New and unsure!!

[Caique]

Hi. We are brand spanking new to caravaning, neither of us having done it before.
We are starting to look at various caravans that we think would suit us as we want to spend a couple of months at a time travelling around Europe with our dog? However, we can't make our mind up on either getting a caravan and a good vehicle to tow it, or get a full blown motor home. Has anyone gone from a motor home to a caravan, or the other way round? Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers

 

[Mel]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. You are at a very exciting and bewildering stage; looking at all your choices. We went from a motorhome to a caravan, and this was the right choice for us. However you need to think about what sort of holidays you want. If you want to rock up somewhere, stay for several days and explore the area from there, then go for a Caravan, as having to decamp a motorhome every time youwantto visit somewhere is a pain ( been there done that). However if you plan to Look at the locality on route,rock up somewhere for a few days and just chill on site then move on, go for the motorhome.
The other thing to consider is how many are in your group. If you are just a couple then a motorhome is fine. If like us there are six of you in a not very big motorhome, and it's raining, then not so much fun. ( got that t shirt as well).
Anyway. Have fun hunting. Got to a big dealership and get in and out of loads of vans and motor homes and see what feels right.
I wouldn't swap back to a motorhome, but thenI would say that on a caravan forum. Posting on a motorhome forum, may give you a different perspective.
Mel

 

[Caique]

Thanks for the quick reply Mel, and you are correct, it's very exciting but also quite daunting!!
There are only the two of us, as our kids all grown up, so it's us two and our Springer Spaniel.
The choice of caravans is huge, a lot more than I expected. We have thought about stopping somewhere for a few weeks at a time (unless we don't like it), and explore. It's because of this we have started to think a caravan would be a better prospect...

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi , at least when you've a caravan , you can set up and chill out , and take the car if you wanna go out , where as a motor home you'd have to pack up and and take the whole thing with you !

Happy decision making .

Craig . B)

 

[Gagakev]

Welcome to the forum, I have no experience of a motorhome, sorry
But think Mel has given sound advice with her experience of both, and as you want to explore the area's you visit think the caravan would be the better option, have you done any research on tow cars, towing weights ratio's as this would be your starting point to find a van to match your towing vehicle,
wouldnt want you to go to a dealer and find the van you loved was too heavy for the car/vehicle.
Good luck.

 

[Caique]

Thanks for the reply Gagakev. We've been looking at the current model Audi Q7, 3L diesel, so hopefully that will be okh

 

[geordiegirl]

We had a motorhome for 2 years here in France but have now sold it and bought a decent caravan and tow car, I agree with all the above posts re sight seeing, having to pack up the M/home if we wanted to go off for the day , and then getting to a place and nowhere to park the thing due to tiny French streets and height restrictions in certain car parks We did 6 weeks in Spain last year and ended up hiring a car for a few days. .We are so glad we changed to a caravan, much much easier. In fact I could have written Mels post.
Good luck with whatever you choose, it`s a great life this touring malarkey.

 

[saint-spoon]

Like everyone else has said it is all about what you want to be doing, are you going to stop in one place for a week or are you going to be covering some ground and only stopping for an overnight stay at anyone spot. There are pros and cons to both sides. Good advice from all as far as I can see and I think that you have done the right thing coming here to ask the question before you decide.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

yeah I think Mel has it just about spot on, I've had both, and while they are similar, they are in fact two completely different animals, and made for a different type of holiday, while the kids where little and going to a site dropping anchor for a couple of weeks was the norm a van was best, then as we got older kids grown up, being on our own a motor home suited better, as everything was there in one unit all the time no matter where you were , a night out under the stars up a mountain lunch beside a lake, but unless your moving daily or every couple of days, stick to a van and good tow car.

 

[listmaker]

Having only ever owned a caravan (bought first one in January this year) I would go with that. My friends are touring Europe soon for two years and have gone through every option available. They originally thought a motor home would be best but have now decided on a caravan due to the fact that they can pitch up and leave it at a site whilst they go off exploring.
Once you've decided on a motor home or a caravan the next step is the layout. . . . . .good luck with that!
All I can do is repeat what others have said on here: go and look in as many dealerships as you can and look in as many different vans as you can! You'll soon get an idea what you want.