We got our first van (2nd hand) in September, just come back from our 4th trip and loving it, however I'm thinking that a different layout may suit us better. Part of me thinks that we should keep the van for several years and then change, but then the other part thinks that if we get a van that would be even better, if we get it sooner we'll get more use out of it.
4 years for the van - the cost of keeping it as we wanted was creeping up by then and we knew we loved the hobby so went for somert newer.
First camper van I had I kept for over 17 years and sold it for more than it cost me when I bought it, the only vehicle I've ever made a profit on or probably ever will! But then it was a VW Combi
We had our first van from a dealer, which we kept for 5-6 years. Why did we get rid of it? Well, we went to the Caravan & Camping Show at the NEC - and the rest is history!
Kept our one for two years, and then brought a new one. WE found that the original lay out needed a few more changes. Free tickets to the caravan show, proved to be very expensive
I kept my first one about 2 months, I was single young & silly, it was about 1979 & it was a Sprite 400. I bought it on the spur of the moment for £350, had a holiday in it down in Cornwall, found the rear panel to be rotten. Had it properly repaired by a coachbuilder & sold it for £350. It certainly was a lovely old van & gave me my introduction to caravanning.
Due to my life going off in all sorts of ups & serious downs for a few years, I didn't buy my next one until 1994, it was a new Compass REflection 6 berth & we kept it for 12 seasons, sold it to my nephew, it's still as dry as a bone inside & he's still using it.
We kept our first one for just shy of 4 years. The reason that we changed was because our family out grew our wee 4 berth. We have had this current van since November and since the season started up again at the end of March [No we don't have the option of using it all year round due to our location!] we have had a week away and every other weekend so far......We love the extra space, and even our 14 year old DD loves the fact that her bottom bunk has so much room on it that she can sit upright to read and listen to her music [she's 5ft 10].
------------- My photos allow you to see what I saw at the time that I took it....No messing.
The van we have now is our first one and we have had it for three and a half years. We bought it new and intend to keep it for quite a few more years. There are other layouts and features that appeal but there will be layouts and features that will appeal even more in a few years time.
BAck in 1981/2 we kept it for two years and p/ex it fro a new Abbey Devon. Fridge and fire - luxury!!! As a matter of interest we bought it Monza 1200s for £1600 new and traded it for £2200!
I bought my first Monza with my 1st hubby back in 1982, kept it until 85 when i lost it as part of my divorce settlement. Had a few years away from the hobby, then took 2nd hubby tent camping in 1988, which he was ok with, but when our daughter was born the following year he wanted something more substantial that would be easy to set up in most weathers, having had a night up at Filey in the tent during a heavy frost and snow one Easter, so we bought a 1988 Avondale Adonis, a great little van but very basic, no hot water or shower, so after about 2 years we upgraded to a Avondale Olympus Perle, which had all mod cons and was much bigger to accomodate our now total brood from both marriages of 5 children. This was the only van that we ever owned that had a serious damp problem, which was rectified by the dealer as it was still under warantee, but it did rather put us off any plans to keep it long term due to the slightly mismatched interior pannels and flimsyness of some of the fittings, pealing locker facias, loose hinges and general poor quality.
One day whilst taking a stroll around a Yorkshire dealership whilst out on a CC rally, Hubby fell in love with a new Coachman Genius, and vowed to save up and buy one the following year, which he did, with a 460/4 SE. We loved that van and kept it for 4 years, until we moved house and could no longer keep it at home due to a covenent, and after trying keeping it a few miles away in storage, where break ins and theft was a problem, we sold up and left the hobby, turning to package holidays as our girls wanted to try exploring different lands and cultures as they got older.
We continued to tent camp for a while but mainly as fair weather campers due to my health problems, but decided to buy our present van last year, partly because hubby wanted the young grandchildern to enjoy the same lifestyle for holidays as their mums had when they were children, and partly because i now needed a propper bed to sleep in and could no longer get down onto the floor/low campbed.
The plan is to keep our caravan for as long as we can both manage the hitching up part, hubby is almost 70 now and suffers with arthritis, but loves the lifestyle and freedom that Caravanning brings, so the next step will probably be to move onto a motorhome for sometime in the future.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
8 months, and that was only because we bought a cheap 2 berth to see if we liked it, we did need more beds but we thought we would keep her for a bit longer,we only got this van because we went to get a new gas bottle!!!! Very exspensive gas bottle lol, hubby said he knew he should of gone to the dealers shop on his own lol.
2 and a half years. Bought a relatively cheap van for 4k to see if we would like caravanning because we have 2 dogs and hotels and b&b's which take dogs are few and far between, usually charge per dog and don't even provide a tin of chum for the price.
Loved caravanning and so did the dogs so we decided to go for a fixed bed end bathroom van so when one got launched in feb09 we bought one. Really happy with it.
In 78 I was given a company car so sold mine and bought a 1962 Sprite Alpine, this we kept for 19 years and sold it for a £100 to a security firm as a mobile office/rest room for the guys to have on site..............Mick
My Mrs and I both caravanned from birth. When we married in 1994 we bought a 1990 Sprite Musketeer S. Kept it for two years before changing to a Bailey Beachcomber which we kept for nearly ten years until the back end of 2004. Since then we have had 4 new 'vans!!!!
------------- 2020 Volvo XC60 B5 R Design Geartronic / 2018 Swift Elegance 580
Our first 'van was bought on a whim in 2004 (we went to buy a picnic table, as you do....) It was a 1996 Lunar Plant mercury and we loved that little van. I recovered the seats and made new curtains and, boy, was she a pretty little thing. Unfortunately most of her windows started falling out and, when we went to buy a new gas regulator (as you do) in 2006, we saw an elddis. I knew by the look in Mr Squirrel's eye we were going to buy it.
We wouldn't have changed this one, but I've had 6 ops in 12 years and, eventually, making/taking down the bed and climbing over said Mr Squirrel in the middle of the night got the better of me and we bought our Sancerre last year. We will (we WILL) keep this van for a long, long time and I have banned Mr Squirrel from looking at any new vans...
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: How long did you keep your first van?
