38 replies to this topic

[(philip)]

This yeah I'm either getting a caravan or a camper, undecided which. Obvious pros and cons of each. I like the caravan being able to unhook it and off you go exploring in huge car, harder with a camper as you have to batten down the hatches to go anywhere.

Will be used for weekends in the UK, going to Silverstone and a couple of weekend events. Maybe use in France too.

Not getting anything fancy, either the Eriba Puck caravan or a T4 camper conversion.

Would be really interested to hear from anyone that has a camper or caravan or has had both at different times.

Philip

[Tamworthbay]

I have had both and now gone back to a tent. I hate towing a caravan (mostly the embarrassment) but the hassle and cost of storage was also a pain. I also had a T2 Bay. That was a lot of fun but interior space is very limited. A big tent seems the best way to me, benefits of a caravan in that you use your normal car but without the drawbacks. Get a decent one and they are weather proof.

[(philip)]

Hmmmm I would love a T2 but they are proper prices for a decent one. I had a T3 which I loved but it was a bit of a cash cow and I got rid of it after a string of calls to the AA.

I use a tent a lot at the moment. I was just thinking at 40 my wrecked back would appreciate a bit of comfort!

[Tamworthbay]

Hmmmm I would love a T2 but they are proper prices for a decent one. I had a T3 which I loved but it was a bit of a cash cow and I got rid of it after a string of calls to the AA.
I use a tent a lot at the moment. I was just thinking at 40 my wrecked back would appreciate a bit of comfort!

I am 42 and riddled with Arthritis, but still love camping. We got a decent camp bed from Blacks a couple of years back and that makes a big difference, although to be fair if I am on my own I still just use a couple of bed roll mats. t2s are stupid money and are awful things in almost every way. Terrible to work on, awful to drive, not spacious, expensive to run but they are fun somehow (but can't put my finger on it at the moment).

[Turbo Nick]

T4 camper all the way, I'm on my 3rd now and can't beat em.

 

Current one's about 95% finished, just a few tarting up bits left to sort.

 

[mini-geek]

T5 for me IMO the T4 is too expensive for what it is.. Plus you can tow the mini with it and still have somewhere to sleep..

[Black.Ghost]

Nick, that Camper is awesome. I remember reading a project you were doing somewhere, I might have a dig out for that now I have seen the end product.

 

I have a big tent as well. I love it. It's relatively easy to put up and I can fit four in it if needed. It also has an area you can see it in if the weather is pants, as it often turns out to be at music festivals. Unfortunately, it is on the older side of life now so is showing some signs of wear. I got it for £50 quid off a guy on here, back in 2008, and he had hardly used it. 

 

I use an air bed in that and its brilliant, I never have any problems in the morning. I love camping but don't do it enough. 

[cradley-heathen]

me and the missis do the "poding" thing as often as we can, and we have talked about the possibility of getting a camper, and i did talk about making my own micro caravan that i could pull with my metro.

 

i would still like to do the micro caravan thing, but more as an exercise of engineering and i have some good ideas about styling to make it fit in with the metro so it all matches.

 

however if i found myself lucky enough to have enough money (and a big saloon/estate to tow with) to buy a nice caravan or a camper, i would probably get a camper. i like th eidea of being a bit like a snail, always having my home on my back that is, not being really slow and having eyes on stalks.

[zinzan]

I bought a 19 foot travel trailer over this way (North American big car/trailer thing), which is a lightweight for here at around 2600lbs dry.  Tow with a big Honda Pilot SUV (3.5L 6 cyl).  It's an absolute hog on gas (and that's with the gas prices over here!).  I hate it.  Hate towing the damn thing and getting lousy mileage.  Hate that I can't get above 90km/h without running 4000rpm.  Hate that everything in this part of Ontario means a 500km trip each way.  It's just not my thing I guess.

 

want to buy it? 

[Cooperman]

Camping? Isn't that when you are staying in a hotel that doesn't have 24-hour room service  .

[AVV IT]

I've had both and currently have a Caravan. I think which is better depends on your personal circumstances and what your going to use it for. I loved my Camper and when it was just me and the missus, it was absolutley great. When you throw a couple of small kids into the equation though, you've soon got holiday hell.

The running costs of a camper really do add up too (tax, MOT, insurance, servicing & repairs etc.) that is unless you're going to offset some of those costs by also using it a daily transport aswell. Otherwise that's a big chunk of cash to shell out for a few weeks/ weekends away each year. That said caravans really ain't all that cheap these days either. They're often stolen, so unless your planning on getting a very old undesirable model, then you're probably going to need to insure it. If you haven't got anywhere to keep one, then you've also got the cost of storage to consider too. Modem caravans now tend to have quite complex heating and electrical systems, and their running gear has also become more specialist in recent years, meaning its less easily serviced by the DIY mechanic. You'll therefore probably have to budget for annual servicing as well.

There's the tow car to consider too, if you have a caravan of a reasonable size, then realistically you're going to need a big enough /powerful enough car to tow it with. A decent sized family diesel is usually sufficient, so long as you want to stay on level campsites with hardstandings and so long as you're going to plan your routes carefully. If you want to be a bit more adventurous though, then you really need to consider getting/running a 4x4, or getting used to bribing farmers to tow you out of muddy fields with their tractors & Landrovers on a regular basis.

[Tamworthbay]

I've had both and currently have a Caravan. I think which is better depends on your personal circumstances and what your going to use it for. I loved my Camper and when it was just me and the missus, it was absolutley great. When you throw a couple of small kids into the equation though, you've soon got holiday hell.
The running costs of a camper really do add up too (tax, MOT, insurance, servicing & repairs etc.) that is unless you're going to offset some of those costs by also using it a daily transport aswell. Otherwise that's a big chunk of cash to shell out for a few weeks/ weekends away each year. That said caravans really ain't all that cheap these days either. They're often stolen, so unless your planning on getting a very old undesirable model, then you're probably going to need to insure it. If you haven't got anywhere to keep one, then you've also got the cost of storage to consider too. Modem caravans now tend to have quite complex heating and electrical systems, and their running gear has also become more specialist in recent years, meaning its less easily serviced by the DIY mechanic. You'll therefore probably have to budget for annual servicing as well.
There's the tow car to consider too, if you have a caravan of a reasonable size, then realistically you're going to need a big enough /powerful enough car to tow it with. A decent sized family diesel is usually sufficient, so long as you want to stay on level campsites with hardstandings and so long as you're going to plan your routes carefully. If you want to be a bit more adventurous though, then you really need to consider getting/running a 4x4, or getting used to bribing farmers to tow you out of muddy fields with their tractors & Landrovers on a regular basis.

That sums it up perfectly. My sister has a stupid big campervan and they change it every five to six years.mthey only use it for a few weekends in swan age and usually a week or ten days in France. I worked out for the money it costs them they could have a fortnight all inclusive somewhere very nice in Europe or ten days in the states every year. And the thing is an eyesore parked at their house all the time.

[M J W J]

I'd personally go and find a B & B. Running water, flushing toilet and breakfast thrown in that I haven't had to cook.

 

My dad had a caravan years ago to use when he was working away from home. When the chassis became so rotten that it couldn't be towed anywhere safely he didn't bother replacing it with another as it just wasn't cost effective. He was using his 4 nights a week as well.

 

Unless you are into banger racing/ grass tracking and need somewhere to stay I can't see why anyone would want one. Either take a tent and camp or as Tamworthbaby says, you could probably get package holidays for the next 4-6 years somewhere in Europe (this was another reason why my dad did not replace the caravan).

[Black.Ghost]

My grand parents had a static caravan at Selaey in the 80s and 90s. They went every weekend and more in Summer. When they got a new one, the old one went to my great grand parents next to theirs. We used to go down there loads in the Summer and we all loved it.

However, my grandad became disabled and they couldn't get down there as much. On top of that, site fees for the year became astronomical compared to when they first got it, partly to fund the upgrade of the site. They sold it in the end but static caravans now are quite nice inside. It's site fees that make it so expensive though.

[(philip)]

I am leaning towards camper. If only because I love the idea of turning up and jumping in the back without much hassle.

Also I have an opportunity this year to buy our works 2003 2ltr turbo diesel T4 panel van, with 40k miles on the clock for £1k. It's worth a lot more I think and would make a perfect camper.

My dream road trip would be driving around Scandinavia. I've got a 4 week sabbatical to take before the end of 2015. A camper would be perfect for that. There's a guy on fleabay sells converted Toyota previa' that have a bed in the back for not much money at all.

Still not entirely decided. I think I need to have a sniff around and look at a few.