I've joined in order to research an outfit to buy so i can take the family touring.
When i was young my family used to go out 2 or more times each year in Motor homes (very old motor homes, the first I remember was an ambulance from the early 60's that we fitted out as a van in the 80's') and I remember these holidays to be the best times of my life. I want my young family to experience the same joy I got and so I want to replicate the model with some differences. I'm a practical man and times are hard so I don't see any point in paying for Tax, MOT and Insurance on a vehicle that only gets used for a small fraction of the year so I amlooking at a caravan. Also the practical nature of a caravan being able to set it up as a base and then drive away from it beats the laboriousness of having to pack up a motor for every day trip hands down.
I've already given it a try with the family and everyone enjoyed the experience and the other half is also on board with owning.
My research started with borrowing my grandparents 2 berth Bailey Ranger (cosy for 2 adults and a 5 year old). First we took it on a trip from Manchester (where we live) to Oulton park near Chester for a weekend just to try the van out and learn any early lessons that we hadn't anticipated (went well and I realised its always handy to have at least one wooden wedge for one wheel on slight gradients), next a month later we went to Derbyshire for another weekend to try the van out and the porch awning and incorporate the previous lessons. More lessons learnt we were ready for the big one, one week on the Isle of Wight (on the Orchards caravan site, central to the west side, beautiful site with lots of new facilities including an eco freindly toilet block with solar heating! Swimming pool and play area). We had friends staying on a neighbouring pitch in a tent and we had a great week.
Now I am looking at getting our own with a bit more space. I have posted a tread in the caravan buying forum looking for an older twin axle rig.
I hope that my family gains as many happy memories as I did. I also hope that I can gain lots of advice from others on this forum to enhance the experience and perhaps avoid costly or embarrasing mistakes (you wont find my mains lead sitting live on the drive I hope
When i was young my family used to go out 2 or more times each year in Motor homes (very old motor homes, the first I remember was an ambulance from the early 60's that we fitted out as a van in the 80's') and I remember these holidays to be the best times of my life. I want my young family to experience the same joy I got and so I want to replicate the model with some differences. I'm a practical man and times are hard so I don't see any point in paying for Tax, MOT and Insurance on a vehicle that only gets used for a small fraction of the year so I amlooking at a caravan. Also the practical nature of a caravan being able to set it up as a base and then drive away from it beats the laboriousness of having to pack up a motor for every day trip hands down.
I've already given it a try with the family and everyone enjoyed the experience and the other half is also on board with owning.
My research started with borrowing my grandparents 2 berth Bailey Ranger (cosy for 2 adults and a 5 year old). First we took it on a trip from Manchester (where we live) to Oulton park near Chester for a weekend just to try the van out and learn any early lessons that we hadn't anticipated (went well and I realised its always handy to have at least one wooden wedge for one wheel on slight gradients), next a month later we went to Derbyshire for another weekend to try the van out and the porch awning and incorporate the previous lessons. More lessons learnt we were ready for the big one, one week on the Isle of Wight (on the Orchards caravan site, central to the west side, beautiful site with lots of new facilities including an eco freindly toilet block with solar heating! Swimming pool and play area). We had friends staying on a neighbouring pitch in a tent and we had a great week.
Now I am looking at getting our own with a bit more space. I have posted a tread in the caravan buying forum looking for an older twin axle rig.
I hope that my family gains as many happy memories as I did. I also hope that I can gain lots of advice from others on this forum to enhance the experience and perhaps avoid costly or embarrasing mistakes (you wont find my mains lead sitting live on the drive I hope
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