Any Regrets ?
Comments
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We've caravanned for nearly 40 yrs and have not regretted it one bit. We love the layout of our present van, which is the same as our previous one. Can't see us changing either for a different van, or a M/H in the near future, although that may be the case
when I get to about 95 and possibly won't be able to handle the waste & aquaroll any more!!
No need for wastemaster or aquaroll if you use site facilities, I fetch water in 5 or 7 litre bottles (ex bottled water containers) and top up the resevoir (16 l jerry can) and have a 23 litre fiamma waste container but often its a bucket. I dont approach
it this way because I am unable to manage the vaste quantites others handle its more to save transporting those unwieldy containers in the van. Nobody but Brits do it, many continetals fill up a kettle or coffee pot when they need but thats taking it a bit
far.But as we don't use serviced pitches, and do use CLs & club sites without toilets we require a fair amount of water for showers etc. I'd be spending most of the day going back & forth with 7 ltr bottle.
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OH has a long camping and caravanning background, so it was a natural progression for us. Her parents had a camping supplies shop from the late 50s to the mid 70s, so she grew up with that.
These days, due to her disabilities, caravanning (or MHing!!) suits our needs, we have our own familiar facilities with us so no stress, no worrying about shower facilities etc.
Like many, we started with a tent, we even had our honeymoon in a tent, but soon progressed to a caravan.
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No regrets, I simply cannot imagine us in a motorhome. To me they are usually impractical for everyday use although we have a neighbour who does that. We find the caravan far more flexible but everyone to their own
We always thought that until we got one. Took it out this afternoon for a spin and then into Asda to get some shopping and fuel, onto my sisters for a cuppa then home via the scenic route. Its not a huge van at 6.6m but it is wide being a Bailey but not
had any problems taking it out for the day even round here. We do have 2 cars aswell that we normally use for local stuff, just decided that the van could do with a run before we go away next week.0 -
Certainly have no regrets about being a caravanner and now a motorhomer. It has enabled me to visit so many parts of Europe which it is unlikely I would have seen had we not had this hobby and I will always be greatful for that.
David
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Having hired motohomes for 3 extended trips abroad our personal preference is caravanning. I see too many motorhomes stuck on sites all week which would be too restrictive for us. However I understand some prefer not to tow so it comes down to what suits you best. One thing that does puzzle me is the high cost of a motor home compared to a car and caravan combination when taking like for like living space into consideration.
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for a typical UK MH v caravan price....
caravan (say) £20k
fiat chassis around £18k
£2k to bolt them together
MH (Swift, Bailey, Elddis etc) around £40k
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Having hired motohomes for 3 extended trips abroad our personal preference is caravanning. I see too many motorhomes stuck on sites all week which would be too restrictive for us. However I understand some prefer not to tow so it comes down to what suits
you best. One thing that does puzzle me is the high cost of a motor home compared to a car and caravan combination when taking like for like living space into consideration.But is that actually the reality? I must admit that I thought the same until I came to buy a motorhome. Our motorhome cost around £47000. Had I purchased a new caravan (£20000) and a new towcar (30000) it would have cost fractionally more. OK I know I have
to factor in a car of some sort but my point is that often the differences are not as great as they first seem. I suppose as a caravanner its would be unusual to buy both a car and caravan at the same time so the cost os spread a bit more. It was the reallity
of starting to think about changing our last Sorento that prompted us to look again at the motorhome option. OK our savings took a big hit at the time but they would still have taken a sizeable hit had we purchased a new car. I can appreciate that the outlay
for new motorhome is difficult to get ones mind round but if you take into account the whole picture its not quite as bad as you think if that is what you want to do. We dithered for years!!!David
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Having hired motohomes for 3 extended trips abroad our personal preference is caravanning. I see too many motorhomes stuck on sites all week which would be too restrictive for us. However I understand some prefer not to tow so it comes down to what suits
you best. One thing that does puzzle me is the high cost of a motor home compared to a car and caravan combination when taking like for like living space into consideration.Motorhomes stuck on site are down to the owners choice not because they are restrictive.
We have a 7.5m m/h and have never had any issues doing what we have decided.
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Fetching water is no great issue for us......I usually fill the 10 litre container for topping up the aquaroll while I'm at the water point emptying the coffee pot each morning.
I can spare that 60 seconds..........which is nothing like the time spent by some motorhomers, struggling with the manhole cover, filling up their fresh water tank etc
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Fetching water is no great issue for us......I usually fill the 10 litre container for topping up the aquaroll while I'm at the water point emptying the coffee pot each morning.
I can spare that 60 seconds..........which is nothing like the time spent by some motorhomers, struggling with the manhole cover, filling up their fresh water tank etc
Lucky you, Ian. Long may it last.
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Ian, there is no problem lifting the MVSP Manhole cover ' its a straight lift even for Caravan Club "Seniors" on the more antiquated sites & the time spent topping up the water tanks just gives me time to have a chat to others on site. Indeed I might even have spoken to you, when I was Filling the Watering Can, Red, 2.5 gallons, Tomatoes for the watering with !!
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Fetching water is no great issue for us......I usually fill the 10 litre container for topping up the aquaroll while I'm at the water point emptying the coffee pot each morning.
I can spare that 60 seconds..........which is nothing like the time spent by some motorhomers, struggling with the manhole cover, filling up their fresh water tank etc
...i guess your wastemaster gets emptied on its own....?
filling the fresh tank isnt actually difficult, stick the hose in the filler, turn on the tap....
yes, emptying the waste can be a pain at some CC sites, but we dont always use their sites, nor do we need to need to dump (or fill) following each departure....however, when we do, we just pull a handle from inside....not really a chore....in most places
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True, emptying the wastemaster every 3 or 4 days is also not a problem.......just a stroll over to the waste and tip it into the the open grate.
I have to say, that seems easier than some motorhomes make it look.......with their forward and backward shuffle, opening the manhole and finding the flow fom the outlet over-shooting the manhole. A frantic (and wet) replacement of the bung.....then more
backward and forward shuffling (but this time accompanied by a few choice words between the couple involved).......and meanwhile I'm taking an easy stroll back to the caravan.......while the motorhome has another lap of the site and all the setting up to do
again, including the yellow-wedge shuffle, to contemplate what on earth they will do today, as they have now missed the one bus that passes the site.I exaggerate of course........but only slightly
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Ian, some people will make heavy weather of doing anything. Believe me, doing the tanks every three days on arrival oR departure is far less hassle than manoeuvring water containers around on a daily basis and, no, we don't use the onboard shower. If you
and David find it easy, that's great, but it's not been that way for all of us.0 -
Everyone to their own system I say. I'm quite happy filling my aquaroll every other day, and quite often can manage to empty the wastemaster at the same time, so only 1 journey required.
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When I had my vango force ten, I loved it! It suited my needs!
When I had a Raclet Trailer tent, I loved it, suited my needs at the time!
when I had a caravan, loved it, suited my needs at that time!
when I had a campervan, loved it, suited my needs then!
Now I have a motorcaravan, suits my needs now!
Tomorrow? Who knows, but whatever it is, I hope it suits my future needs!
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I'm not sure what the issue is here? I fill our Aquaroll and empty the Waste master each day after we've had breakfast and washed up. It's a 10 minute job at most. Really not difficult!
But if you've got back, joint and breathing problems it's a different matter, M.
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Whilst I agree that a simple yes or no would not very enlightening it is difficult to give more detail without it seeming like a point scoring exercise. When we had a tent, passed on form my parents, we loved it and now love our caravan. If we had a motorhome
I am sure that we would be the same but for many reasons, many mentioned here, the caravan suits us and we don't regret stcking with a caravan.0
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