Campernomics?

Herzlos

Mercdriver wrote: »

So you don't use more fuel when towing than when not? Amazing.

It's possible that you don't, you'll be driving a lot more slowly/carefully with a caravan on. Even if it's worse than the car on it's own, it'll likely be a lot better than a campervan.

bertiewhite

I've often had the Caravan vs Motorhome discussion with my wife.

The trouble is, I'd happily have a smallish van which I could even use as a daily driver but the trouble is, she wants something big which I'm against for the same reasons already mentioned.

So it looks like a choice for me at the moment between:

1. Replace my ageing car with something like a Bongo and see how she gets on with it. If she doesn't like it, I've still got something with useful space to carry stuff.

2. Get a caravan - BUT, I need to fit a tow bar to her car and it's leased so I'm reluctant to fit something for somebody else's benefit. Also, I don't like the idea of having a caravan sitting outside my house. Although I could probably find somewhere to store it.

Car_54

bertiewhite wrote: »

I've often had the Caravan vs Motorhome discussion with my wife.

The trouble is, I'd happily have a smallish van which I could even use as a daily driver but the trouble is, she wants something big which I'm against for the same reasons already mentioned.

So it looks like a choice for me at the moment between:

1. Replace my ageing car with something like a Bongo and see how she gets on with it. If she doesn't like it, I've still got something with useful space to carry stuff.

2. Get a caravan - BUT, I need to fit a tow bar to her car and it's leased so I'm reluctant to fit something for somebody else's benefit. Also, I don't like the idea of having a caravan sitting outside my house. Although I could probably find somewhere to store it.

Or 3.New wife?

fred246

Mercdriver wrote: »

So you don't use more fuel when towing than when not? Amazing.

Caravans aren't very aerodynamic. It's always going to use more fuel when towing but seems to use less than our friend's motorhome. They basically don't plan well and bought a lightweight car which wasn't capable of towing much. So then they bought a motorhome that cost a fortune and has high running costs. They don't use it much so are constantly assessing whether it is worth keeping. Our caravan just sits there. If we don't use it it doesn't matter. We are not losing much. They started out saying "wouldn't you like a new motorhome like ours Fred?". Now they are saying "This was an enormous mistake. We should have bought a caravan." They thought it would give them freedom but they can't really park it anywhere. It takes up 4 parking spaces which are hard to find. A lot of places are 'traveller proof' and have height barriers. They can only stay on town centre campsites. I would say a retired couple wandering around Europe in off peak times for months on end might be better with a motorhome. For everyone else a caravan is better.

Herzlos

bertiewhite wrote: »

Also, I don't like the idea of having a caravan sitting outside my house. Although I could probably find somewhere to store it.

You should be able to find somewhere to store it long term (either an actual facility, a camp site, storage yard or someones driveway) for well under about £300/year.


You could always replace your aging car with something that already has a towbar fitted, and then get a caravan. If she doesn't like it, then you should be able to sell the caravan on again with minimal losses (assuming you're not buying brand new).

Mercdriver

Herzlos wrote: »

It's possible that you don't, you'll be driving a lot more slowly/carefully with a caravan on. Even if it's worse than the car on it's own, it'll likely be a lot better than a campervan.

I find that very hard to believe. So you could drive with the same efficiency and effectively get worse economy not towing? fanciful.

Mercdriver

fred246 wrote: »

Caravans aren't very aerodynamic. It's always going to use more fuel when towing but seems to use less than our friend's motorhome. They basically don't plan well and bought a lightweight car which wasn't capable of towing much. So then they bought a motorhome that cost a fortune and has high running costs. They don't use it much so are constantly assessing whether it is worth keeping. Our caravan just sits there. If we don't use it it doesn't matter. We are not losing much. They started out saying "wouldn't you like a new motorhome like ours Fred?". Now they are saying "This was an enormous mistake. We should have bought a caravan." They thought it would give them freedom but they can't really park it anywhere. It takes up 4 parking spaces which are hard to find. A lot of places are 'traveller proof' and have height barriers. They can only stay on town centre campsites. I would say a retired couple wandering around Europe in off peak times for months on end might be better with a motorhome. For everyone else a caravan is better.

So you don't count fuel as a running cost? How far do you think your car will run without fuel?

Herzlos

I don't think he's ignoring fuel, but Motorhomes have higher running costs either way.

Mercdriver wrote: »

I find that very hard to believe. So you could drive with the same efficiency and effectively get worse economy not towing? fanciful.

Most people in a car will drive about 70ish on the motorway, changing lanes and speeds a lot.
With a caravan on tow (likely about 1200-1500kg) they are capped at 60mph and the inner 2 lanes and usually paying a lot more attention to speed and spacing. So it's not the caravan that improves the efficiency; if they drove like that normally they'd do much better still.


Google tells me you'll get about a 30% drop in fuel economy when towing, depending on how powerful the car is. So something like 60-40mpg, whilst you'll be lucky to find an equivalent sized motorhome that'll get more than about 25mpg, with no option to leave the caravan behind for day trips.


So in terms of efficiency: Car driven like it's towing > car > towing > motorhome > motorhome towing.

Mercdriver

Herzlos wrote: »

I don't think he's ignoring fuel, but Motorhomes have higher running costs either way.






Most people in a car will drive about 70ish on the motorway, changing lanes and speeds a lot.
With a caravan on tow (likely about 1200-1500kg) they are capped at 60mph and the inner 2 lanes and usually paying a lot more attention to speed and spacing. So it's not the caravan that improves the efficiency; if they drove like that normally they'd do much better still.


Google tells me you'll get about a 30% drop in fuel economy when towing, depending on how powerful the car is. So something like 60-40mpg, whilst you'll be lucky to find an equivalent sized motorhome that'll get more than about 25mpg, with no option to leave the caravan behind for day trips.


So in terms of efficiency: Car driven like it's towing > car > towing > motorhome > motorhome towing.

This sentence:

"They are always asking our running costs. Zero, zilch, none"

That's not comparative - that's an absolute.

Herzlos

Mercdriver wrote: »

This sentence:

"They are always asking our running costs. Zero, zilch, none"

That's not comparative - that's an absolute.

Correct. A caravan just sitting on the drive not going anywhere, it has no upkeep costs, at worst it'll need the tyres rotated and the brake mechnism oiled. A motorhome still needs to be looked after, since it's got an engine to keep in shape.