Does It Exist ??
Comments
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We would probably fit in a sixth category.
6. Those of us who happily swap between caravan, campervan or motorhome as we pass through those major milestones of life and the needs/requirements these different stages bring. The recent addition of our first grandchild and with another on the way they may also enter into the equation when we decide which form of 'caravanning' we next take.
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5. Those of us with an everyday car and a ten year old Caravan who don't have the money to buy the sort of £80,000 Motorhome which is oh so regularly proposed to us in this forum. Is this still the rich man's Club?
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I just have a very simplistic view of the option 'BB'
At the moment we are fit and able and love walking, but it can't last forever.
I look upon caravanning as the most suitable option for us whilst we are fit, and motorhoming for when we are not.
Disclaimer: My opinion only and not meant for everyone
It's a good thread and good reading
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In my opinion, Dave, you have a very realistic view.
It's better to be aware of what can happen, do your research, and prepare rather than one day wake up and find you're struggling to the extent that it's easier to stay at home and do nothing.
Good on you for thinking ahead.
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An AS 6m PVC, BB.
About 18" shorter and, the really important bit, 9" narrower than the previous MH.
There's still scope to downsize again if and when.
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We have gone the the oposite way when we were "fit"and younger we had for a period motor caravans, but have found it more convenient now we have gone back to a caravan and even more so since I was "advised"with our age and health to have a motor mover fitted
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BB how are you and Mrs BB getting on with the traverse bed and climbing over each other for the loo at night?
We had a caravan with French bed and the climbing over was a pain as was trying to make a bed with only access to 1 side (conventional mattress that was hard to bend over to get bottom sheet on) so went for Island bed caravan and subsequent MH.
For next van we are considering twin singles or raised Island bed to get a larger garage (even though we have a fair sized one now) and want a bigger paylaod to carry 2 bikes upright in garage.
We are still young enough to get a lot of years out of a heavier chassis so not so worried about size more comfort as we are hopefully going to be in it for longer tours etc.
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Agree, in 2014 I bought a new tow vehicle and new caravan which came in at £52k. Could have bought a nice motorhome for that, so one or the other doesn't cut it with me as the end result whatever priced or whatever age is the same, a damned good holiday.
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After having caravans for 35 years we changed to a m/h 5 years ago. It took us a fair few years to find one that ticked our boxes but we must have got it right because we still love what we have. We keep looking at new ones (you have to) so far we have not seen anything that we would like to change it for.
We are not keen on the continental style vans, we find them too cramped. So much space is wasted on the bedroom area there is little left for the galley and lounge.
We have had every kind of bed there is except island. Compromise is the big thing be it m/h or caravan. We like the feeling of space so are happy to make beds up at night, I think it takes about 3 mins to do. We do have a wide van but have not found it an issue. We have Truma Combi blow heating and are very happy with it much better than the ones we had in the caravans.
To answer BBs question why did we change. OH had been looking at them for awhile even before we retired, it just wasn't possible then as we both needed cars for work. We rarely stay anywhere more than 5 days, we also wanted to get back to touring abroad so it made sense to change to a m/h. I also would not tow the caravan but am happy to drive the m/h.
Would we move back to a caravan? Yes, when the time is right. Once we have stopped touring Europe and spend more time in the UK. Do we regret changing to a m/h? No. Will we buy another one? Maybe who knows
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Again thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread.
I thought I might report back with our thoughts.
We decided we might look at changing to a motorhome after our discussions turned again to changing our main vehicle.
Its going to take about £20k to get us back up to something newish that will pull our caravan and suits our needs. And every time we contemplate a change of vehicle we have to consider what its towing.
So this time my mind must have been "thinking outside the box ??!!".
Why not sell the main vehicle and caravan and put the circe £20k to it and buy a M/H leaving us with a perfectly acceptable fuel efficient "second" car for every day use.
We have scoured all the M/H manufacturers websites and local dealers and now realise that the size and comfort of our caravan interior is not something we can replicate easily in a M/H without going massive.
We love the space we have in our caravan and don't at this stage want to give that up as we cannot see a M/H that ticks all the boxes.
We still at this stage have our health so towing and setting up the caravan is not an issue. That may / will change and a M/H may then be more desirable.
So no convert to the "dark side" on this occasion but we now have a new passtime for keeping ourselves awake whilst travelling.
SWMBO googles the model number of every M/H that passes us - looks at the internal layout and bemoans that "that layout wouldn't suit us either." That seems to confirm to her that we have made the right choice.........for the minute
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The up to date Truma blown air heating is superb in our opinion. We have found it very easy to set the required temperature and there is very little noise. Having enjoyed it in two caravans it is on our must have list for the new motorhome. I cannot understand why folk should want or need the complexity of a wet system.
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This is one of the most interesting and helpful threads I have come across. My thanks to all for sound and common sense advice.
All of the above shows how personal is the matter of preference and choice. After forty years of caravans we know we need parallel seats with kitchen and bathroom at the rear as this is the only caravan layout which works for us. We don't like the fixed bed - tried it and disliked it - and consider a few minutes spent turning the seats into a double bed well worth what some consider a bother. Sleeping in single beds is not an option for us.
The most helpful aspect of all the above is to have the smallest motorhome with which you can manage. We have - at last - identified the one we would like and have visit to the factory due towards the end of the month.
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We downsized in January from a 7.2m coachbuilt MH to a 5.99 PVC - an Adria Twin 600 SP. This has a large transverse fixed bed and side dinette. We admit we bought it quickly after giving up M'homing after a family crisis.
We are now seriously considering 'upsizing' again. We are both almost 70 and like our creature comforts.
The high transverse bed means I have to use a small folding stool to get up into it. It is a real pain to make- I have to crawl all over it. If my Husband needs to get out to make a cup of tea it is very difficult to get past me.
The washroom is very small and cramped. Pulling your trousers up is not easy!!.
The narrow width up the middle of the van means it is impossible to pass each other unless one stands back by the door or ducks into the washroom. For this reason the washroom door is nearly always open!
We also find the big sliding door is heavy and hard to close. I nearly always fail to pull it properly tight . It is noisy too.
I must add that I weigh 9st 9lbs and my husband is 12 st 7lbs so neither of us is very big. We probably chose the wrong layout, but we have always had a fixed bed.
So just be careful you don't go too small and make sure you spend time in any van you like, bending down to the grill and the bottom of the fridge , and moving around in the washroom
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Smaller for us is definitely better and the advantages outweigh the drawbacks but that’s our view and others will find differently.
We looked at the Murvi you mention, BB, but the very cramped kitchen area was a step too far. One thing that attracted us to the Warwick was the positioning of the kitchen opposite the sliding door which allows adequate space to bend and reach into the fridge and oven.
By their very nature, PVCs will always have less room widthways than coachbuilt models and we just have to learn to move one at a time.
Now, let's hope no more drawer fronts fall off......
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Got my eye on a Warwick 😉. Tried that layout in NZ and loved it. Prefer the kitchen at the sliding door end. Good to know it works for you here, weather has been summer when hired so able to keep door open. Which length do you have?
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Your current van sounds attractive. What is it?
My head hurts already and we're not doing it seriously if at all yet 😂. Just browsing and getting a eel of what' out there. Sadly no dealers locally. In fact all a good hour or more away so it makes viewing difficult, would be so nice to potter off for an afternoon every now and then lol.
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Hi, B2. Ours is the shorter Warwick Duo, not the XL. It’s a shade under 6m long.
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