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Topic: Buy a caravan or stick with tent?

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bobmel

14/1/2016 at 8:27pm
Location: Aberdeen
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Hi, went from tent to trailer tent and now caravan and honestly wish we had bough the caravan sooner. Luxury on wheels.

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Robert (BoB)

Opensauce

14/1/2016 at 9:11pm
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Can't quite see where trailer tent fits in. No cheaper than caravan, still need servicing, so if you are going to tow anything it may as well be a caravan.

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richardandjo2010

14/1/2016 at 9:17pm
Location: essex
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We have done it all started with a caravan then had a tent then a trailer tent and now a folding camper. To be honest there really is not a best its each to his own and regardless of what you have you can have some fabulous times especially with children. I speak with years and years of experience, a tent is great fun kids love the real camping (as my kids used to call it) feel about it. Caravans are great too the season can last longer and the comforts are more like home. On the downside they need an annual service to be safe, you need a larger car to tow them, don't worry they are safe on the road if loaded correctly and plenty of advice can be had here. Tents are easy to store quick these days to pitch. My opinion is with a family you will need an awning on a caravan with 3 children it can become a bit crowded without especially on a wet day and a nice caravan is expensive to buy. Where as a trailer tent or folding camper like a Conway cruiser will provide comfy beds and seats and have pretty much the same spec as a caravan with 3 way fridge oven heating etc they can be put up in around 10 minutes then additional time for an awning but as you will need this in a caravan the time is the same also you can store it in a garage downside if you pack away wet you will to put it up again to dry.

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MrT007

14/1/2016 at 10:19pm
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I've had them all, but not the latest tents. I've had a folding camper pennine pathfinder largest FC you can buy. Pretty much caravan on bottom tent on top, owned 3 years and had some excellent times. Then it rained when putting away, not much fun. Just upgraded to a posh caravan, but feels like the camping feeling has gone which I loved. But now I can go all year round, quicker to set up no more weather watching. But no comes the expense of storage at £500 a year.

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GCMS2012

14/1/2016 at 11:26pm
Location: Northumberland
Outfit: Knaus Sudwind 550 TK

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£500 for storage!!!???

Surely there's cheaper and still be CASSOA gold standard??

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jaqugra

15/1/2016 at 12:04am
Location: North Lincolnshire
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We have had a caravan for the last 8 years after a few years tenting. The only reason we bought one was to extend the season to all year round. The advantage to towing something with its own toilet and shower opens up a broader range of options to what you can do which is greater than just an extended season. If you want to go away for a weekend and you can manage without an awning, don't take one. You can be set up in half an hour and don't need to worry about wet kit. If you have children it is worth trying rallying, you and your kids will love it and you will soon be booking very cheap breaks cheaper than tenting on a site with facilities. Go for it

feeblecat

15/1/2016 at 7:04am
Location: Scotland
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Quote: Originally posted by MrT007 on 14/1/2016
I've had them all, but not the latest tents. I've had a folding camper pennine pathfinder largest FC you can buy. Pretty much caravan on bottom tent on top, owned 3 years and had some excellent times. Then it rained when putting away, not much fun. Just upgraded to a posh caravan, but feels like the camping feeling has gone which I loved. But now I can go all year round, quicker to set up no more weather watching. But no comes the expense of storage at £500 a year.

The camping "feel" doesn't need to go with a caravan. It really is a mindset. We spend most of our time sitting outside, even in the cold, all wrapped up or in the awning if it's wet with one end of the awning open unless it's windy. We barbeque most nights, watch the tv once in a blue moon preferring to play cards or scrabble and generally still do what we did when we had the tent. It does need the mindset to do it though as the inside of the caravan can be very tempting. We fell for that before with our last caravan but 3 years down the line with this one we still "camp". The difference is the cosy bed and we can go inside if the weather is dire without worrying about drying stuff off.

homebird2003

15/1/2016 at 7:41am
Location: Southampton
Outfit: Elddis Magnum 505 Conway Countryman

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Quote: Originally posted by GCMS2012 on 14/1/2016

£500 for storage!!!???

Surely there's cheaper and still be CASSOA gold standard??

Everything seems to be more expensive here in the South

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Homebird

Nutkins

15/1/2016 at 9:00am
Location: Bradford
Outfit: Swift Charisma 06 - Passat Est 2.0 140

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Changed over in 2013 after been soaked wet through too many times to remember in the tent. We absolutely love it especially the nice bed, heater and toilet!!
You do need to consider storage and servicing, although we have ours done every other year i still check tyre condition and pressures regularly.
Met a small family this year who'd bought van and everything for £500 just to try it, which is probably the best idea, even if you can't sell it afterwards. Hard bit is finding something. For more expensive vans I'd get it checked by an engineer. If its all good at least you'll able to sell easily if you don't take to it.

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Inner Zone

15/1/2016 at 9:31am
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Quote: Originally posted by GCMS2012 on 14/1/2016

£500 for storage!!!???

Surely there's cheaper and still be CASSOA gold standard??

Well mines £504 per year also in the south.

OP I went from a trailer tent to a caravan and now a tent and caravan, tent is useful for one night stays during the summer and those far away, caravan for multiple night stays local and far away.

Jimmijemz

15/1/2016 at 9:36am
Location: Somerset
Outfit: Kalahari

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The one I've seen is a 5birth (perfect with 5 of us) for £1,400 they say they don't know how old it is & said it has no damp (a couple of small things need fixing -skylight and the arm on a window).
We wouldn't need to store it, it would be kept on the drive & I'd just park in the street, no problem.

Would we use it much in winter? Only in February & maybe October for a maximum one week each, as I can't take time off work during December or part of January.

Though it would be a benefit my main reasons probably would be quick set up, not needing drying out & not worrying about what to leave behind when it doesn't all fit in the car/trailer/roofbox.

Hubby is thinking more against a van due to costs. Which is also my main worry.

Our smaller (still got 4 double bedrooms) tent takes just over 30 minutes to erect.
Our new huge tent (which better meets our needs, particularly with the porch) cost me around £500 and took us around 2-3hours to erect. Taking down was done partly the night before but needed laying out to dry on getting home. I know air tents are quick to erect but the layouts don't meet our needs/wants (neither do most tents actually).

Servicing every other year? Hmmm that would make it more affordable.
We live in a tiny town too, so I think a van would need towing at least an hour each way just to get it serviced- no big deal when it's once in a blue moon mind.
Haha yes everything is more expensive down south- I hadn't realised how much do until we moved here! 😀

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Jimmijemz

Jimmijemz

15/1/2016 at 9:44am
Location: Somerset
Outfit: Kalahari

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& ive seen people asking for paperwork (cris I think was used a few times) for vans & turning them down when there isn't any. Any ideas what that's about please?

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Jimmijemz

Nutkins

15/1/2016 at 10:11am
Location: Bradford
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No need for towing to service, use a mobile engineer.
To be honest £1400 is not a lot for van, see if you can get a warranty with it and get a mobile engineer to check it over, money well spent. DON'T just trust what they say.
You should be able to find age by googling van your interested in and CRIS is registration scheme similar to car/vehicle reg/log book showing previous owners and such.
Set up not including emptying the car is usually about 20mins. You can't just pile everything in the caravan need to keep lid on laden weight. Another half hour for lightweight awning (390 style) easy to dry if packed up wet.

We have our van at home and get a lot use here as well with it being plugged in. Family slept in it at christmas!!

Since 2013 we've had one service (£120) due another this year, and i had to replace electric pump (£14.99) in the toilet.

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Opensauce

15/1/2016 at 10:47am
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Cris is similar to hpi for cars except cris is a voluntary registration system. Important if you are buying a more recent caravan but a £1400 caravan probably has not had records updated so I wouldn't bother provided you are buying from seller's home address.

You do really need to check it carefully for damp yourself though & be aware that a caravan of this price will always be an ongoing project on which you will need to be doing minor repairs etc on a diy basis.

You will probably need to budget for new tyres if age of current tyres is uncertain as over about 5yrs old they could be perished & fail at motorway speeds despite having plenty of tread.

If you can diy interior then chassis service from mobile fitter £80+parts will be sufficient to ensure running gear is in good repair.

If you are collecting caravan from some distance away take a wheel brace to check wheel nuts & a tyre pump to check tyre pressures or pull into nearest services after collection to check pressures there.

TravellinPam

15/1/2016 at 11:44am
Location: County Armagh
Outfit: Hobby 700

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you might find you will use a caravan more than you think, spur of the moment weekends etc., regardless of weather, so will get more 'value' for your outlay. With a little bit of nohow and all the good advice and guidance on here, you would probably service it yourself as it would be well out of warranty and not require dealer servicing. Borrow or buy a dampmeter to check out the van you're interested in. Again advice on here about how to use one and where to look. You could buy an inexpensive porch awning at first to store wellie boots, wet clothing etc. The big advantages are: Warm, dry, cosy nights and bedding, fewer insect problems, fridge/freezer always on, no need to pack/unpack all your utensils, bedding, clothes into car, more room in car,less time setting up camp/ de camping and more time for fun/relaxing, and its a lot quieter inside a caravan. Disadvantges: bit more costly to tow, ferry, you have to travel a bit slower, you probably have much more room in your 5 bed tent for the whole family than in a caravan - you might find this the biggest compromise.

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richardandjo2010

15/1/2016 at 1:32pm
Location: essex
Outfit: Swift Challenger 570

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The price sounds ok £1400 don't go far these days but it is likely to have faults and if its damp then walk away. Its a little concerning about unknown age it should be on the chassis plate and also on the corner of the windows, however if you can get me the make and model and a good description of the colours internally and externally I may be able to work out the age within a year or 2.I don't know who has said service every 2 yrs but don't do it once a year to stay safe both for you and your family as well as other campers and road users. Also if you park your car in the street it may increase your insurance. Furthermore caravans are not designed to just load up as much as you wish there is a payload which must be adhered to and with 5 people in the gang you could soon swallow this up. I am sorry if I sound like I have put a dampner on things but its best to know and be clear before you part with your hard earnt cash

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its our imperfections that makes us perfect

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