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 Topic: The argument for folding campers
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07/4/2024 at 10:14pm
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Hi all, long time lurker first time poster!
I’ve currently got a tent but I’m thinking of getting a used folding camper at some point in the future, perhaps something along the lines of a Pennine/Conway. I think folding campers/caravans and the like are potentially more relevant than ever, as we continue to move towards electric vehicles where minimising drag to protect range suddenly becomes much more of a focus. I also wrote down a few other thoughts on the advantages of folding campers but would be interested to hear other opinions.
With folding campers being smaller when packed down but without sacrificing living/sleeping space when erected, you can store them in a dry garage or under cover potentially avoiding expensive storage costs but without losing too much of the “luxury” aspects a caravan affords you.
Another point that goes back to the ease of storage is that many older caravans seem to suffer damp with wood floors rotting over time. I believe this was due to cost cutting on materials, especially on the cheaper brands. I think this is changing now but it’s another thing you can be caught out by and it’s another advantage of folding campers which have an increased chance of being stored somewhere undercover over their lifespan, helping to reduce the damp risks.
Folding campers also tend to be cheaper, lighter, and easier to tow than caravans meaning smaller vehicles can take advantage. This goes back to the aerodynamic drag aspect, leading to improvements in fuel economy or (perhaps even more importantly these days) EV range.
With folding campers being caravan-like but lighter, they can potentially take advantage of both caravan and trailer tent sites, where perhaps larger caravans might be turned away. They can also use hard standing more readily as unlike trailer tents, they don’t require pegging (aside from the optional awning). In terms of downsides, the delay setting up vs a caravan (which appears to be minor), and the fact that you have to dry them out if you pack away wet spring to mind (I’m sure there are more). I will mention the (still popular) “Dandy” campers which seemed to be ahead of their time in terms of construction and ability to fold down wet but sadly no longer in production.
Anyway that’s my initial conclusion. Now obviously I am not an expert, so it would be interesting to hear other arguments both for and against etc.
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08/4/2024 at 8:01am
Location: Liverpool
Outfit: Swift Challenger 560
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We absolutely loved our old CombiCamp which is sort of in between a trailer tent and folding camper. It was perfect for our long summers in France, providing what I felt was the perfect climate with a bit of comfort in an easy to transport and set up manner.
If we only ever went to France, I would never have changed it, however, for us, the biggest drawback was that unless you are especially hardy, it is really only suited to the summer in the UK. We go away all year round in the caravan but would definitely not have been able to do that in the CombiCamp.
Additionally, with the CombiCamp, I was constantly on edge while we were away in the UK, worrying about the weather, as folding down a wet canvas is a nightmare and then having to open the whole thing up again when you get home to thoroughly dry the canvas is another chore. If you have to fold the canvas away wet, you end up soaking everything you store inside the body of the trailer and then it all needs to be dried out as well, eg mattresses etc.
If we had been able to afford it and had had the storage space, I would have been tempted to keep our CombiCamp for our holidays in France and use the caravan in the UK but that wasn’t a sensible option.so we changed to a caravan, and find it so much better for the UK! It gets a bit hot at times in France but that is something we have learned to live with and as we haven’t been to France for a few years, it is not a problem at the minute.
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Pixie
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08/4/2024 at 1:03pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Devil's advocate here. A folding camper is a combination of the worst aspects of both caravan and tent!  
The base vehicle is very much a caravan type construction and suffers many of the same problems/faults such as water ingress and rotten floors, frames etc. The fabric top has the same disadvantages as a tent, it needs erecting before any use is possible, it may also be too challenging for those with disabilities or even small stature and limited reach.
At some point fairly quickly after use in the wet, the fabric needs drying before long term storage, just like a tent. Whilst people may have space to store the packed trailer, not everyone has space available to erect it to allow proper drying, nor is the weather always obliging!
It may not be best suited for use in colder temperatures due to relatively poor insulation compared to a caravan, and chilly periods can occur at any time of year, single figure overnight temps are far from uncommon even in summer, both the provision and cost of running a heating to overcome lack of insulation should not be overlooked, especially as the move is to metered EHU!
The spec always seems a little basic compared to a caravan, no on-board shower (external shower is not as convenient/comfortable!), toilets are VERY cramped, no microwave, no duel fuel cooker or heating etc. And the purchase cost can be in the realms of a caravan of similar basic spec, and not far removed from one of higher spec.
Erecting for use and packing for towing when on site is MUCH slower and far more effort than a caravan which can be habitable in minutes. It also has all the same requirements as a caravan to make habitable, such as levelling, corner steadies, braking/chocking wheels, connection of services etc.
Towing anything has notable disadvantages, limited max speed, limitations and restrictions on parking such as at service stations etc. And ongoing costs, such as essential annual chassis maintenance to ensure road safety, replacement of tyres and flexible gas hoses every 5 years due to inherent degradation regardless of use/wear. And often overlooked until purchased, smaller trailers can be a real PITA to reverse! - prone to jackknife easily due to short distance between tow hitch and axle, impossible to see position in relation to car in either door mirrors or through rear window until jackknifing reveals it in a door mirror! Not everyone has the space to store a trailer at their home, so then remote storage required at usually significant cost and much the same as a caravan!
On deciding to move up from tent camping a few years ago, finding packing the car and erecting a large and comfortable tent on my own far too much of a faff at my age, I looked at all options, trailer tents, folding campers, folding caravans, pop-top caravans, and full caravans, and also camper vans and motorhomes. Concluded that if suffering the disadvantages of towing anything, then I didn't still want all the faff of effectively having to erect a tent as well! I looked at folding caravans, which had most of the advantages you listed of being lower height and lighter weight trailers, but concluded they were too compromised on facilities for the high cost compared to a full caravan. Brief look at pop-top caravans convinced me my head in the limited space of the pop-top felt too claustrophbic and there seemed endless oportunities to bang my head on something! By whitling down what was unacceptable, and what equated to best value for money, a full blown caravan won out by some margin.
6 years on, many thousands of miles on the road, dozens of holidays around the country, I have not a single regret. I did my research thoroughly on what I did or did not want, I chose my caravan very carefully, and I got exactly what I wanted. Maybe I'm slightly more fortunate than some, but my car-caravan outfit tows like a dream and is not a chore or a challenge in the slightest.
Along the way between tent and caravan, I spent time camping with friends who had bought folding campers as a move up from tents, both tolerated them for only one season before selling and moving up to full caravans for much the reasons I mentioned above. Their decision didn't so much influence me, as make me aware of what to look out for, and ultimately I could see their point of view.
Every form of camping has pros and cons, personally I found folding campers to be sufficiently compromised that any advantages were far outnumbered by the disadvantages, but clearly they are suitable and acceptable to some.
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08/4/2024 at 7:49pm
Location: East Herts
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We went from a tent to a caravan in the 1970s, when kids started to come along, as it was just so much more convenient. We gave up caravanning in the late 1980s as we had bought a boat and started having holidays on the rivers. We also started flying abroad, something we had never done before.
Much later, in 2013, we decided that we'd had enough of river boating as there are only so many times you can go up river and down river, so we started thinking again about caravanning. We did quite a bit of research into folding caravans, trailer-tents, camper-vans, motor-homes and ordinary conventional caravans, and came to the following conclusions. Motor-homes were way out of our price range, and they had other snags too, such as how do you get around when you are on site? Camper-vans were just too cramped, generally had no toilet, and there was a lot of faffing about going from daytime mode to night time mode. Trailer tents took a long time to set up and were a problem to put away in wet weather. Folding caravans were quite rare and expensive, which left conventional caravans. There seemed to be plenty of those about at prices we could afford, and they had none of the snags of the other camping units, so for us it was no contest. Absolutely no regrets.
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Best Regards,
Colin
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08/4/2024 at 8:50pm
Location: West country
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I've got a Dandy and caravan and have had various tents.
Canvas covered FCs seem vulnerable to me with expensive and easily water damaged caravan furniture and equipment inside with basically a tent over the top. Also no insulation makes them summer use only.
The Gobur seems a good option as they are easy to fold and adequately equipped for use on most sites. However they are expensive.
My feeling is the Dandy is the best option. The PVC covering is well insulated so easy to heat in winter and very cool in summer. They feel as if they are air conditioned whereas most caravans now are very hot with all the acres of glass in the roofs. They are very long lasting and were produced up until 2008. Late models are still available 2nd hand and they will be fine.
As for ease of use. I can fit everything camping related into the Dandy before folding. Just put it on the floor. I have a Designer so porta potti splits into two and goes under the table which is dropped down to fold height. Cushions, water containers, shelf and step go on floor. TV and pillows, EHU cable, TV aerial, etc all go in the small under seat storage.
Sleeping bags can do on floor over the items already there and will be dry even after storing at home like that for a few months.
Top kitchen tier goes on floor and centre tier folds flat. Bottom tier takes all kitchen kit, pots pans, crockery, kettle etc.
Fridge is a chest 3 way which goes in back of car loaded and plugged in. Stores at home.
Clothes go in holdall each and stays in Dandy by day and travels in car. Food travels in car and stores in middle tier of kitchen on site.
Awning and chairs go on top of Dandy.
So packing to go away is putting clothes etc in a holdall each and food in bags and fridge into car. That's all.
On site, holdalls go on fixed bed which is made up with sleeping bag. Bedding for the bed settee goes behind seat back by day.
The caravan is very good but is very expensive and not so easy to tow long distance. Packing is carrying everything out to van and loading into cupboards, fridge, wardrobe etc. Very time consuming.
So Dandy is cheap, quick and easy to pack and can be used year round. Insurance was £80 this year, very little servicing and virtually zero depreciation.
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08/4/2024 at 11:21pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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You get used to the extra width of a caravan, mine's around 400mm wider than my car body, only 200mm per side, and really only about the same as the projection of the door mirrors - roughly, if the car fits, the caravan fits! I may have won awards for car control and placement in competitions, but pushing things to size and size fits is just reckless, so I avoid roads that narrow, and really there is no good reason why you should be on a road that narrow. Roads leading to campsites that accept caravans pretty much have to be better than that, otherwise they wouldn't get any customers!
If you've got a trailer of ANY kind hitched up, single track roads are your worst nightmare in case you meet oncoming traffic! I GUARANTY that you stand a better chance of reversing a caravan than a compact FC if you are forced to reverse! Many passing places are barely big enough to accommodate a car and trailer, so always challenging. And I can also say with certainty you WILL encounter some numpty in a solo car who is incapable of reversing it, and they will EXPECT you to be the one reversing up to a passing place! I have reversed someone else's car for them, rather than try and back up my caravan hundreds of yards!
The storage situation is a valid point, but some of us wouldn't have room at home to store a folding camper anyway, so would still have to seek a storage site. Remote storage has a hidden benefit over home storage if the unit is visible to passers by, it's a well known problem that if your home stored caravan/camper is obviously absent, then it's an advert you are away and your house is empty, and an open invitation to burglars, whereas absence from a storage site goes unnoticed.
There are pro and cons all round, you've just got to decide which you can live with or otherwise.
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09/4/2024 at 12:24pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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As Pixie said, storage sites vary enormously in their terms and methods of operation.
The one I use for my van has free access 365 days of the year during opening hours (8am-8pm summer, 9am-6pm winter), no notice to access required. Security access is by an automated electronic fob to operate security barrier, out of hours, extra security gates are locked in place. It's part of a campsite with permanent wardens on duty, and CCTV monitoring. No one on site has keys to my van, and no one touches your van for any reason. Because of high security levels I get a hefty discount on my insurance, which goes a little way to offsetting cost of storage.
It also has a dedicated, large level concrete base, service/wash bay with EHU and water tap for any maintenance jobs, needs booking in advance generally, but if vacant can be booked on the spot by the hour. That's a facility I'd struggle with at home, certainly not going to achieve level easily, I live on a hill!
Personally not keen on storage that has keys and access to your van, heard some horror stories about their lax regard to replacing locks etc. (which would almost certainly invalidate your insurance!) after moving van for their own ends! Also not keen on the sites where you have to give significant advance notice to attend!
Apart from the time/distance from home to the storage site (35-45 mins in a solo car if timed right), it's not really much of an inconvenience, and in terms of actually going away with the van, it's a huge benefit as it's located near two motorways and other A roads that give me a pretty good fast getaway, and in reverse an easy drop off, if I was leaving from home with the van I'd be negotiating narrow streets and then slogging through heavy traffic and congestion for an hour or more before hitting any major roads, and probably even worse trying to get home with it!
The storage yard is a very positive thing in my case.
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via mobile 08/4/2024 at 8:49am
