Is caravanning just too much hassle?

[Gavin1974]

Bit of rant coming up..guess I need to hear some positives about caravan as our motivation is flagging.....

Following the birth of our first child (not 4 months old) we are seriously considering buying our first van. Both my wife and I have fond memories of caravanning holidays whilst we were small, and so we want to give our child similar experiences, whilst also given us the opportunity to "get away" far more than we currently do and see as much of the great outdoors that the UK has to offer.

But......bloody hell, it sounds a bit hard work, whilst this forum has been very helpful, my enthusiasm for caravanning wanes every time I take a look in here.

We're looking at buying a new van, probably an Ace Aristocrat or Firestar. But from reading this and other forums it seems van build quality is very questionable and all sorts of things can go wrong, and when they do dealer and manufactures' are not very helpful..

Just understanding what you can and can tow is a minefield, MTPLM easier enough to figure out but nose weight less so. Three queries to swift from a prospective buyer on nose weights remain unanswered!

And then towing itself sounds a nightmare! The Firestar is 23ft which scares me so some sort of towing course is needed probable another £150.

We now been told with a MLTPM of 1460kg my wife and I have little chance of being able to move the van manually, especially given we have a gravel drive..so does that mean another £800 for a motor mover?

Then you have damp, laying up for winter, and potentially storage to worry about. Plus I don't even understand half the stuff written on the technical forum about flanges etc...

And then if the Van isn't nicked from my drive (if that's were we keep it), when we do go away with it, its like putting up a big sign for all the villains in the area that the house is empty!

Plus it not exactly cheap, £13,500 just to get started with the van we want then another £1k per year to cover insurance (£350), servicing (£180), storage (£500) and breakdown cover.

Then from reading this forum, pitch prices seem to be going through the roof.

And finally, as we've a BMW estate with sport suspension the car sits fairly low and so some helpful bod has pointed out the tow bar may be far too low for towing a van! Which could mean a new towbar is need (another £400).

Phew rant over, we were very excited about the freedom and ability to explore all the good things the UK has to offer. But we're waning now and feeling more than a little wary.

Gavin

Ps Plus I've no idea howl we'll cope with a young baby in a van.

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Hi Gavin, don't let all these things put you off, we started caravaning about 4 years ago and had all the same doubting thoughts but we took the plunge and have loved every minute of it and hate it when we can't get away over the winter. As for caravaning with a baby i think it would be the easiest way to have holidays with a child that age, our friends baby was one when they started and after getting in to a routine everything worked out ok. She slept better in the caravan than she did at home. Four years on and we are still learning more about caravaning but the people on her are a great help with any little problem you may have.

Hope you do decide to go ahead you wont regret it.

 

[markw]

We bought our 1st van when my son was about 1 year old, we had never owned a caravan before, and neither of us really new whether we would take to it or not.

We bought a 2 year old sterling europa 500, which is also 23 foot, admitadly towing does not bother me in the slightest, we already had a L/R Discovery and I have a class 1 HGV licence anyway that helps with towing, reversing etc.

We have found we really love having the van, we get away more, it gives us unlimited freedom, you are away in your own "home" our little boy is familiar with his own caravan and is very happy away in it, he always knows when we are going away because I bring the van home from storage.

In my opinion it is definately worth it.

But you should be confident to tow, even if that means doing a course, I see many people who cannot even go backwards.

If you stick to a single axle van, moving it is not difficult, I live down a dead end lane and can only get the van half way round attached to my vehicle, but I can easily manage to move it by myself, without a motor mover.

If you are not 100 % sure might I suggest you ask yourself:

1. Do you really need a brand new van, one a year or two old will be just as good, cheaper (as someone else has already taken the biggest hit on depreciation) you will probably even pick one up with all the gear you need to get started, awning waste and water containers etc.

2. Do you need one that big straight away, particularly being new to towing.

3. As its your 1st van, you will certanly have some things to get used too, lets call them teething problems, putting awnings up etc. just ask how many on here have honestly dented or scratched the side of their van with an awning pole, I know I have (twice !!) believe me this still felt bad, but not half as bad as it would have done on a brand new van.

4. If you buy new and hate it, you will loose an awfull lot of money getting rid of the van and all the gear you have had to buy, if you get it 2nd hand at least you wont loose as much money.

5. Build quality. I read a lot on here about peoples problems with new vans, some of them sound very annoying, I have had no problems with our van, I guess the 1st owner had already had any warranty faults sorted out (if there were any)

Hope this help you.

Regards

Mark

 

[AndrewWimborne]

Hi.

I recently went into a forum about Sat Nav when considering buying one. All doom and gloom, poor service, poor quality, etc etc. Well I bought one and it has been great, no problems, no hassle. no issues.

SO GO FOR IT!!!

Andrew

 

[Mike_5041144]

Hi Gavin were you having a bad day when you wrote that post?

So many negative vibes!!!!!!

You don't have to start again with a

 

[freddy2]

Try taking a four month old on holiday at an airport and get delayed a few hours. With all the problems with Airport Security and constant delays or strikes by the French Air trafic controllers every peak holiday period, caravanning where you have everything you need with you, is much better. Warm bottles, or anything else you need is no problem. It is a home from home. If you are worried about build quality buy german.

 

[LesleyRussell]

Do not let having a young one put you off. We already had a caravan when our first child was born and at 8 weeks old we went off to Black Knowl for a week's holiday. At that time he slept in a moses basket on top of the chest of draws (front of van with bed made up) - after that slept in between us on double bed. We then changed caravan with beds at front and read and he then slept with me on the double bed at the rear. Four years later we had our daughter and prior to her birth had already booked our two week Easter holiday in France. She was nine weeks old when we took her to France and we had no problems. I have always found that both of mine sleep like logs in the caravan, thorugh rain, winds and thunder storms. No problem.

You hear about people having problems with their vans however prople would not bother to comment if they had problem free caravanning. There is always the Friday afternoon job with caravans and believe me we have had one. However it will not stop us from buying another as we woiuld hope it was a "one off." As has been mentioned, try second hand first to see how it works. You will not be parting with so much money, all the nigly problems will have been fixed and you will probably get the whole package. If you buy one two years old which had a three year warranty - you will still have one year left if anything major occurs.

I believe it is the best sort of holiday for children. They can get up when they like, you can decide your own meal times to suit your holiday and you can always take your t.v. with dvd's etc to keep them occupied for part of the time on rainy days.

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately, everything in this world is becoming more restrictive, and therefore expensive. Caravanning is not, and never will be, a cheap hobby, but it is the choice of many for a multitude of reasons.

Many people buy an apartment somewhere because. they will make a profit if they sell, and may make money on rentals. On the othar hand they have to pay maintenance and may even have the disaster of it being bulldozed 'a la Spain'. Plus it ties you to one locality.

The caravan will cost you money, will lose value but can be an enjoyable way to spend your leisure time. You can be a giszmo geek and have every toy known to man, or be totally laid back and watch the sun go down. The choice is yours. Like many things, the more you use it, the more economical it becomes.

Many people buy expensive diesel models of tow cars, but if you do not drive thousands of miles per year, the costs savings are negated by the initial cost of the vehicle.

Decide what you want to do and accept that there is no such thing as a 'free lunch'.

 

[freddy2]

I can remember saving all year to go on holiday abroad, and ending up in a terrible hotel and getting food posioning. I have never had a bad holiday in a caravan. I have been to a few dodgey sites though, but no problem as I have been able to move to a better site. Its the freedom and flexibility of caravanning I love.

 

[JasonR_374341560]

I bet many here like us started out with a good clean used van and were glad we did as once we got to use it we found there were better options for our needs.

Is Gavin sure that he is buying the right van for his family? If he has the above doubts before buying, probably not.

We never had forums to turn to for advice and learnt by our mistakes. The vans we desired when we started out were not what we would have bought new once we had a bit of caravanning experience.

 

[Gavin1974]

wow lots of positives from people, definitely helping my frame of mind.

Mark - thanks, lots of constructive stuff.

Mike - I was having a very bad day, better now I'm home with a beer.

freddy/Lesley/jennifer - thanks for your thoughts on caravaning with a 'young un'. It does seem to be a far better option than dealing with airports, queues, delays and transfers. Plus as a keen kayaker and walker I know the UK has masses to offer.

Scotch Lad - Less concern by the money, I never thought it would be an investment that would grow it value, rather I was getting bogged down with one issue/thing to look into after another.

Anyway, thanks again. Much better frame of mind now (but that might be the Heineken talking). Wife is insisting we buy this weekend, so lets see what deals we can get.

Cheers

Gavin

 

[RogerP]

Hi Gavin ,

it may all sound hard work , but the pleasure when away is all worth it.

We only started caravanning last year and had similar reservations as you.

However , towing I've taken to fairly well. Just be patient and take your time.

As others have said try looking at nearly new as they may have movers fitted. (Personally I've gone to the expense any way as I'm not into this macho back to basics stuff , I like my comfort). Alternatively haggle with the dealer , I'm sure you'll get a good deal. We did.

As for little one , being in the van isn't that much different to at home in some ways. Providing you have all the basic gear you need and are prepared they will love it. Oddly mine seems better when we are away than at home.

Finally , costs of pitches.

 

[blu]

Hi Gavin

We also started last year with an ace van although a second hand but immaculate one. i personally had never been caravaning but my wife had grown up with it.

Our fist outing was when our baby daughter was just three weeks old and it was july last year.About three months before we bought the van i started reading this forum and taking it all in and by the time of our fist trip i felt i had built up enough knowledge for the trip to go smoothly,which it did and so have all the ones since.We love it and look forward to our daughter growing up and seeing all the places and attractions that we can visit as she grows.

I also had reservations about the van on the drive being stolen and had many sleepless nights listening for noises but its still there and we love it.

Go for it.

Sean h

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Gavin, we bought our first van one January, a Abbey GTS Vogue 215 and its was 5 years old but immaculate. My main problem having a caravan was parking it on our steep drive close to a wall so I had a mover fitted.

The very first time I ever towed was fetching it the 52 miles from Shrewsbury home. I managed to put it on the driveway perfectly. My next tow and first outing caravanning was about 6 weeks later, the 223 miles to Carnon Downs, in the March. I was so green at the other end setting up that someone asked if I was ok, it must have been obvious I was a newbie, but he helped and from then on all was ok.

After 9 months and 16 further trips out we knew this was the life for us. While at one site the following October I went to get a new door catch and ended up buying a new Abbey GTS Vogue 217. We haven't looked back since having travelled from John O Groats to Penzance.

Go for it Gavin and stop worrying. I think the best advice I can give you, and someone else has mentioned it, is get a second hand caravan first. Any bumps, scrapes etc. wont seem so bad then as if it was new plus it's a costly lesson if you don't like it because with a resale of a new van you will lose a few thousand

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Gavin

We started caravanning almost 30 years ago when our daughter was 6 weeks old, and in the days of terry nappies which had to be soaked etc.! She slept in a moses basket and as she and later her brother grew we changed the layout of the vans. So good advise given to perhaps start with secondhand. If you do decide to go ahead, duplicate as much equipment as possible so you have less to transfer from the house, especially for the baby.

Probably caravanning isn't as cheap as it once was but you can make it so compared to any other form of family holiday.

 

[Royston]

Hi Gavin, Well the prices that you are thinking about, Why new?

Our local dealer offers 2 years warranty on all second vans , give you a example :- bailey Senator Arizina 4 berth with rear bathromm,

 

[Royston]

Hi Gavin, Well the prices that you are thinking about, Why new?

Our local dealer offers 2 years warranty on all second vans , give you a example :- bailey Senator Arizina 4 berth with rear bathromm,

 

[ValA.]

Our first van (old Eldiss Shamal, four berth - rear bunks) cost us just

 

[nick_374224697]

Jeez Gavin! is the cup always half empty?? ;-)

There's only one thing to remember, get out there and enjoy the freedom and the caravan, worry about things when and if they happen.

 

[Bri2]

Gavin, its just like learning to ride a bike, once you have it, you never forget it and you wonder what all the fuss was about.

Hardest part is deciding where to go and booking, especially at peak periods.

Brian

 

[parker1158]

Hi Gavin

You should have done what we did, bought the van first and asked the questions after :O). The only thing we got clear in our minds before buying a van was the layout by looking around dealers and the weight ratio's so we were safe and legal.

The best bit of advice that comes out on every reply is resist buying new to start with. We got ours off E-Bay. The people selling it were giving up caravanning so we got everything with the van right down to cutlery and crockery.

As far as cost is concerned last Easter we took our children to Florida, then in the summer to the Isle of Wight in the van. If you ask my eight year old lad which one he preferred he will tell you the I.O.W. It cost us seven grand to go to Florida, the purchase of the van and three years maintence and upkeep is less and it still has a value if we sell it.

Go for it.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Gavin - put all your negative vibes behind you and take the plunge. Buy second hand initially in case you do not like it and when selling you will not lose too much money. My wife and I have been caravanners since 1969 and have enjoyed every year of it. In fact we have bought a new van for our early retirement and intende to get a minimum of 10 years use out of it. Good luck and go for it.

 

[cooky1]

Hi Gavin, have you looked into hiring a caravan. You could try a few holidays to see if you liked the lifestyle without all the initial expense.

As for your BMW towbar, I don't see why it should be too low - they are manufactured to allow your car to tow a trailer - normally with the ball at a specific height from the ground.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Gavin,

Reading your 'rant' has made my day.It's hilarious.It made me glad that there was no forum around when I first started caravanning.

Hurry up and get on the open road,it's great therapy.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I've just heard bad news. We are all wasting our time posting on this thread because Gavin can't read the advice. I'm told he's finally cracked and he was dragged away by men in white coats to the local funny farm. He's probably right now on the psychiatrists couch having therapy, poor chap :O(