Motorhome v caravan

[00buzz]

Having just watched the motorhome channel I find myself asking the question 'why is it considered that caravaner's yearn to 'upgrade' to a motorhome'.....can someone please outline the benefits as I simply 'don't get it'...why compromise on space and comfort (captains chairs....please, its so Scooby doo mystery machine), why put yourself through having to pack up every time you need more beer, why have to leave a sign saying 'motorhome parked here' every time you leave your pitch, why have to take up two parking spaces at the supermarket, why tow a car behind your motorhome.....surely it cannot just be the 'one up man (up person) ship o having something more expensive....for the price of a fairly basic new motorhome (£50,000) you can have a premium spec caravan and a very nice, luxury tug....just a thought....

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

....just a thought....

Same thought as mine.

 

[Mel]

I saw that episode and noted the upgrade word. I "upgraded" from a motor home to a caravan, for many of the reasons you mention: more space, more convenient on site, more comfort etc.
Having said that we did enjoy our time in the motor home, but the way we holiday was more suited to a caravan. That is go to one place, stay put and enjoy the local area from there. However, if you are truly touring by staying in one place only a couple of nights at a time and then moving on, and there are only 2 of you then I can see how a motor home would win out.
As usual, horses for courses.
Mel

 

[Hutch]

I can see the advantages of using a motorhome, for touring Europe, as a lot of camping aires are designed for them. BUT as for upgrading to, wrong wording. I will stick to my tug and van for now thank you, my nephew paid over £45k for a VW camper van, nice but not for me.
Hutch

 

[SteveW77]

As has already been said, to much hassle packing everything away when you want to go out for the day.

Parking miles from the city centres because you can't use multi-story car parks or normal road side parking bays.

Thanks al the same, I will stick with my caravan and a decent comfortable car.

 

[Gagakev]

I LOVE MOTOR HOMES :lol:

Booked my seasonal caravan pitch for the year and turned up on Saturday with my CARAVAN to set up. a couple in a motor home sneaked in over night and took it
Owners told them to move and took them all of ten minutes whilst we had cuppa made by the owner.
Now if that was a caravan I could have been waiting hours :lol:

 

[00buzz]

forgot to add.....no offence meant at all to motorhomers....

 

[colin-yorkshire]

I think the word upgrade has been used in the wrong context, as Motorhomes and caravans are different animals, like a 4x4 to a sports car or a road motorbike to a motocross one, there are similarities but different.

both have up's and down's and pluses and minuses it all depends how you want to use them,
t

 

[Hutch]

SHMBO, decided a couple of years ago in France that we should move to a sunnier pitch, two down from us, when someone moved out. rolled the awning up, hanging from the rail, put the kettle in the sink engaged the motor mover and 20 minutes later from starting time, on new pitch with all local French watching in amazment. Repitched in another 30 minutes and beer out again.
It can be done. Oh and toilet cassete engaged.
:evil:
Hutch

 

[TD42]

having done both I can tell you caravanning & motorhomeing are 2 different ways of holidaying
each with their own advantages . Motorhomes come into their own if you prefer to tour , only using camp sites in order to use say washing machines ect . In 6 weeks we covered France Spain Portugal only staying on free camping car aires for a couple of days at a time . total site costs £150.this type of holiday cant be done with a car & caravan.how ever car & van are better if you wish to stay for a week or more & as you say far cheaper to buy & more roomy

 

[00buzz]

point taken...however I would still challenge the 'touring' advantage of a motorhome. we go away most Friday and Saturday nights when work permits and setting up for a couple of nights really is no hassle....I estimate my average 'arrival time to set up and sat with beer' time is around 20 minutes (30 with porch awning) and SWMBO has in that time unpacked the 'trunk of junk' (ornaments, glassware and such).....and as Hutch has stated, even if you need to move at short notice, its not a problem.

 

[00buzz]

just remembered when I got 'trumped' by a motorhome.....easy access to prime pitches when we were in Dorset in October....

 

[saint-spoon]

We popped down to a CC site in Littlehampton in early December and the majority of the other pitches were taken by Motorhomes (and some of those huge beasts that you attach to a rig in the back of a flatbed truck). For me, having a young family it is a no brainer, the caravan is the much better option. It doesn’t take long to get pitched to the beer/gin/wine in hand stage at all. I do have a friend though who has a small motorhome thingy which is ideal for his needs. It wasn’t expensive to buy as a use vehicle and he can whizz off for a day or two no problems. I wouldn’t say that I would aspire to own a motor home though. My cousin has a restored split screen beetle thing, very nice to look at it must be said, the person they paid to restore it did a good job but as a practical holidaying solution I’d give it a miss. Good for posing at music festivals I suppose and for the VW rallies but a bit pokey inside.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi Buzz, I think you are missing the meaning of touring, I have had both like TD and tried to put into perspective the difference, if you are towing a van your not touring, but moving about in short/long hops from place to place settling down for the odd day or two before moving on, but because you have to return to the van each night, you are using the van as a base, and continually retrace your steps.
where as the motorhome is your base. if I could put it more simply it is like taking the site and van with you where ever you go.
now this is not for everyone, indeed may motorhomer's do find a pitch for a week,plug in the EHU, and in doing so lose the advantage of the mobile home. this I think is what the nonsense of towing a small car is about, totally the wrong approach. if one wishes to do this a caravan is far more practical.
no the concept is simple go stop go like a ball of tumble weed, no booking no returning to the van, stop when and where you like, the van is your mobile hotel, mobile cafe, and transport, simple.

 

[Raywood]

I am afraid we are in the don't understand motor homes category.
The motor home is a large costly vehicle and if you need a decent size interior it is impractical for everyday use so you need another vehicle. On most sites you need to take it with you on days out which means packing up before you go, leaving lots of valuables in public car parks, assuming you can get in because of height barriers. The alternative is towing a small car which seems to defeat the purpose of having the motor home anyway. I accept that on arrival and leaving a site the motor home is a bit quicker but after a few years we are able to do this pretty quickly.
With a caravan you get your car as a runaround and you can leave the caravan on site which is easier and safer and no need to pack things away. No problems with height barriers and no need to unpack on getting back to the site, we can even leave a slow cooker or similar on when away on shorter trips and have a meal ready when we get back.
I cannot see us changing but accept other people have different priorities and it would be boring if we all liked the same thing.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Just been away for long weekend at CC site at Bridlington, (Was booked in for York, but still a bit 'damp' there. On arrival plenty of spaces, found a serviced pitch no problem. most of the units on site were motor homes. Midday - folks still in. set up , etc, in car and out for afternoon. Motor vans never moved, Sat. morning, hissing down, motor homers going down the lane to the bus stop. Us - in the car to go wherever in the dry, got onto the road outside site, motor homers queuing at the bus stop, (still hissing down). we had our day out, came back to van when we wanted. Cabined up watching the tv. motor homers coming back in the rain (still). That really is an upgrade! Must confess if I had to 'upgrade' to a motor home - I'd pack it in and go b&b!

 

[Dustydog]

Captains style seats make me laugh.
6 hours down the autoroute and then swivel the seat through 180 degs to relax :huh:
caravan . We both enjoy the comfort reclining on the front settees.
Have you ever watched the MH being levelled?
Draining tanks has to be done at a special point. Note how messy they get
They still have to empty the toilet
On average for the same length they are smaller in living space than the caravan.
They don't seem to enjoy the same panoramic outlook as a caravan. The cab is in the way.
Are the faster? Debateable. We can cruise at 60 where appropriate. Doing 70 to 80 in the MH must shake the joints to bits creating potential leaks.
Not for us.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Caravan - Motorhome, Motorhome - Caravan It's all a matter of personal choice. It may depend on your own personal circumstances as to which is the better option for you, but just because someone else's choice is different to yours does not make it any less valid.

Having tented and caravanned for many years, for many of the reasons suggested previously, a caravan suited us very well, but I have also been involved with various special events where a motorhome would have been far less hassle.

So it's horses for courses and I certainly do not disparage motorhomers in the way some contributors seem to do.

Each to their own, and remember the grim reaper will treat us all the same in the end.

 

[Hutch]

The afternoon sport of watching people pitch up is wonderfull if your sitting down with a cuppa, beer or a wine.
One lovely sunny day we watched a Motorhomer, turn up on a pitch, up went the Sattelite dish , rotate, down it came , moved to another pitch, this happened three times before they were seen moving out of the campsite, oh the joys of touring.
Hutch

 

[Martin24]

A motor homerist is more likely to need me to tow them out than I them.

 

[Hutch]

Done that for a German chap on a very wet site in mid France, his first time touring in it, we were pitch opposite uphill from him. Tow cable fitted and pulled him nicely out of the mud where he was spinning his wheels.

 

[JonnyG]

i think most points pro's and con's have been mentioned and having used both the motor home is easier , i have never found a problem parking including central Rome,have seen numerous alpine passes and dead end roads and into beautiful settings that i certainly wouldn't have seen if i'd had to return to a campsite . have had cycles and indeed a motorbike on the bike at various times so even leaving the motorhome on site didn't mean we couldn't get around indeed we;ve been where you wouldn't take your car..of course i am talking Continental where the set up for motor homes is fantastic have parked in car park 5 km from the Matterhorn in village where the car parks are set up for motor home users have slept and BBQ'd in a lay by in the dolomite's and watched a glorious pink sunset . have driven and parked up overnight under mont blanc .less than 3km walking distance to either france or switzerland following the mont blanc glacier north from coumayuer . certainly travelled quicker and for longer than had i had been towing but then the motor home is for that type of holiday and i am dismayed when i see one towing a car! makes no sense to me..pitching up ? really ? whilst a caravan is being reversed onto a pitch and the car is unhitched i'd be already drinking a nice cuppa..downside is the expense of it all the deprecation the running cost ect ect but even for that short weekend break you are already down the road before the cars all packed and you start to hitch up..i had a burstner ventana 500 ts 7.3m long caravan with 5,5 metre of interior space .my old 97 plate hymer was 7 meters long and had 5 meters of interior space .. the caravans advantages? lower running costs ,lower depreciation . better suited for families given the extra stuff one needs to carry and the added boot of a towcar especially if one intends to pitch for a week or 2..

 

[Dustydog]

Clearly there is a lot of commonality between the two.
Maybe Lord Hezza will consider merging the motor home and caravan mags.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

a lot of the responses on this thread do make me laugh, most describe the motorhome users who use the vehicle like a van, something it is not, yes if your going to do this it is an expensive waste of time and money, lets dispel a few myths.
1. captains chairs, one would think these were the only seats available in motorhome there not at the back of the vehicle is seating just as good as any caravan. and if there weren't the ones we had were so comfy it did not matter anyway more like armchair than a driver/passenger seat.
2. room, ours was based on the VW LT35, 18ft long outside 17ft long inside, or about the same as 6mtr caravan, with a vehicle footprint similar to say a LWB transit or a big car like a Merc, there is never a problem parking one of those.is there, the only downside was the height, some carparks have barriers so what, most do not and there is usually another one round the corner anyway.
3. setting up, well pull up, apply handbrake, switch off engine, Done. get the kettle on and you can do this anywhere, on site, a lay by at the side of a lake, up a mountain or on the beach front, makes no difference.
4. putting stuff away, so what one does that anyway in tourer with no fixed bed. everything has a place, and it goes back there when used, it is no hassle when you get used to it.
5. space, so motor homes are cramped eh, I beg to differ how much room is there in a 6mtr caravan with fixed bed when 2 mtrs of that is for the bed, which has one corner cut off so you can get in it.
6. levelling, getting stuck, there is no difference in site choice [if you want to use one] then any other combo in a similar situation cars get stuck if it is wet, and most vans need levelling more so than motor homes that tend to choose level pitches, or hard standings, [the ones often nicked by caravans]
7. parking on a site for a week and catching the bus to get shopping,what is that all about if you are doing that you have lost sight of they are for, you do the shopping before going to site and if supplies are needed it is time to move on.

what I see here is caravan folk who don't seem to understand the difference in usage as the ones they see in motor homes don't either, we have had both enjoyed both for different reasons, there are things better suited to a caravan and others better in motor home if you like to spend a night on the top of a mountain or lunch at the side of a lake want to move everyday to somewhere new and see far more things that you could ever do returning back to the same site every night a motor home is ideal if not then the caravan is better,

 

[00buzz]

good points and very logical in that sense......however, from my observations, and I feel from the majority who have contributed to this debate so far, the type of usage you describe would seem to be the exception rather than the 'norm'. most of the motor homes I have seen on sites have been there for extended periods, in essence, used like a caravan....