What is your first memory of caravaning?

[SHaines]

While it's not the case for everyone, many folks developed a love for their caravan adventures when they were kids traveling with family. Whether you're a veteran caravaner, or someone who found the passion for the open road later in life, what is your first memory of caravaning?

 

[Gabsgrandad]

My First 'smell' of Calor gas in a holiday caravan, everything on gas, 1950ish!

 

[Parksy]

When I was a kid our holidays were spent camping in tents. Small Bedford Dormibile campervans with pop up roofs shared the campsite and we always slightly envied them, but caravans were a rarity.
I only bought our first caravan, an old Eccles Topaz in 2000 when my ex wife moved with my sons to Cardigan bay in west Wales.
We used the caravan to visit my sons (and my money) and we enjoyed using the caravan so much that we carried on.

 

[Thingy]

For me it was sort of accidental. My parents had bought a Blacks Frame Tent which i thought was ace, and we were at Whitemead in the Forest of Dean. Having gotten friendly with the family next door who were caravanners, both families went out for a meal and on the way back my fathers car broke down. Being late, the other family offered to take little old me back with them whilst my parents waited for the AA. That was the first night I got to sleep in a caravan and the poor tent lost all its lustre in about five minutes. Luckily, it didnt take long for my parents to catch on and the Frame Tent was duly consigned to history.

 

[Mel]

Not Caravanning, but an MFI tent kit , bought by my parents in 1971. Remember them? Bright orange. Heavy thing which my Dad had piled on the roof rack; boot was full, and me and my brother were sat on 4 sleeping bags on the back seat with our heads brushing the roof. One time we had a puncture on the way there and there was so much weight in the car, my dad couldn’t get it jacked up, so he had me my mum and my brother sitting on one side of the bonnet to make a counterweight.
I cannot remember it doing anything but rain and having to walk across a wet field in the middle of the night to go to the loo.
Happy Days but Thank God for Caravans.
mel

 

[camel]

Booked a weeks holiday in a flee pit static in Norfork when we had the dogs, within half an hour our Lassie held her paw up and I could see a flee packed the dogs back in the car and came home, dogs went in the bath when we arrived home,

 

[DaveA1]

After a couple of years with a trailer tent, taking the in laws with us a few times. Arranged to meet them in Ingoldmells. We had mentioned before that, we had been thinking of upgrading to caravan, We went into caravan sales yard and Mother-in-Law stood in front of a caravan, announcing that it was ours, she had bought it for us. It was a shed,hand painted cream and post office red, the lights didn't work the tyres were shot. the brakes didn't work. (found that out later) The interior needed repair, the only 12 volt system were the road lights, gas lighting only. she had told me it was mine with such a look of pride, that I hadn't the heart to tell her what I thought.
Anyway worked on it from the axle up, Had to reline the brakes, new tyres, rewire the road lights, wire brush and paint the A frame etc. rebuild most of the inside.
Had it almost three years and enjoyed every minute. Stood out on site though, colour was a talking point.

P S There is a photo of it in my thread "Reminiscing" In Chit Chat.

 

[Gagakev]

Borrowed my Uncles Abbey and his transit van for our first holiday with the kids aged 5 + 6.
Foot pump for cold running water.
Lady on pitch next door was watching every thing we did, come tea time she poked her head in the door and said
"we always put grated cheese on top of our Spag Bol" had to then grate some cheese for the kids!!
A little later she asked us to keep the door open as she could see our TV, wanted to watch The Bill !!
Got the Bug then, borrowed his van 4 or 5 times then bought our own little baby The Mardon Mystique, sold it two years later for £200.00 more than we paid for it.

 

[GeorgeCaravan]

Spent many years since I can remember, starting with my wonderful parents right up to my senior years. All over Europe and now Uk!

 

[Gafferbill]

........stayed in a rented caravan with my parents, younger brother and sister on a site at Brixham Devon in September 1961.
I was 13 years old and it was my first holiday ever away from the Hampshire farm where I grew up.

 

[Raywood]

Not exactly carvanning, but in my youth we followed Cliff Richards and used a converted double decker bus. Some of my friends visited a bus garage where several were for sale and bought a Bristol lowdecker for £120. Some of you may remember them, they were designed for areas with low bridges and had the upstairs walkway lower than the floor and down one side of the bus. The bus was a bargain as it had a new engine in. A set of replacement used but legal spare tyres were bought for £140 from a local bus company.
In those days it was possible to tax it as a private car for very little, and even insurance was affordable although there was no cover for passenger liability as it was not compulsary at that time..
The upstairs seats were then removed apart from the front and rear ones so we could sleep up there. Down stairs the window into the drivers cab was removed along with the seats. A water tank was fitted behind the rear seat and then that was connected to a sink then fitted where the side facing seats over the wheel at one side and a gas hob fitted opposite. Three tables were fitted downstairs with seats either side to give seats for 12.
The bus did two trips to Europe, one to Spain and one to Italy at a max of 40 mph, and two holidays in the UK. It gained lots of appreciation but I suppose red tape would prevent anything like it now.

 

[littlebasher]

Lagoon view holiday park at Instow Devon, late 70's

Now a housing estate, but retained the name for the road!

 

[Tuningdrew]

First experience of caravanning was our first trip out in our new-to-us Elddis Avante 636. Lovely caravan, only a year old and used only once by the previous owners who traded it in for a static. Hitched up behind our E Class Mercedes we headed off to Hunters Moon near Wareham. Knew nothing about noseweight and loading but we arrived unscathed. Should really have gone to a site near us as I’d forgotten lots of bits and pieces (like the kids sleeping bags), the pegs that came with the cheap porch awning wouldn’t go into the hard standing, EHU lead too short etc etc. Staying local would have been a lot less grief and it’s advice I’d pass on to any Newbie.
However the people at Hunters Moon were very helpful, provided an EHU lead, some rock pegs and a mallet and we bought some much nicer sleeping bags locally so all came well in the end and had a great time visiting Monkey World and Bovingdon. That was in 2005, 15 years on we’re still doing it and loving it. Learned so much along the way, wasted a lot of money too on the wrong caravan and the wrong (air) awning. Still forgetting the odd thing. Have dogs instead of kids now and cannot wait until this C19 business is under control and we can head off to sunny places again.

 

[waffler]

1969 bought a Sprite 400 towed by Fiat 850. I was 25 , had sold my house and was due to join the Royal Navy. I had a very long holiday and then used the caravan for my first few weeks in the navy until got a married quarter. Eventually sold that caravan in1993 and no damp. No hot water, no loo and no pump. I remember the first proper stop was the Moon and Sixpence near Woodbridge. 10/6 a night. 52 pence in today’s money, but quite expensive.

 

[Raywood]

Our first caravan was very similar. A 10 ft Piper with four berths crammed in. No electric hook up or battery although you could power the one electric light by using the car battery and one gas light. Water was cold only from a foot pump, but it had a toilet compartment but no toilet or anything else in it. Because of the lack of storage we used the toilet compartment as a larder!
Despite all that we had a great time in it and only changed it when we had a third daughter and needed an extra berth.

 

[Ginny]

I remember staying with my Dad, Mum and brother in my aunt &uncles caravan at Flambrough Head near Bridlington in 1954. It had not got calorie gas just paraffin lamps.
It was in a farm field with several other vans. No running water or toilet, just a shed outside with a privy in. Water was fetched from a tap in a large metal carrier. We washed in a bowl of warm water boiled in a kettle.
what a great time we had, on a night the light from the lighthouse shone into the van as it rotated around.
Happy Days.

 

[Dustydog]

In 1979 in our 12 ft Ski caravan we stayed on a site near Goodrington Devon. The toilet block was disgusting but needs must . The graffiti was mind blowing. So on the throne on the lower door panel was inscribed: “Do not knaw
wood whilst straining“, By order WJ. Caunter. Weird the stupid things you remember 🤪

 

[crazyguider1]

when my gran died in 1979, my mum, her only child, decided to use the money to buy a caravan. it was a 12' Monza. our first trip out was to a field on a farm in Somerset, near Bridgwater. No loo, shower or electric. No heater - it was Easter and bloody freezing!! Dad had a heater fitted, and bought a battery so we could have proper lighting, and eventually a black and white portable 12v telly! needless to say we were hooked, and hubby and I have had our Avondale for 10 years now, similarly 'upgraded' to suit our needs.

 

[Beehpee]

My memory of caravans goes back to between 1978 and 1982, myself and a mate decided to buy a caravan that we would have shared use of, we had no idea about towing, loading, weights or anything whatsoever about caravans, I do remember it had gas mantle lighting, and a rubber bulb on the floor near the sink and you pumped the bulb with your foot and water came out of the tap, I’ve no memory of make or model but it would have been dirt cheap, tow car? possibly a Mk3 Ford Cortina but I can’t be certain, I was the excited first user, we loaded our bits and pieces which would have been just what we needed from the house, no proper lightweight camping stuff, and off we went, myself, the wife and our first daughter who would have been aged 3 in 77, so depending if I’ve got the year right she could have been under 3 and deff no older than 8,as I said the actual year is vague, so off we went to I know not where, what I do know was the experience of towing was a total nightmare, we stayed wherever it was for a couple of nights and with trepidation mounting by the second we set off for home, the return journey was as frightening as the first and on arrival home it was parked outside the house, when I related the experience to the co owner we decided that we would get shot of it, a for sale notice was put in the window of the and it soon left and had new owners, fast forward to 2005 and I plucked up the courage and we bought another caravan, this time round the whole experience was great due to more research on doing things correctly, we’ve not looked back since and can’t wait for the lockdown to finish, the things we do when we’re young and think we are immortal, thankfully we lived through our foolish years and learned from our mistakes.
Stay safe and well all of you.

My experience of our purchase of our first decent caravan is a much better story to tell, for later.

BP

 

[thosoneill]

I remember my mother and father taking us to United British caravans in Giffnock in Glasgow and purchasing a four berth Fairholme touring caravan - complete with cold water floor foot pump and gas lighting with those very fragile gas mantles - we had our annual holiday at Hookhills holiday park in Paignton in Devon which was a substantial distance from our home in Glasgow

 

[Beachball]

When we first start out we own

Our first caravan was very similar. A 10 ft Piper with four berths crammed in. No electric hook up or battery although you could power the one electric light by using the car battery and one gas light. Water was cold only from a foot pump, but it had a toilet compartment but no toilet or anything else in it. Because of the lack of storage we used the toilet compartment as a larder!
Despite all that we had a great time in it and only changed it when we had a third daughter and needed an extra berth.

Hi Ray had the same caravan we thought it was great

 

[Beachball]

When we started out this was the first Sprite Cadet 10 like the one in the photo there was us two, son & two dogs towed this with a Fiat 127 Sport 1050 3 door it pulled it great my lad like the bunk at the front but it came with electric hook up fold up sink & Burner with portable toilet but if i remember we use a toilet tent outside ..