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 Topic: Changing From A Motorhome To Caravan?
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22/5/2020 at 1:49pm
Location: Midlands
Outfit: 2019 VW Arteon + 2002 Avondale Dart
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Back to Sue's OP. These are the reasons a caravan works for us:
- The sort of holidays we like are those where we can find somewhere nice to stay and then explore as much of our surroundings as we reasonably can. Therefore it suits us much better to park a caravan on a nice site, leave it there for up to a week and go off in the car whenever it suits us. With a motorhome you're more restricted on the places you can visit outside your site, unless you can use public transport or tow a car behind it (but you already know the problems associated with that).
- Costs. Our old caravan cost us £3k 4 years ago, after which we spent £600 or so on new tyres, battery and other accessories. The only costs since then have been £150/year on servicing and £50/year on insurance. (Oh, and £100 for a new valve in the water system - ouch.) But we've towed it to France, Switzerland, Ireland, Edinburgh, North Wales, Dorset and Cornwall to name but a few. Somehow I don't think we'd have got a motorhome capable of all those journeys for that sort of money.
(And yes, I know a tent is even cheaper but that doesn't have heating, hot water, comfy seats or a shower, all of which help when the British summer is doing its thing and it's cold and rainy outside. The caravan does.)
What might be the biggest downsides are that, compared to a motorhome, pitching up a caravan will take longer and involve more physical effort. You may also need to change your car to something capable of towing it.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
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"Don't wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect."
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22/5/2020 at 2:45pm
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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I still say that caravans reached a peak in their development in the mid-80s. Before that there was often no hot water or shower, no mains electric, and often gas lighting, except maybe in some top-of-the-range models. Since the mid-80s the most significant changes have been to styling. Apart from possibly air-con and a microwave, I can't think of anything the very latest caravans have that our 1992 one doesn't. It even has motor movers, but of course they could have been retro-fitted.
The thing that takes the longest with our caravan is the awning, but we only bother with that if we are going to be on a site at least a week. Without the awning, setting it up and levelling it takes minutes, and I have seen people with a motorhome take longer, especially if the ground is a bit uneven. With a motorhome having at least 4 wheels, levelling it both side to side and front to back can be tricky unless you have the luxury of hydraulic jacks. A caravan is much easier on uneven surfaces. A ramp under one wheel, then adjust fore and aft with the jockey wheel. Drop the jacks (I use an electric drill) and you're done.
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Best Regards,
Colin
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 via mobile 23/5/2020 at 9:21pm
Location: Yorkshire
Outfit: None Entered
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As has already been suggested, look at Hymer Nova caravans. They're heavy beasts but beautifully engineered and (IMHO) knock spots off their British counterparts.
I'd suggest you avoid the 570 though, or any similar layout current model. It's very long for a single axle and - if you check out reviews - some had a problem with creasing over the door. I went to buy a used one once, a lovely van but there was the telltale door crease, so I refused it. The private seller subsequently took it in to a dealer to trade it in and rang me to say "You were right"; the van had effectively broken its back and it was rendered virtually valueless.
Don't let this tale put you off though. We've had 4 Hymer Nova vans over the years (as well as Elddis, Bailey and Tec - none of them any competition) and they've been great. In fact, we bought our first Hymer back in 2004, after viewing one on the pitch next to us when we were camping on the west coast of France. We were in our Bailey Senator Montana (jaffa orange upholstery, narrow bunk beds, fitted carpets) so the Hymer was a bit of a revelation. We sold the Bailey when we got back and bought our first Hymer.
The models have gone through some drastic changes since then but the build quality remains good (except for that over-long 570!😉).
We've dabbled with all sorts of camping units over the years. If we were ever to buy another caravan, it would be another Hymer. But you do need a hefty tow car as the MTPLM of most is around 1800kg.
Best of luck with whatever you decide. Variety is the spice of life and a change is as good as a rest, to quote two handy proverbs! 
Post last edited on 23/05/2020 21:26:38
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