Touring in Europe
Hi we are complete newbies and are planning to buy a caravan and hope to spend time touring Europe. As we will be spending several weeks at a time away, and the caravan will be our home we are considering a van with a fixed bed - approximate length 7-8 meters. However, we've been looking at European sites recommended through the Caravan Club and most of them seem to state a maximum outfit length of 7 m. Does anyone have experience of touring with a larger caravan who could share their experiences? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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I go the other way - small Caravan, no motor mover, wheel it around like a pram, minimal kit, all pretty spartan, no awning, but we can upsticks and move on a whim from one place to another, setting up time when we arrive somewhere is about five minutes, and we are often on small sites the Caravan Club has never even heard of.
Another David likes his home comforts, but he and I never argue ! As he says you will find all sorts of campsites.
I hope things go well for you.
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Totally agreed with Deleted User User. We love our fixed bed and have never had a problem getting onto sites in France. As ADavid we spend most of our waking time outside, but the fixed bed and luxury of a larger 'van are really welcome when touring in the UK with poor weather.
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Hi, we go aboard for six weeks at a time and want all the creature comforts when away which includes a 7.5m caravan with a fixed bed. We also did a couple of years with a 8m twin axle but that was a bit of a problem on some sites.
As others have said there are far more sites than listed by the caravan club which we think are very expensive. Have you looked at the ACSI sites. There are two lists on Google; one is sites that have been checked by their inspectors and the other cheap sites obtained by using the ACSI card. We wouldn't go abroad without it and looking at the details on their website you can see how big the pitches are, what services they have and reviews from other users.
my blog is jennyandjohngocaravanning.wordpress.org
It has a page of site reviews which might give you some ideas of what to expect and how .we got on.
Good luck. Caravanning over there is wonderful
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Another endorsement for Deleted User User's comments. We have a 7.15 m caravan and go touring on the continent for 2 x 5 weeks trips each year. Fixed bed, mover, the lot. However, we now have a Fiamma Caravanstore roll out sun canopy rather than an awning which makes it easier for me to put up/put away and therefore use when we stop for a couple of nights - have even used it for a lunch stop!. With a full awning we tended not to use it if we were on a site for less than 4 days. Get yourself the ACSI and CC books, decent insurance; and, if going out of season, no need to book. Be flexible, follow the sun and have some great holidays. Oh, forgot to add, we too have never had any problems re sites, just remember that the pitches in Italy tend to be smaller than those in UK - but that's where a mover comes in handy!
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My caravan has a fixed bed and it's substantially shorter than 7m.
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Ours too - it's one of the earliest fixed beds, a Swift Speedbird 490C and we find it quite adequate enough for our touring holidays. It's now seventeen years old and has done around 80,000 touring miles!
There are shorter fixed bed caravans on the market if you check dealers.
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We also have a fixed bed, ours is a 7.95m twin axle. We spend at least 4 months away every year. At least 2 months of that is abroad, in one trip.
We do not use an awning, but do have a Fiamma Zip Canopy which can have sides and front added.
We usually set off in mid/late April, have a couple of weeks in UK, then get the ferry. We return mid/late June and have another couple of UK weeks on the way home.
In September we have another month away in UK, and sometimes a couple of weeks in October and/or November.
We never book abroad, we use the Camping Card ACSI and Camping Cheques for site discounts.
We have been as far south as south Italy and in the north to Nordkapp in Norway, and not yet found a pitch we could not get onto. We do have a mover as we need it to get the van onto our driveway at home.
Your towcar will limit the weight and thus size of van you can tow.
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Fixed bed in a large van is the way to go IMO. Did it for many years without too much problem. Motor movers make it easy.
Just be aware some sites do not allow twin axle vans, not a vast amount but enough to make you check before turning up.
Use the ACSI web site to find out if the site accepts long vans over 7.5m.
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Another Davids post says it all. Our vans for last few years were all 7M + and no problems other than being a bit tight in Italy BUT that was due to the profusion of tress and shrubs that make the sites so attractive in the first place.
I would say that if we did not have a mover there would be pitches that would not be accessible on quite a few sites we have used.
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We have a 7m fixed bed Sa van, not had any problems in Europe.
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We have travelled with an 8 metre twin axle in Europe for 10 years and never had a problem even in Italy. We 90% use ACSI Camping Card Sites out of season. Lovely having the extra room and fixed bed when away for two or three months at a time. Have not travelled extensively in France so cannot say for there but have visited 13 other countries without a problem.
DianneT
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We have a 7.89m twin axle, trips vary from 3 months to a few days. Usually 120 days per year or more out of the UK. Comfort is important as is safety hence we don't have motor mover as they take up too much of your load allowance. Long trips mean more equipment and clothes, movers for Ta's weigh around 60kg and I don't have that to spare. Even though I have had the caravan up-plated we still use out full load allowance and there is only 2 of us. We don't have an awning but have a Fiamma F45 Zip windout canopy fitted. I reverse onto pitches, it can be a challenge hence I prefer an auto as a tow car.
Whatever your choice, enjoy it is a fantastic life.
posted from the snowy, windy, Spanish med coast, but enjoying every day.
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There is an advantage to having a smaller caravan, and that is that you need a smaller car to tow it with. We tow with a Ford Modeo estate (we've had Mondeos for about fifteen years) which has a low tax and insurance level, we get something over thirty-three mpg towing and vastly more when not towing, and servicing and maintenance costs are low. If you go for a larger caravan you need a larger tow vehicle, and then the costs of towing (and driving in general) rise considerably.
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