Caravan width - help please advice requested
Hi, Can someone help me please ?...we 're about to purchase a nearly new twin axle van but my wife has friends at work that have told her that we should not buy the wider 8 foot caravan as we'll have problems accessing touring sites ...can anyone please supply some much needed advice ?.....is this true ?....have any 8 foot wide van owners had any issues/problems accessing UK touring sites and/or problems with pitch size restrictions ? All/any advice welcome we're first time vaner's Thanks in advance to all you caravan sages :-) Kind regards Steve
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There are folk on here who manage quite well with 8’ wide vans. There are others who avoid narrow roads because they have an 8’ wide van.
You may well have trouble accessing some CLs with a large van as they can be in remote locations with restricted access. Club owned/operated sites should not be a problem and size restrictions on pitches will be on length. Each club site will show on its web page the max length that can be accepted, ie shipping length of the caravan.
It's not something I would contemplate with living down here but, at the end of the day, it’s down to how confident you are in your towing and manoeuvring ability and, of course, the capability of your towing vehicle.
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If 8’ wide vans are such a problem they wouldn’t be so popular with manufacturers and therefore buyers. As tinwheeler suggests there will inevitably be the odd site where access is an issue and in those cases the site operator will probably advise. The site we use in Cornwall near St Mawes has access road not for the faint hearted but is accessible with an 8’ t/a with care. If you are going to use club or commercial sites it is unlikely you will encounter any problems. There are one or two sites who are sniffy about t/a’s due to a perception that users are from a specific ethnic group, however those are also rare and more likely sur le continent.
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Be aware, some camp sites and storage sites will not permit the large twin wheel caravans of certain makes on their property.
you certainly couldn’t keep the big Buccaneers and Hobbys on my previous storage site as they were a known target for our travelling friends.1 -
Presumably heavy as well as wide - perhaps getting on for two tonnes all up weight? It wii take an awful lot of expensive diesel to haul that about. And how long will new big diesel tow cars be available on sale? So not surprising the present owners of that caravan are selling it.
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Gentlemen (and if any of you are Ladies of course), You are all stars and many thanks for all of your comments ....I'm pretty confident with manoeuvering as I run small one man band car & van transport business and tow pretty much daily wish me luck!! ...I'm going to now discuss your comments with my good lady wife .....when of course she's in a good mood.....by the way ....the 8 footer that we're thinking of buying is a Swift, Sprite or Bailey ...not one of the banned or suspecting brands that our travelling friends might favor. As far as my research goes it just seems a no brainer that for our budget if I chose an 8 footer we'll get a much younger van ....plus there's the extra inside space. My tow vehicle is a VW Touareq V6 diesel. Thanks again to you all for your help and advice, much appreciated. Have a great evening. Cheers Steve Merrick
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Steve - we have an 8' wide van - a Knaus Starclass 695 and tow it with a Touareg. Fully laden, it weighs 2 tonnes and the Treg tows with effortless ease - indeed it's probably the best towcar I have had - including 4 Discos in the past.
The extra room inside that the additional 6" of width gives you is incredible and we really like it. That said - I am careful where I take it and always research new routes with care (Google Maps Street View). We regularly use CLs and CS's and because I choose them with care, we haven't had a problem. On the other hand, we have changed our plans this summer to go to the Dartmouth C&CC site (which we have been to, many times in the past with our Barcelona) because I felt that the approach into Dartmouth was just a step too far with a van of that size. Yes - I know that buses and HGVs use that route every day - but they're not bothered if they get the odd scratch on their vehicles - whereas I am!
Instead, we are off to Charmouth C&CC site which has a much easier approach.
With your towing experience, you won't have a problem - but perhaps I am just extra cautious
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Hello
We have an Adria 8ft wide van.
Only one site had caused us problems requiring an unhitch and motormover use. That was C&CC site at Wyre Piddle.
Lady luck shone on us last year when we opted for the C&MC site at St Mawes instead of a private site around the corner. We took a drive past this other site and it was immediately evident we would not have got past two rocky outcrops nor would we have managed to enter the site whilst still hooked up.
We've never been refused entry anywhere.
So, yes careful consideration is to be employed.
We love the space inside and for our particular van the longer draw bar makes for a smooth towing experience. Van is 1800kg, Volvo car is 1989kg without my athletic frame sat inside. Tows a dream and no ATC.
If you want to sneak into tiny hidden gem CL's on a regular basis maybe 8ft is not the way but that said not every CL has tight access.
I see your profile shows you in Derbyshire - whereabouts are you?
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Many thanks go to Richard Andros & Asda 160, appreciate your thoughts and comments ....but sad to say that I've failed (again!) miserably .....spoke to the missus this morning....she's having none of it....apparently the 8ft van is a deal breaker!!....so spent the day searching for some 7.5 footer's ....found four ....going to view tomorrow :-) ...Hi, Asda160 I'm based in Hilton, South Derbyshire ...why where are you ? Cheers Steve
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Hello Steve
're location, I've got to fetch our van out of storage very soon and thought it would help if you could experience travelling with an 8ft van for real, but it appears you've had your mind made up for you
...plus I'm in north Derbyshire and you're from the deep south so not really neighbours.0 -
I can see your dilemma, bigger must be better, but there’s another side to the coin. We’ve had a twin axle van in our time, though before the era of 8’ wide. And goodness me, did it impress. Huge to view on site, roomy inside and a user payload to delight anyone. Towing was a joy too. But it was all but impossible to move by hand, a motor mover being essential. It most definitely had a downside when access small CLs, which are our back to nature favourites, was wanted. Fuel consumption too, rose substantially. So all in all, we took stock of the pros and cons, replacing it with a smaller and simpler single axle van. With the awning up, and a pet, we’re not short of space, though in fairness, big vans don’t require awnings so often.
So I can understand your ‘what’s not to like?’ thoughts. However, things aren’t always as straightforward as they seem.
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Emilys Dad ...Yes at some point in the future my wife will be looking to learn and be trained (not by me!, of course) to tow the caravan that we buy. Which I guess is where her anxiety comes from ...so pretty understandable I suppose!! as she's driven her whole life but never towed before. I should be pleased that she wants to learn and be trained as a lot of people might not have the confidence and/or desire.
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Jenny C Thanks for your comments and you're are of course absolutely right, in my experience too, many things like this are rarely as straightforward as they seem. In our future travels we will also want to access the more off the beaten track sites to better export and try to find some of those lesser know and hidden gems. Although for me I'm pretty old and stuck in my ways and prefer a twin axle van not just for the smoother towing but in case of a blow out, single axles are just a step too far for me.
Asda 160 - good luck with getting yours out of storage and shame about you being up North in Derbyshire ...
Happy & Safe Travels Everyone, thanks again for your helpful comments and thoughts ...even before we have a van it makes me feel like a part of the community, really appreciate it.....also pretty strange that I don't like and/or interact with the social platforms ....firstly because I'm not really sure or take the time to understand how they work....and secondly I'm not really one to share with the world ...what I'm having for breakfast !!
...thanks again gang! 
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I think your wife has made a good decision! It leaves you more site options and removes some stress.
We bought a twin axle Swift Group van back in 2008, after I retired, and still have it. Really like the rear washroom with big walk in shower, these days showers seem to be much smaller, and the very generous payload, so we are hanging on to it. With such good on board facilities, we rarely use site facilities these days.
We do have a 3.9m lightweight porch, which we put up in summer if staying 4+ nights, but as Jenny said, there is plenty of room in the van when we do not use the porch. For many years we toured using a roll out Fiamma Zip, which was ideal in sunnier climes, but when it finally fell apart we decided not to renew it.
My tip would be to get a weight upgrade to cover the mover......you will need one....check first that an upgrade is possible. Ring the manufacturer to confirm if necessary if buying pre-loved.
Ours has an 85kg upgrade, MTPLM now 1900kg. We also tow with a Touareg, best towcar we have ever had.
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KjellNN....Many thanks for your comments and for sharing your experience....we have as you've suggested asked the dealer to uprate the weight and get a new plate ...he's agreed. How lucky are we?, as at yesterday Sat. 14th May we actually ordered and purchased an in stock new Swift Challenger 650 .....10 year warranty for water ingress, brilliant...ours has the end bedroom, middle toilet and shower and front lounge that converts into two singles or another double ....haven't given much thought yet to an awning but looking to start with a porch awning....as you say anything larger would be for longer stays of 4+ days ...our new van will be ready to collect on the 11th June, we're both pretty excited and ready to start our own Caravan adventures soon. Re the VW Touareq I also use ours to run a small car & van transportation business and regularly two a 3.5 Tonnes trailer and as you say it's the best towing vehicle I've also owned, should be just great for our new van. Cheers and Happy Caravaning. Steve M
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Hi Steve, we tow a 2021 Coachman 575 Excel which is 8 feet wide. Since collecting our van we have toured in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, South Devon, Cornwall and central and southern France. The additional width makes a huge difference on the internal space in the caravan but little difference towing. Only once did we have to 'breathe' in on an A road leaving Modbury CAMC site and only because we met a large truck with a crane attachment on a corner. No issues accessing any CAMC sites or CLs. Accidentally towed it through a Carrefour carpark having missed the access road to their filling station. We tow with a Discovery Sport D200. Caravan total weight is 1800kg.
Hope that helps!
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Hi Roger McNair, many thanks for taking the time to comments and tell me of your experience....I have to say I'd agree with you ....but ....sadly my 8ft dreams are over....7.5 ft is the way to go my wife says, as it was a deal breaker for her!...we purchased a new Swift Challenger 650 just yesterday ....roll on June so we can try her (the wife's named her Agatha) out ...by the way great outfit photo, thanks again, your input much appreciated. Cheers Steve M
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