Hey all, decided that its time to sell our Bailey Ranger 550-6.. Been caravanning for almost 4 years now and its been a blast, met some great people / friends and loved every holiday. But the rising costs of fuel, insurance, site bookings weighed up against the likes of Euro Camp / Key Camp etc its cheaper to sell up and pocket the money for a rainy day. We will be looking at buying a tent as we'll still look at the odd weekends away with friends etc.
If anyone is interested then feel free to drop me a PM, its advertised on various sites and also here in the classifieds.
Why not look at a trailer tent or even folding camper if you are used to comfort of sleeping off the ground and have car set up already for towing. plenty of choice of used ones and decent cotton canvas will last for decades and far more solid than most modern thinner tents
Caravaning on a financial basis if you have newish van etc will never really work with depreciation etc, its more of a lifestyle and more frequent holidays. It only really works financially, if you keep your van for years or buy a good old one.
Really only works financially if you buy sub £2k vans, keep them and use inexpensive sites. Even then the need to keep a big powerful car to tow a caravan is a whole year cost.
I see this cost of caravanning continue to deteriorate. It is a lifestyle but becoming an increasingly expensive lifestyle.
Much cheaper to hire someone else's mobile but then you finish up on the "park" style of site but not what everyone wants.
I agree, it's only cheap with the "Old crappy" vans.
I paid just under £500 for mine, & I only ever use basic sites, & try not to pay much over a tenner a night.
But then there's the £5/week storage. My car is thirsty, but that's another hobby of mine, it's almost 30 years old & takes some looking after. Still, the fuel gauge drops like a stone with the 'van in tow .
It must be harder with families. I'm a solo camper, with mainly tents, my caravan is a recent purchase & supposedly for the local events I attend (steam rallies & car shows), although I find myself taking it further & further afield.
I'm a bit old fashioned when it comes to camping & camp sites. I prefer the basic sites, & even did when I was a child on family caravan holidays, as we rarely spent long on the actual site, so had no need for clubhouse, bar, shop, kiddies play area or the like. But a lot of families these days seem to prefer these large commercial sites, which again makes the whole thing more expensive.
Nope, sad to say, it's no longer the cheap holiday it once was. Most of my tents are proper cotton canvas frame tents, IMO these are the best type if you are going down the camping route, & can be bought very cheaply 2nd hand on ebay, which is where I got all mine (can you guess I'm on a tight budget).
What a shame you've given up something which you've enjoyed so much. I hope you find some kind of alternative that you can still be happy with.
We are also thinking of the unthinkable,giving up the caravan.We are pensioners and see the value of our money shrinking all the time.Diesel,Car/Caravan Ins,Mot repairs,Site fees,Food,and Heating bills all rising.Last year we did not do any tours and just kept trips to local sites to save on fuel.
Sorry to hear that Mark but,yes it is getting expensive thanks to the falling pound.I said this in a thread i started about how i thought the days of the 4x4s might be over due to high petrol/diesel costs,not only that their just having a laugh at us paying their high site fees.
Coincidentally I was wondering whether to give it all up this year, and I already have a tent
Camping is becoming too popular, too crowded, and too expensive and I don't seem to be enjoying myself half as much as I used to. I am thinking of going less often but using cheap B&B's or Travelodge/Premier Inns etc; especially if I can collar one of their cheap offers (do they really exist?). Maybe even a static caravan.
Anyway, I thought one night away (instead of two) would still give me two whole days and without the hassle of erecting a tent. One night in a cheap B&B might work out cheaper than two nights on a campsite and with a breakfast thrown in too
Coincidentally I was wondering whether to give it all up this year, and I already have a tent
Camping is becoming too popular, too crowded, and too expensive and I don't seem to be enjoying myself half as much as I used to. I am thinking of going less often but using cheap B&B's or Travelodge/Premier Inns etc; especially if I can collar one of their cheap offers (do they really exist?). Maybe even a static caravan.
Anyway, I thought one night away (instead of two) would still give me two whole days and without the hassle of erecting a tent. One night in a cheap B&B might work out cheaper than two nights on a campsite and with a breakfast thrown in too
But isnt it all about being in the great outdoors under the stars ? Even though I'm only looking at different tents ect at the moment, I'm really looking forward to actually getting out there with a glass of wine, chilling out and watching world go by already...
I'm sure theres loads of uncommercial sites to be explored although i'm sure the kids would hate it if there wasnt a kids club or swimming etc but thats how it is, back to basics with just a washing up station and a shower block oh but I need electric !! I couldnt go all Bear Grylls or whatever his name is
Must also add, we may return to caravanning once the kids have flown the nest and we've retired.. I'd love one of those fixed bed vans mmmmm only another 20 years to go then
well I know that we wont be selling up, ok so the pound is'nt worth much but we take the food from home, we fill the car up as usual, we dont have a mortgage so we look for a reasonably inexpensive site and always use EHU. we are both disabled but try not to let it stop us. we are both 'on the pension ' so we can appreciate money being toght. we bought our first van 5 yrs since 2nd hand but after 2 yrs decided it was the wrong layout so we bought a brand new avondale with a fixed bed, much better for us.it does'nt matter what you buy it will go down in value as soon as you take delivery of it but with all the rise in prices of flying / coach trips/ cruises its got to be cheaper in this country in your 'own' pull along hotel ? I know we'll be having pleanty of holidays around the uk this year regardless.
atb Bill
------------- Bill n Kay
............................
when the going gets tough... get someone else to do it.....
I smile besause I have'nt a clue whats going on... appreciate everything in life especially your friends...
Quote: Originally posted by mandk_surrey on 17/1/2012
But the rising costs of fuel, insurance, site bookings weighed up against the likes of Euro Camp / Key Camp etc its cheaper to sell up and pocket the money for a rainy day.
ATB
Mark
Strange, that was what got us into caravanning 20 years ago - we were on a Eurocamp holiday and the couple on the next pitch had paid a few hundred less overall for their holiday in their own trailer tent than we had to be in a Eurocamp tent; plus they hadn't the problems we'd had getting all the necessary kit in their car - with a toddler and all her stuff we struggled, and we had a Cavalier estate.
Looked at trailer tents, then bought an old caravan instead for £500.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
I think it must be very very different for different people. There are the cheaper "crappy" types, who pay no more than about £2000 for their caravan, hope for the best & generally camp on the more basic sites. You may end up with some damp, but you'll usually find you end up getting many more years out of your 'van than you first thought. I fit quite comfortably into this category, & I still find it expensive, but manageable (any holiday is a luxury to me as I live on a very limited income).
I can't begin to imagine the astronomical costs involved with a new or newish 'van though (anything made in the last 10 years I would consider newish), then having a whole family to pay for & those ridiculously expensive, all singing, all dancing sites.
This side of the coin must surely be a lifestyle choice, for there must be cheaper ways to holiday.
I think these days we (& especially our kids, well, not mine, I don't have any) have got used to being spoilt somewhat. Most of these basic sites have large open green field spaces for kids to throw a ball about, & since when did we "holiday" on caravan sites anyway? I always thought it was a "base", a place to centre operations whilst we go off, exploring a different area & do touristy things. If you want a holiday park surely Butlins or Pontins would do as well, & undoubtedly be cheaper?
I never even knew camp sites had such things as Kids Clubs.
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: Oh Well, it was fun whilst it lasted
as we'll still look at the odd weekends away with friends etc. 
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