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Quote: Originally posted by HEJC72 on 31/8/2010

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I've got 4 tents, a caravan and we had a TT.

TT was a disater as it was too big and heavy for me to put up myself which meant relying on hubby to come too which is difficult as he works 6 days a week. Sold it pretty quickly.

Started tenting seriously about 5 years ago and love it apart from having to pitch and pack up in the pouring rain and wind (like I did recently!)
Still had a good time but it's no fun trying to dry a large tent in a small flat! Not planning to ditch the tents just yet as there is something rather lovely about sleeping in a tent.

Now have a 41 year old 2 berth caravan which I paid £450 for. I used her for the first time recently and LOVED it!
OK she is small, but that means she is easy to tow, I can keep her in our garage (so no storage fees), beds made up quickly and were very comfortable (I bought new foam and made new covers), wind and rain didn't effect us at all (no leaks!)
She is pretty unique and other campers were very curious about her, so she proved to be a real ice breaker!

Some things to consider:
*  initial purchase price (expensive compared to a tent)
* storage fees/space (tents can go in the loft/spare room/garden shed)
* towing (both Clubs run courses to give you some confidence if you've never towed before)
* socialbility - if you smile and say hello then others will reply so no more or less sociable than a tent
* extended season/year round trips in a caravan will be more comfortable than in a tent
* you don't need to dry a caravan like you do a tent if you pack up in the rain (may need to dry an awning though if you use one)

I would suggest buying second hand first to see if you like caravanning but watch out for the dreaded DAMP!

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Well I find it's not much more expensive tbh. We bought a small older caravan. I do any servicing myself, don't find a mover neccessary at all. Thing is it can be so different for everyone depending on your own access & if you have somewhere safe to keep your caravan.

We're lucky in that wehave plenty spaceso keep ours at home, ok the driveway access is I admit quite  tricky (I doubt a person new to towing could manage to get a van in tbh) but I've towed all manner of things over the years. Also have a very secure location & someone is always around & the `van is out of sight. Our insurance is minimal as it's not an expensive caravan !

Our extra cost is only for the fuel, but if you have a 4x4 anyway it might not make that much difference either tbh ! We feel it's worth that tiny bit more as we now can go away much more often, & more spur of the moment for all the obvious reasons.

Don't disagree it can be a lot more expensive, but it really isn't always the case. Like most things you may be able to do it for an awful lot less if you're able to learn how to do do some basic maintenance, reverse the thing, & put your thinking cap on, shop around & maybe set your sights a little lower too !

ps as Les Hiddins (`Bushtucker Man') once said - "you don't need a load a new beaut gear to enjoy yourself" !

Post last edited on 31/08/2010 17:51:06

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Fools and charlatans know everything and understand nothing . Anton Chekhov

We made the change from tent to caravan 5 weeks ago and love it.

We decided which lay out we wanted and then spent lots of time online and looking around dealers until we decided on our make and model. We were tempted by dealer 'offers and starter packs' but fell very lucky on a secondhand one (200 miles away) in excellent condition with loads of extra's of chucked in for 2K less than dealer's price. It was well worth the drive. So my main advice would be shop around and take your time.

Our costs average out at about £17 pw inc storage, ins, service, tyres etc If we could store at home this would obviously be cheaper but sadly we can't - this is my only downside to it all but its on a storage site a few miles from home.

We have spent 17 nights in it so far teenagers sleep in pop up tents in awning setting up and packing away gets quicker every time.O/h did C/C towing course well worth the money. I towed for the first time today its not as nerve racking as i expected!! We are still learning and find other caravanners advice helpful.

 Once well researched my advice would be go for it we intend to enjoy ours all year round. I don't fancy going back to the tent now!!!