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right lets get straight to the point, we have been camping for some yrs now and always looked at caravans when we are on site but the price and somewhere to keep it has always put us off going any further, but a week or so ago our trailer was stolen out of our garden (just empty trailer we used to take our camping stuff in). my sister has said we could store a caravan in her garden but it would have to be no longer than 22ft inc hitch.

We went to Vale of Pickering for 5 days and did nothing but look at all the caravans and saying whoo that one would do us and whoo look at that one.

so do we buy another trailer and keep our camping equipment or sell it and buy a small caravan 2 berth or a small 4 berth, there will be at most 2 adults and 2 kids so we was thinking with an arwning we would be fine even with a 2 berth kids could sleep in arwning

so what are the pros and cons of owning a caravan over a tent and be truthful pleeaasse 

we camped for many many years untill the end of last summer when we took the plunge...

Its just as much fun with a caravan and towing one is no bother at all.

I think if we went back to tenting we would now miss the extras you get in a caravan to much, hot and cold running water, shower, toilet, proper oven, hob and grill, blown air heating, fridge and freezer just to start with.

22ft would be a decent size van and easily a four even five birth, ours is 23ft and a 6 birth.

Also, you can enjoy all year round, its great over xmas/new year  

Pros: If its raining when you arrive on site you can put up awning later, on long trips you can stop over night and sleep in the van (at services etc) you can take more stuff, use caravan all year long (winter etc) , got a toilet, sink and shower on board. We keep ours on our drive so it can be used  to store our camping items and also be used as an extra room when guests stay...............

Cons, can be expensive to buy, depreciate in price, can suffer from damp, expensive to store, service, insure, change tyres every 5 years or so, need a reasonable size tow car, fuel costs of towing a van......

No brainer for me

Home from home and home is where you pitch with a different view from your living every time you move on 

To start with you must be forming a view in your own mind about the benefits of a caravan outweighing any drawbacks to be thinking about it. In terms of freedom, getting away when you want, cheap daily fees compared to booking cottages/hotels its probably the same either way.

PROs

Warmer; dryer; less mud in the residential section; own toilet and shower; cooking easier with better cooking facilities whilst still retaining the BBQ for old times sake; More secure on a night (if you don't have the kids in the awning); Don't have to sit out in the rain having breakfast; electrical equipment works better on the caravans electrics rather than the limited tenting EHU; lighting at night especially for reading; Don't have to run through a shower in the middle of the night for the loo; you can stand up; When the storm runs under your van you don't feel it like you would in a tent; Comfort; probably able to carry more gear; possibly a quicker set up on site

CONs

More expensive; security; storage; towing; Higher insurance costs; you may prefer wet and mud;

Difficult to think of cons when you enjoy caravanning..........

My own advice would be not to think about a van on the basis of the kids in the awning. They will want to sleep in the van and you don't want to be falling out with the kids during a holiday. Give them the option. Some sites may not allow awning sleeping which is a bit odd when it allows camping.

Then you need to think of the ideal layout for what you want out of caravanning especially for night times when the kids are in bed and you want to stay up and watch some telly.

Get a van with bunks and how long will it be before the kids outgrow them? Do you want to make their bed up in the front at night leaving you on the fixed bed for the next few hours before you want to turn in? Maybe a twin dinette layout which gives you the front and them the back with the awning for expansion.

Once you have decided on the layout for your caravan lifestyle, then decide on your budget. You will lose a lot of the fun of the caravanning experience if you do not have sufficient funds to cover your needs. Doesn't have to be brand new top of the range gear, but whatever you do, you need the money to pay for the right equipment for you. Think of a figure and then double it as once you start looking into this seriously, you will see how the potential costs soon mount. Get your shoping list together and then consider what is essential and what can wait. Start off on the wrong footing and if it isn't what you expected it to be that may be because you have cut corners. Getting it right for you is so important

In addition to the van you need a suitable car to tow it. Is your present car sufficient to tow a van? Think of the weight of the van as a ratio of the kerb weight of the car. Think of the 85% rule and how that affects your requirements.

Once you have focussed on the type of van and car to pull, think about new or second hand caravan. Buying second hand, maybe get an engineers report so you don't have a lot of expence if turns out to be a bit iffy. Buying form a dealer at least you get a warranty.  

Insurance about £300.

Maybe look at storage, there are places in Leeds that offer secure storage. Is your relative allowed to keep a caravan at their property? Some properties have restrictive covenants. Storage is more secure. About £300 pa. How will the relative feel if its stolen from their drive? It can often not be as simple as it sounds to use a friend for storage.

Equipment - awning. wheel lock/hitch lock, water equipment etc can soon add up to a £1000+. Buying second hand and you can often pick up all the basic gear in the price

Holidays - you will need to be saving regularly to pay the ongoing running costs. You can probably only get away during school holidays - about £100ish a week for pitch fees. Weekends out of season will be cheaper and as much fun.

Maintenance -annual service about £150

CC or C&CC membership at £38 each but you may be in already. You would benefit from the CC caravanning course at about £90 for a weekend.

Have fun looking

Phil

Camped for many years, then had a VW Camper, then progressed to a caravan. I think the main points have been dealt with but would say if you are a summer only family and are okay with being under fabric (noise, cold etc) then why bother changing as the cost is higher.

When we get nostalgic for tenting we try opening all the windows, door, roof lights and what have you, whatever the temp or time of day, syill can't quite capture that cold, slightly damp feel you get in a tent.... plus being able to hear all the grunts and ermm groans from neighbours at night.

I'm a caravanner through & through and have had the conversation about what on earth people see in tents with hubby many times.

Last year we went away for a weekend with our tenting pals, we put clean undies in, hitched up, got there, wound down legs, hooked up water & leccy and sat down with a bevvy.

Our friends had to get everything down from the loft, pack the car, get there, unpack the car, erect the tent, blow up the airbed, arrange all the stuff inside the tent then 2 hours later had a drink.

Then all the same in reverse when we packed up to come home.

Yes I'm lazy I suppose but after work on a Friday we just want to be at the site and set up asap.

I also couldn't be doing with living on the floor for a week, I like to sit on a comfy settee, cook on a proper hob, have my food in a proper fridge, use my own clean loo & shower, sleep on a proper mattress with the sunroof open looking at the stars, put the heating on if it's cold, have lots of storage space etc etc

We pay £6 a week for storage on a local farm but are currently looking for a seasonal within an hours drive so we can use it every weekend and then just pull it off for a couple of weeks holiday further afield a year.

We started off camping in a tt and though we loved the lifestyle we soon realised we wanted more luxury.  So we tried a caravan and loved it :)

We already had a good towcar so didn't need to buy one. 

Dh is quite handy so any servicing could have been done by him though you'd probably still need someone to check the gas out.

The insurance for our old 'van was about £160 a year.

We store our 'van at home so no storage costs :)

Now we've got a new 'van so we have to pay £200 a year for servicing to keep the warrenty.

Its a lovely feeling to pull up on site and know that within minutes we'll be pitched and ready.  Though putting up the awning can take as long as a tent to begin with but with practice it will get much shorter.

I thought i'd not like the making up of the beds each night and taking them down in the morning but it really doesn't bother me as its just part and parcel of it.

I love having hot running water, heat, fixed lights, toilet, solid walls, no damp clothes and loads of storage space for everyting.  We can pack all the clothes, shoes, coats etc into their place in the 'van before we go and once we arrive its already in its place :)

As you can tell we love caravanning :)

Pro = more comfort

Anti = More expense

Choice = Whats more important, cash in pocket or comfort

As someone who is giving up caravans and moving to a tent we're perhaps slightly different from many folk on this section...but I'd still say that caravans have a lot in their favour. Other have listed the pros and cons so I won't - it's very much a personal choice what your priorities are.

For us the deciding factor was the quality of construction of many new caravans and the pretty shoddy dealer service. We spent a lot of time looking at a replacement caravan and decided against it. A couple of our friends have recently bought new caravans and are pretty cross about all the problems they are experiencing. For us the simplicity of a good quality tent (Cabanon) with good quality kit just seems a lot more fun for a lot less hassle.

We have camped for a few years and enjoyed it. However this year in France we spent at least 4 hours packing up to come home - we did it in stages (as we did last year) putting the main tent down the day before. My 6 year old and I moved into my 9 year old's tent for the last night - hubs slept in the car- neither of us got much kip. ( darling daughter is nightmare on legs to sleep next to!) We still had the pup tent and bedding to put away for the long drive/dash for the ferry.

When we were driving back I thought there must be an easier way to do this. (also we had 'differences' over having a cool box v fridge. I said cool box not cold enough he said no room for a bigger camping fridge!

Anyway 9 days after we arrived home we are now a proud (gulp!) owner of an Abbey GTS 416. Part of me feels that I have 'sold out' but hey - jump in and go with the flow! Maybe a camping fridge would've been cheaper!!!!!!!

Lots listed already most of which reflect our feelings. I would think though that what Phil said about the kids wanting to sleep in the caravan rather than the awning may be wrong (sorry Phil !  ) lots of kids would much rather have the awning given the choice - me included  

Main thing for us is the convenience of pretty much always being ready to go & not much to do once you get there. And no struggling to pitch / pack up in horrible conditions, drying out the tent .... however, myself & Mrs Z  find  we are more comfortable in a tent.  Much more space (unless you have a tiny tent obviously !), airier, and quite honestly we just prefer being in a tent. Sigh.

We do really like our caravan too though - honest !  And use the tents less & less - sigh. But I don't miss putting the bl**dy thing up !

we swoped this year to a very old 2 birth van and love it we allways had big frame tents and all mod cons in it had a big box trailer that stored everything so there was no raly packinga nd unpacking a car so hought we were not much away froma  caravan setting up the tent we thought was like doing the awaning and we only swoped over do to my faling health and didnt want to but it was that or give up camping alltogethere.

  I have to say Its the best thing we have ever done been aay twice now the ceond time for 2 week and it raing most of the time but it didnt matter. we loved it  silly things like puting stuff in cuboards and hannging cloths up at home then not havent to unpack and repack and unpack againg bothe end of the trip. i do spend every nice day with every window open as wide as i can as i love fresh air but the differce its maid to or holidays is unbeleveablle.  some of the camping stuff we take like shelving and  and bits and peaces for teh awaning so there not wasted but yoy will love a caravan if your anything like us. the joy of beiong abell to stick your legs down and have  brew while the rain stops is bliss when you get there