we got ours because we couldnt afford to store the caravan any more.it was only a cheap one,but was costing more to store than it was worth.We needed something that was off the floor,as i have a bad back,so bought our conway canterbury,old but good,best thing we did,fits in the garden as well.
after 15 years of being in a tent, got fed up of not being able to cook inside which posed lots of problems with the British weather and getting more and more uncomfortable on airbeds... so glad we made the move much prefer our new arrangement
------------- Taffy
2012 Planned
Easter - Cornwall
July scout camp
August North Wales
Massive king size bed, loads of storage, the ability to leave the awning off for overnighters, not too tall so can see over it through rear-view mirror, kitchen always there it can just be slid out from behind the bed or put in the awning, handy wardrobe with hanging rail. Fantastic quality components.
I was given an extremely elderly Raclet by family friends, and I thought, well, it's cheap and useful, but you'd have to be a real mug to pay thousands for one.
Then as I went camping it became clearer and clearer that a TT/FC was easier and more comfy than camping, as well as clearing out space in the car. In the end we spent £2k on a Raclet FC and love it.
Space and gadgets. That's my bag. If there was an FC which went up automatically/electrically and the awning went up at the same time I'd pay £20k for it, no probs.
(actually I wouldn't 'cos I don't have £20k. But I'd go to the exhibition and drool.)
Aww, I've really enjoyed reading through this thread - you lucky people! We started camping when the kids were young with a Khyam family tent, we then bought an old Pennine Fiesta FC with which we had some fantastic holidays for about three years. We sold the Fiesta when the kids started growing long legs and realised we needed something bigger, so we bought an old Lunar Venus 5 birth caravan.
We quite enjoyed the van but totally agree with all the negatives already posted on this thread. One big minus for me that hasn't been mentioned is although I would be quite happy to share the towing of the caravan with my husband, I didn't want the responsibility of taking the van out on my own along with two kids and two dogs! If my husband couldn't get time off work, the caravan would just be sat in storage in the summer holidays- what an absolute crime!
When we had our Fiesta FC I would be perfectly confident to take the whole lot away on my own without any worries. I have been looking through ads for a Pennine pathfinder or Conway crusader - a very dangerous thing to do, I know - slippery slopes and all that. Haven't mentioned anything to the OH though, must wait until he's in a very,very good mood.
Until then, it's tent camping with our lovely Cabanon Andorra.
as a child we always camped - I didn't go on a package holiday until I was 18 - we had a Trigano frame tent in the 70's and then my parents bought a Conway TT in the 80's for an annual pilgrimage to France... I always had a fantastic time - always much better than any subsequent package holidays anyway!
Fast forward 15 years, I bought a real el-cheapo tent and took MY family to France - it rained constantly, but was totally hooked - and surprisingly so was the OH!
We upgraded from the cheapie to an Outwell Bear Lake - which took soooooo long to set up in the blazing med sun that the enjoyment (and enthusiasm of OH!) was lost, so moved onto Sunncamp TT - which reduced set-up time (so was a winner with OH)... then WE saw the Camp-Let! This time was the OH's idea (so it would've been rude to refuse!) and the set-up is massively reduced
I should also add, that one of the main catalyst was having to pitch on a slope in Wales - was an AWFUL weekend, and had we not gone to Sth France following that, would have been the end - as OH was NOT happy ( but he has AS and needs a flat sleeping position) so being able to 'level' the beds has been a godsend!
just bought a pennine pathfinder. Have had odd weekends in our tent over the years but not enough to justify having it however several colleagues at work spoke of the joys of caravans and just getting away from it all at weekends. With the tent it was al about the packing. Nothing could be on the spur of the moment as packing up all the gear took so long. As kids old enough to leave now and hubby not keen to tow a caravan we went to view trailer tents and fell in love with folding campers the compromise between tents and caravans. It remains to be seen if this was the right choice........! But think it will be
I have camped all my life but my second husband Ray is very new to it. We bought a Vango Diablo 900 a couple of years ago. Lovely tent but a monster to put up and when he slipped a disc it meant that we had to sell up and downsize to an Orchy.
At the end of Oct I took voluntary redundancy and we pondered on what to spend the money on. As soon as Ray saw a Crusader that was it...any thoughts of putting a conservatory on the house went out the window. We have decided that if the weather is good enough we will hitch up and have adventures rather than sitting at home.
Like everybody has said the quality, ease of towing and storage, comfy beds but still having the ability to hear the pitter patter of rain on the roof while being wrapped up cosy and warm under the duvet..... Oh I can't wait to try it out properly - I garden camped at the weekend and we are going to Northumberland for a few days the in a couple of weeks time.
Having been a caravan builder I was always a tenter.You know busman's holiday and all that. But now retired thought we would have a bit of a step up.So a Pennine Fiesta it was ,and never looked.
------------- Corpogreen esq
dead horse
and
donkey buyer