Touring caravan or campervan

jennifernil

Are you planning on being mainly in UK, or mainly abroad when using the outfit?

Europe is much more motorhome friendly than UK, with easier parking and low cost MH aires and stellplatz.

We have had 3 caravans, our present one is a large twin axle (2008 Sterling Searcher) with all mod cons......central heating, full hob/oven, microwave, fridge/freezer, walk-in shower, flushing toilet, fixed double bed, etc. etc., we love it!

It is however very heavy, 1900kg fully loaded, so needs a heavy, powerful car to tow it. We treated ourselves on retirement, first the new car in 2007, then the new caravan a year later.

We do long trips, up to 4 months, both abroad and in UK, so decided to go for something that would give us plenty of space.

We have looked at MHs, but anything we liked was very expensive.

With a MH, you sightsee and shop as you go, otherwise you need an additional mode of transport, small car, motorbike, or bicycles. Otherwise you use public transport or taxis.

If you like to stay in one place for several days, a caravan might suit you better.

marlot

The problem with a motorhome/campervan is that you have to put everything away when you go out for the day, whereas in a caravan you can put up the awning and spread out.

So it comes down to the type of person you are. If you prefer to go to a base and stay there for a week or two, doing day trips out in the car, then a caravan is the better choice.

If you're more the sort of person who goes off on a whim, and stays only 2-3 days at each place, then the motorhome is better.

You can rent either if you want to give them a go.

joedenise

We have a motorhome and we can be on the move in less than 5 minutes. We never have loads of stuff out as we put things away as we go.

If you intend staying in the UK a caravan is better as nowhere seems to like motorhomes and campsites never seem to be near anything so you need another form of transport.

Other than weekends where we use Camping and Caravan Club DA rallies we go to Europe and most places in France and Germany you can park right in the centre of towns and villages and walk everywhere.

The decision you need to make is do you want to stay in one place for a long period in which case get a caravan; if you want to move around then get a motorhome and go to Europe.

Denise

fred246

We have had a touring caravan for 10 years now. Cost £5000. Probably worth about £2500 now. I service it myself. Been all over Europe - France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland. Used to insure it - now don't bother. Annual cost = £0. (apart from tyres every 7 years and odd replacement part).
Our friends just bought over £40k motorhome. What a nightmare. Can't park it anywhere. Can't go shopping. Can't visit tourist attractions, Can't level it properly. Pay over £1500 insurance, needs vehicle service, habitation service, emissions tax, MOT.
If you have a small motorhome and months to spend wandering around it may have the edge, but otherwise I'd have a caravan everytime.

Magnolia

fred246 wrote: »

Pay over £1500 insurance,

Blimey! We pay £277 with European breakdown cover!!!

Insured through Caravan Guard (Swinton).

Needs compare the meerkat me thinks!;)

Mind you - our motorhome is 12 years old now!

fred246

The £1500 is due to crashes and speeding points. They already have 2 cars which they insure so this is extra insurance which would not have been needed if they had bought a caravan. The motorhome is not usable as a second vehicle. It won't fit under the height barrier to take the kids to school, you can't park it when shopping etc etc.
Before they bought it I used to say 'swings and roundabouts' , 'pros and cons' regarding caravan vs motorhome. Not any more.
Anyone that uses Swinton for insurance needs deepest sympathy. They are abysmal.

Magnolia

We have had no problems with Swinton at all. Had some repair work done for a bit of damp a couple of years ago and they consistently come in the cheapest insurance.

We dont use our motorhome as a daily commute vehicle. For the moment it is an expensive hobby as we too work full time but next year ......

fred246

Have a look at trustpilot or reviewcentre regarding Swintons.
My whole point is that if you have a caravan you would not say it is 'an expensive hobby'. There is nothing to pay. A caravan is much cheaper to buy. They both depreciate slower than most people expect. The motorhome has quite large ongoing costs. You HAVE to tax it, insure it, MOT it. If you have a caravan you do have to make sure you keep a towcar which can cost a bit more but most people buy reasonably large diesels which are quite frugal.

Magnolia

True in all you say but ..... with a motorhome you just rock up and plug in and you are sat with a cuppa in less than 5 minutes and if you don't like where you are just unplug and drive off.

Also there is no towing - DH will not tow and I don't drive.

chucknorris

marlot wrote: »

The problem with a motorhome/campervan is that you have to put everything away when you go out for the day, whereas in a caravan you can put up the awning and spread out.

So it comes down to the type of person you are. If you prefer to go to a base and stay there for a week or two, doing day trips out in the car, then a caravan is the better choice.

If you're more the sort of person who goes off on a whim, and stays only 2-3 days at each place, then the motorhome is better.

You can rent either if you want to give them a go.

We have been going around in circles as to what would suit us best, but we seem to have decided upon a campervan, just the ethos, not a particular model yet. The reason for this is:


1. I don't like the idea of storing a caravan away from our home.
2. I would prefer a motorhome to towing a caravan.
3. We don't think that motorhome offers value to us, because we would need a car for everyday use, and I don't think that we would go away enough to justify owning a motorhome, also it would be blocking our drive.


So a campervan such as this: http://www.danburymotorcaravans.com/models/modeltype.aspx?modelID=2&modeltypeID=27 has caught our eye, as it seems to be also be fully useable as an everyday vehicle.


Our plan however is probably slightly unusual, in that we would most likely double up with a largish tent, where we would have some camping storage furniture and I would sleep with our dog (most of the time) and my wife would sleep in the campervan. She isn't attracted to camping at all (and our dog tends to keep her awake is he is in the same room), but I quite like camping. So putting things away to drive off in the campervan would be far less of an issue to us, due to also having a tent base.