After 10+ years in various well loved tents the pain of roof boxes and car packing jenga I think I have persuaded the other half that towing stuff wouldn't be too terrible. I looked at folding campers but decided they look like a faff. We passed a swift basecamp on the A9 recently and OH liked the look of it, looked it up on the internet and has decided that it's not really a caravan (the workings of the male mind are a mystery) and it might be ok.
I've also looked at it and it has many nice features and I like it's size but we dont need all the features and it's expensive.
So could people please help - could you recommend vans that are similar but cheaper. Features we need/like:
1. Big windows - bringing the outside inside. Windows need blinds and screens
2. Light and compact - easy to tow and as cheap to tow as possible. We have an 2.0 diesel Smax.
3. The ability to use comfortably without electricity and campsite washrooms for weekends - solar panels, shower, etc.
4. Quick to erect roomy awnings in case our incredibly tall (almost 6ft) 16 year twins want to come with us.
5. Warm enough to use all year round.
6. Small spaniel friendly
7. Is funky enough to distract OH from thinking it's a caravan - this might be asking for the impossible!
Light as possible with large windows, but you want blinds and screens to block the outside world?
Cheap to tow?
Its easy to survive 2 weeks on a 100Ah leisure battery is you just use the waterpump and some LED lights for a short time. Its when you leave the lights on or want to charge phones etc from the leisure battery that it struggles.
Im finding that some sites no longer allow sleeping in the awnings.
You have an S-Max diesel but when did you pass your driving test?
The problem with recommending something, is that they are made in very small numbers unlike cars. I could say yes you want an S-Max titanium with these options and there will be choices. With caravans and trailer tents the chance of finding whats recommended is small.
Goto some local dealers and see what they have on offer.
How would they know if you were sleeping in the awning? Nobody's ever inspected the inside of my tent and I wouldn't have expected them to do so to a van and awning combo.
Quote: Originally posted by Katieep on 10/6/2018
Cheers - I think we'll have to take ourselves to one of the shows.
I've not heard of sites not letting people sleep in the awnings - surely if you've paid for them - it's no different than sleeping in a tent ?
certainly when booking Haven sites a warning pops up telling you that only certain sites will allow sleeping in the awning but again I agree how would they know?
------------- Good cakes aren't cheap. Cheap cakes aren't good
Quote: Originally posted by seanfdh on 10/6/2018
How would they know if you were sleeping in the awning? Nobody's ever inspected the inside of my tent and I wouldn't have expected them to do so to a van and awning combo.
I suppose they might hear the snoring! I've slept in my awning several times.
Not sure what you are really after. Is it a caravan or not.
There are folding caravans like a Gobur which is really easy to tow and pretty easy to erect. Most are only 2 berth so twins will need to sleep in awning. We always found a pup tent far better though for a teen bedroom.
Dandys are a cross between a folding camper and a caravan and very easy to tow although they do have to be erected.
Insulated PVC covering and quite a few wooden walls means they can be used all year round and packed away wet unlike a canvas folding camper.
Available budget is the other missing information along with storage for the camper/caravan or whatever.
Quote: Originally posted by navver on 10/6/2018
Not sure what you are really after. Is it a caravan or not.
There are folding caravans like a Gobur which is really easy to tow and pretty easy to erect. Most are only 2 berth so twins will need to sleep in awning. We always found a pup tent far better though for a teen bedroom.
Dandys are a cross between a folding camper and a caravan and very easy to tow although they do have to be erected.
Insulated PVC covering and quite a few wooden walls means they can be used all year round and packed away wet unlike a canvas folding camper.
Available budget is the other missing information along with storage for the camper/caravan or whatever.
I am, I have to admit conflicted and indecisive.
I would like to spend around £12k but would push to about £16k for the right unit that we would keep for a number of years and use a lot.
A small caravan like the basecamp or folding camper we could keep on the drive anything bigger would need to be stored elsewhere. A friend stores hers locally and it's not too expensive so I would consider that though not ideal. We also both have an old style driving licence.
I love our tent:
it's a huge roomy polycotton monster but it's easy to pitch, it has big windows with nets to keep the midges out, sewn in groundsheet to stop the dog escaping and we have a really comfy camping bed set-up. We have reduced out kit to the minimum we can to be comfy but the tent, beds, etc are all huge and packing up the car is a right pain. Also we can only camp in the summer and it's not a set-up that allows touring. All this means we are rarely camping - only once this year and not at all last year and we love camping.
If I could extend our camping season, make it less of a faff and have set-up that allows over-night stops I would be a happy women - not having to walk to the toilet at night would be nice too. However I have to satisfy an OH who currently doesn't really want to tow anything and I still want that feeling of being part of the countryside you get from camping.
I have thought of trailer tents - but they don't really tick the boxes. I think a small caravan might be the thing - just have to bring along a reluctant OH with me.
The Goburs are great caravans, very well built and once erected are as comfortable as you can get, including the models that have a bathroom. However I did find them a bit of a faff, and you said you didn't like faffing! I've gone full circle now in the search for what is right for me, and have bought recently a pre-owned Fleurette Tamaris 31TS pop-up caravan. It's the perfect compromise for me, bigger than the Gobur but lighter! Takes only a fraction of the time to set up and then you have full head height almost the whole length of the 'van. Nicer finish than the Freedoms IMHO. Similar 'van is the Dutch make Kip, or if you want to go even smaller and lighter you could look at the Going Go-pod, they're about as qwerky as you can get nowadays but not a lot of room, especially as you have a dog as well! You really need to get to one of the big shows so that you can see all the models together under one roof. Good luck wwith your search, I hope you find something you BOTH like!
------------- Life without dogs? I don't think so!
Hi, my nephew did some kind of research thing for Caravan magazine recently about small caravans, I’m no good at links but if you visit youtube and search Young Tourers there is a video called Tiny Tourers Test by Young Tourers, it has loads of info about several vans including the Swift Basecamp and includes the prices.
Take a look, it may help to give you more options.
We've got a small 2 berth Bailey Pursuit 400-2 which has everything we could possibly want in the way of comforts and convenience. It would cost less than your 16K budget and can take virtually any awning you want to try although personally I would go with no awning and make the kids sleep in a small pup tent. There's plenty of room inside the van for them by day.
It never occurred to me that's it's not like getting a car - in that finding exactly what you want 2nd hand is really difficult. Looks like new or a compromise.
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Topic: Newbies compact, ightweight advice please
I've slept in my awning several times.
