Hi art. How you doing? We bought our first folding camper (conway challenger) from billing aquadrome for £2,700. We had it for about 2 years and unwisely due to buying another car we sold it and bought a cheap camplet,which we only used twice. Didnt quite compare to the conway so we started looking for another folder. We managed to pick up a pennine aztec for £400 from a private seller. It needed a bit of tidying up but it is now a cracker. BARGAIN!
We paid £5,200 for our 2006 Conway Challenger with awning and skirts, last year, pleased with it but would like a bigger one with the fridge in and the seats!
Already done the frame/dome tents and the caravan, lost loads (but you dont know till you try do you! lol) so I guess we are the ones who give the bargins away!
all down to your budget at the end of the day aint it!
We paid just under £10,000 for a cruise to Venice and other places 3 years ago. Sitting on our balcony in our dressing gowns, drinking coffee, as we crept into the lagoon at 6 in the morning sunshine was worth every penny.
Last year a cruise to Rome and other places has similar happy memories that also sit alongside those we have had camping. Having had 3 tents, 3 caravans, 3 m'caravans and 2 folding campers we have also bought and sold a lot but they were worth every penny and I hope the later owners are getting as much fun as we got.
Now we are selling our fc because my wife is not enjoying camping because of the effort needed. We can also now afford to pay others to make the beds and co the cooking. And cottages dont need storing in winter.
But our experiences of 40+ years camping are priceless and we have the videos, pics and memories to remind us.
i paid £290 for my early 80's camper. cost about £300 to bring up to scratch. alot of that was "optional" (ie i painted it, fitted new carpet, trim etc). main problem for me is that i had to renew all the brakes and master cylinder as mine is a canadian camper which had hydraulic brakes.
its great now its all done and we plan on keeping it for a good few years!
"Too many people buy new as a half way house to a caravan and sell them at a loss."
Jan,
F C's are much better.
A folding camper is not a halfway house to a caravan. It is bigger, lighter, less drag, easier to tow with a sensible car and move off the towball and has much better accomodation. For example the sleeping areas do not have to be converted morning and night.
Yet you are off the ground, sleep on sprung mattresses, have fridge, cooker and all mod cons powered by gas and 12/240 electricity.
Having had all the other forms of camping accomodation there is no comparison and we wish we had discovered them 40 years ago.
You're preaching to the converted Edward but there are lots of people in this forum ( Mark ,Rizzo, Scampi,Karl to name but four) who kept their folding campers for a very short time. Better if you're not sure to buy second hand and lose less money.
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.