Have looked at some MH today (locally) not a lot of choice roundabout where we live. Those that we have looked at (that we would consider) are either way out of our price range £40k plus or have not been looked after to our standard). I like to think I keep our caravan decent ie clean cooker, hob, sinks, make sure toilet/shower room is pristine. It's not that we are adverse to purchasing second hand, our caravan was preowned, looked after by previous owner, as we are doing. Even if you are selling on surely pride would take over and do a clean up beforehand.
Our discussion on the way back home once again came back to the convenience of the car, we are golfers (albeit I am just starting out) and I don't think many golf clubs would appreciate MH in the car park. As for towing a car behind us not sure we want to go to that extent regardless if anything is in a grey area or not. I just can't get my head around the expense. I have looked at both sides of the 'coin', and have definitely decided that at this moment in time caravanning is more economical, not sure if oh has decided to stay as we are, I feel he still wants to go ahead. Only time will tell.
Im also amazed if not a little disgusted at the state of some vans on forecourts for sale. If this is how people treat their - expensive - motorhomes, what are their houses like? Manky carpets.....soiled? upholstery...and the loo stinking of pee. How the dealers expect anyone to part with money for these sheds i just dont know.
ValJim, you probably do right to stick as you are for now if you cant exactly agree. Its a big undertaking, without considering towing cars behind as well.
I would maybe try a hire though - out of season, just to gauge your OH's reaction. If only to be able to put the notion to bed once and for all.
I've had all sorts over the years; when the kids were young I found a caravan was definitely better. Now I go away on my own I'd prefer a small motorhome or campervan.
If you like to set up on site for the duration and go out daily then a caravan is better - but if you like to travel around and stay at different sites then a motorhome is more suitable.
Either is better for cold wet weather than a tent.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
I don't think many golf clubs would appreciate MH in the car park.
I've got to be honest here - they are running a business and you're a customer. If they don't like your vehicle (which happens to be a MH) in their car park, tough!
I can understand the issues that some people have with slightly dirty secondhand vans, but it's not hard to set those aside when you look at the financial side. I bought my secondhand van 7 years ago and it's lost maybe £7k in value during that time. Had I bought new, it would probably have dropped £20k in value in the same period, if not more. That £13k+ extra will go a long way when I need to move on to my next (secondhand) van.
Bear in mind also that dealer vans typically won't get cleaned by their owners before selling, because the dealer will have offered them as little as they can get away with. I've always found that private sale vans tend to be much better cleaned and prepared for sale - and you also get much better value privately.
A campervan kind of addresses both weaknesses - it's a small enough vehicle to nip around in once on site and you don't have to tow. Perhaps a VdUb or converted smaller van is an option. If its with an easily detachable awning or a larger pop up tent (instead of an awning - great bit of kit) it can be very convenient. There are some very well kitted out campers out there.
We didn't wan to tow ( nowt to do with driving ability! ) and didnt want the expense of motorhome which wouldnt be used 10 months a year. So we opted for a camper when we stopped tenting and it can be used as your everyday driver. The compromise of course is the relative lack of space compared to the caravan/ motor home.
Post last edited on 18/09/2012 20:04:05
------------- John
May/June.....France
Aug.......somewhere else in France
I can understand that some people will take the view that they are not getting the price they would like when selling to a dealer, therefore why should I clean the van.
It's just that I was brought up to believe that you wouldn't move from a house without giving it a little cleaning so that the new owners were not cleaning your dirt away. Only once have we purchased a new caravan. The second hand caravans have had a clean out, but I still gave them a good 'bottoming'.
Hi. Its that six million dollar question. We purchased our motorhome back in 2005 and still really enjoy it. but we often are torn between whether we would relace it with another MH or go for a Caravan we do have a car on an A frame which we only take in the UK.
As an example we ard on our way back from a trip Brugge, Luxembourg, Trier, Pommern, Rudesheim, Wurzburg, several stops along the Romantic Road, Fussen, Lake Titisee, Eguisheim and now we are on our way back and the point is we would have stayed longer and proberbly enjoyed ourselves more at some of these places if we had had a caravan and a car however some of them we got so close to we could stay late in the evening and have a drink in town because we had a MH and you wouldn't have been able with a caravan.
hope that helps and makes sense
Will/would we buy a caravan or MH next time, we really havent got a clue.
Hello there. I didn't post here earlier as we've not ever had a motorhome but maybe my own thoughts might help a wee bit as we have had caravans before.
Loved being in our caravans & would still be doing it if the last one hadn't bitten the dust. We liked having plenty of room, having a vehicle to go out in without having to pack everything away is great, buying a decent older used caravan is a lot less outlay than a decent MH/campervan, lower maintenance cost too - all very appealing...
All the same we feel we'll be a lot less restricted on where we go by buying a campervan - we'd like to tour places in the highlands of Scotland that have the sort of roads only an idiot would take a caravan !
We can also lok at going a lot farther afield due to lower fuel costs than when we were towing. On top of that, it'll be a lot less hassle than hitching up etc, & quite honestly the thought of towing terrified me I was determined to do it as I always thought "what if anything happened to hubby" & also I just don't like not being able to do things !
With a campervan/MH we can go long trips, & even go abroad as I'll now be able to do my share of the driving. Also a huge adnavtage being able to pull over & kip for a while in comfort - or maybe even 1 of us go have a lie down whilst the other is driving (is that legal ??!)
Basically as other folks have said there's adnatages & disadvantages with both, but we're really lopking forward to getting our 1st campervan as for us it's going to open up a lot of new possibilities - going away for very short breaks is another one actually, couldn't be bothered with hitching up etc for just a night or 2 with the caravan.
After trying a motorhome we were fed up of losing our space when we went of site, the other issue was the need to secure everything just to go to the local shop
We have stuck with a caravan and will continue to do so..
After taking everything into consideration that we would like to do when we are out and about, costings etc. we have made what we believe is our final decision. We are staying with our caravan. Maybe in the not too distant future we may decide to go the other way. We maintain that we would have to be able to have the time to use a motorhome to its full potential so that it would outway the cost. Thanks to all for your views it has been highly entertaining and beneficial in our decision.
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Topic: Do We Don`t We Puchase a Motorhome
I was determined to do it as I always thought "what if anything happened to hubby" & also I just don't like not being able to do things ! 
