Just wondering how many people use the caravan to its full potential and cook, shower, wash dishes etc as I've often heard people say that they'd take the oven or bathroom out to use the space. I was also surprised on our last trip at the amount of caravanners that walked across the site with a bowl to wash the dishes. We use everything apart from the shower in ours purely because the facility is on site but i would use it if i needed to.
It seems a shame to buy a caravan that's loaded with everything you'll need and not use it surely?
We use everything except the shower, I dont get the people who cant be bothered to use the sink for what it was built for and carry all there pots to the on site sink. Big items I can understand but things like cutlery!!!
Why wash up or use the toilet/shower in your caravan when there are perfectly good facilities nearby that you have paid for & somebody else will clean? If the facilities on the site are distant or poor quality then use those in your caravan.
You are on holiday, at all times do what is easiest, it seems pointless to make life more difficult for yourself. Imho caravans come with too much equipment, why fit out something the size of a garden shed that will spend much of it's time being used in fields like a gin palace?
We use ours to its full potential apart from the shower as you say when you have good facility's I have washed my hair in it and would use the shower if needed, I cook as I would at home but do use my halogen oven rather than the one in the van but I use the halogen at home more than my domestic oven plus it saves on gas while away.
we rally so use everything in the van for what it was made for including the shower and even using normal sites we use everything. Why wander off to communal areas where you have no idea how clean it is especially after some people leave facilities in a right old state. I've also paid for the facilities that are in the van so seems stupid not to use them
------------- -x- Diane -x-
May 13 - Cala Gogo, St Cyprien (didn't go, hubby too ill to travel)
May 14 Ranc Davaine
August 14 Les Sablons
August 13 - Camping Playa Brava, Pals
We have a dinky size van, it has a shower attachment on the wash basin but the washroom is so compact that we've only used the shower for hair washing, we nearly always use CL's but search for those that offer a shower.
We don't have an oven fitted but I can cook all we need with my 4 ring hob & my beloved Remoska.
So, yes, we do use 99% of our own facilities, much prefer my own loo!!
------------- Harvey 15.8.1995 - 18.11.2010. Run free, sweet boy x
We use ours for everything, OH will still use the site showers, if we are not on a CL but I shower in mine too, I love my shower, it's all contained and very powerful. I never used my shower in the last van, as it was more of a wet room, and it was in with the loo.Each to their own though what ever works for them.
Washing up in my van never seems like a chore, I love it, I will take the big pans over to the washing up bit if they are particularly greasy, if we've had a bit fry up, but everything else I'll wash in the van.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
We rally too and use everything - my husband was surprised how good the shower was the first time he used it. If we're on a site with facilities we'll use them although as I don't always want a shower and if there aren't any privacy cubicles I will use our bathroom and I wash up in my own sink - I don't see the point in packing it all up to carry to the onsite sink when I can wash up and put away in half the time in the caravan.
We use everything. We usually stay on CLs or CSs without facilities. Even when showers and loos are available I prefer our own. I also use the shower for washing clothes, soak them first in the shower tray and then kill two birds with one stone, have a shower and tread/rinse the clothes at the same time.
We too use everything (well except the bog) why get dressed trail to shower find them full/cold or dirty We cook as at home as we go for a month at a time we also have an halogen oven (gas saver)
have just swapped caravans for one with a shower and a loo, so we can use all our own, fed up of walking across a field at 4am to go to the loo, and being the great unwashed when we are doing events
We use all the facilities in our caravan. Its what they are there for. Sure beats scurrying to the loos and showers in the site block in the rain to be confronted with a pong, a Richard III poking its head out of the toilet bowl, and a load of hair from God knows where in the shower. Thats the reality, and why we choose to use our own facilities.
We too use all our own facilities 99% of the time. Occasionally, if we fancy really long showers, we will use the site shower, but we always cook and wash up in the van. The level of facilities in our van is the reason we chose it, and it means we do not need to worry what the site facilities are like.
We tour abroad for 2-3-4 months every year, using the low season ACSI discount card, so usually never pay more than 16 euros per night. Facilities are very variable.....anything from a fully serviced pitch with 16 amp EHU included to 2 amps EHU on an Italian site where the toilets are a few hundred metres away with no seats or paper, the only water tap is there too, no easy grey water disposal, and chemical disposal is just a hole in the ground........we try to avoid this type of site!
Using site facilities is much more common on the Continent, mainly I think because many of their vans do not have the facility to pump water into the van from a container.....they have onboard tanks that they fill with a hosepipe or watering can, which is not that convenient. Also most do not have a separate shower cubicle.
It is however still puzzling that with a good provision of serviced pitches here (we are in Austria at present) we have not seen any vans fully using the facility. We use the Aquaroll mains kit to connect to the tap, and carry an assortment of pipes to make up a proper run to the drain, this has attracted much interest on the all the sites where the pitch was serviced.
The only drawback as far as we are concerned is that many sites in Austria and Germany meter the electricity, so using your own hot water is expensive at 75 euro cents per Kwh. We find it cheaper to use gas for heating then......now we understand why the locals travel with huge gas bottles! In such a situation we too would use site facilities if convenient and good.
We bought our van because it had a very good shower we make use of everything in the van except the tv aerial that was the first thing I removed , we go away to get away from the garbage on tv that passes off as entertainment. The shower is used every day we wash cooking pots in the van we don't use ehu unless it's included in the pitch fee a 40 w solar panel provides all our power needs. Most of the cooking is done on a cadac which I have adapted to work on a primus stove ( sad I know) but I really enjoy using the primus it is the same stove that i remember my parents using 50 + years ago sadly they are no longer around but the primus is still in perfect working order
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: All mod cons?
