Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

westv

Camper Vans? 4 and 5 star hotels are more my thing. 

Silvertabby

westv said:

Camper Vans? 4 and 5 star hotels are more my thing. 

Even a nice B&B - as long as it has a nice en-suite bathroom.  

MallyGirl

They make a music festival more civilised 

Albermarle

MallyGirl said:

Cobbler_tone said:

NMallyGirl said:

Have you hired a camper first so you know what you want? We tried taking the dogs away in ours a few times but it wasn't restful. They were too big really, didn't like being confined and wouldn't settle when they could hear critters around and under the van. The last trip was taking just one dog back in May and the space was better but something went wrong with his leg which hasn't resolved so now we won't take the van away again until we are dogless.

No and I will definitely push to hire one before committing to such a large purchase. I fear the dream isn't aligned to the reality!

We already owned the van so just got it converted when we didn't need it anymore for the original purpose. As it is a SWB VW T5 it is quite snug and has no option for a shower (or a loo with any degree of privacy). On the other hand it fits into a standard parking space and under most car park barriers. You definitely need to try before spending big bucks to work out what matters.

I think they are looking at something a bit bigger than a VW.

Cobbler_tone

Albermarle said:

MallyGirl said:

Cobbler_tone said:

NMallyGirl said:

Have you hired a camper first so you know what you want? We tried taking the dogs away in ours a few times but it wasn't restful. They were too big really, didn't like being confined and wouldn't settle when they could hear critters around and under the van. The last trip was taking just one dog back in May and the space was better but something went wrong with his leg which hasn't resolved so now we won't take the van away again until we are dogless.

No and I will definitely push to hire one before committing to such a large purchase. I fear the dream isn't aligned to the reality!

We already owned the van so just got it converted when we didn't need it anymore for the original purpose. As it is a SWB VW T5 it is quite snug and has no option for a shower (or a loo with any degree of privacy). On the other hand it fits into a standard parking space and under most car park barriers. You definitely need to try before spending big bucks to work out what matters.

I think they are looking at something a bit bigger than a VW.

Definitely but you don’t get much change from £80k for a tiny new VW. Plugging a shower into the tailgate, no thanks. You need something at least big enough to annoy fellow road users.

Triumph13

As a sweeping generalisation, large campers are for people who like to be comfortable when sitting on a campsite.  Small campers are for people who want to actually go places and see / do things.  Make sure you know which type you are / want before you buy.

littlemissbossy

My boss used to have quite a large motorhome/camper van. He changed it for a small one after scarring himself silly on a very narrow street in a little village somewhere. 

chuffinnora

littlemissbossy said:

My boss used to have quite a large motorhome/camper van. He changed it for a small one after scarring himself silly on a very narrow street in a little village somewhere. 

The brother-in-law did something similar and "downsized" to a transit-van type camper, as I like to call it. Annoys the hell out of him.

But after years of their motorhome largely staying static when they went away because it was too large to pootle about in and find parking, the free-n-easy logic wasn't working. Not to mention the constant flow of irate drivers around them getting fed up with their road hogging. I think more sparsely populated countries are better experienced with a 3 bed semi on wheels.

Linton

We enjoy our canal narrowboat very much, spending about 2 months a year or more cruising at 3mph through great countryside with free parking in interesting towns and villages. Plenty of wildlife,  Larger and more comfortable than a camper van, facilities include diesel central heating and a smokeless fuel stove, double glazing and good insulation,  full size gas oven and hob, flush toilet, full size fridge etc

The thought of spending one’s holidays parked  in a muddy field after a days stressful drive down a busy motorway does not appeal.

eastcorkram

Linton said:

We enjoy our canal narrowboat very much, spending about 2 months a year or more cruising at 3mph through great countryside with free parking in interesting towns and villages. Plenty of wildlife,  Larger and more comfortable than a camper van, facilities include diesel central heating and a smokeless fuel stove, double glazing and good insulation,  full size gas oven and hob, flush toilet, full size fridge etc

The thought of spending one’s holidays parked  in a muddy field after a days stressful drive down a busy motorway does not appeal.

I'm with you on that. It's great we all like different things though. 

I think if I won a top of the range motorhome, and they delivered it to my house, I'd immediately put it up for sale, at a really good price,  just to get rid of it asap. I wouldn't even bother looking inside it. The concept of a camper van or motorhome seems like a nightmare.