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01/6/2023 at 10:35am
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Was looking around one at the weekend. Surprised to find it had loo/shower in there. Not for us, but certainly one up from a tent. If a travelling bed/loo/shower is all you need. And/or your car isnt huge.
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01/6/2023 at 12:13pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Friends have a fairly vintage (circa 80's?) Romini style micro van, and have owned for years, they're both pretty big people and have a couple of Border Collie dogs, they seem to get along with it OK. I've never been away with them, so can't say how they cope with the lack of space/facilities though. It has all the appearances of being literally a 'tin tent', well GRP tent, or as close as it's possible to be.
When looking for caravans a few years back when deciding to upgrade from tents, I looked at everything from folding campers upwards, visited shows and dealers forecourts to get hands on experience. Folding campers seemed like too much effort, my experience of pop-tops like the Eriba was that it was claustrophobic when standing with your head in pop-top and looked like using the kitchen was awkward! Folding caravans like Gobur are VERY expensive for the minimalist fittings, like only 2 burner cooker without oven, tiniest of loos (but option so only on some), no shower etc. Decided anything with a compact bathroom - shower over loo (shower curtains and wet loo floors etc.!) folding basins etc., were really not for me, I'm a big bloke, I don't want to be banging my elbows on everything around me and wrapped like a mummy in a wet shower curtain!
After much consideration figured that if going to suffer the disadvantages of towing anything, restricted speeds, difficulty parking, maintenance and upkeep, storage etc., them might as well go the whole hog and get a 'proper' fully fitted caravan with all the conveniences of home, that's what I did and have not regretted that decision once.
Some advantages to mini vans at least in theory, easier to tow, but then I've had no problems with my large 4 berth van, generally lighter so may suit a smaller tow car, but then my full sized 4 berth van is only 1310Kg MTPLM, lower profile may give better fuel economy, but I've got a tall MPV that does a good job of breaking the air in front of van and returns very good economy, easier to store, but then I pay for a storage pitch regardless of what I put on it. IMHO think many of the so called advantages are theoretical or marginal, and possible offset by the compromises they bring.
A mini van probably requires more thought than a full sized one, you are going to be sacrificing a few things, and possibly more cramped, can you enjoy that lifestyle? - It wasn't for me, but others may be happy with it.
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01/6/2023 at 1:30pm
Location: Warwickshire
Outfit: Gobur Clubman
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Happy with our gobur, easy to store and tow, we had folding campers previously which we loved but were harder to keep warm in the cooler times, there disadvantages to all size vans so it is what suits the individuals, like others we started in tents and have progressed to a bit more comfort, we have a 3 burner hob and a grill but we carry a mini oven with us so no disadvantage there, we don’t have a shower but then quite a lot of caravanners don’t use their own facilities so no difference there, horses for courses comes to mind.
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01/6/2023 at 7:23pm
Location: Essex
Outfit: None Entered
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Quote: Originally posted by starcraft on 01/6/2023
I've had two Freedom microlites, 2 and 4 berth and loved them both. Wished I'd kept them instead of moving to full size with all the damp problems the micros don't suffer with. Trouble is they have become very expensive now in comparison to when I bought mine.
I must admit i look at the Freedom range on a regular basis, think they look great.
May be tempted for a new one once i can justify the expence when i retire.
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16/6/2023 at 10:11pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Trigano 340 Air 4
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Depends how "mini" you mean - some of the Trigano poptops eg Silver 270 are small and light. I have a slightly larger 340. As with most things in life - smaller means compromising on certain things eg no shower (or very small shower) or toilet may be tiny (try sitting on one and see if there is room to pull up your trousers. less storage space and less carrying capacity.
The plus side - easier to tow, you don't need a big towing vehicle for the odd occasions when you need it and its less intrusive if you are storing on your drive. Also as electric vehicles increase, there may be a bigger demand for smaller caravans to eek out their range.
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Topic: Mini Caravans
via mobile 01/6/2023 at 9:28am
