and there is also room to put folding chairs etc in the camper when travelling.
2 disadvantages really for us - in cold weather they are not as warm as something with solid walls and if you have to pack up wet at the end of a trip you have to open the camper up to dry it out.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Folding Camper
via mobile 12/10/2021 at 5:38pm
