motor home v caravan (1 Viewer)

[swanseapete]

I've nearly finished a round trip from Swansea to Javea, Spain and am in Clermond Ferrant at the moment. On the journey I've seen 20 motor homes to 1 caravan, my question is what are the pro's and con's when comparing motor homes and caravans. my wife and myself are contemplating buying something to go long terming and want peoples opinions on the subject please can you help?

 

[vwalan]

hello n welcome is that pete who used to have a merc van? get a 5er saves towing a toad. best not listen to others only 5ers make sense. cheers alan.

 

[N&K]

Hi & welcome

I would imagine most members on this site have weighed up the pro's and con's at some stage. I am sure there is an endless list of pro's and con's but here's a few from us.

For us, the decision was easy. You can park motorhomes places you can’t park caravans, beaches etc for day trips. I go windsurfing and the wife and baby relax in the motorhome. We can easily keep the baby entertained in transit on longer journeys/holidays. I guess the only downside is, when you arrive at your destination you don’t have transport if you get really settled in. We tow a motor bike, others carry scooter or a small car to overcome this. My Mrs is always nipping to the loo in the motorhome while I'm filling up the fuel, hardly ever frequent motorway services now.

Also we can park the motorhome outside the house, but we are not allowed to park a caravan outside the house, it’s in the deeds. Most caravans owners I know (who cant park a caravan on their drive) say....when they decide to go away for the weekend, they have to go and get it out of storage, bring it home, load it, go away, come back , unload, tow it back to storage. In a motorhome you get in it and go!

Everyone is different and you will need to weigh up the pro’s and con’s for your life style. Good Luck, motorhome is the way forward! :thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[lorger]

Hi We have had caravan and now have mh like n&k we use ours for days out as well as holidays. If going abroad with one it is all geared up for mh's with loads of places to park up and empty and refill water and when we are on site we have a drive away awning and it only take about 5 mins for us to get off and on our pitch.

As you mention you see loads of mh's abroad is because its so easy and so much fun.

Gerry

 

[cherok]

Hi there,
Hope you are enjoying The Auvergne, it is one of our favourite places. You should visit Volcanic Park while you're there. Hope weather is better there than back here in Wales?
Anyway, just to say that we have done the caravan bit and bought our motorhome only a few months ago. There is no question, we definitely prefer the motorhome!
Lot less bother and fuss than a caravan. We have been on numerous weekends already and it just seems much easier . We are pitched up and kettle on and feet up before we know it!
Also, we make an effort to stay at a park close to town or village with pub and make use of our bikes. It is a lot less stressful as we always used to jump inthe car and go off driving about which isn't very relaxing.
Well everyone's different I suppose but I don't think you'll be sorry if you decide to go for the motorhome.
Enjoy your holiday

 

[geoff1947]

Motor homes

My motorhome sits on my drive & when I get homesick I go and sit in it for a while. Can't do that when your caravan is locked in a storeage site. Been back a week and can't wait to get away again. France and Spain mid Nov-April (Back in time to vote in the general election. GOOD BYE GORDON!! :thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Caztur]

I just got fed up with all the hitching & unhitching malarkey, towing mirrors, corner steadies and all that.

My little van will go anywhere a car can. Stopping at Macdonalds etc for a bite en route was at times quite interesting with a caravan oin the back.

 

[Boo]

I just got fed up with all the hitching & unhitching malarkey, towing mirrors, corner steadies and all that.

My little van will go anywhere a car can. Stopping at Macdonalds etc for a bite en route was at times quite interesting with a caravan oin the back.

More interesting than eating a lung burger, have you forgotten who gave money to the IRA when they was on their bombing rounds? or forgot the program showing you what went into one of their burgers??

Getting back to the subject after you went n made me vomit, I've been a tugger for years but had my eyes opened some 19yrs ago when I bought an american motorhome, I am now on my 3rd and loving it. :thumb:

Boo

 

[tony morris]

caravan or motorhome

Hi i think it is peronal choice we have just sold our m/h going back to a caravan pick up this friday 9th oct my dream was when i retired nearly three years ago was to have a m/h every time you go away be it a long weekend or longer the wife had to take her car so as we could get out and about shopping etc trice the amount of fuel and running cost i could have towed the car with the m/h as you know? you can only tow a maxium speed 60 mph and not aloud in the outside lane you put up a m/h awning if you use one the tunnel side flaps about on the side of the m/h used to keep me awake half the night the rain running inside everything gets wet wth a caravan awning fitting close to the side you are nice and cosey we find we have a lot more room with a caravan and awning if the grandchildren come away with us we can put up a tall annexe on the side with inner tent just like home from home the caravan being a 4 berth fixed double bed and the front bed making it into 6' 10''x4' 10'' a 115ltr fridge with full width freezer the latest toilet when you empty the waste tank it as wheels and a pull out handle making it easey for me as i have a bad heart and back i know a lot of you will think you have more room with a r/v or m/h at a lot more running costs diesel extra insurance etc tony

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[barryd]

If you are going long term and want to move about every few days then its a no brainer. Buy a motorhome. We spent 3 months in Europe this summer and only 2 nights on a campsite. If you reckon £20 per night for campsite fees thats around £1800 saved. Its not the money saving for us though but the freedom of parking pretty much where you like (within reason).

If your only going to use it twice a year for a holiday and the odd weekend and like to be on campsites, buy a caravan.

 

[vwalan]

well all i can say is you,ve all convinsed me a 5er is the way to go . am glad i have one .towing cars .flapping awnings . made the right decision 10 yr ago .wont find me pulling a caravan duhhhhhhh
cheers alan.

 

[Caztur]

More interesting than eating a lung burger, have you forgotten who gave money to the IRA when they was on their bombing rounds? or forgot the program showing you what went into one of their burgers??



Boo

Don't tell me, tell the kids.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[JeanLuc]

Motorhome - or not?

Last year I wrote a guide for a friend who was considering buying a motorhome. Whilst I cannot put the whole document in the public domain as I do not own copyright in many of the photos it contains, I repeat below the chapter on choosing and buying in case it gives you useful food for thought.

Good luck with the decision - Philip

Choosing and buying
Firstly, decide whether you want a motorhome. This may seem an odd question, but if your usage is limited to the UK and you want to stay on one campsite for a whole holiday, you will be better off with a caravan. You can buy a new caravan and tow-car for less than a good three to four-year-old German A-class. The UK is relatively motorhome unfriendly and lacks the aires that are found throughout the continent. The UK does however, have small 5-van sites for members of the Camping & Caravan Club and the Caravan Club. These usually charge £5-£10 per night. Once over the Channel the picture changes and the motorhome is king. Caravans are not the first choice.
So if you have jumped the first hurdle, you must next consider how and when you will use your motorhome and how many people you need to transport and sleep. For example, if you are outdoor types, you may want to trade-off lounging comfort for storage and sleeping space. Alternatively, if you want space to watch TV or just ‘chill’, then you will probably put a higher priority on large settees and plenty of sitting space. Are you more likely to tour with short stops where you rely on the van for everything, or go to a fully-serviced campsite and pitch for several days? The former will place greater importance on the shower room whilst the latter means you will have access to showers, laundry etc. Observations have been made earlier concerning sleeping arrangements for children and the importance of seatbelts.
If you intend to travel extensively on the continent it is worth considering a left-hand-drive vehicle. It is much easier to get used to LHD in the UK where you can compensate for the right-hand or offside blind-spot than it is to drive RHD ‘over there’. Being on the ‘wrong’ side of a large vehicle in a strange road system may be harder to come to terms with. To make life even easier, a LHD motorhome with automatic gearbox is an ideal choice, even though you will lose a little in fuel consumption. But if that small difference is important, you probably should reconsider the whole subject anyway. Expect to get 23-28 mpg of diesel provided you take it steadily. There are reports of people getting 30 mpg or more, but I would not rely on achieving that. N.b. large US RVs manage around 8-16 mpg (petrol-diesel).
Go to shows, read magazines, join forums and visit a lot of dealers. Some dealers have outstanding reputations, others have been the subject of extensive ‘forum moaning’. Make sure you feel really comfortable with any dealer before you buy. They should make time to help you and be prepared to answer a lot of questions. You will probably have to go back to them with questions and to get a few things fixed after purchase. But you do not have to use them for servicing, unless you have a new van with warranty conditions attached.

 

[Jim]

I've nearly finished a round trip from Swansea to Javea, Spain and am in Clermond Ferrant at the moment. On the journey I've seen 20 motor homes to 1 caravan, my question is what are the pro's and con's when comparing motor homes and caravans. my wife and myself are contemplating buying something to go long terming and want peoples opinions on the subject please can you help?

In France the Camping Car is King. Caravans are the poor relations and not even allowed to use the Aires network. But this time of year in the UK you will always see more motorhomes. Get it right and you can jump in the motorhome on the spur of the moment, grab some fresh provisions on the way and you are off. If you haven't got a site planned you can camp almost anywhere. Caravanners tend to plan well ahead for the trip away, spend a few days getting ready, then go through the palaver of hooking up and towing. So its rare for a tugger to just pop off somewhere for the weekend.

To appreciate the problem tuggers face just watch Motorhomers and tuggers at a motorway service station; the motorhomer will probably only get out to exercise a dog or get a paper. All refreshment and food will be prepared and eaten in the motorhome. The tugger will eat in the services restaurant as (usually) they cannot get in the caravan until they get on site. Caravans normally only have one locker which houses the gas so the interior is full of water containers, waste water trolleys, awning, chairs picnic table etc. This is a big barrier to use, which is why most caravans sit empty for 50 weeks a year.

If you have just one or two trips away, then get a caravan, if you fancy lots of trips, summer and winter, then you need a motorhome.