Four week tour
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That’s rubbish as I’m sure you know. Still, we’re wandering OT now.
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Sorry to hear about all your issues, we have had 4 vans now and fortunately not suffered anything like this.
The brake issue would definitely be a big concern for me, our trip covered roughly 1000 miles with no brake issues or squeaks, we had it serviced just before our trip and all was well, its a 2021 swift.
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We've had three Alko based caravans in 25 years,an Eldiss Crown, then Avondale and now a Swift which we've had for 11 years and the middle one did the most miles - can't remember the except figure but it was around 8,000, and we've never had any brake related issues on any of them, or anything ever needed doing to them, have we just been lucky?
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Only up to a point, yes that £25000 would buy a lot of holidays in one year but after that of course the caravan (or MH of course) can be used over and over again and the 'return' on it increases. Once it's paid off (if bought on credit) then really all the holidays costs are just as the OP says and the become very cost effective indeed.
I've posted this before but back in 1999 we did the sums and we could either take the family each year for one two week holiday or put that money 'aside' over a number of years (I recall four to balance the books)and buy a caravan and then use it all year round. I think that we and the kids got very good VFM holiday wise. One big touring holiday in the summer over three/four weeks and numerous smaller one and weekends all for the same price as one two week holiday abroad.
Once finances picked up with promotions/salary increases we then did both. I'm said this before but when we did do both we asked the kids what they preferred. One said caravan as she was allowed to go to the toilet by herself on site and another said aboard due to the toast machine in the hotel!
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Fully agree with this post, we have been lucky with our jobs and are in a position where we own the van and tow car, we also have many short weekend trips.
We are getting ready to embark on our next adventure to Nottinghamshire then Norfolk. It is a ten night trip and site fees are £320 in total due to it being outside school holidays, we are in that fortunate position now the kids have flown.
We do feel sorry for families trying to get started in caravaning as they are tied to expensive school holiday times.
We did suffer this ourselves and at times thought this is not cheap hobby 😔
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+1 there.
We were both teachers so yes it was something we just had to adjust to, which is probably why now we think holidays are still so cheap, and especially last minute abroad holidays!
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“Only up to a point, yes that £25000 would buy a lot of holidays in one year but after that of course the caravan (or MH of course) can be used over and over again and the 'return' on it increases. Once it's paid off (if bought on credit) then really all the holidays costs are just as the OP says and the become very cost effective indeed.”
You’ve missed the gist of what I was trying to convey, but that’s ok.
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Sorry that I have Freddy, could you try again to help?
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That’s exactly what we did when we were working and it made perfect financial sense as the caravan was second hand and relatively cheap and there was no other way we could afford that much holiday. Apart from that, it was exactly what we wanted to do.
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I suppose there are some who buy a caravan just for one year and use it for 28 days, but if they have the funds to do, well done them, and I assume they then sell it back?
And of course the vast majority of working folk are on 35 days holiday a year and for someone who to maximise their time away it makes perfect financial sense.
But for the majority, vast majority perhaps, buying a caravan is a long term thing. And then it makes perfect financial sense. Just going by your new caravan cost, annual costs, and 28 days on an average club site and keeping the caravan for say 10 years, then the cost of a weeks holiday for couple comes in at about £950. £950 per week! Ok different combinations are available, keep the caravan for 5 years (but then maybe trade it in) or use cheaper sites, or a lower caravan costs but you get the idea.
£950 per week is pretty good for a couple as you described. A premier Inn would cost £4200 for 28 days, an average one week package holiday is anywhere from £800+, often anywhere up to £2000, per person.
It can make perfect financial sense. But of course what one wants to do and spend their leisure money on is just not governed at all by financial sense. My photos aren't better because I spend thousands on equipment. I often take my old Canon AE1 out and the photos are not suddenly worse, but I enjoy having what I have.
If it's what people want to spend their money on then that's all there is to it. I love caravanning and spending time away like that. Luckily it's also very cost effective especially at the moment but was even when we first started to maximise our holidays spending.
As to the isolation I'm not sure what you mean? I can only answer your posts as they come in and reply to what point you're making at that time?
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To me you either love caravanning or not it gives us the opportunity to get about the country( at 75 we no longer go abroad) but ultimately the freedom to take our dogs over the years has been the major difference from hotels etc. I appreciate not everyone likes dogs or understands the relationship between owners and their dogs but having them with you and the freedom of a caravan is my justification for paying out to own a caravan and also a vehicle capable of pulling it.
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We will be having our first caravan trip next weekend sans dog having died last week. It will be odd however we have already identified places we can go that previously would have been impossible. Later in the month we are having a long weekend away in a hotel. This is simply down to the distance and travel time. We are going to Loch Ness to a family event and the distance is such trying to get there in one day while towing is challenging at 400 miles, the last part of which is single track roads just when we are at our most tired. I would need to take an additional 2days annual leave to use the caravan and I simply do not have enough leave for that. So it will be in a hotel at £120/night for 2 as opposed to about £40/night on a fully serviced pitch just down the road at the CCC Loch Ness site. Needs must but the wallet isn’t happy!
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Sorry to hear about your pooch flatcoat. We have a very elderly pooch as well, too creaky and needy for the MH at the moment as well. We have some no dog along trips in the planning stage as well. Some overseas ideas, some places like Bath, long railway journeys on sleepers, etc….. Nice to mix things up a bit. Enjoy😁
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Although we have not been away in our van as much as usual this year, we have had good use of it in the 16 years we have owned it. Our previous van we had from 1998-2008, but until I retired in 2007 we could only take a max of 6 weeks away each year, and only one year were we able to take the 6 weeks in one go. When we sold it, it had travelled almost 30,000 miles.
From 2007 till 2017 we spent 4-5 months away each year, usually 3 months abroad and 1-2 months in UK, but since then we have not taken the van abroad. We have managed maybe 3 months away some years, other years only around 2 months. The van has now travelled almost 50,000 miles. We enjoy caravanning and have rarely taken any other type of holiday.
It has been a good van, no really major problems, everything still works, and it suits us, but we have been giving some thought to changing it for a layout that will be more suitable for when we have our daughter and family along, or for them to use on their own.
However, at our age, how much longer will we carry on? And how much use would our daughter and family be able to make of it?
Though SIL is a teacher and has 6 weeks off in the summer, 2 weeks at Easter and a week in October ( plus Christmas of course), our daughter does not have so many weeks off, so that would limit how much they could use it. With the price of vans these days, we are tending towards the conclusion that a change would not make good financial sense.
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