Motorhomes v. Caravans (1 Viewer)

Touchwood

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First let me say that I'm sure this is not a new topic on here - but I have searched and cannot find a thread that addresses this query. So with due apologies if covering old ground.........

Can anyone explain to me exactly what it is that makes motorhomes more attractive (to some) than caravans?

This has puzzled me for some time - to be absolutely clear, I'm firmly in the motorhome camp, wouldn't consider a caravan of my own, the idea just has no attraction for me - but I really can't explain why, even to myself.

Is it the freedom of not towing something behind you? What about toads?

It's certainly not the cost - I'd guess that many motorhomers own a car as well, OK it's got to be big enough to tow a caravan but the total cost must be less for a car/caravan.

It can't be the comfort - pretty equivalent I'd guess, with maybe the edge going to caravans for a little more space in the same length.

I've a few other ideas, but for now I'll leave it to you to see if anyone can come up with a clear-cut advantage that justifies a motorhome - or maybe we should all go out and buy caravans? :Eeek:
 

GJH

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In our case it was simply the fact that we had never towed anything and didn't feel comfortable with doing so. Our large vehicle experience was confined to driving hire vans from time to time.

However, it is possible that in time we will need the different flexibility that having a caravan provides by having a car to use as an alternative to walking/cycling/public transport. Having had the MH for 5 years plus we would now feel more confidant about towing - and would certainly prefer a caravan to giving up altogether.
 

chatter

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Horses for courses

some folk like to park up in a layby or field gate and are quite happy, for them its usually a small/medium size motorhome and due to having waste and water tanks plus the advantage of being able to move reletively quickly if they have to. Basically with a motorhome most dont park up more than a day as they use it to tour

others like to relax more and feel more secure so they use sites, for these either a larger motorhome or caravan is the norm so that they have space to relax fully, they usually have the use of a vehicle which they use to tour round the area they are in for a few days before moving on.

Both caravans and motorhomes have improved dramatically over the last few years and are no longer a basic tin box with somewhere to sleep, they are comfy and warm, with new caravans also having an onboard fresh water tank all be it a small one compared to some in some motorhomes

If you have a decent size car you can buy a top end caravan for less than a basic entry model motorhome.

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RKE

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First let me say that I'm sure this is not a new topic on here - but I have searched and cannot find a thread that addresses this query. So with due apologies if covering old ground.........

Can anyone explain to me exactly what it is that makes motorhomes more attractive (to some) than caravans?

This has puzzled me for some time - to be absolutely clear, I'm firmly in the motorhome camp, wouldn't consider a caravan of my own, the idea just has no attraction for me - but I really can't explain why, even to myself.

Is it the freedom of not towing something behind you? What about toads?

It's certainly not the cost - I'd guess that many motorhomers own a car as well, OK it's got to be big enough to tow a caravan but the total cost must be less for a car/caravan.

It can't be the comfort - pretty equivalent I'd guess, with maybe the edge going to caravans for a little more space in the same length.

I've a few other ideas, but for now I'll leave it to you to see if anyone can come up with a clear-cut advantage that justifies a motorhome - or maybe we should all go out and buy caravans? :Eeek:

For us it is the flexibility to allow us to 'tour'. We can also use it for day trips to the coast in the winter months, have a nice walk along the coastal paths and then return to the van, have a 'brew' and a bite to eat. put the heater on and have a snooze!! :Smile:
We have considered a caravan, and to be honest if we stopped using the 'van' for recreation on a regular basis then I think that's the choice we would make!
I think I would miss all the waving when you meet another motor-homer on the road though with a caravan! ::bigsmile:
 

scotjimland

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Different animals for different puposes .. it's like comparing apples and pears..

Campervans, tents, motorhomes, caravans, and an RV gin place .. had them all and several of them.. all suited our purpose at that specific time in our lives

We are now going to buy another caravan because it suits our purpose, circumstances change, there is no 'one size fits all' ..

Something I can't get my head around... In this country we have forums for tents, caravans, motorhomes, and US motorhomes .... yet they all do the same thing ..

In the US they are all called RVs .. plain and simple, Recreational Vehicles , they live on the same forum, talk the same stuff .. yet when I suggested we include tuggers on this forum I was shot down in flames... can't have that now can we .. :RollEyes:

So when I get my caravan it looks like I may be more welcome on a tuggers forum .. :Sad:
 

DESCO

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Have done both and can't say one is better than the other they are different, it's a matter of choice at the time.

When our daughter was younger and we went on holiday we stayed in one place for a week or so with an awning this gave us a bigger area, and a car to do what we wanted. This worked well till our daughter did not want to come with us, and we started to want to tour more.

This was when we began to find the caravan dictating our lives, so tried hiring a motorhome and found this gave us the freedom we wanted so that was the start of motorhoming.

In some respects I miss the caravan and the extra space they can offer and if we gave up wanting to tour I would possibly change back, but for now it's a motorhome for me, as we hardly ever stay more than 2 nights.

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Jaws

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Tried a caravan briefly before buying a mh.

As others have said, different kettle of fish all together.

I doubt I would have stuck with a caravan for more than a season as it is simply too much mucking around all the time .

With the van, I plot up ( pretty much anywhere ! ) and thats job done

I have even stopped in a police yard for a night ( having asked ) .. Although there are a good many 'traveller' types with mh's nowadays, generally speaking a mh parked up for a night rarely attracts unwanted attention..

Oh and when we do stop, the sandwiches are already made cos woman has wandered off into the back to make them already ! ::bigsmile::thumb:
 

wander

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Motorhome every time

Have done both and have to say much prefer the Motorhome.

Of course with a caravan you have the advantage of being able to park up and then take the car out for days up little lanes you would never dream of taking a motorhome but for us it was just a lot of hassle. With the motorhome you can just jump in and away you go, with the van it was always hassle getting it off the drive and hitching up and then the reverse process at the camp site. Many a time a motorhome would trundle in after us and they would be sitting outside with brew in hand while we were still positioning and levelling etc. Had some hairy moments too when our sat nav sent us down the wrong road, much easier to back up a MH than a caravan! :whatthe:
 

Skeggysue

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If we all liked and enjoyed the same things in life we would all be a pretty uninteresting lot wouldn't we? :Smile: Most of us live in bricks and mortar dwellings I would imagine, yet some of us will prefer a small quaint cottage style property whereas others may prefer a large modern house etc and in my opinion motorhoming or caravanning is no different and it's all about having and being given choices!

There are advantages and disadvantages to both caravanning and motorhoming at times and I think you just have to decide what it is you personally prefer and want out of your pastime and then it's simply a case of making your own decision as to which type of vehicle or lifestyle will best meet your needs the most.

Sue

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Mags52

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We changed to MH after 20 years with a caravan.
We wanted to have the freedom to use it for day trips, move on without too much fuss and all the other things mentioned already.
Another factor for us was that the caravan required more physical strength and sometimes it felt like too much hard work, hitching and unhitching etc. We recognised the fact that as we were getting older it was going to get more hard work.
We loved our caravan but we like the motorhome more for now at least.
 
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After caravaning for 13 years we had the misfortune of having the caravan hitch breaking whilst towing. Seeing the caravan overtake us into oncoming traffic and "commiting suicide" into a wall means I'll never tow another!
We had bought the caravan from a main dealer only 2 months previously so it was well serviced and breakaway cables don't work with broken hitches.

I'm firmly in the "dangerous things" camp,so much so that I will not travel behind one:Eeek:
 

jonandshell

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We find the best way to describe our preference to others is to say-

A motorhome holiday is where you tour freely and independantly by visiting places and sleeping at or near them in self-contained luxury, for as little as possible, making full use of your on-board facilities.

A caravan holiday is where you site it for a week, struggle with an awning, inexplicably never use your on board facilities and get cold in your dressing gown on the way to the shower block every morning, take your aquaroll and wastehogs for more walks than the dog and visit the surrounding area in your car! All under the eye of the ever-watchful site commandant, sorry warden!::bigsmile:

Having never owned a caravan, these are only our observations!::bigsmile:

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Different animals for different puposes .. it's like comparing apples and pears..

Campervans, tents, motorhomes, caravans, and an RV gin place .. had them all and several of them.. all suited our purpose at that specific time in our lives

We are now going to buy another caravan because it suits our purpose, circumstances change, there is no 'one size fits all' ..

Something I can't get my head around... In this country we have forums for tents, caravans, motorhomes, and US motorhomes .... yet they all do the same thing ..

In the US they are all called RVs .. plain and simple, Recreational Vehicles , they live on the same forum, talk the same stuff .. yet when I suggested we include tuggers on this forum I was shot down in flames... can't have that now can we .. :RollEyes:

So when I get my caravan it looks like I may be more welcome on a tuggers forum .. :Sad:
I am new to this forum Jim but hope you where only joking about having to leave because you are a great asset to this forum:thumb:
 

Pikey Pete

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Being a fulltimer who spends the winter months in one place in Spain, I think my ideal would be a van conversion such as an Adria Twin for the summer touring and a big caravan for the winter. Storing the caravan in Spain during the summer.

Maybe one day I'll get around to doing it, but I'm enjoying my Hymer too much at the moment.

Pete:Cool:

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vwalan

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hi .well thought i had better put a pennyworth in . i think chatter and i have the best all round vehicles . if i say i tmyself the wise have 5ers or mini artics. much better than a normal caravan . much more versatile than a m,home.do your homework make the right decision and join our happy throng. cheers alan.
 

haganap

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If I was long timing I would have a Caravan without a doubt.

Have had caravans before and really enjoyed it. Got a motorhome because basically, if you sit me down for a moment and ask me to stay there, I get bored and want too move on.

I personally dont believe their is any snobbery between the two, just a different way of doing things.
We laugh at them when watching them set up an awning and go out armed with a rolly bollie, they at us when we are sat at the bus stop in the rain.:Blush:
 

Landy lover

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When I first started camping was 60 years ago with the cubs - there were no 'facilities' you hauled your own water sometimes miles - the toilet was a hole in the ground - the cooker was a ring of stones and collected wood - we did carry a primus stove (paraffin started with meths) for really bad weather conditions - we went to the site all piled in the back of a removal van sitting on top of all our kit. No cars or bikes - if we wanted provisions it was walk to the local village. I thoroughly enjoyed it and carried on camping with cubs and scouts until 14 years old. Then went with parents on a couple of holidays then later on went on my own then when we were courting we did touring with B&B's anything from 7 shilling and 6p to 15 shillings for the two of us for a night including breakfast !!!!!!!! Then we decided to go back to camping and got a 'posh' frame or bungalow tent with all the kit - that stayed with us for a number of years changing to bigger tents as time went by - we always had banter with caravanners - they used to call us Indians and we used to go up to the split door and try and buy ice creams or hotdogs it was always taken in good part by all. After some very serious weather when we nearly lost the lot in a flash flood SWMBO said no more unless we get a caravan. So a Sprite Musketeer caravan came by that stayed with us for a while and many a happy holiday was had in that. Utimately we started to plan for retirement and our basic plan was to buy a big Winnebago and disappear into the sunset - reality kicked in and we realised that you cannot take a Winny into Tesco to do the shopping - and many of the places we would go would not accomodate a Winny so that means a toad - if you have a toad you cannot wild camp so that means camp sites etc.etc. that means a smaller unit an we wanted to full time so wanted a larger unit so back to caravans - we had a Burstner 20ft caravan for a while and were chuffed to bits with it but it did not have enough room for full timing so we 'found' 5'ers somewhere between them all - you cannot wild camp - you need on tap electricity to run everything - but it does have stacks of room and we have the tractor unit (landy) for running about in. However you cannot just nip up 'here there or everywhere ' with a 5'er on the back - so for a quick foray we also have a 12 foot lightweight caravan - which is fine - very simple quick and easy to tow - much better on fuel consumption - you still cannot wild camp - - you still cannot go shopping in Tesco - so what is the answer - as said Horses for courses - what do you want to do what do you expect to do - what ever you get will not be right for all eventualities. Who knows we might try a demountable - is that the best of all worlds - you can leave it on a site if you are staying - you can go shopping at Tesco if they dont have a height limit - you always have the base vehicle for travel if required. You can wild camp if you wish. Again horses for courses.:thumb: You will always get the wags on site calling motor homes burger vans or ice cream vans the caravaners tuggers or burger vans and the campers Indians - most Americans are either classified as rich gits - Yank Tanks - Gin Palace etc. We are all in the same ball game though just camping and having Fun and it should never be what you have or how much you paid etc - I have always found this forum caters well for ALL comers regardless

Surprised though at Scotjim though ' So when I get my caravan it looks like I may be more welcome on a tuggers forum .. :Sad: ' I never seen anything but banter going on on this forum - Go to any meet any you will find a full cross section of the Fun / RVOC community and to the best of my knowledge everyone gets on very well

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pappajohn

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for my sin's I've had two caravans...:Blush:

first was a 24ft Hobby twin axle at just over 2000kg.

the second, a 24ft twin axle coachman amara at around 1650kg.

both towed behind a 4wd 2.5 turbodiesel Toyota Hilux Invincible.

they both had far more usable space and much brighter/airier inside than our last van, a 24ft kontiki.

BUT, even behind the Hilux both were unpleasant to tow, took ages to set up on pitch and i wouldn't want to move on every day or two.

while my current 33ft RV can be a pain on narrow roads it is far superior in handling/manoeuvrability to any caravan and takes no longer to set up on site than a Euro van.


would i go back to caravanning......only when hell needs central heating :winky:

 

scotjimland

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Surprised though at Scotjim though ' So when I get my caravan it looks like I may be more welcome on a tuggers forum .. :Sad: ' I never seen anything but banter going on on this forum - Go to any meet any you will find a full cross section of the Fun / RVOC community and to the best of my knowledge everyone gets on very well

I didn't mean it to come over as if a tugger would be made unwelcome on Fun or at a meet.. I know that's not the case...

what I can't understand is why we have different forums for different forms of recreational vehicles ...

when I once suggested Fun should include caravan in it's name and actively encourage caravan owners I was howled down... hence my off the cuff comment that I MAY be more welcome on a tugger forum..

so if I asked the question again , what would the Funsters say ??
 

Landy lover

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when I once suggested Fun should include caravan in it's name and actively encourage caravan owners I was howled down... hence my off the cuff comment that I MAY be more welcome on a tugger forum..

so if I asked the question again , what would the Funsters say ??

I know where you are coming from Jim - Something similar on RVOC recently should it be a club in its own right rather than just a sister site allied to Fun the masses said no it should stay as a part of Fun - for different reasons it now is there in its own right but I for one would never like to see the possibility of an Us and Them situation occurring - so many of the friends we have made over the last few years rally with fun as do we. So if you set up a poll I for one would vote that any form of legitimate camping should be included in the Fun forum as to my mind is does not matter what you camp in that is your choice and should never be a criterea for a forum such as this.

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Jim

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At our very first meet in October 2007 we had a caravan, a trailer tent, RV's and European Motorhomes, on most every meet since there has been a similar mixture and now with the ever more popular 'fivers' added to the mix we really do have a problem with getting straight lines at rallies::bigsmile: And yes we've had landrover roof-tents. We had caravans on a meet just this past weekend. Between us we probably have a thousand of years experience of camping in every form imaginable, not just motorhomes.

I honestly believe motorhomefun is the most accomodating club there is. We have a few people that have stopped owning a motorhome and bought caravans or tents but have continued with Fun because of friendships forged, I have no problem with that at all, this place has always been about the people rather than what they drive. I can't remember being asked but if Funsters want a caravan forum section they can have it:thumb:
 

Chris

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ScotJim - I would say yes good idea.
 

Chris

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Jim - might it not be good for your business to call it motorhomeandcaravan fun?

Bit of a mouthful though I guess:Doh:

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pappajohn

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I didn't mean it to come over as if a tugger would be made unwelcome on Fun or at a meet.. I know that's not the case...

what I can't understand is why we have different forums for different forms of recreational vehicles ...

when I once suggested Fun should include caravan in it's name and actively encourage caravan owners I was howled down... hence my off the cuff comment that I MAY be more welcome on a tugger forum..

so if I asked the question again , what would the Funsters say ??

as you are well aware Jim, this forum is riddled with questions regarding weight, licences, A frames etc while tugger forums are riddled with questions regarding nose weight, car/caravan match's, anti-sway hitches etc.

many tuggers couldn't answer our questions any more than we could answer theirs.

but if tuggers started populating this forum i reckon a lot could be learnt by both camps.

while the two camps are like chalk and cheese, MHF isn't about what you have but more about enjoying what you have
i wouldn't be upset if tin tenter's did start coming here.
after all, we welcome 5'ers, which are a form of caravan :thumb:
 
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we can pull up in the MH for day out or a four month + trip
you can not wild camp in a caravan

you can not roll up at the sea side car park with a caravan
easy to park and enjoy closer yo where you want to be in a MH too
 

scotjimland

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At our very first meet in October 2007 we had a caravan, a trailer tent, RV's and European Motorhomes, on most every meet since there has been a similar mixture and now with the ever more popular 'fivers' added to the mix we really do have a problem with getting straight lines at rallies::bigsmile: And yes we've had landrover roof-tents. We had caravans on a meet just this past weekend. Between us we probably have a thousand of years experience of camping in every form imaginable, not just motorhomes.

I honestly believe motorhomefun is the most accomodating club there is. We have a few people that have stopped owning a motorhome and bought caravans or tents but have continued with Fun because of friendships forged, I have no problem with that at all, this place has always been about the people rather than what they drive. I can't remember being asked but if Funsters want a caravan forum section they can have it:thumb:


I totally agree Jim, I apologise for my comment coming over in a negative fashion.. I seem to put my foot in it .. :Blush: but it's good to hear other views.:Smile:

I think a caravan forum would be useful and make the tuggers feel they had a place of their own.. and it may encourage more to join and swell the ranks..


cheers .. jim

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