Any Regrets ?
Comments
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I have had tents caravans boats motorhomes and now caravans again. Everyone of them has pros and cons its just a matter of what one is prepared to compromise on. At present the caravan is by far the best option for us and as for seting up we find it no harder
than the MH. Water and waste filled and emptied late afternoon ready for daily shower, it ain't difficult or time consuming. The only reason I would go back to a MH woud be if retired and touring Europe0 -
My wife and I hired a motorhome, a new four-berth unit for a month for a trip from the Midlands to the Skye and the Outer Hebrides. It was on the basis of our experiences that we recently brought our first caravan.
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I think everything is a compromise, bits you love, bits you aren't as fond of using or doing. Would apply if you were to holiday any other way as well. The only way to find out what exactly what suits you and your circumstances is to have a good think through
as many aspects of your holiday as you can, helps if you can get some actual experience of travelling, living and enjoying as well. Then think what are the most important aspects for you as an individual, couple or family, and consider the option that will
work best for you, at this particular time. Not doing a bit of homework, being lured at shows or impulse buying could work out very costly, and the internet is littered with hardly used bargains for canny folk to snap up. If you don't get most of it right
for you and yours, sadly it is your fault really, and better luck next time. At some point or other, we have probably all experienced a bit of this if we are honest, to different degrees.
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Regrets?
Only that it wasn't til I retired that I could justify the expense of a m/h due to the cost vs insufficient leisure time with developing and running my own businesses, our own social engagements, ailing parents, the expense and commitment to a growing family,
numerous weekend events - football practice and matches, school trips, parties...........However, I don't regret retiring at 50 and I don't know anyone who wished they'd worked for longer.
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similar busy 'working' life to us....lots of sports and social stuff...
never even gave vanning a sideways glance as usually of in a plane or on a boat.
like you, lucky to be able to retire early at 52 and OH only 50...so more time on our hands...
our pals decided to do the Groats/Lands End cycle and asked us to bring their van home from Scotland and pick them up in Cornwall.
we had the van for six weeks, bumbling about, walking, cycling etc....
when it came to giving it back we already knew we would have one ourselves.....a caravan wasnt even in our thinking, we were young(ish), fit and able, and were not really into driving unnecessarily short trips...
so, it was a MH for us and now on our third..
did a caravan get any comsideration when deciding on the subsequent purchases?..
no, as we had, by then, been seduced by the easy nomadic form of touring that we enjoy so much in Europe.
theres plenty of time (hopefully) for all this to change, but regrets?
a resounding No
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I was thinking about this over the weekend. I wondered if we had considered touring when the kids were older and weren't going to be accompanying us would have made a difference and we would have been more open minded towards a MH.
Discussion with OH cleared it up. Apparently when I suggested it during our tenting days he was doing the sort of 'smile and nod' technique that I use myself and a MH was never going to be an option.
He's also clarified that it won't be a future option either so I hope the van lasts a bit longer
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We didn't think that a MH would work for us as a family AD and I think many agree. The five familes I know that have bought caravans this year vaguely considered a motorhome but decided against them on internal space and sleeping arrangements
There are still plenty of caravans that are light enough to be towed with post 1997 licences and looking at the cars in our village most families have one already that would tow them.
The main issue for most seems to be getting approval to fit a tow bar from the company that they lease from
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Good point David. We wre caravanners for 16 years before moving to a MH so from the various layouts we had we knew what worked for us and what didnt.. a novice buying thier first MH or indeed Caravan would not have any idea or very little.
Novice here and could nto agree more.
We really did not know enough but I thin we made the right decision although the OH is still hankering after a cottage or hotel! :-) What sold us on the one we bought is it seemed to have most room for the money, a big bathroom with very good size shower
and a fixed bed.The fact ithe previuos owner had fitted satelite and air con was a big plus! :-)
I love it, the OH I hope will come around.
FYIour very first van is a Swirft Conqerer 630 (2010) so a little TA jobby!
Thanks heavens I love my Discovery 4.
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If we had children, sure our choices would have been somewhat different. Bad enough trying to make sure two dogs have enough room!
Main
thing is, to enjoy what you choose!0 -
It all depends how and where one is going to use the caravan or motorhome, and because all our travels are overseas that coloured our choice.
Because all sites there have electricity we don't need solar panels or extra batteries, and because all sites there have good toilets and showers we can do without an en suite bathroom - and that knocks out the need for aquarolls and wastemasters. Because the weather over there is better we decided we didn't need an awning, and because we don't walk far or cycle at all we eliminated motorhomes. Because we eat out every day we don't need an oven or a microwave. And because we are old and feeble we chose a small caravan that we can wheel around by hand like a pram - and a big comfortable car. Other people are different.
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Eriba's are very special ET! Niche market, much like T@bs and Airstreams! And VW camper vans. Have you ever stayed near Marazion on a CL? Just wondering if we had met you a few years ago!
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No sorry. Not me. But f you are coming down to Cornwall I might just break cover
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Won't be for a while sadly. We used to meet an Eriba owner on CL we used, think it was a large one (Troll?) Lovely van, we were very impressed. OH would have one like a shot, but then he occasionally forgets about two big dogs we own!
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ET is this you?
Sketch by my then 11 year old nephew. Personally I like Eriba caravans but everytime I have been in one I have hit my head!!!
David
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Having been caravaners for over 30y, 2y ago we started thinking of turning to the dark side and buying a motorhome, did the NEC and countless dealers, than I realised that what Mrs Jones wanted Mr Jones could't afford so the caravan stay's.
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ET is this you?
Sketch by my then 11 year old nephew. Personally I like Eriba caravans but everytime I have been in one I have hit my head!!!
David
Lovely drawing! I think destiny was calling DK, even at that age!
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to me a caravan is the best, we do some local rallys, if we want to pop out we have the car, then in the summer we do 2 weeks at the same site, the last 2 years in cornwall, again we have the car to go to the beach, I woudn't like to try to park a motorhome on the sea front, or touring on the narrow cornish roads, I will stick to a Caravan
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We had a caravan for years, then changed to a motorhome, then came back to a caravan. Some things about MH we found better but overall at the moment the caravan is better for us. Biggest regret when we went caravan to MH was the loss of the alde heating.
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We went from a MH after 9 years of fault free usage, to a flagship thrown together pile of common poor quality parts called a Sterling Continental 570. Seriously regret it. Until it is rebuilt properly in February have lost interest in it, hopefully the enthusiasm will return, but not seeing it in the distance yet. Will probably be the first and last time we waste close on £30k with the awning, mover, battery, sundae, chairs, bedding, etc buying a poor quality caravan.
Having a young daughter and 9 years of exciting holidays and adventures we had hoped to have been enjoying more space and luxury, but have ended up with a pile of carp that we don't know what will fail, fall off or break the next time we arrive on site. Hence our decision not to use it until rebuilt. Not what childhood memories are made of.
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