Back to a Tourer again? (1 Viewer)

Dave and Ginny

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We love our old Hymer to bits...but as we get older the question of how to be mobile once at your destination would seem to be resolved by towing!

Ginny can no longer use her bike safely due to a medical condition that sadly now makes it just plain dangerous for her to risk using it. Having Wintered in Spain for the first time 2015/16 we know that we want to be heading for the sun again later this year. I've considered a smart car, but the issues of towing in Spain with car and trailer which you then have to find space on a pitch for seem less than ideal. We also end up leaving a car sat on the drive at home costing us money and rapidly depreciating.

We had a quick look at around a local Caravan dealer yesterday and were quite pleasantly surprised by what is available at reasonable prices. A couple of Sterlings were particularly nice with fixed beds and what seemed like huge bathrooms. It seems you could pick something quite reasonable up for about 12k and just a few years old.

I'm less convinced about this than Ginny; but I cannot deny that logic would seem to suggest it would be better for us. I reckon I could pick up a decent van and choose a suitable tow car for something under 30k without too much difficulty.

Am I going mad or what?
 

Phillybarbour

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Of course your not mad, your choosing the option that best suits your needs. To me they are not the same thing anyway. Motorhome for touring around, Caravan for staying is sites.

ps had a caravan for 10 years before motorhomes.

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Chris

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It makes sense I think as long as you are ok about towing. I have thoughts along the same lines for when I retire but I think I will store the van abroad to save all the tugging.
 

Mel

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Just done the same.
I miss the motorhome but spending more & more time on campings .

Might buy a Mercdes Marco Polo to have he best of both worlds.

Enjoy whatever is best for you.
Mel

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injebreck99

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We have done both and it is horses for courses, whatever works for you, I did not enjoy the towing experience and all the faff of setting up and clearing away, especially in the rain, but a caravan was better when set up and the tow car was there to use.
I really enjoy driving our motorhome, and the minimal set up time, so will stick with it until our priorities change.
 
Feb 22, 2014
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We deliberated for a long time as to which would suit us better. In the end the MH won as dealing with water and waste is easier in a MH as is setting up. So far it's been good. Will know more after our Polish trip. Whatever you choose, be happy.
 
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Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

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I've had a couple of tourers in the past, a Compass and a Swift and I was never unhappy towing or reversing. Might be a bit different now I'm getting older but the motor mover seems to have made pitching up a bit easier these days.

Yes, the faffing about putting corner steadies down, aqua roles etc do put me off I must admit. More so the loading issues with all the stuff that needs to go into the towing vehicle. The load limits are quite off-putting as well and on the vans we looked at averaged around 200kg :eek:.

On the plus side there seemed to be lots of internal space on vans of only about 7m length and the layouts were very welcoming. There seemed less variation with internal layouts than for a motorhome...so choosing would seem to be a bit easier.

Need to look into the construction side of things...some (we were told by a salesman) now apparently use a wood free construction method.

Lots to think about. Thanks for the feedback...more positive comments than I was expecting!

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Debs

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We had caravans for 20 odd years but love the mh....wouldn't want to change back but would if need be.

Good point about the renting an apartment if it's mainly for winter in Spain, I think @simsy56 has gone down that route :)

Main thing is - enjoy!
 
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We have already used airbnb when the kids visited and just chose one where there was parking for us. Very cheap compared to any other rented accommodation.
 

scotjimland

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.some (we were told by a salesman) now apparently use a wood free construction method.

Bailey now employ a wood free construction called Alu-Tech http://www.baileyalu-tech.co.uk

Personally I'd be looking at continental vans such as made by Hymer / Eriba ...


Many years ago my dad had an Eriba Puck.. tiny little van .. we used it a few times and were amazed at how easy it towed, lots of for space on such a small van.. but no toilet or shower.. and too small for long term..

Dutch built caravans are also well worth considering..

would stay well away from anything with a timber frame..

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Forestboy

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Not mad just accepting change and adapting.
Must admit we keep looking at caravans, can see us eventually ending up with one especially when we start to stay at one place longer.
Motorhome works at the moment as we are constantly moving but if that changes caravan makes much more sense.
Good Luck (y)
 

MC 55 FUN

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Maybe think about hiring a car having travelled to your destination (s) in the MH ?

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Franck

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Dave

You have to go with what suits you all year round.

Winter - your tow car will still have to be on the pitch at most campsites. A smart car for example and a small trailer will take up not much more room than a largish tow car, especially if you get a folding trailer.

Summer - think of those summer days in Shetland, parked up by a gorgeous view in your motorhome!

Could you not just downsize your one car to a small car for year round use?

On the point of renting at your destination, you can get an annual car hire policy for £41.99 from www.insurance4carhire.com which saves you the expensive insurance add-ons.
 
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We tugged between 1970 and 1987, hired motorhomes between 1990 and 1997 when I bought the VW LT which made way for the Hymer 694 when I retired in 2003. We have had the RV for the last 5 years and recently started to consider what we would do when we get 'old' - I am nearly 70! I take the medical every year for work so no immediate problem but one day . . . . .

We thought about selling and going to someone else's caravan, cottage or boat but, when you have 3 dogs, that gets expensive so we talked about going back to a caravan. Drew up a shortlist of both cars and 'vans but could not find a 'van that suited except for the latest Sprite Quattro and I don't want to buy new.

Last month I mentioned to Hil that it might be a good idea, if we saw what we wanted, to buy the car so that we could enjoy it. My thinking was that I do not want to sell the RV and if we wait until we have to we might decide to give up completely. Sounds daft but I reasoned that if we returned to tugging early we might continue into our 80s but if we left it until later I might just by a 'pavement racer'!

Just after the discussion a friend mentioned that he was selling his immaculate, but high mileage, Volvo XC90 fitted with all the bells and whistles and towing kit so we now had the car.

An in depth discussion with a very helpful caravan dealer and a lengthy internet search found a 2011 Elddis Odyssey 656 that meets our needs. Purchased yesterday for collection mid June. As our is already occupied by our daughter's caravan, the RV, Smart and a taxi plus the new (to us) Volvo it will be quite busy when the Odyssey arrives. Daughter is selling her old 'van as she can use ours as we do not go away when school is out and I must now clean up the RV-Smart combo ready for sale.

Happy days but still living the dream and feel happier to have jumped before being pushed.

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Bailey58

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Same with us, no problems abroad where we usually move on except our two weeks in Interlaken where we bought a pass and used local transport. We've just stayed for a week in north Devon and rented a car so we could get to places we failed to reach last time we were there. Cheap enough from Enterprise and they pick you up but gets a bit pricey for any longer especially if you fancy sitting in the sun for a day or two and the car sits idle.
 
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Sorry to hear Ginny is struggling, send her our love.

Never having owned or even considered a caravan, can't say much about them.
The important thing is to do whatever suits you both the best, getting the most out of life which ever way works.
The idea of hiring a car once at site seems a good one though, maybe one to try first even for a Uk trip?
Things have a way of working out, I'm sure which ever route you take.

Lin :)
 
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Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

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Sorry to hear Ginny is struggling, send her our love. Lin :)

Thanks Lin, have passed that on and trust you and Nigel are both well and good.

Ginny is not struggling as such, latest meds are helping very well indeed. The bike issue is mostly down to her balance is not so good and a bit wobbly and I don't want her falling off!

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Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

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Lots of excellent replies thank you all. More food for thought and options.

The car hire in Spain being a very good option. We were hearing about some crazy low prices for monthly hire from Alicante airport.

@phil1946 Yes I quite like the idea of a blank sheet and being able to choose the best tow car! I said to Ginny...you can select the van you like if I can have the car I like ;).

The renting idea is another...with maybe a view to purchase in the future!

@Sparkly Mmmm yes I one of the disadvantages...we do enjoy our wild camping in Shetland, off again this July for a month....can be done in a tourer but not so easily!

All excellent food for thought!
 

Lenny HB

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We were tuggers for over 20 years I went right of tugging and all the palaver of setting up on site. We did our first winter away this year and spent 30 days on a site I can see the attraction of a caravan in that situation but we are unlikely to do that again prefer the roaming lifestyle. Unless you are going to stay on a site for more than 7 days caravans are a lot of hassle.

As been mentioned car hire is a good alternative, where we were staying in Portugal car hire was around £5 a day, and of course you could still move site.

If you are going for a caravan have you thought of importing, our last caravan was a Hobby brought in German cost 40% less than UK price but Euro was 1.50/£ at the time. All you have to do is buy it and tow it home as they are treated like ordinary goods in the EU. At least if you bought a Hymer-Eriba or other German van you won't have water ingress problems that are guaranteed with UK built vans.
 

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