We can compare going from tent to MH, and also compare friends tenting beside our MH.
Campervan much quicker: drive up, hook up (if you’re using EHU), chairs out, done. Make the bed up later.
If you need an awning for sleeping or storing bikes, then the time difference will be almost nil as you’re adding tent time. The campervan kitchen saves time over setting up a camp kitchen. If you get a campervan with a fixed rear bed (front lounge diner), you can leave it made up (as my friends do) & save the time lugging bedding into the tent. I think we saved an hour arriving & 2 hours leaving as it’s quicker unpacking the car than packing it back together like a jigsaw. If you’re staying put for a week, the time saved is much much less; the campervan comes into its own for touring, moving on every 2-3 days. And definitely better in wet weather.
We moved from tent to 'van some time ago, and have never regretted it.
As Fiona says, it is very quick to settle on a pitch, the hardest part is deciding which way to park.
You need a different mindset with a 'van. As you don't have a spare car to go out from the campsite in, you might choose a site you can walk, cycle or bus from. And often rather than driving to see a place then returning, you can just drive to the next campsite instead.
You still have to be a bit minimalist and tidy, it's easy to pile things inside, then you have to move it all so you can sit down or go to bed.
Ex-tenter now with a custom panel van conversion in the form of a MWB VW Crafter with her own facilities. I knew I would need to switch unit back in 2015 and got my van in 2021 delayed by about a year due to Covid, and have never regretted it.
My tenting set up would typically take 5-6h to pitch, involving a 4-berth Dutch pyramid, and I needed a leisure trailer to carry my gears, as well as the boot of my car.
Nowadays, I arrive at a site, level up using the ramps which is probably the hardest job if needed, hook up the EHU, fetch some fresh water as I mostly use the water from the onboard tank for dish washing and flushing the toilet, put the Wastemaster out to make room in the van; and I am done.
If the weather is nice, I may set up the retractable awning, guy it with extra storm guys, and bring out the furniture as in tables and chairs.
If it is windy, I may put the windbreak up.
Much easier physically with the MH than a tent for certain, which was the main reason why I decided to change unit, as it took longer and longer for me to recover from pitching and striking down.
I don't want to have to make the bed every night and to put it away every morning. Hence I got a VW Crafter as I could have a drop down bed for ease of bed making.
Also, the van is long enough to have a proper kitchen and bathroom with a toilet and shower at the back.
Yes to no spare car to go out and about, and packing things away before taking the van out for excursions etc. is a bit of a pain. Hence I tend to go out and about towards the end of a trip with plans to eat out so that I can pack most of the kitchen stuff away.
I have PVC covers for my tables and can leave them out without having to worry about water damage. Chairs can be left out too, just need to remember to keep the chair cushion tucked up under the tables to avoid being rained on.
My van is just about narrow enough and short enough to squeeze into most normal parking spaces.
And I am happy to have chosen this van size, otherwise I would struggle with narrow single track lanes with passing places!!!
I just need to be careful with the height as she is nearly 2.5m high.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
We went from trailer tent to motorhome, we've never looked back.
The trailer tent was great when it was up but putting it up we always came close to divorce many a time, it's no fun trying to hold up a heavy awning while trying to get your wife to put the pole in the hole, no not THAT pole, no not THAT hole (you get the picture)? Likewise, the days approaching the end of the holiday were filled with dread and trepidation as we knew we'd be following the same routine in reverse taking the thing down.
Then there was the dilemma of of getting the damn thing away dry, always an issue!
With the motorhome we turn up, plug-in the EHU if available, maybe put some water in, get the chairs out and crack open a beer. So much less stress.
If you have a smaller campervan you may need to put out an awning to give you the space which will add to your set-up time and effort, likewise if don't have an on-board toilet you may have to put up a loo tent which again increases the amount of effort you have to make. We've always had a motorhome which was big enough to not need to do that.
You need to decide between campervan and motorhome.
A campervan is more like a tin tent, a place to sleep and eat in, and retire to when it's wet or dark. You don't always need awnings, toilet tents etc if you use campsite facilities but you may prefer to have EHU rather than using gas all the time. A campervan can be used as an everyday runabout, it parks in standard car parking spaces, often goes under barriers, great for days out.
A motorhome is a larger self contained vehicle which is great for camping off grid as well as on sites. It may be more difficult to find other places to stop due to its size, and you may not be able to store it at home for the same reason. We observe folk towing a small car behind for days out, so presumably it's not always ideal for popping on and off site.
We went from a tent to a caravan many years ago when the kids came along. A tent was fine for the two of us when we were young.
Now, many years later, we have a caravan again as we don't tend to tour as much but just set up on a site and use the car for visiting places, shopping etc. There are now only two of us again.
Tents, caravans, camper-vans, and motorhomes, they all have their advantages and their disadvantages so it's really about personal choice. Tents and caravans tend to be much cheaper to buy than camper-vans or motorhomes and both are better, in my opinion, than either camper-vans or motorhomes, for staying on one site, but you can't beat the latter two for touring.
Never had a motorhome and never would. We can keep our caravan at home and use the car for trips out and to get shopping when on site. We used to have tents which were ok until we nearly froze to death in the Lake District one Easter.
I combine both, I have a camper with an awning. Setup times with the awning are more or less the same as putting up a tent but the convenience of having proper cooking facilities, a fridge and several 220v and 12v sockets is well worth it. If I am only staying in the van for 1 or 2 nights I don't bother with the awning which means I basically just park up and when I want to go to sleep I pull the bed out.
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Bonce on 26/8/2023
Never had a motorhome and never would. We can keep our caravan at home and use the car for trips out and to get shopping when on site. We used to have tents which were ok until we nearly froze to death in the Lake District one Easter.
I'd be far more likely to have a motorhome if I had loads of money to spare. They are far better for touring in, stopping a day or two here and there and moving on, but you need a car as well really for general running around at home. A camper-van would have been fine when we were younger, in fact our first holiday together was in a Bedford Dormobile camper-van borrowed from a friend. I wouldn't have one today though as we would feel much too cramped up and I wouldn't want all the folding and unfolding of beds etc every night. I also like to have a toilet onboard for those overnight needs! Rarely use it during the day as we are usually out and about or we use the site facilities if we are not. I certainly couldn't keep a large motorhome on the drive, our fairly small caravan only just fits. But then if we had plenty of money we would be out with it a lot more, and when we weren't it could go into storage. It's all about personal choice and circumstances.
I don't mind towing at all, as I have done a lot of it over the years, and not just caravans. I have towed a wide variety of different trailers big and small, but the one I like towing least is my little box trailer that I use mainly for going to the tip. Virtually impossible to reverse as I can't see the darned thing behind the car unless it has already jack-knifed!
Can't be too specific on a campervan as I moved from a tent to a caravan, but campervans/MH and caravans have a lot in common.
I'd say with my caravan, all done on my own, I can be livable within 40-50 mins of arrival, and that's with all the inherent comforts of a caravan, not just bare subsistence set up, that includes fitting 3 security locks to wheels and hitch (not necessary with a campervan), levelling, corner steadies down (again not on a campervan), fill and connecting water butt and bleeding water system, connecting EHU, placing waste water tank and drain pipes in place etc. Depending on which awning I'm using, another 20-30min to set that up if I want it.
Allow maybe another hour for the finessing, such as getting the hot water heated, and fitting the TV to it's mounting bracket (I remove mine and stow well packaged for travel) and tuning to local stations etc., putting toiletries in the bathroom and hanging up towels etc., dish soap and cloths etc. in the kitchen. ..... and maybe making a brew or cracking a beer whilst in the process.
Breaking camp takes a little longer perhaps, as water system to drain down and toilet and greywater tanks to empty as well as reversing the set up tasks.
How quickly you can set up or break down is HUGELY dependant on how organised you are, and how you prepare stowing of fragile/breakable items like crockery and electronics etc. If you have a well proven routine and regular storage spots it can be quick, if you're improvising every time it can be MUCH slower.
You really do need to give some thought to stowing of heavy items (awning, fold up chairs etc.) that if they move about can do damage, and securely stashing crockery etc. for on the road. Many of the crockery racks that you find as standard fitment in cupboards are convenient for living but inadequate for on the road travel, resulting in damage if additional measures not taken. Pretty much everything that you have just lying around needs putting away in a cupboard otherwise it'll fly around on the road! The more organised and tidy you are, the less time in setting up and packing up.
I've arrived very late on site and in the dark, pitched on a temp pitch with intent to move in the morning to proper pitch, probable gone from still rolling to very basically pitched and relaxing in 20 mins, frozen pizza in the oven, beer on the go!
With a camper van, some tasks simply won't apply, and the more compact nature of the vehicle may exclude TV, toilet tanks etc. so potentially quicker. What applies to all types is that you have shelter from inclement weather from the moment you arrive, and many of the outside tasks can be delayed until the weather is more accommodating! I've pitched and broken camp with tents in bad weather more than I choose to remember, and the urgency to get shelter up and all your goods out of the rain before they become soaked is VERY pressurising! Almost any leisure vehicle relieves a lot of that pressure!
As to less work, generally very much yes, with the proviso of substituting new tasks for old, but also with the option of doing many more at your leisure than out of pure necessity that comes with living in a tent.
To qualify, a campervan or MH needs a different mindset to either a tent or caravan, as everytime you need a vehicle to go out in, you have to pack up to some degree, which can make 'just popping out' a much bigger exercise! After much consideration, I opted for the caravan over either a camper or MH when upgrading from a tent. Friends with campers and MHs tend to plan on basis of not having a convenient vehicle available to do minor journeys (trip to the shops etc.), and/or doing without whatever would cause them to travel, some make use of bikes or buses for local travel rather than use the vehicle.
Re size, our MH is 5.8m long, shorter than some PVCs (which is what most campervans are) which can be over 6.5m. We’re noticeably wider though: I am too tall to sleep across a campervan (I’ve tried them at NEC shows) but the MH bed across is generous.
If I were to have a campervan like a T5/6 I would definitely opt for a space for the cassette toilet and have a driveaway awning either on the side or at the back, and set up the bed in there.
I would also have a pull out kitchen at the back.
However, I did not like the idea of carrying the bed and bedding, and the driveaway awning, and having to set them up and pack away etc., so I went down the PVC/MH route.
I would suggest you hire a campervan and a MH for a short trip each, and see which one you prefer more.
This year, I wised up, made some slight adjustments to my gears and routine, and managed to have some excursions towards the end of the trips without feeling the dread of packing/unpacking.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Mrs has health issues so struggles with camping now especially in winter.
As a result we've had a small Citroen Dispatch campervan for a few years.
Camping - hour set up tops, usually 45 mins. 20 minutes of that is the tent. Similar in reverse. Bit longer with smaller car due to packing everyting 'just so'. Camping with a goods van - just chuck everything in the back.
Campervan - rotate the passenger seat, turn on gas & done. 2 minutes. Water was loaded at home. Everything in van runs off battery which is fully charged by solar. If I decide to use hookup I don't class that as 'set-up' as don't need to do it. Has toilet but if on site we use theirs
We're actually preferring the van for just the 2 of us as we don't always use sites & get to places you wouldn't want or can't set up a tent.
Our van is just over 5m. The next van that's in the planning stages will be 5.4m PVC with standing height, fixed bed, shower & toilet cubicle (same layout as Westfalia Admunsen 540 layout with personal refinements). We don't need standing height as in current van we're sat or outside but I guess it will be nice as we get older. Mrs is away to her bed early so a fixed bed means she can go crash without me setting up the rock & roll bed & bedding. The other big advantage of the new van will be the 'garage' under the bed as we'll be away for longer so more room for stuff required & for longer UK trips I can run my easy business from the van instead of closing for the hols.
We're pretty minimalist so even if we have the table & chairs out it's a quick job to packaway for a trip out in the van.
If it took me 5 hours to set up camp like mentioned further up I'd have jacked it in years ago!
5 hrs to set up?? That would do me in as well. One of the big advantages of a caravan, camper-van, or motorhome vs a tent or trailer tent is that if you arrive on a site in torrential rain (we've all been there) you can be sitting in the dry within a couple of minutes at most. Peripheral stuff like EHU, water, etc you can set up when it eases off. I can have our caravan fully set up on site in less than 30 minutes without breaking a sweat. It does take longer of course if we take the awning, but for a week or less we usually don't bother these days. There are only two of us now, and we don't even have our dog anymore. We didn't even have an awning when we had our kids onboard in the 1980s, few caravanners did back then.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: campervan vs tent camping
via mobile 25/8/2023 at 6:45pm
