Hi, from Worcestershire

[KeepMoving]

Hello.
I've recently joined. I'm looking for inspiration and tips for a long (4-6 week) Summer European touring vacation. Plus some weekend breaks in the UK.

We don't have a caravan just yet. Still thinking about what we'd need for 2 adults, a 10yo, and a dog.
I grew up with caravan holidays, in a Sprite and a Bailey, in the UK and France. Then later have had towing experience with my own 4 berth, dragging it around the UK to motorcycle racing circuits.
We do have an SUV (2020 Diesel CX5), ready to tow a suitably matched 'van.

Thanks all

 

[Buckman]

Welcome. We are also from Worcestershire. When you do get your caravan will it be stored at home or at a caravan storage compound?

 

[Mel]

Welcome to the forum. Happy van hunting. One thing to bear in mind is that children ( especially 10 year olds) outgrow caravan bunk beds very quickly. When caravan shopping take said 10 year old with you and post them into various made up beds to see how well they fit. Trust me, it really cuts down on pre adolescent whinging further down the line 😀
Mel

 

[KeepMoving]

Welcome. We are also from Worcestershire. When you do get your caravan will it be stored at home or at a caravan storage compound?

Unsure of that just yet. Have the space on driveway, but also appreciate the security of a good storage compound.

 

[KeepMoving]

Welcome to the forum. Happy van hunting. One thing to bear in mind is that children ( especially 10 year olds) outgrow caravan bunk beds very quickly. When caravan shopping take said 10 year old with you and post them into various made up beds to see how well they fit. Trust me, it really cuts down on pre adolescent whinging further down the line 😀
Mel

Good plan. I'm liking the size of something like the Elddis 304 with double bed plus 2 bunks. 10yo does love bunk beds (for now).

 

[Buckman]

Unsure of that just yet. Have the space on driveway, but also appreciate the security of a good storage compound.

Most around Worcester you need to book a space now in the hope that there is a vacancy. We use one near Powick which is very secure.

 

[Beachball]

Hi KeepMoving Welcome to the forum any questions you will receive a answer they are a great bunch on here enjoy

 

[Sam Vimes]

Good plan. I'm liking the size of something like the Elddis 304 with double bed plus 2 bunks. 10yo does love bunk beds (for now).

I have the Xplore 304. Most of the time its just the two of us but in early days when our grandson was about 5, he and our daughter used to come with us occassionally.

Personally I wouldn't trust the 304's upper bunk bed. Sad, but I don't have much faith in the durability of any caravans fittings - apart from which my grandson is a very restless sleeper. Couple this with the fact that the 304 has very limited storage space so we found an awning essential. With the awning we bought an inner tent and camp bed and that's where I used to sleep, while the others had the beds. Daughter and grandson in the front double; wife in the lower single.

Now they've migrated to camping and also have a dog. So, at night we get the beds to ourselves but share the van space during the day when necessary - its a bit cramped but enjoyable. Also a nice feeling when they go home and we're left to ourselves.

Very easy to tow and setup.

Good luck

 

[KeepMoving]

Hi Sam,
Thanks for sharing your experience on the 304. Interesting to hear about the lack of storage. I was hoping it would be large enough for 2adults, 1 child and a dog - as we move around Europe over the 6 week school hols. We'd have a reasonable sized SUV though. (CX5).

 

[Sam Vimes]

Your Welcome....

It's not impossible although an awning would be essential I think.

Of course if you get bad weather and are confined to the caravan with a wet dog....😉😉😉

 

[Dustydog]

Welcome to the Forum, This is the place for advice and question asking. Hope you find what you’re looking for

 

[MelissaPeters]

Welcome

Hello.
I've recently joined. I'm looking for inspiration and tips for a long (4-6 week) Summer European touring vacation. Plus some weekend breaks in the UK.

We don't have a caravan just yet. Still thinking about what we'd need for 2 adults, a 10yo, and a dog.
I grew up with caravan holidays, in a Sprite and a Bailey, in the UK and France. Then later have had towing experience with my own 4 berth, dragging it around the UK to motorcycle racing circuits.
We do have an SUV (2020 Diesel CX5), ready to tow a suitably matched 'van.
jiofi.local.html tplinklogin
Thanks all

 

[otherclive]

Welcome to the Forum, my advice would be to visit a few dealers and sit in various caravans looking to see how you might live in it. In Practical Caravan are pages showing various layouts.

 

[Enlighten_me]

Personally I wouldn't trust the 304's upper bunk bed

We've got a Xplore 304. My daughter sleeps in the upper (drop down) rear bed when we take it out. She's 52kg. The Xplore manual says that the max weight for the upper bunk is 75kg, but I think that's pushing it.

The bunk edge flexes quite a lot with this sort of weight on it, so I took the 'cot sides' off and put in a piece of 15x70 pine along the full length, screwed into the short vertical edge (on the non-visible side), as per the photo attached. It's now much stiffer.. I had to also add about 20mm blocks to the bottom of the ladder as well, since the bed assembly doesn't flex downwards with weight on the ladder or bed any more... without the blocks, the ladder wouldn't reach the floor!