Caravan to Motorhome (1 Viewer)

J&J

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Sep 15, 2008
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My hubby and I have enjoyed caravanning for the past 5-6 years but for various reasons are now thinking of trading in the caravan for a motorhome and would love to hear from anyone that has done the same and how it has worked out for them? i.e did you get away more? travel further? pros and cons between the two? Thanks.
 

Ash

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Hi J&J we changed from a caravan to a motorhome 3 yrs ago , it was the best thing we did :Smile: we find it so much easier especially if you arrive late somewhere , there is no seting up to do :Smile: we use our motorhome every weekend and have travelled a lot in Europe , stopping over on camping aires , they are half he price of a campsite , some with lovely views, Go for it you certainly wont regret it :thumb::thumb:

Ash :thumb:
 
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JayDee

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Oct 7, 2007
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7 Years after 5 years with caravan.
We went from Caravan to Motorhome nearly six years ago.

Do we get away more? Yes:thumb:
Further? Yes:thumb:
Cheaper? No.:Sad:

Pros Caravan: Cheaper to buy. More living space per foot of length. Always have readily available transport.
Cons Caravan: Need a vehicle that is capable of towing your van. Towing is a skill that needs to be learned, and some people never do. Loading the caravan correctly is an art. Reversing a caravan (and at some point you will probably have to) is a skill that some never acquire.
Pros Motorhome: Quicker to get ready for a trip. If you want to move on, just do it. You have all you need right there just behind your seat. Much more flexible and (depending on size) can reach places that a caravan can't. Night stopping is a doddle. Don't need a special vehicle to tow it - it IS the special vehicle.
Cons Motorhome: Need to stay within walking distance of one or more of the following - shop, pub, public transport, town - or have a toad. May not be easy to park in some towns. Maybe more expensive to run than a car/caravan combination. Sometimes levelling can be a pain.

It is probably true that caravanners tend to choose a site, pitch and stay there for a week or two, whereas motorhomers tend to stay at one place for just a few days, then move on to another place.

There will, of course be other opinions. These are the points that occured to me, and I may think of a few more later.:Smile:


John

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paulmold

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We caravanned for 25 years and swopped over at the beginning of last year. We had to keep the caravan in storage, so had to transport all our gear down to the storage site before going away. Now we can keep the MH at home as it is only 5.5 metres, load up at home and if my wife is not working over a weekend, just go away at short notice. We used the caravan for a fortnight summer holiday and maybe two seperate weeks but never bothered with weekends away. During our first year with the MH, we had a two week break, two one week breaks and six weekends. This year we will do more. Definitely no regrets.
 
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chrisboyo

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Aug 5, 2009
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Hi
We swapped our caravan for a motorhome 2 years ago
We find it a lot easier when touring both home & abroad
5 weeks France 2009, 6 weeks Italy 2010
used aires and minicipal sites
We find our electric bicycles very handy and we usualy stay 1-3 days explore the area on the bikes then move on, sometime just a few miles down the road
Being caravaners does help when chooseing a motorhome
Things to look for are,
What size MH do you think you need? 6 - 7 meters is about right for us 2
How many beds and do you have to make them up each night
What storage is there, you dont want to have all your kit in you living space!
Depanding on your budget, it is usualy prefered to but a used MH as you would possabley get lots of extras that you would have to add to a new one

Go to as many MH shows as you can and look at loads, then when you think you have found the one you like, go over to where all the visiting motorhomers are parked and ask the owners of the same, what they think of it
Thats what we diid and it worked for us
Happy Daze
Chrisboyo n Liz:thumb:
 
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J&J

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Thanks guys. My main hope with it is that it would be easier to get away at short notice with a motorhome and that we would travel more and perhaps further afield which you all seem to agree with. The other half has no problem with towing at all but I am nervous of it but feel confident enough to drive a motorhome which in my opinion would also make travelling a lot easier if we could share the driving or he's too tired after driving a lorry all day to get away on a friday night for the weekend. Have already seen "the one" (Autotrail Chieftain 2006) Tag axle, fixed bed, seperate shower, L shaped lounge and overhead storage instead of overhead bed. Although would love to hear from anyone if they know of another make with the same layout to give us more options when we finally make the plunge!

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Mixter

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Dec 2, 2009
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Now a year - cant believe it!
I dont think you can beat the U shaped lounge, personaly. Once you get down the far end with a glass in hand and maybe a couple of friends, its like being in your front room (yes, our front room is a lot bigger in reality!)
No doors, sinks, loos, cookers etc etc. breaking up the ambiance!
 
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Nov 30, 2009
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Since 2009 with motorhomes several caravans then tents before that.
I agree with everyone else , and here are a few points from me.
We love ours , best thing we did, swapping over. I never tugged but i drive the MH.
We very nearly didn't swap though , as we couldnt believe how much space was taken up in the lounge areas with fixed tables , and cab chairs that didn't swivel round. We also thought a lot of models lacked the build quality. Looking like entry level caravans.
With a family of 5 and 2 dogs it was a big downside.
Having owned caravans , you know which layout suits you, thats a good start when making your choice.
We eventually found ours , and it ticked all our boxes. Apart from the upholstery , and we are having that redone on the 15th of this month. :thumb:

Our MH gets used it the same as the caravan.
Most weekends Fri / sat night rallying , the odd week here and there in the school holidays and long Fri to Mon bank holiday weekends.
We've decided to still do our main holidays the aeroplane way. Being stuck to just 2 weeks.
When its just us two, and Ralph's retired , it will be a different story.
France, Spain, Italy, Greece here we come something to look forward to. Spending the kids inheritance:ROFLMAO:

We've enjoy doing the odd 1 nighter without the kids too , going to a favorite village pub of ours for a meal , the landlady kindly lets us stay overnight in the car park.
Something you wouldn't do with the caravan.

Also going to Burnsal and the like , just for a day trip by the river, with friends in there cars . Having a big BBQ . Fridge loo water shower etc all to hand .
We very rarely use hook up , having a good solar panel fixed to the roof , and good batteries. Having everything on board and just arriving and switching on a couple of switches is great. Especially if its chucking it down:winky:

I can honestly say , the only negative for us is not being able to go on soggy fields .
I know there is usually a friendly caravaner who would pull us off, its happened in the past . But it does stop us going to certain places at certain times of the year.
But apart from that. :thumb:::bigsmile::winky:
Bev
 
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weekenders

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We used to be caravaners quite some years ago and find motorhome's much easier, no fetching water or putting legs down on caravan.

if it's raining you don't even need to get out the camper, everything all on board.

so much easier in europe, some free aires and some you pay a few euros, roads are quieter than uk as well.

go on go for it, you know you want one :thumb:
 
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