Motor home or Caravan?

[davo453]

We recently did a whistle stop trip around New Zealand (http://www.dbcourt.co.uk/NZ/).

It was our first experience of a Motorhome and we enjoyed it a lot. We are now in the UK for two or three years and are thinking about buying something.

That something will be either a Motorhome or Caravan. But both have advantages and disadvantages.
We went to the International Caravan & Motor home (http://www.caravanshows.com/) exhibition at the NEC the other day, awesome is the word there were five massive halls full of choice. But we basically left feeling very confused.

What would you buy and why?

I would really appreciated any opinions. it will mainly be used for weekend trips both in the UK and the rest of Europe.

Cheers



Dave

[les88]

You didn't say how many people will be using it. For me only 2 ppls I would buy a Ford Trader Jumbo and fit it out myself.
les

[davo453]

Hi

Yes good point, it will be just the two of us. Maybe very rarely 4 people but if we only have room for two no problems.

Unfortunately I don't have the facility to do the work myself, but having seen a few magnificent DIY efforts in NZ I do fancy doing one one day.. But for now buying one has to be the way.

Right now I'm more keen on the caravan option but it changes daily at the moment.

Cheers



Dave

[DavidG]

Motor home:
Go where you like but every time you need milk in the morning the whole motor home has to go.

Caravan:
Not as convenient but you can park it and explore the surrounding area with the van as base.:2tsup:

My opinion:
Motorhome - if constantly moving.
Van - if jumping place to place and exploring.

[munruben]

Yeah thats the problem with a motor home, when you want to slip down the street you have to take the motor home with you. That would be a bit of a bind if its one of those big ones. Smaller one wouldn't be too bad I suppose. at least with a caravan you are free to drive around site seeing in the car. Just depends I guess. I think I would opt for the caravan.

[Jim Carroll]

Another consideration is fuel economy.

A motorhome is designed to go on a body that is capable of pulling a heavy load.

What ever you use to pull a caravan will half the normal vehicles economy.

[Christopha]

Of course there is the "Motorhome towing trailer with small 4wd and boat on top" version which we see around here quite a bit. Usually not until after school holidays are over though. The flashest was a BIG 4wd truck chassis based motorhome towing a trailer with Rav4, boat on top of Rav and 2wd motor cycle as well.... all painted the same, airbrushing included!

[davo453]

I guess no one said it was going to be an easy decision eh.

They had some pretty impressive motor homes based on coaches at the NEC show. Quite a few of the massive ones had a garage at the back with a hydraulic door to drive your SMART car or Mini out on.

They were a little out of my price range though, between £98,000 (s/h) and £550,000 (new) not including the car.

The smaller stuff around £40k - £60k have a smaller garage at the back under the main bed. you can get a couple of motor scooters in some of them, so thats a sort of solution.

Fuel economy is an issue but if you aren't traveling on an almost permanent basis I don't think it's such a consideration. Also the investment in a Motor home is at least 4 times that of a Caravan (if you don't count the tow vehicle) and I would need to register and insure an extra vehicle. Insurance is shockingly expensive on anything here. Depreciation is shocking too.

Humor me for a minute but here is an example of how bad UK insurance is. Because I've spent 20 years in Australia I have no British no claims bonus. They would however accept an Australian no claims on presentation of a letter from your Australian insurer, who will only acknowledge no claims up to 6 years. With that proof in hand I approached Zurich insurance (my sister is a CEO there, so a 10% staff discount was possible) and asked for a quote on our new Hyundai Tuscon, they quoted £560 (with discount), I took it as it was just easier to do at the time. Next year I'll shop around I think.

Anyway I digress were was I...... oh yes, I can get a very nice caravan for about £15,000.

So at this stage the Caravan seems the obvious way for us to go.

Down side is that caravan owners are hated on the road here, but having driven trucks in Australia I'm used to that I guess.

Not saying we will end up with a caravan though. :;


Cheers




Dave

[Christopha]

Down side is that caravan owners are hated on the road here, but having driven trucks in Australia I'm used to that I guess.

I thought caravan owners were universally hated!

[Dan]

How about an Elddis Shamal XL towed by a Kia Cerato.:D
(More parts on youtube if you go looking)

YouTube - Top Gear - Caravan Holiday Pt1

[davo453]

Ah yes I remember that episode well.

Have to say I was a caravan hater, nothing worse then being behind a caravan in a truck. No real way of getting past them.

But my head has been turned, must be because I'm over 40 or something, one of those stages in life you go through. But i'm sure thats just a cliché.

Mind you that cardigan and pair of tartan slippers did look good in M&S the other day.........

[les88]

Rentall motor homes are sold off here when they reach a point of their life. IMO they are good value, they may do the same in Europe.:2tsup:
les

[Wild Dingo]

Of course there is the "Motorhome towing trailer with small 4wd and boat on top" version which we see around here quite a bit. Usually not until after school holidays are over though. The flashest was a BIG 4wd truck chassis based motorhome towing a trailer with Rav4, boat on top of Rav and 2wd motor cycle as well.... all painted the same, airbrushing included!


Hey there yer dopey wombat!! You pinchin me idea or what??...

For my money mate the motor home is the go... my present thoughts are going from the above 4wd (or 6wd :; ) truck version as per Chris's comments or a Denning or Merc road bus/coach motor home with the trailer for 4x4 etc etc etc totally self sufficient

Pull up at a mates place :; or caravan park run the 4x4 off the trailer go walkabout come back to a good bed fridge stove and all mod cons :2tsup:

But that 4wd thought has great merit Chris will do some checking tonight :; long as its totally self contained and can handle a car trailer then no wukkers!! :2tsup:

Mind you for my needs it just has to cater to me... with one or two nippers visiting for a week at a time... so I dont really need to go BIG like Im thinking but then I do like to spread out and be comfy in me dotage :q

A caravan would drive me insane real quick... damned things... well no actually most of the time its the drop kicks that tow the things that get my goat goin nuts!!

But then if your in the UK then a caravan would be right on the money... buggar all off roading over there :U But whatever you get mate hope you have an absolute bloody ball :2tsup:

Cheers
Shane

Cheers
Shane

[Cliff Rogers]

....I thought caravan owners were universally hated!

Only the inconsiderate ones. :rolleyes:

[Christopha]

A mate of mine has just turned up back in town after his converted bus burnt to the ground, nothing at all saved. Has found out that his insurance isn't nearly enough... He has the clothes he was wearing, a clunky 4wd, a motorcycle and a huge trailer the fit onto that he can't tow without at least a truck.
I guess it's not a good thing having all of your worldies in a rolling box.

[BobR]

We have a 21 foot caravan and have towed it all over. For us the advantage is that on reaching a location you unhitch and use the vehicle for running around. My observation is that motor home owners tend not to stay long in a particular caravan park so do not set up the awning and associated comfort furniture. Those who want to do a bit of running around pack everything up in the morning and set it up again when they return in the evening. Also, you can't go for a run up the beach in a motor home if that is your thing (fishing), nor get it into many scenic locations in National Parks. Having said that, if towing is not your thing then a motor home is the go. Anyway that's my two pence worth.

[Wild Dingo]

ah for sure for sure... BUT!!... always a but :;

Then theres the little trailers for cars... or big ones... if your into towing you may as well get a bus (all the comforts) AND the car trailer and have the best of both worlds in my book!

Chris... A bit on the duhhh side your mate eh?... I mean NEVER put all your chooks in the one chook pen right? RIGHT!!... always have a backup plan either snuffled money away enough for either a new bus or a deposit on a ranch?... if you can stick some $$ in a fixed term account work when need to dont when you dont need or want to if the bus burns down (HEAVEN FORBLOODYBID!!) then you got a backup eh :2tsup:

You got email mate

Cheers
Shane

[Buzza]

"SIDE-WINDERS" is what we truckies called caravans back in the sixties. They were always swaying across the plains of Australia from dirt to white line like those Yankee rattle snakes. In those days trucks were not capable of "rounding them up" all that well, but these days it is a lot different with the horsepower available to them. Trucks will soon overtake a caravan, and the caravan driver needs to be aware of the turbulence about to hit him. Turbulence also comes from trucks going in the opposite direction, especially in a cross wind. Hang on, and keep to your left (In Australia). On dirt roads, stop until they have long gone.

I want:- A long wheel based, high top, diesel powered van (Transit)? and a camper trailer, with a small tinny sitting atop the camper trailer. In the van, 400 litres of fresh water, a toilet and shower, with grey and black water holding tanks fitted underneath those conveniences. Also, storage area and a small table for two. Two of us should be able to camp out for a fortnight without laying out money or leaving behind anything more than footprints.

[davo453]

Thought I'd update as this thread came to life again.

We are still in the UK and we ended up with a caravan. In fact this very day we returned from a trip to Devon. I'm still a bit dazed from the 4 hour drive up the M5. Mind bogglingly boring at 60 mph apart from the odd entertaining driver cutting in and for some reason actually stopping to join a fast moving line of traffic or cutting in at high speed, Dunno what it is but there is something about being a new Mercedes driver here that turns you in to a prat.

Anyway we bought the caravan late last year and are very happy with it. We have been away in all weathers and season. I think the last was trip number 11, so we seem to be getting our monies worth.

Camper vans in the UK are fine but some of the lane ways are very narrow so much so that even at the passing point there is no room for a full width vehicle and a large car. so if that is your only transport you need to do some creative map reading. For now we are happy to pitch the van and use it as a base to explore the area.

We joined the Caravan club and their sites are really well equipped, Some of the NZ sites were better but not many of them. Big bonus for us is that the dog can come too to just about all of the sites.

And with travel companies going bump all over the place here, we are pretty happy to be traveling under our own steam. Diesel is up around £1.24 a ltr though so you need to be careful.


All the Best


Dave

[Cliff Rogers]

.... Diesel is up around £1.24 a ltr though so you need to be careful.....

Strewth. :oo:

Can we send you some? :D

[Wild Dingo]

And those "roads" are probably why they make the phissy type campers like I bought! :doh: :q narrower than the car they can wiggle to the side of the lanes called roads no wukkers... but I do maintain poms have some serious issues understanding "campers" and outback along with offroad :roll:

Anyway good to hear its a beauty Davo :2tsup:

Cheers
Shane

[wheelinround]

This is and idea Dingo was going to do one with his F100 :no: didn't happen he bought superior pommy camper at a steal of a deal.:U

This way you can drop it and still drive around tow etc.

[Wild Dingo]

aaahh yes indeed the slide on camper trick :2tsup: ...I still have the plans from GlenL sitting around the shed somewhere or other... dont ask me why Ive hung onto the things damn this bein a bower bird sometimes... one tends to collect so much stuff its not funny :roll:

I wouldnt go as far as to say "superior" pommy camper mate just the one that was there when I lobbed up and didnt want to drive the whole way back having wasted my time... so it took pity on me and hitched itself to the back of the car... now it sits waiting for the damned weather to clear so I can shift it over onto the new subframe :2tsup:

Then... well I reckon one summer will be enough and I will have sold this place and bought a BLOODY GREAT BUS/MOBILE HOME!!! :2tsup:

Each to their own brother each to their own... some folks love caravans for some weird reason I havent been able to fathom while others like the camper dodahs and yet others the slideyslipey offy ones like above and yet others LIKE their creature comforts and room to move and tow a good 4x4 bike boat surfboards and whatever else will fit and just be free enough to just buggar off anywhere their hearts desire... ahem I just gotta stop talkin about meownself eh!! :; :U

Anyways onwards and upwards!
Cheers
Shane