One for the caravan people - how much?

good_advice

£450 for a week in a caravan with the sun holidays! Wow, my jaw dropped! I thought they were meant to be cheap?
School holidays? with 4 young children? it is not fare that the price goes up.

We have booked a caravan holiday for next week. 4 nights mid week break.2 adults going but the van sleeps 6 people. £79.00.
I booked it as a late deal a few weeks ago.
Sounds like I got a good deal. It is right opposite seven miles of sandy beaches. Nr RYE in Kent.

Owning your own caravan sounds nice but there are also a lot of payments after first buying costs. Rent for site, gas bottles.
Great if it is for a hobby more than cheap holidays.

muddyl

Thanks guys/gals.

Im still trying to crunch the numbers to see if its a good idea.
I may borrow a friends first to see how we all get on in the limited space. Still trying to work out how much space would be needed with two adults, two teenagers (though one will most likely be reaching the "Im not holidaying with you oldies" stage soon) and two toddlers.

As to 1k not getting me much, i know, but there is a method to my madness.
When looking for caravans they seem to reach a bottom price then not move much from there, so if i buy a cheap one then dont like it after a year, i could make most of the money back.
Im not bad with a set of spanners or fitted interiors and have qualified mechanics in the family. I also have a gas qualified mate (and LPG) who until recently had caravans so i could probably get that looked at cheap and my wife is great with upholstery so dated furnishings could be renewed. So... I think i may be able to get a cheap one (as long as there is no damp) and spruce it up a little in the hope of getting a good deal. It would also be interesting to see the change from an ugly duckling if all went to plan.
If we dont like it after a year maybe then i would get most of money back (asuming we are wise with spending on updating), if we do like it perhaps do the same with another newer/bigger caravan after a few years.

We would intend to use it whenever we could, not just for one holiday a year. At the very least I hope it would mean we could afford two weeks away instead of one or maybe two one week holidays. But im pretty certain that the kids would jump at the chance to go on long bank holiday weekends too.
Im sure we would have friends and family who would like to use it too, so it would help others out.

It is something id like to do and im probably leading with my heart instead of my head (I love a project), but i will draw the line somewhere as it cant allow it to be a money pit.

Time to get back to the numbers

Thanks for all the input so far, its been very insighful. Feel free to add any more comments/suggestions/thoughts.

muddyl

good_advice wrote: »

£450 for a week in a caravan with the sun holidays! Wow, my jaw dropped! I thought they were meant to be cheap?
School holidays? with 4 young children? it is not fare that the price goes up.

Ill double check but i think that was about right.

Our eldest is doing his GCSE's so we cant take him out of school time. As it happens the first 3 days are through the sun holidays, the other 4 are direct through the site as it then goes to peak time, though they discounted the price due to the situation as it should have been another £200 or so.

Errata

Being a money pit isn't the problem, the bottom dropping out of an old cheap caravan on the M1 is.

muddyl

Errata wrote: »

Being a money pit isn't the problem, the bottom dropping out of an old cheap caravan on the M1 is.

Good point!

I may not know much about caravans themelves, but i do know enough about mechanics and chassis to hopefully avoid that one!

mumonashoestring

For the two teens you might consider picking up a couple of pup tents/hiking tents. The teens can have their meals, spend family time, play games etc. in the van with everyone else but can also have the option of some privacy and space, something which becomes non-existent on rainy days in a crowded caravan It means the littles can sleep in with you, safely shut in, without you all being crammed in together every night. All you'd need to be careful of would be to book a campsite that allowed tents AND caravans, and check if you can book two adjacent pitches.

muddyl

muddyl wrote: »

Ill double check but i think that was about right.

Our eldest is doing his GCSE's so we cant take him out of school time. As it happens the first 3 days are through the sun holidays, the other 4 are direct through the site as it then goes to peak time, though they discounted the price due to the situation as it should have been another £200 or so.

Ill definately be chicking the prices.
I did a quick quote on the site we are going to and the prices seemed roughly right.

A quote for the same dates but with a touring caravan came out about £300 cheaper.

Something to think about.


As for the pup tents mumonashoestring, thats a good idea.
The wife may not be keen on them sleeping outside of the awning (for safety, but im sure she'll get used to that) but it would give them privacy and they could be put up outside during the day.

sooty&sweep

Hi

Have a look at https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk
There's lots of info about camping and caravaning with links to lots of campsites in this country and abroad.

Jen

daveyjp

Depending where you live on eof the cheapest ways of owning a caravan is to find a site which allows you to store it 365 days a year, with you paying an extra charge when you visit.

It does mean the same venue each time, but it means much less time getting ready everytime you want to visit.

During longer holidays you can still move somewhere else for a couple of weeks.

flea72

good_advice wrote: »

We have booked a caravan holiday for next week. 4 nights mid week break.2 adults going but the van sleeps 6 people. £79.00.
I booked it as a late deal a few weeks ago.
Sounds like I got a good deal. It is right opposite seven miles of sandy beaches. Nr RYE in Kent.

Hopefully you arent going to camber sands as it isnt worth £79