Campervan or caravan. Friday night poser.

[oldcars]

Volvo + caravan + 80's windslammer = winner

[For Fiats Sake]

Living on a bigger estate, one or two have caravans or motorhomes. They mainly seem to be used as a spare room for guests and for causing OMGEASTERROADKAOS.

Quite fancy either or myself but 999cc fiat can't pull bugger all except trailer tent and motorhomes is taking too much parking space up. Tent in back of Fiat is currently solution when with dog or Travelodge when withouts.

[Keymaster]

 

 

Motorhome = MOAR WIN. Especially if it has a Talbot badge on the front.

This is 100% correct

 

Here is mine

 

[aldo135]

SVM Tourist board presents...

 

and

[Tickman]

....is currently solution when with dog or Travelodge when withouts.

We have taken our dogs with when Travelodge,not that I wanted to!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I say neither. Campervans are a pain in the arse. A set of MOT, Tax and insurance ticking away that you're getting no benefit from except on the handful of weekends when you go off in it. When you do go off, you get to a campsite and get set up then you have no transport for going anywhere else so you're stuck on a flaming campsite which sucks major ass. They are expensive for what they are, so unless you spend a 5-figure sum you can expect something old enough that will need a reasonably serious going-over at MOT time (ask me how I know, having spent many nights under mine welding the bastard up so as not to lose a big chunk on my £4000 asset). I think camper vans only make sense if you have kids  - they must make a class holiday at tolerable cost if you have a couple of nippers.

 

Caravans are probably a better bet in that at least you are still mobile once you have dumped your caravan on the site. But, who wants to admit to being a caravanner? Not me, its just too "OAP's in fleeces and walking boots" which is not a good look unless you are actually retired.

 

When I have got rid of my camper van, I am getting one of these:

 

http://www.campingtravelstore.co.uk/karsten-inflatable-tents

 

Lets be clear - I fucking HATE tents. Cold, damp, miserable things, I would rather stay at home than go on holiday in any of the shitty, flimsy tents that I can remember ever seeing, especially the wanky woven nylon efforts that you see in 'Go Outdoors' nowadays. But these are something else. The whole bottom 6" including groundsheet is rubberised canvas, so no damp getting in, you could pitch the bastard on top of a stream if you wanted. The top half is thick waterproofed canvas, and theres no tent poles - they have 2 lenghts of fire hose stitched in that you inflate to form the structure. Then just anchor it to a few tent pegs to stop in blowing away. They are proper thick and heavy and I reckon you could sit in one in a flippin storm and stay dry. I saw one on my trip last year and thought it was the flippin bees knees. They are made to order in Holland.

 

They start at about £1000 for the basic 2m square one but I reckon its the way to go, it will last 20 years if you look after it, its the Rolls-Royce of tents IMO.

[John F]

LT31 camper, 2.4 petrol, factory Devon conversion.

 

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1987-VW-LT31-high-top-63374-miles-full-camping-interior-NO-RESERVE-MOT-JULY-/172121624375?hash=item28133f8f37:g:o3oAAOSwUuFW1Z1Q

[barefoot]

I have an iconic* VW T2 and consequently I have no opinion fit to offer.

[TagoraSX]

Save the cash and stay in a B+B or hotel.

 

THE END.

[I_am_Diesel]

I have a caravan. I enjoy my holidays in my caravan. So does my wife. The dog loves the caravan. I have a fridge, toilet, shower, heating, hot water, an oven and hob and a TV in my caravan. I am not particularly old but I have a caravan and I don't wear walking boots. When I have set up my caravan it stays where it is until it's time to go home. I have absolutely no regrets about buying my caravan despite what other people's opinions are of them.

 

I think you can guess where I'm going with this.

[taxi paul]

I have a caravan has well. But mine is on a seasonal pitch and stays still. Go in the next week to put the awning up and kit it out and then just turn up on a Friday night after getting kids from school. The place is open till end if October when you just put it all away and forget about it till march again. Costs around £200 a month. But when you add up that you don't need a large towcar or paying storage its not too bad.

[Paul232]

Got to be a camper, much more freedom, but then again I'm biased. Lol

[Barry Cade]

I think I may have settled on a campervanish thing, like a Bongo with the camper conversion. I have a bike trailer,so cam tow the GPZ behind if need be, and leave the van on site but still get around. This may change.

[BorniteIdentity]

If you like the Bongo... Check the Toyota Granvia.

 

It is wider and a lot tougher (legendary Land Cruiser 1kz-te engine) and camp-able in even unconverted state.

 

Had mine nearly 2 years and it's unstoppable.

[mat_the_cat]

I say neither. Campervans are a pain in the arse. A set of MOT, Tax and insurance ticking away that you're getting no benefit from except on the handful of weekends when you go off in it.

 

But on the other hand it's handy to have an 'almost van' for DIY shopping trips, sticking the bikes into, or just something to drive around slowly in to piss off other motorists ( ). Ours gets used pretty much every weekend in the summer at least, but agree it's not the 'best' solution for everyone.

 

LT31 camper, 2.4 petrol, factory Devon conversion.

 

Devon conversion into a minibus, followed by a camper conversion by a sauna designer...

 

Save the cash and stay in a B+B or hotel.

 

THE END.

 

This?

 

Or this?

[dave21478]

Both are shit.

 

For my many past sins I worked in a caravan and motorhome dealership and saw a lot of stuff.

 

Either only really makes sense if you are into "the lifestyle" of it. 

Xbollox is right about the motorhomes.....its another set of insurance, MOT and tax (granted this can go month by month now so a lot better) another set of oil, filters, belts and stuff every year or so and they are very limiting. Rock up at your site or a layby, wind out your wee awning, set up your plastic deckchairs and.....now what? want to go somewhere? eat out, buy some supplies? wind in your wee awning, pack your plastic chairs and "nip" off to your destination in a lumbering shitheap that lurches and wallows about, every pothole setting your cutlery and dishes rattling, your oven door flopping open on every roundabout and arrive to find its a bastard to park anywhere, many supermarkets have height restrictions and you have to park miles away and walk. Then lurch back to your site, wind out your wee awning, set up your plastic deckchairs, and enjoy your beer at last.

 

Caravans are much the same. Servicing costs are lower, damp and rot are more common but at least you can dump the fucker on site and use the car for daytrips and stuff.

 

Then its holiday over and you go home. do you have room to store it? will the neighbours be hacked off by a big white box on your drive blocking their view? it then just sits there doing nothing and I am sure you are aware that vehicles not being used regularly are often more trouble than those used every day. At least the caravan has less bits to go wrong, I suppose.

[TagoraSX]

There are many hundreds of perfectly fine and reasonable small hotels and B+B's all over Europe

 

Driving a dog slow 100bhp (with the turbo) VW diesel van around Europe is not my idea of a holiday. You would need another holiday to recover from the ordeal.

[Barry Cade]

I smell a scam going on- been browsing Ebay for a good while now, and have a handle on normal values etc. The past few days there have been some very nice campers listed as classified ads, with very little info, and you have to send your mobile number to the seller for a "chat" Very very fishy. All seem to be around 4 grand ish.

[mat_the_cat]

There are many hundreds of perfectly fine and reasonable small hotels and B+B's all over Europe

 

Driving a dog slow 100bhp (with the turbo) VW diesel van around Europe is not my idea of a holiday. You would need another holiday to recover from the ordeal.

 

My reply was tongue in cheek I agree there are lots of accommodation in nicer surroundings than I pictured, and I reckon if you looked at it purely financially, hotels may come out on top. But one man's ordeal is another man's pleasure!

[anonymous user]

I have had the same dilemma as I fancy doing a bit of touring around when I finish work at the end of the month. The main problem for me is that I absolutely hate the interiors on nearly every camper/motorhome/caravan that I've seen.

 

Logically I should go for a caravan and tow it slowly behind the Land Rover, I'm happy enough towing but I have been thinking  about a campervan/small motorhome just to use it for the grand tour and sell it again in the summer.

 

The downsides of both is that I want something suitable to take the dogs with me and looking around, most sites don't like people with multiple dogs.

[Dave_Q]

I'd agree with the thought that buying a camper is v.expensive for a vehicle that isn't that good at any of the things it's meant to do.

 

If it's your only vehicle carting round several hundred kilos of chipboard ruins any sort of van practicality and moving your tent to go out when you're camping must be an arseache.

 

My suggestion which is neither camper nor caravan yet also both:

 

 

+

 

 

The van is then useful for the 350 days a year that you're not camping, plenty of room for dogs, people and stuff.

 

Obviously don't actually shell out 2 GRAND for the one in the video, I'm sure you could knock up your own for much less.

[Tickman]

I smell a scam going on- been browsing Ebay for a good while now, and have a handle on normal values etc. The past few days there have been some very nice campers listed as classified ads, with very little info, and you have to send your mobile number to the seller for a "chat" Very very fishy. All seem to be around 4 grand ish.

Loads of them, some obviously to good to be true and some not so obvious.

Gumtree is the same, the usual don't hand over money without seeing it it exists is obviously lost on some!

[UltraWomble]

Camped, trailer tented, then caravanned for 20 years, never did see the pull of a motorhome over even a tent.

 

These are great, piece of piss to tow, double up as additional rooms when people come to stay / you are drunk / you spend the savings on some old shitter and SWMBO gets pissed off.

No road tax either.

Downsides, they cost, storage, Limited speeds on M/way etc.

 

We bought this instead a year ago now....

[stripped fred]

I have a proper shite caravan, swift 5 berth from about 1992. I only use it a couple of times a year to take the kids away. We have a great time. They make loads of friends and bomb around on their bikes like kids used to do. It works for us. It has no heating and is a bit ropey but it does the job and is comfortable when set up and used in the warmer months. It's not really worth anything so I'll keep it until it dies. It's not just old people who like caravans, families do too!

[Alan_Green]

I logged on to suggest the Amdro type set up and a 2.0 HDi Berlingo instead of the Panda, but Dink beat me to it.  I'm looking at that kind of set up right now for van "mobile office" purposes and what I want to know is there really enough headroom in a Berlingo to sit at that dining table? Has anyone any experience of them?  I know you need 135cm for a proper office chair/desk and Berlingos/Caddys/Kangoo etc only have 125 but it seems OK for the guys in the videos.

Here is a Amdro copy for £399: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111901954932?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 

 

And here is the most imaginative set up I've seen yet (using crates you can get from Argos, I now know): 

[Alan_Green]

PS. How about a Granada camper?: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1992-Ford-Granada-Campervan-LOOK-/121913834504?

[djimbob]

I personally find it difficult to relax in hotels and b n b's, and I love tooling around in big hippy buses, however there are many different ways to enjoy your holidays, it's all down to what you enjoy in the end.

 

Some people love to drag a shed about behind them, and I have had some great times doing exactly that, but overall I love the big campervan experience more - this is a cool way to road trip holiday, only staying in the same place one or two days, whereas caravans are better for long stays in one place and going off in a car for day trips - it's really down to what you personally prefer.

 

One thing I would love if I were rich enough would be a motor mover for a caravan, that is one of the annoyances of dragging a shed, not great for bad backs and makes the start and end of your towing experience a make or break sometimes

[andrew e]

Well if you fancy a 10 year old braked Raclet Jasmin in beautiful canvas 'gis a shout.

[Dave_Q]

That kangoo looks flipping genius, why carry around a load of old chipboard when your bed base can be 100% storage.

 

Alan, I have a Berlingo, if you can tell me what height thr seats are in these things I will find something of similar height and perch on it in my boot to try and answer the headroom question for you.

[Alan_Green]

Alan, I have a Berlingo, if you can tell me what height thr seats are in these things I will find something of similar height and perch on it in my boot to try and answer the headroom question for you.

Thanks very much. Very kind. But I think I'll start by buying one of those crates from Big Dug and sitting on it for 3 hours while I use my laptop.  Think I also already know the answer. It's going to be seriously uncomfortable innit? Why did I sell that high roof petrol Doblo? (Because Fiat put a stupid gearbox in it that topped out at 65mph in 5th, otherwise it was great).