Why did you buy a Caravan?

[WilliamTups]

Without wanting to start a debate about the rights and wrongs of caravanning, I am just quite simply interested in the reasons as to why people have purchased a caravan

My reasons are:

1) The cost of holidays during school holiday times which came as a real big shock when our son started school two years ago

2) Getting away more often - weekends away in the caravan seem to last longer and seem more relaxing than those spent at home.

3) Spending time with the family and showing my children the UK (and later on Europe) with aim of broadening their horizons and seeing things for themselves.

 

[Danny_5134221]

Something we always really fancied doing, and a way of spending some quality time with the children etc

 

[Val & Frank]

We had an apartment on the Costa del Sol,and after a few months realised Spain was not how we wanted to spend our retirement. So we sold the apartment and bought a caravan. We have a twin axle van and pull it with a 4X4 because we wanted the best we could afford. So off to the dealers looked at loads of vans and decided on a fixed bed (SWMBO) would have nothing else !!!. Other criteria was we needed space for our Grand daughter, seperate shower and toilet in case anyone wanted the loo in the night. With the island bed Kate can have a nap in the afternoon and I can watch the cricket.Val will read her book so that works. we do like to visit cities we have never seen before so the van comes in very handy for that.We have also spent a couple of years tracing family history so it helps to have the van to stay in be it West Wales or Glamorgan when we are doing Val's family tree, and then Lancashire when we are doing mine. So the Van is a mobile hotel,get up when we feel like it go to bed when we feel like etc etc etc.

Frank & Val

 

[LMH]

First and foremost, I was fed up with stopping in hotels when I went up to Appleby for my annual trips to the horse fair. So I bought an old caravan and it all started from there. We've had some great holidays as a family.

You can pretty much please yourself when you get up, when you eat, etc. We take our two dogs with us, so we don't have to worry about kennels etc. It also means that I am not forced to vaccinate them (long story but I don't agree with giving a dog more than one vaccination in its lifetime).

I feel my caravan is a home from home.

Lisa

 

[Jazman]

We thought a Caravan would make us look older and more mature and annoy our neighbours and devalue their homes. Blocking roads at weekends and bank holidays as a form of relaxing sport we could do as a family was a bonus attraction.

 

[Colinn]

Home from home, Lisa, that's the way I look at it...

In fact, I always say that our caravan is the mobile part of our house that comes away with us when we travel.

Talk about taking the kitchen sink! We caravanners take far more than that - we take the sink, the cooker, the fridge, the bedroom, the telly, the loo, the lounge, the dogs, the lot!!

Truth is we used to spend quite a bit on foreign hols in the summer - but wham bang, they were over and done with in two weeks. Now we spend the same money - but we are away for many full weeks and long weekends between April to October.

Our neighbours reckon we're always on holiday in the summer. Yup, they're right and long may it last.

Every home should come with the bit you can take away - naagh, second thoughts, there wouldn't be enough room on the sites would there?? Happy caravanning all...best relaxation in the world!

 

[Lutz]

We started caravanning because we wanted to go to Norway and had heard that both hotels and eating out there were very expensive. The savings achieved by not staying at hotels were much more than the extra cost of taking a caravan on the ferry. There was no way we could have been able to afford the trip for four any other way, so we rented a caravan. We enjoyed the freedom so much that it it developed its own dynamism and bought our caravan soon afterwards.

 

[Jazman]

Well we have been accused of that. I was joking.

We like the freedom to and just doing what we like with no hotel routines and good food and great people.

****** what any of the anti's think or dream up.

 

[Happy-Lappy]

The reason we bought our caravan is that I was involved in a cycling accident. We used to camp at home and in france with our own frame tent, but because of my back injury, sleeping on an air bed was not something I used to look forward to. Now we have a caravan, we can go away more weekends as there is no putting up and taking down involved, we now also holiday during the winter months as well, which helps get our monies worth from the initial outlay (

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

My parents bought an old caravan when I was eight years old, we spent a week in North Wales, and loved it! From then on, we toured the UK and Europe, so it became a way of life to me!

When we got married, one of the first things we bought, when funds allowed, was an old Sprite Alpine, which we towed with our Ford Cortina. Our children adored it, and now as adults, look back on the lovely weekends and family holidays we had, sometimes with Nan and Grandad, and sometimes with Aunty and Uncle, my brother, who also couldn't wait to get his own 'van!

As things went on, the children left home, and we progressed to the two berth caravan, and spent as much time away from home as possible. The trouble being, adult children wanted to spend the odd evening with us, when out on our travels, obviously when not far from home! So, back to the four berth!!

Now, me enjoying my early days of "retirement" and hubby still working (Relief!!), running his own buisness. Thankfully, with such flexible arrangements we can spend MORE time in the caravan, and can't wait till our little Grand daughter is old enough, so she can come with us as well!! :O)

 

[Soozeeg]

I used to go camping a lot when I was in my teens and loved the whole 'outdoorsy' thing and the freedom of it all. When I got married OH and I somehow automatically went for B&Bs, guesthouses and hired cottages, for several years. About 10 years ago we went camping in a borrowed tent with a large group of friends.......and I was hooked again. Except for one thing - being slightly more mature (in physical years if not outlook, lol!) we found camping a damn sight too uncomfortable and primitive. We went away again shortly after in a borrowed caravan and it was a revelation - just what we'd been looking for after all those years!! We bought our first caravan a few weeks later and have never looked back.

As others above have said, our caravan is our second home. The freedom to just up and go whenever and wherever we like is what makes it for us.......that, and the fact that holidays this way are so much cheaper. 3 or 4 years ago my brother, who had had his annual fortnight's holiday to Florida that year, commented on the fact that we were 'going away AGAIN...how many is that this year?'. I responded smugly that, yes, we do go away a lot (probably about 7 or 8 weeks in total including long weekends), but all our holidays together cost less than his one...!!

Enough said!

 

[kay4]

About 14 years ago we started going abroad a few times a year, then after a while got fed up with airports, delays, hotels, reps. etc, so we got a tent and loved the freedom and the outdoor life.

We got a dog a few years ago and didnt want to put him in kennels, having your own accomodation meant we could take him with us. Anyway last year my partner got serious back problems and the thought of lying on an air bed was out the question, and we found that camping is limited to warm dry whether (and we dont get much of that!).

So on a Monday we talked about getting a caravan and by the Wednesday we bought one, a 2nd hand Elddis! Now were absoutely addicted, we have been away almout every weekend since July. Like the rest of you its home from home but a different view every time, and for about

 

[Surfer]

We bought a caravan so that the shower in power could fleece us with more taxes. Secondly you get out of a rut of doing the same things every weekend!

 

[RogerP]

Like many here ,

- Freedom to get away more often and a lot cheaper (excluding the car and caravan costs to a degree!!).

- Ability to 'see the world' , visit places you probably wouldn't think to book a annual holiday to.

- Health - wife has a food intolerance. I finaly got fed up of wasting time trudging around forgeign supermarkets and restaurants trying to find things she could eat. With the 'van we take it with us.

- Finally - we had a motorhome for years , then along came number 1 son and we needed a bigger one. That didn't work out and sort of begrudgingly we opted to try the caravan route. Best thing we ever did

 

[jinty0_0]

since getting married seven years ago we both had been caravaning with our parents. hubbys parents kindly gave us there folding caravan when they purchased there new caravan to start us off only kept it a year as it was tiny and had very little inside it. have had another two second hand vans since then but pushed the boat out this year and bought a brand new one. love the time we spend as a family and the kids enjoy the freedom it brings aswell.

 

[Darce]

For us running our own business gives us more time freedom than most but at the cost of "not earning" when we are away. So being able to get away for a long weekend is far better than our taking a two week break and our caravan gives us that "Let's Go!" freedom.

In fact today we have used the Postal Strike as a good reason to shut up today grab Thur night away this w/e as well as Fri Sat Sun. So we are off in the next hour or so.

The beauty of long weekends, especially as we now have a large TA fixed bed caravan on a seasonal pitch, is that the comfort is superb, I am away from the &*%"y phone and computer and that by just taking the Friday afternoon off and coming back mid day on the Monday, my in tray stays manageable.

 

[GeorgeB]

In my youth.....Yes I can still remember that far back!!! I used to go camping a lot, then I joined the Army & still camped.

Then in the late 70's I saw sense, swopped the canvas tent for a tin tent, Robin 12ft 4 berth, no electrics, no fridge no toilet no hot water, just a hob, gas lamps & a small heater, but boy compared to the tent it was unashamed luxury!!!!

Me, the misses & daughter loved it, went everywhere at every oportunity.

Now have a Bailey Senator Indiana, very ocaisionaly daughter still comes away for the odd weekend, but we get away at every oportunity, long weekends in Dorset are the best stress buster I know of!

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Really wanted a river cruiser but did not because the kids were too small to be safe, then sister and brother in law bought a S/H van and did not get on with towing it.

We arranged to borrow it for a couple of weeks to try it out and then bought it.

Have not looked back since although not ruling out having a boat as well as the caravan in the future.

We use our van a lot and it pays for itself easily - if we only used it for a few weeks a year it would be cheaper to fly abroad.

 

[Ogre]

Bought our first one years ago, and have never looked back.

Freedom to travel to and stay in any area at a sensible, and realistic cost. The freedom to choose our own mealtimes, and the freedom from hotel bills.

Nothing to beat it.

 

[George2]

I week at Loch Lomond in a trailer tent finally done it for us.

 

[Viking1]

Hi

Well why did we buy a caravan?

At fist I would have said it was a thing that we did not thick of fist as we were looking round a deals and we just we give it a go.

Now looking at it made going away a lot better as we can go when we like and at a drop of a hat and all so its less stress for owe son and all so we are not get rip of by inshorans as they all way seed to won't charge more just because we had a disable chid.

Mark

 

[alunhve]

Started with a trailer tent after borrowing my parents very small Caravan a couple of times. Reason was a mixture of economy (compared with the hiring of static caravans in the school holidays) and the flexibility on holiday arrangements as we ran our own shop at that time which meant holidays were dependent upon when cheap cover (i.e. relatives) could be arranged.Moved up to a caravan a few seasons later after we had space to store a caravan and the Trailer Tent being stolen from our garage.

Whilst cost is no longer the overiding consideration what is important is being able to set your own pattern to the day. We do not have to breakfast by a specific time and if we just want to relax reading magazines & books no one is going to disturb us.

Having the caravan gives the flexibility to take advantage of the "long weekends" that occur in my roster at work as well as being able to take grandchildren and brother in law along with us on occasions at minimal extra cost.

 

[TLC]

We had a static which was ok as I could use it on my own with the kids when my husband was busy working. However we were all spending more & more time together & in the caravan, however we realised we hated the site!!! We have since bought a 4x4 and we are picking up our 1st touring caravan next week. Can't wait am so excited & have just booked a CC site for 1/2 term holidays. We are going with my parent's as they have been touring since I was a child & we thought we could use there advice being our 1st time out. Will let you know how we get on but we are all really looking forward to going where we want, seeing a bit of England & spending some good old quality time together as a family.

 

[Elliott_374322049]

We were actually given our caravan by a neighbour who no longer used it, Initially saw it as a quick clean up and flog it, But my children and wife all helped clean it and then as we were campers any we thought we would try a holiday in, that was it we were hooked and sold the tent!

 

[cokey1970]

I have my mother and father to thank for getting me back into caravanning as I went on many a North Staffs centre rally with them during the mid 70's to 80's.

Bought our first van in 2005 and now just about to take delivery of our 3rd one. Our 2 year old son loves it.

Martin. (The original one!)