Hello,
We're a family with 3 young children who've taken very much to camping. We have a fairly new huge tent (4 triple bedrooms, huge living space, porch awning...).
I do like the idea of having a van we could perhaps use all year around (though with our little heater we happily camped in our tent at the end of October), which may also take a much shorter period of time/be easier to set up and pack up at the campsite.
Friends of ours had plenty of problems with their brand new van which had put me off though, so I already know we'd not set up the bathroom facilities but instead probably use it for storing suitcases & shopping 😀 We also wouldn't take or use a tv as I love going without this during camping.
At the moment we use a roofbox and trailer & struggle to fit everything in.
Playing around with ferry quotes it would 'only' cost an extra £84 return to take a 21ft van instead.
I guess I'm scared about the cost of upkeep on a van- do they need regular servicing? And also driving with a van (memories of seeing vans lay on their side in busy motorway traffic as a child come flooding back)
Are they expensive and stressful to maintain?
Are they scary or difficult to tow please?
(I've spotted a used 5birth van which has taken my eye)
Towing suitable 'van with suitable car is a non issue so need not concern you if you consider yourself an experienced driver. Having passed your test since '97 may limit your choice of caravan though.
Consider a caravan as a car without an engine, ie a piece of machinery that needs to be maintained so with associated costs. Annual service if you consider it necessary may be around £150 but there could be body maintenance costs which with an older van you can diy if you have reasonable skills.
Depends on how old and fit you are. We changed in 2014 to a caravan from a tent, but the kids are up now and the airbed seemed to be getting further away each year.
It's been good for us because the bed is now at a reasonable height, we can have ice in our G&T and a lot of stuff stays in the 'van rather than having to be stored after every trip. It's also extended the season to 52/52.
We still refuse to have a TV - sitting reading a novel with a glass of red is the way to go for us.
Financially it is deffo much more expensive though.
------------- Camping Gear expands so as to fill the space available for its transportation.
A caravan can just be a 'tent on wheels' anyway. My last 5yrs of caravanning have probably cost less than a large tent. £350 to buy it & probably that much again in maintenance costs. It gets towed down to southern France every yr. It has minimum interior equipment & I don't use ehu unless it's included in site price.
Thankyou all!
My hubby would be driving (I'm a nervous driver & he has a 4x4) & his licence would allow him to tow one.
I suppose really my main concern would be cost. The tent is pretty much free to maintain, maybe just a coat of waterproofer once a year & that's about it.
I like the benefit of, as said above, items can be stored in the van itself saving time & hassle.- & panic of fitting things in. Plus being able to camp in February where we wouldn't in the tent.
Cost would be a big worry though. So although still something to contemplate I'm thinking perhaps a van isn't for us at this time.
(Isn't it great playing games with the kids, & sitting talking with no distractions 😀)
Hi
We were in the same boat 12 months ago.
We went camping to Skipton in March 2015 and got soaked through.
So we decided to upgrade to a caravan,best decision we ever made.
Yes you have to find one
Yes you have to keep up with maintenance
But it is worthwhile.
Wish I had done it years ago.
Ooh now your tempting me again 😀
Haha every camping trip is filled with rain, so far we've been lucky enough to set up & pack up in the dry though (amazing considering all other parts of each trip it's hammering & howling!)
Out of curiosity how long does it take to hook up & go?
We went camping with friends last year-they have a (brand new 29ft) van (their toilet leaked into the van, their awning broke under the weight of the rain...), they took hours to set up & pack up. We had a tent & we're done in less than half the time that they were..... But..... They did seem to take hours to get anything done anyway whereas I'm an organised freak 😀
I'm guessing common problems (ignoring bathroom related as if not want to use this) are damp? And perhaps rot?
The van I've seen needs a new skylight, apparently the wind blew it off so it's being held in place (remaining waterproof) with a bungee), I'm assuming that would be a cheap fix.
There are you tube videos and spare parts on eBay for everything these days 😀
We changed from a tent (3 bedroom) to a van, last November. It is the best thing we did, it has extended our season, and the fact you can just pack up and go, and no need to dry out a wet tent!
We do use a full awning because we still like to eat in it,it gives that outdoor camping feel, it is also good for feeding the dog etc.
Yes you do need to service a van, but we have found a reasonable mobile engineer that comes us.
One good thing we have found is, often we were charged extra for having a large tent, but this never applies to the van.
The only question we say now, is Why didn't we make the change earlier?
Someone said they pay around £150 a year for a service. Is that pretty similar for all of you please?
What does the service involve/what do they do/maintain please?
I love the idea of a full awning (this van comes with porch awning), but they look expensive to purchase & after seeing our friends taking AGES to erect and pack theirs up that puts me off a bit too as if like a van to be making things more simple
😀
Awnings have come a long way now - think 'air awning'.
Lighter in weight too (aluminium poles) and others having flexi poles.
Another good thing with caravans we noticed...
You can pick a dry day before you're due to leave site if you know the weather's going to turn, to take down the awning, have it properly packed away (DRY) and still be on holiday.
We still camp, but only on the continent, where it is usually warmer, and drier but we bought a 2nd hand cheapish caravan for use in this country. Warmer, drier, more comfortable, and we can use it all year round.
£150 is about right for a full service. Search service on here. We only use any awning for longer stays, but with kids you will probably need the extra room, so allow one, to two hours to put up a full awning.
If it was raining, I would not put an awning up, and they can take a long time to dry. Bit like a large polycotton/canvas tent.
If you decide to go for a caravan, pay to get an independent mechanic to thoroughly examine it. If it is damp; walk away unless your are really confident that you have the knowledge, skills, time, or money to get it sorted.
We pay £190 for a service, £300 for storage, £120 for Insurance. Our caravan has been a good buy for us as we mostly only rally where we need our own facilities so we are very comfortable.
It doesn't feel like camping to me though and I yearned for the folding camper we had before. So much that we bought another camper last year to use on our summer holiday. Much more fun.
I never took to tent camping although I tried a few different types of tent to make sure
We swapped to a van because we wanted week-ends away.
Pros - we arrive and within 30 mins having a cuppa. We don't use the awning for week-ends. We see lots of families with children and most tend to put up a small porch-seems to be for shoes and bikes.
If the weather is dry we go away even if forecast for rain - it's often wrong. In the tent we would only go away if fine weather was forecast all week-end.
Going away in winter is fine, but the days are short and we have no kids with us so are happy to sit and read. Going over to the ablutions in the dark, rain and wind is no fun either. Would you really use it through the winter?
I think the suggestions of trailer tent/folding camper would suit you more. Quicker set up time but still the fun of camping. Big enough not to bother with an awning at week-ends. Less scary to tow. You can still have an extended camping season, just probably not all year.
------------- Started with a motorbike and tent.......my gallery, my life.
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Topic: Buy a caravan or stick with tent?
