How many miles have you travelled?

[Big S]

Just come back from a nice, if somewhat cold and snowy, break to Stratford-upon-Avon, which entailed a 260 mile round trip.

This is our first outing this year and it got me thinking as to how many miles we toured in the van since we first bought it three and a half years ago and even since we first started touring six years ago.

It took some time to rack the old grey matter but I tracked the sites that we have visited in 2009 and using AA Route planner worked out that we travelled over 2,800 miles last year. In 2008 it was 2,400 miles and in 2007 3,100 miles. In all I estimate that we have covered around 10,500 miles since we first atarted touring and have visited parts of England and Wales that we would never have thought of visiting if it wasn't for caravanning. We have even toured France a couple of times. This year a couple of trips to Scotland should rack up some more miles and open up other delightful areas we haven't been to before.

Just wondered how miles miles on average you all clocked up. It's not a competition or boast as to who has covered the most miles but I was just curious as to how many miles people covered in an average year.

 

[ValA.]

We've had our van for ten years, with two trips to France each year, at around 2,000 miles per return trip, so 4,000 per year, then local weekends, trips to Scotland, Dorset, North Wales, and the Lake District.

So 40,000 miles on French trips, and probably three trips a year averaging 200 miles each way, so 600 per year, or 6,000, so more than 46,000 miles, including shorter local trips, with this van.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I wouldn't have a clue but you've added another job on my list, to add them all up :O)

 

[Rabfaetheblae]

That could be a good invention-- a milage counter for the caravan so you knew how far you had gone.

Rab

 

[DavidKlyne]

Since 1982 70015 miles, I suspect the bulk of that has been in Europe. I keep a spreadsheet of miles and sites use, sad I know!

David

 

[Rabfaetheblae]

David i dont no whether to be impressed or worried lol

Rab

 

[machighlander]

david, are ye an analyist by any chance ?

 

[Steve L]

Actually a quite interesting side topic has developed out of this thread.

When you buy your second hand van do you know just how much of a hard life it has had. I might well of got a near new interior, but that could be due to it being dragged halfway round europe at 500 miles a day for a month twice a year over the last 3 years for example. The cushions might be good as new, but the chassis could be well knackered.

You see mileometers fitted to lorry trailers and buses so why not have one on the caravan. That way you could keep track of it's mileage and regulate chassis component service intervals accordingly.

Nice one big S for stiring the old grey matter.

Atb Steve L (30 years a vanner)

 

[Chrisbee]

Since I've had my new van I too have kept a log of the miles travelled. As I'm not as clever as David I use a book. I have enough trouble spreading butter, never mind spreadsheets!

 

[ValA.]

Actually a quite interesting side topic has developed out of this thread.

When you buy your second hand van do you know just how much of a hard life it has had. I might well of got a near new interior, but that could be due to it being dragged halfway round europe at 500 miles a day for a month twice a year over the last 3 years for example. The cushions might be good as new, but the chassis could be well knackered.

You see mileometers fitted to lorry trailers and buses so why not have one on the caravan. That way you could keep track of it's mileage and regulate chassis component service intervals accordingly.

Nice one big S for stiring the old grey matter.

Atb Steve L (30 years a vanner)

That's one of the reasons why I was a little sceptical of Bailey's three year 'retorqueing' of the corner bolts on the new Pegasus. We do a lot of miles in our van - and it would seem logical that our bolts would need a 'look-see' long before our neighbour who goes out almost every weekend, but only on a 10 miles return trip! He reckons he does 500 miles a year at the most! We do that before day two of our holiday! Why should his bolt-retorqueing interval be the same as ours!

I think the mileometer idea is a good one though. It would also be another topic of conversation once you'd got to site!

 

[emmerson2]

Talking of mileage, but going off at a slight tangent, I was in a 2007 motorhome yesterday, which had cost its owner

 

[Guest]

But it has been used emmerson, no doubt the owners simply do not do massive mileage that's all.the Same could be applied to cars, some cars do massive mileage each year and some do not.

My caravan has occasional use too and possible does less than 500 miles a year, but I have the caravan there, for when I want to use it.

 

[DavidKlyne]

Emmerson said "Talking of mileage, but going off at a slight tangent, I was in a 2007 motorhome yesterday, which had cost its owner

 

[Pat_374304630]

Big S,

You've certainly made me think!!!!

 

[Dustydog]

Stev L said

"The cushions might be good as new, but the chassis could be well knackered".

During the terrible floods a few years ago a number of caravan manufacturers and dealers were supplying the Insurance Industry with brand new caravans for use by the families whilst their homes were repaired. A lot of these caravans were still in daily use two years later.

Would I want to buy one of these? No thanks.

Aircraft usage is measured in hours flown.

So is it mileage or time used or both that need to taken into account?

I think it's a bit like a car. The one used on the motorway with say 50k on the clock will probably be a better than say one with 10k driven round town by a "little old lady".

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[C_374479958]

That's no way to talk about my wife's driving!!

 

[JTQ]

Like David I log all such things on a spreadsheet; strict engineering training and all that, must keep thing recorded!

In the three years with the current tow card its towed 16,359 miles and that's 49.3% of its total mileage. So about 5,500 towed miles per year.

Current van acquired in July 2008 has done 6069 miles and been used 207 nights. So we are slowing down a bit, or was it the weather?

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

OK Big S, you've got something to answer for.

Took me ages but sad as I am I was determined to find out how much we had towed and it was all within the U.K. The mileages don't include touring the areas we were stopping at and we had a blip in 2008 due to the illness and death of my MIL :O(

2004 .... 2112

2005 .... 2713

2006 .... 2383

2007 .... 2057

2008 .... 1072

2009 .... 2784

I've even worked out how much mileage for the sites we've booked this year although this will be added to ... 1734

 

[foshy]

Hi,

I use spreadsheets for most things but not this - but that's a good idea! The wife will go made ;-)

We keep a holiday diary and record what we get up to each day. The idea being to embarrass the child when he is older. However back to the point we also keep a track of the mileage from site to site and the return trip back home. We have only really travelled around the UK with the odd trip to Europe and Scotland from the Hampshire area. Looking back over the last few years we have average around 3500 miles per year.

 

[anotherDavid]

We also keep a spreadsheet going and have been recording all our trips since 1998. The towing has totalled 56700 miles mostly made up of two continental trips a year. I am lucky to have a co-pilot who records very carefully all our mileage and fuel . The spreadsheet doesnt take too long to fill in when we get home and we know exactly what the fuel consumption was and how far and long we travelled on towing days. Added to this, spending on sites, credit card bills, ferry insurance and currency and we know exactly what the trip cost and have a good idea how much the next will be. It also reveals some odd patterns, when we travel a well used route it is suprisingly similar each time, a couple of hundred miles journey on main roads will without any conscious effort not vary more than say 15-30 minutes irespective of traffic or weather.

No doubt I will be labeled sad for this but we find it very useful.

Dave

Dave