Should we return???

[Lovo]

Hi all, we are thinking of returning to caravaning after a five year break. We had a caravan on a fantastic site in north wales for 9 years. Being both teachers we had over 30weekends and all holidays away in the van. We also took the van over to France (Vendee) for three weeks during the summer. At that time our three children where all under the age of 10.

We made the silly decision to up grade from our lovely bailey ranger 550/6 that we owned from new to a new static caravan. Thinking that it would be better for our future needs, more space etc... Bad move we never really got settled 'in the static' as great as it was. We ended up selling it back to the site who basically held us to Radom and we lost a small fortune. That was back in 2012.

Our youngest son is now 10 and we are desperate to offer him the same experience that our other now teenage children had in the van. He was there but really cannot remember it! We have done the package holiday business in fact we are in turkey as I type this message. I think our hearts are stuck in caravans.

Sorry for the sloppy sentimental splurge but I suppose my question to you guys is this....

Should we return to caravaning? And why?

 

[Mel]

Of course you should. Great holiday for children, freedom to play out with others, lots of instant friends, fresh air etc. Great holiday for you; choose to tour or stay put on a seasonal without the rip off of a static. Better than package, as you sleep in your own bed ( don't even think about what has occurred in package holiday beds before you got to it), use your own loo.
No brainer
Mel

 

[waffler]

Yes. Buy a cheaper van for the trial. Join a centre or DA and give the teenagers the fun weekends they need. Let them join the junior committee and they have something to put on job/university applications later that makes them stand out. You might enjoy it as well and DA caravanning is not expensive.

 

[Lovo]

Thanks Mel. We are 95% of the way there I think. Especially as we sit here tonight in turkey adding up the costs. We loved the van and all that it offers. We where on a great site in the middle of Snowdonia and the kids had so much freedom just like we did when we were young. I think our really quandary is now that our eldest children are older teenagers, one working we probably wouldn't use it as much as we did. Dose any one have any advice or words of wisdom too help us.

 

[Lovo]

Thanks Waffler for you advice. I might sound stupid here but what is a DA.

Cheers Tony.

 

[Gagakev]

Welcome to the forum firstly.

We were in a similar situation a few years back, started of borrowing Uncles van then purchased our own took the kids away from about the ages of 10 to 15 then sold up to take them on the package holidays.
Got back into about 8 years ago and now half the time we take the daughter and grandson and he loves it.
I say go for it, you already know in your heart that is what you want, good luck.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Waffler for you advice. I might sound stupid here but what is a DA.
Cheers Tony.

Welcome to the forum Lovo
First of all to clear up your query a DA is a District Association and the C&CC (Camping and Caravanning Club) hold weekly caravan rallies hosted by each DA. Club members can normally attend rallies anywhwhere in the UK with no pre-booking requirement unless otherwise stated and most rallies offer child friendly inexpensive ways to show youngsters the great outdoors, plus they play outside with their instant rallying playmates in a safe environmant.
Beside rallies and organised clubs (the Caravan Club and the aforementioned C&CC) there are literally hundreds of well equipped caravan sites ranging from large commercial holiday parks at home or abroad down to quiet 5 van certified (by the local authority) caravan sites which have basic amenities often in great rural locations.
Buying and using a tourer is no longer always a cheap holiday for those who can't afford hotels, modern caravans rival any hotel room and caravanning offers the unique child and pet friendly freedom of choice and option to make or alter plans that would be difficult to find elsewhere.
What's not to like? :lol:

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi and welcome, sorry about this but in this modern age one has to carefull not to look at things through rose coloured glasses, yes it is a wonderful hobby, but, if you think a static was a rip off, you aint seen nothing yet.
you buy a van, that loses 50% of it value once it leaves the dealers, you get ripped off by the insurance, storage site fees, and maintenance, they dont make all vans waterproof so the chances are at the first service it will be damp.
you also may have to buy a tow car, if the vans on the large size, with all the cost associated with that, and with a 10yo in 5 or 6 years you may find your on your own and lost the reason why you got it in the first place.
not that it is all negative as other have said, just make sure you consider all the options before jumping in with both feet.

 

[Parksy]

hi and welcome, sorry about this but in this modern age one has to carefull not to look at things through rose coloured glasses, yes it is a wonderful hobby, but, if you think a static was a rip off, you aint seen nothing yet.
you buy a van, that loses 50% of it value once it leaves the dealers, you get ripped off by the insurance, storage site fees, and maintenance, they dont make all vans waterproof so the chances are at the first service it will be damp.
you also may have to buy a tow car, if the vans on the large size, with all the cost associated with that, and with a 10yo in 5 or 6 years you may find your on your own and lost the reason why you got it in the first place.
not that it is all negative as other have said, just make sure you consider all the options before jumping in with both feet.

I have to disagree with you on that point Colin.
There's no denying that some caravans are damp and we often read about the problems on forums such as this one.
What we rarely see are posts extolling the virtues of completely dry ad well constructed caravans from very satisfied owners but if they were the norm the posts from satisfied buyers would easily outstrip the complaints.
I have bought two brand new caravans in my time as a caravanner and both stayed dry, my current caravan was new when we bought it and it's as dry as a bone with no major problems since the day we took delivery in October 2007.
We haven't seen a caravan that we'd like better which is why we have no plans to change ours anytime soon.
I appreciate what you're trying to do, and buyers need to go into this with their eyes open, but from my own personal experience our insurance company paid out 100% of our purchase price with no trouble when a caravan we owned was written off by floods, our undercover secure storage is £30 er month but that buys us complete peace of mind, our approved mobile service engineer charges half the price of a caravan dealers and although my tow car is a hefty thirsty beast I use a cheap small low road tax and insurance diesel runabout for everyday use which is cost effective for me personally.
It's not all doom and gloom and there really is no comparison between the well documented static mobile home rip off and touring caravans.

 

[seth1]

And its a damn sight safer than going abroad.I couldnt think of a better way to holiday,imagine trying to take my kids bmx,s on an areoplane,that would be fun.lol

 

[LizziePope]

Hi there Lovo and welcome to the Practical Caravan forum. From your post it sounds like you very much want to go touring again and you're in need of the final shove in the right direction – let's hope we can help!

 

[Lovo]

Hi all and thank you for your warm welcome and advice. Even today as we sit in an exclusive yacht club looking out over the agean ocean our conversation is still deeply regarding caravan. Couple more questions if you don't mind.

We fancy the end bunk with seating area for the kids such as the new sprite 6 birth. Has any one got a similar layout?

Also when is the best time to buy. We will be siting the van for most of the year so don't really need it until Jan next year at the latest.

Thanks in advance
Tony

 

[colin-yorkshire]

I have to disagree with you on that point Colin.
There's no denying that some caravans are damp and we often read about the problems on forums such as this one.
What we rarely see are posts extolling the virtues of completely dry ad well constructed caravans from very satisfied owners but if they were the norm the posts from satisfied buyers would easily outstrip the complaints.
I have bought two brand new caravans in my time as a caravanner and both stayed dry, my current caravan was new when we bought it and it's as dry as a bone with no major problems since the day we took delivery in October 2007.
We haven't seen a caravan that we'd like better which is why we have no plans to change ours anytime soon.
I appreciate what you're trying to do, and buyers need to go into this with their eyes open, but from my own personal experience our insurance company paid out 100% of our purchase price with no trouble when a caravan we owned was written off by floods, our undercover secure storage is £30 er month but that buys us complete peace of mind, our approved mobile service engineer charges half the price of a caravan dealers and although my tow car is a hefty thirsty beast I use a cheap small low road tax and insurance diesel runabout for everyday use which is cost effective for me personally.
It's not all doom and gloom and there really is no comparison between the well documented static mobile home rip off and touring caravans.

hi Steve. while it is true there are many happy customers and vanners out there that would not holiday anywhere else other than a caravan one has to see things is perspective. it is no longer a cheap holiday, yes there are good ones out there [mine was] but a lot of lemons as well if you get one of those your in for a world of heartache.
just before deciding to sell the van I did a cost breakdown for the 10 years we had it factoring everything I could think of and estimate, working on a nightly figure of £10 average but did not factor the return of cash through selling it as we still had it. [turned out to be no more that 2% return] the average cost per year was £2650. now given I worked most weekends and were limited to the annual holidays [3 weeks] this worked out at £883.50 a week or £126 a day for every one we used it, had I known that 11years ago I probably would never have bought it.
it is quite sobering seeing it all on paper, in the cold light of day now it's gone. happy times yes but dam expensive.

 

[Parksy]

No one could pretend that caravanning is cheap, if you want cheap buy a tent! As Seth mentioned however, what other holidays would allow kids, pets, bikes and other parephenalia to come and go anywhere whenever they pleased?
The cost is relative Colin, and your particular set of circumstances wouldn't necessarily apply to everyone else so you pay your money and take your choice.
A good time to buy would be just as the new models are released before the caravan show season (September - February) because dealers will be keen to clear older stock to make way for the latest models and there will be plenty of good used caravans taken in part exchange which dealers will also want to shift.
Always negotiate hard on the price, if you don't ask you won't get so make any salesman earn their commission and don't do their job for them by appearing too keen even if you are ecstatic

 

[Dustydog]

Sadly every pleasure in life comes at a cost. I am very sorry you found it too expensive in the end.
Colin I do not dispute your figures for one moment . However I have to ask myself why I started caravanning back in 1978

With young kids , a large mortgage , and a small income holidays were in our dreams. We did the tent thing including a trailer tent but wanted more comfort for us and the kids.
Another world opened up. We could go away on a friday evening and return home sunday night. In those days I only had three weeks holiday.
So from then on we have used the caravan as much as possible throughout the entire year.
Now if I holidayed in the UK or overseas using hotels with the same frequency I'd be bankrupt hmy:

To put this in perspective my son and his wife are away in Thailand at the moment. Cost over £4000 for two weeks. Now how many nights can I have away for that amount??

Nigel Donnelly did do an article a few years back to demonstrate caravanning can be done on the cheap. He bought an old caravan and an old Volvo Estate for a few hundred quid. Fixed a few things like leaks and off he and Mrs Donnelly went to Croatia. B)

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi DD, it was the same when we started back in 1970 bought a van for £200 hung it on the back of the old Cortina with a home made tow bar and off we went,
average pitch fee those days was between ten bob and a pound a night, when the kids came along and we needed a bigger van traded it in for twice what we paid for it, no overheads or insurance those days,
sadly today this is no longer possible the purchase of a caravan is likely to be the second most expensive next to a house, if you dont get to use it due to circumstances, it is a very expensive hobby in the long run.
for us the main objective was to get as far away from work as possible now that is no longer a problem.

 

[seth1]

Hi Lovo,my van has two end bunks and a make up side bed.Its only a cheap van(Adria 502dk) bought new in late 2008 and didnt break the bank, it suits our needs great.There seems alot more space with the end bunks.Most probably like my children now,we cant get them to stay in the van whilst on holiday.They get their bmx,s out and go off with friends made on the site.Absolutely brillant.Sod the cost we work hard enough all year to stand it.To me the van is just a place to sleep of a night.

 

[Raywood]

Have to disagree with Colin. The van does not lose 50% of its price when it leaves the dealers. Our last one took six years to do this so they are a lot better than cars in that respect although if you find it is not for you the loss on resale will be appreciable.
As for holidays you get far more freedom than with hotels, there are wonderful sites everywhere and city sights are far cheaper than overpriced hotels and you get breakfast when you want.
Our three children loved the life although in their late teens it became uncool but then they could stay at home to look after the house assuming you trust them.
Possibly the only downside we see is travel times are longer.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

Have to disagree with Colin. The van does not lose 50% of its price when it leaves the dealers. Our last one took six years to do this so they are a lot better than cars in that respect although if you find it is not for you the loss on resale will be appreciable.
As for holidays you get far more freedom than with hotels, there are wonderful sites everywhere and city sights are far cheaper than overpriced hotels and you get breakfast when you want.
Our three children loved the life although in their late teens it became uncool but then they could stay at home to look after the house assuming you trust them.
Possibly the only downside we see is travel times are longer.

hi Ray, I stick by what I wrote, true if you buy new at a show with discounts, and then sell retail you may get a better rate, in the first year, but after that the price plummets, I did quite a bit of research once we decided to sell. in nearly every case the dealers buy price was half what they had on the same van on the lot, main reason we sold privately and even then only got 25% of the original purchase price.

 

[crazyguider]

As a child I went on a lot of caravan hols with my parents and loved it, then after our kids came along, hubby decided we would camp. From memory I would say we had about 3 decent weekends in 7 years, never went away for more than 3 nights, because lack of sleep made me murderous, and damp bedding was just offensive - as for cooking outside - awful. Eventually the nagging paid off, he gave in and we got a van.
Basically, what I'm saying is DO IT! there are lots of affordable vans out there, you've done it before, so you know what to look for. Don't hesitate any longer..join the rest of us nutters while you can!!

 

[Keefanmaxx]

Hello Lovo,
I would say yes, get back to a caravan! We brought our first 'van last year after many years of camping in all sorts of tents from basic to 'glamping' and a brief venture with a folding camper.
While camping, we didn't get that much time away apart from the main holiday and it was difficult to dry the tent at home.
When we committed to buying the 'van, we decided that it couldn't be sat on the drive like a massive ornament as it was a big investment and have been encouraged to get away for a long weekend every five weeks (falls in with my working rota)
We like it as there is no tie to set mealtimes, you can come and go as you please and we've been to places that we would not even have thought about before.

You've had one previously and I think you know the benefits ......... and the answer!!

Keith and Maxine

 

[Lovo]

Thanks Keith & Maxine.

Yes we cannot wait to get another van. We return to England on Tuesday and aim to go to look at a possible can on Saturday. We are interested in the new twin axel Venus 620. Has anybody got any views or advice on the van in question?

Cheers Tony

 

[intransient1]

Hi Lovo,
you said it yourself how wonderful it used to be, the peace and quite the wonderful life and pure tranquillity.
Should you return, yes .

 

[RayS]

Of course you should ! A few plusses to add to the others. If you can keep your van at home you have a guest suite available anytime you need one and extra fridge capacity all the time. You have standby accommodation for when the house is being painted inside or alterations carried out = we just move out and leave the trasdesmen a free run - no paint smells, no having to clear the dining room to eat etc.

It can provide a quiet room ( or a sulking room some would say).

I think you have done the sums about costs relative to hotels. I hope you factored in things like breakfast and lunches and midnight snacks and the differnece in price between your won bottle of wine and that in the hotel. Also (usuall) no-one wakes you up in the morning when you wat to lie in by hoovering in the passage outside yur door .Nor is there any problem about having an after lunch siesta.

Depending on your interests, hobbies like walking, photography, painting, ham radio, model flying are much easier from a caravan than a hotel

A couple of practical matters. Twin Axle caravans are not welcome on some site in France - usually the Municipals - and can be more tricky to manouver than single axle although there may be some disagreement with this statement. Whatever size of van you decide on, but certainly the size you are suggesting strongly consider a motor mover (you will find plenty of topics about these on this forum). They are No 1 on most peoples list as the first thing you need to add to the basic caravan .
You will also have to consider a suitable tow car - quite a large one if you are looking at TA vans, but again plenty of advice here. Since it may be a while since you towed, perhaps a short refresher course at one of the trailer towing companies, but using your own car.An afternoon should be sufficient, at least to find out if you need any more.

I bought my first caravan in 1967 a Sprite Alpine and with only a break of 6 years back in the 1980's I've had one ever since. Wouldn't be without it.

 

[Lovo]

Good evening all.

Just a quick update and thanks for all you advice. We did decide to return to caravaning. After visiting the Manchester show we purchased a new Bailey pursuit 530. Absolutely love the van and we have sited it on the pitch we were on for 9 years. We have been away every weekend and half term (we both teach) since we took collection at the end of Feb. one of my main concerns was about our two youngest children 10 & 14 enjoying it. I shouldn't have worried they are in their element. Our eldest son who is 18 and an engineering apprentice has even been up a few times too, he actually really enjoyed himself. Think he's planning on bringing his girlfriend to it for a few weekends away.

All in all no regrets and a great result.

Cheers Tony