Buying a caravan

[Bartswife]

Originally Posted by Smilesonfaces

I would always recommend storing a caravan on a secure site, better protection for the van and not providing an advertisement to everyone when you are away.

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Absolutely. We have a neighbour whose huge van is parked about two inches from their front room window, what an awful outlook, the back end of a caravan never mind blocking the light. It’s pretty obvious when they are away.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by Bartswife

Absolutely. We have a neighbour whose huge van is parked about two inches from their front room window, what an awful outlook, the back end of a caravan never mind blocking the light. It’s pretty obvious when they are away.

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I hadn’t considered this as we live in a rural area and store our van at home but it’s pretty much out of sight so doesn’t really show that we’re home or away. I’ve always thought it’s more inconvenient to use a storage facility, but I can see the security reasoning now. Even after 30 years of caravanning, we can learn something new 😂

[disney1st timer]

Thanks everyone, loads of things to consider...good and bad. We live near lots sites to keep it securely as we live right by the river. We have a place called Pillings Lock and another called Proctors about 10 minutes from us, we live in a new build and there is definitely a covenant about parking caravans and vans on the estate! My main concern is whether we can tow a caravan, I need to look in to this as I’m sure I’ve heard that due to our age/when we passed the licences had changed.

[Stitchesmumanddad]

I bought a little caravan at the end of last year. Brand new Freedom Sunseeker. Extremely light weight. Im just waiting for my RR Evoque to be built and be delivered then I can tow next month - off to the New Forest. Im having a few days here and there, just me with my dog, hence buying a small lightweight one. This would be in addition to my Florida holidays, Butlins weekend, Benidorm and cruises.

I could never substitute those holidays for a caravan holiday, just different.

[WendyBelle]

Personally can't think of a much worse kind of holiday, because of pretty much what has been said here in this post.
You've also got extra fuel costs as well, and heaven forbid sorting a wet pet out, OK for some but not for me thanks, and like has been mentioned on another post slow traffic.
Youngest brother had one for just over 18 month and got shot after that, novelty wore off, too much like hard work he said, but I have to say his was light modern and looked really nice inside. Really love the renovated one on this thread, and Stitches little one is sweet looking

Originally Posted by Cloverlady

We had one when the kids were little. (Mainly because we were fully renovating a property and didn't go to Florida for 3 or 4 years).
We got rid of it after that as the kids just weren't interested at ALL after the eldest was 15.

Looking back it was OK - rose tinted glasses have me remembering eating a picnic in the outdoors, outside for coffee in the morning, and a glass of wine in the evening, plus my favourite - the sound of rain beating down on the roof when you're tucked up in bed. So cosy!

However, there were lots of downsides, we had to buy a more powerful car for a start, the expense of insurance was a lot and the storing of it at a designated Gold level storage site quite a distance away from home , we didn't enjoy emptying the toilet, having to fill up the fresh water container continuously, emptying the grey water tanks, using shower blocks on sites, trying to get wet clothes and shoes dry, setting up when you arrive on site in the pouring rain, wading through wet grass to the toilets (we only allowed 'certain usage' of the toilet! ) putting the steadies up/down - even with a drill attachment! Packing up in the rain, drying the awning out after you get home (HUGE job!) , putting wet muddy equipment in the caravan to travel home.
The cost of site fees at nice sites started to creep right up making us think we'd be better off staying in hotel rooms and not trailing the van with us. We learned cheaper sites were a no no early on, plus you need a site where noise and disruption gets stopped at a decent hour.

It seems idyllic, it did to us, but just be aware of all the work involved.

I know this all sounds negative, but do think about all this stuff before committing

If you DO get one, buy one with all mod cons, motor mover, look at cost and location of storage before you commit as insurance won't let you store it just anywhere. Oh and when away on holiday, I'd look for sites where you have direct connection to water, grey water etc. These are more expensive but save a LOT of work.

Much happier with our caravanning days firmly behind us, but our kids are way beyond 15+ now!

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[JudeB]

We absolutely LOVE our caravanning holidays! We usually holiday one year in Florida then one year caravan. A fortnight fly and flop holiday would drive us mad with boredom, that’s why an action packed holiday either in Florida or touring UK in our beloved van suits us. We’ve had a caravan since our youngest was 4 (he’s 17 now) and our 3 kids all love it! In fact they’re all coming with us to the Lake District this summer (22, 20 and 17). It will be a tight squeeze but the boys will sleep in the inner tent in the awning. We have great memories of family times- hiking, playing frisbee, barbecuing, playing uno.
We didn’t have a twin wheeler van, ours was a 6-berth lunar quasar. 2 sets of 6-ft bunks at the back and front seats makes a double. Great family layout.
Our new van has a motor mover and is great. Though with all the kids helping we were always able to get the previous van pushed into place!
If you do know anyone who has a caravan it would be great if you could try it out first. As others say, it’s not for everyone and there is a lot to learn but as you can probably guess from my rambling- we love it!

[disney1st timer]

Originally Posted by JudeB

We absolutely LOVE our caravanning holidays! We usually holiday one year in Florida then one year caravan. A fortnight fly and flop holiday would drive us mad with boredom, that’s why an action packed holiday either in Florida or touring UK in our beloved van suits us. We’ve had a caravan since our youngest was 4 (he’s 17 now) and our 3 kids all love it! In fact they’re all coming with us to the Lake District this summer (22, 20 and 17). It will be a tight squeeze but the boys will sleep in the inner tent in the awning. We have great memories of family times- hiking, playing frisbee, barbecuing, playing uno.
We didn’t have a twin wheeler van, ours was a 6-berth lunar quasar. 2 sets of 6-ft bunks at the back and front seats makes a double. Great family layout.
Our new van has a motor mover and is great. Though with all the kids helping we were always able to get the previous van pushed into place!
If you do know anyone who has a caravan it would be great if you could try it out first. As others say, it’s not for everyone and there is a lot to learn but as you can probably guess from my rambling- we love it!

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Ah what a lovely, positive post! I think the benefits sound like they outweigh the negatives. To be honest when you have 3 children EVERYTHING is hard work so we are not adverse to it. Even a two week AI is like a military operation so I’ve not got rose tinted glasses, believe me.

[Twin mummy]

We love our caravan too, we have a 6 berth single axle (bunks and a separate seating area at the back) for 4 of us and 2 labs. The girls are still coming with us sometimes at 18.

The best thing is the freedom to take the dogs- one of ours is anxious and wouldn’t cope
Well in unfamiliar surroundings. We tend to totally relax in the van, lots of board games, bbq’s and long walks.

As for things like wet dogs- we use the awning to sort all that out and just cover the seating with throws.

On the storage issue, we had it on a storage site but the owner was a bit of a nightmare so it’s now on my mil’s drive- so they are at home even when the van isn’t there and it’s easy to pack up ( they tend to sort it ready for us too which is amazing).

[Lulu Belle]

OP I just came across your post and wanted to say that we have a touring caravan and just love it. I never had caravan holidays growing up and years ago when my DH suggested it I was so unsure but I am now a true convert!
I absolutely love our holidays abroad and we are lucky to be able to do both but having the caravan enables us to have lots of breaks throughout the year in the UK - long and short - and it’s such good quality family time, which is sometimes difficult with 2 teens! We get to enjoy time together that we can’t at home as we are all so busy.
Outdoors most of the time in the nice weather - beaches, BBQs, outdoor games and stargazing. We also love a cosy autumnal break in the van with bracing walks, hot chocolate, movies and board games. With motor movers, inflatable awnings and the mod cons, caravanning is in unexpected pleasure! We prefer quiet, small sites and have been able to enjoy some beautiful parts of the country. As you can tell, I highly recommend it!

[welovemushu]

Just one point,
Make sure you have your name down and that a space is available for seasonal pitches or storage before you purchase one if you have nowhere to keep it at home.
Huge demand for storage or seasonal any time but especially high demand at the moment.
Jan