OH and I think it may well be time to give up the caravanning.
DS starts at college in September and his holidays are all different to younger DS and mine (as I work in a school). We haven't used the van much over the past couple of years and it doesn't look like getting used much - apart from maybe two weeks a year. So after much heart string pulling we are looking at getting rid of our van and it's contents. Any of you people got ideas of the best way for us to go. Not sure where best to advertise it.
We gave up about 18 months ago. I am an imposter on here these days. Ours wasn't getting much use either. We put it on ebay and on UKCS classifieds. Sold through ebay to a lady living a stone's throw from us.
I have thought about a seasonal pitch, but be honest we can't afford to pay the yearly fee and a family holiday in the year. Plus I'm not sure I would rest with my van away from home. We store it on side drive so don't have any storage cost to pay. Caravanning was a cheap way to get away when we got our first van ten years ago. We have had some quality holidays and family time but I have to get my head round that things change, and your children grow up.
We gave up once before when our girls became teenagers, and for similar reasons to yourselves, but Caravanning is a bit of an addiction, and after only one season of having sold her, and after suffering some shoddy service with package deals, Haven type sites ect, we promised ourselves that oneday when the time was right we would return and buy another caravan, and we did!
As soon as my husband retired and the girls were away at uni or starting a family of their own, we went on the hunt and bought a 3 year old Lunar, and had to buy all the gear to go with it all over again!
Our caravanning days were back with full force, and we had 10 weeks away over our first season, and now we have the new Elddis, we tend to stick with a handful of well loved CLs, where the owners have become real friends, and our super new end washroom means that we dont need to use a sites shower block at all, a big help as we get less mobile and old age sets in, we are hoping to carry on another 5 years or so until my OH turns 80!
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Thanks Romany girl
Your post has made me wonder about selling the van but keeping the "equipment" that you need for caravanning in case we also decide to go back to it in a few years. Now my decision is do we sell onto a dealer for a fast sale or private, hopefully to a family
What a shame you are thinkink of giving up. I think you will get a much better price selling privately but you may have to include a few things like EHU, aquaroll, waste carrier etc. if you sell to a dealer you may be able to keep these items but they will offer you a very low price.
It might be worth checking out the cost of a seasonal pitch as they are not all expensive. Ours is £921 a year, including Winter storage AND electric. You could then use it any time you like, especially if you managed to get a site not too far from home. It might be worth trying it for a year before making a final decision to give up completely.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Today we have bought a static. We have had a great 5 years with our Coachman Laser on a seasonal pitch but health dictates that we must now make things easier. It's an old 'van but immaculate and on a fantastic site at superb rates. All we have is a toilet/shower block but at £900 a year for exactly the same facilities as the seasonal, to us it's a cert. We've been there today to sort things out and it was wonderful. I'm now looking forward to the luxury of enjoying the countryside and wildlife without the hassle of awnings. My Coachman is for sale in the free ads on here if anyone is interested, Just make me an offer.
So what's wrong with keeping it just to use it a couple of weeks a year. If you enjoy using it for two weeks keep it. You never no you mit find time for some long weekend's
Because the amount of caravans owned appear to remain static over the years and clearly from the posts on here, there are newbies coming along all the time, I guess there are an equal number of folks giving up caravanning each year.
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: Giving up caravanning
