Caravan versus Motorhome ? (1 Viewer)

scotjimland

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Just following on from my post on Terry's thread.. got me thinking about the future and what we would have..

At present the caravan suits us just fine.. as we can really only go away during school holidays .. the caravan is great for two or three week stops on a site for a holiday.. Chaz has had enough long trips and touring..

Then I think ahead.. when she is gone we will have all the time in the world.. maybe do three months away in the winter.. but would we want a camper.. or a caravan ?

Well, there is no doubt once you are set up on site the caravan + car wins hands down.. not so good for touring.. but still doable.. it was in the past when we toured with a big twin axle van and Disco..
I envisage spending more time in one place rather than gallivanting all over Europe.. perhaps 3 or 4 weeks on each location.. so the caravan is better suited..

Long haul overland .. defo a camper van is better.. but taking a caravan to Morocco is still doable .. saw plenty when we there.. that is still on the cards.

The point is this.. if you enjoy what you have and enjoy using it .. fine.. there should be no argument about what is better. Better has to be qualified.. no vehicle does it all.. and none are better than the other.. only what suits your needs at present.. be it a camper, motorhome, caravan, RV or 5er .. each has their benefits and drawbacks.. there is no 'one size fits all' .. we change and so do our needs..

If money were no object :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: I'd probably have a full set of each.. :roflmto:
 
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hdvrod

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Yes each has its advantages,for me personally I need a motorhome because I need to trailer my motorbike.
 

laneside

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Yep one of each would suit us just fine we keep flitting betwixt caravan and motorhome but just at present the motorhome suits our needs best.

We just wish that the caravans would move away from the uncomfortable bench seat arrangement and put some captains seats in.

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Yep one of each would suit us just fine we keep flitting betwixt caravan and motorhome but just at present the motorhome suits our needs best.

We just wish that the caravans would move away from the uncomfortable bench seat arrangement and[HI] put some captains seats in[/HI].

Indeed.. but I'm sure they could be retro fitted if the van had a fixed rear bed.. a nice comfy three piece suite .. :thumb:
 

Terry

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Hi Jim for us the camper is a must. Ann being how she is we couldn't do a car for day trips etc, plus we are too used to having all the vans amenitys on hand.It's easy to pull into a layby for her to use loo or grab a drink etc which although doable in a caravan isn't really practical, or as comfortable.
Beare in mind we have the self build so the layout was made to suit our needs at the time both for storage/longer trips and comfort on the short ones :Smile:Even now my mate has a big 6 berth and if you discount the Luton bed area ours has a lot more usable storage and a lot, lot, lot more comfortable for both sitting, lounging and sleeping ::bigsmile: A caravan while having more room to move around in still has not got the same amount of useable storage.I don't count open shelves and glass cabinets as storage for on the move::bigsmile:
Terry
 

Forestboy

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Funnily enough when we were in Spain this year we were discussing the pros and cons of each.
We got friendly with a couple on a site in Spain where we stayed for 12 days (long time for us). They had a caravan and we were really impressed by it much better than a motorhome for long stays and a nice car to tour in. It got us thinking about the future and would we consider a caravan and the answer is a resounding yes. At the moment we have a terrible wanderlust and the tag axle motorhome suits us perfectly. It can go most places at 25ft is good on fuel 25mph has a huge payload and carries our 650cc Kawasaki in the garage, so we are totally self sufficient. There will probably come a time when we don't want to wander so much and just relax in one place a bit longer and Jan reckons there'll be a time when we won't want to ride the motorbike so much and a car will suit us better. Not sure I agree with that but heh maybe I'll get bored with the bike when I get to 80::bigsmile: But if that time does come a caravan would certainly be on our list.
Just depends what you want out of it. I remember when we thought an Rv was the only way to go and we loved ours and covered a 100'000 miles in Rvs. Now we would'nt touch a RV as our current van gives us so much more freedom and the ability to use it all year not just the summer. But that could change again and maybe a caravan would suit our needs.

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chesterfield hooligan

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Funnily enough when we were in Spain this year we were discussing the pros and cons of each.
We got friendly with a couple on a site in Spain where we stayed for 12 days (long time for us). They had a caravan and we were really impressed by it much better than a motorhome for long stays and a nice car to tour in. It got us thinking about the future and would we consider a caravan and the answer is a resounding yes. At the moment we have a terrible wanderlust and the tag axle motorhome suits us perfectly. It can go most places at 25ft is[HI] good on fuel 25mph [/HI]has a huge payload and carries our 650cc Kawasaki in the garage, so we are totally self sufficient. There will probably come a time when we don't want to wander so much and just relax in one place a bit longer and Jan reckons there'll be a time when we won't want to ride the motorbike so much and a car will suit us better. Not sure I agree with that but heh maybe I'll get bored with the bike when I get to 80::bigsmile: But if that time does come a caravan would certainly be on our list.
Just depends what you want out of it. I remember when we thought an Rv was the only way to go and we loved ours and covered a 100'000 miles in Rvs. Now we would'nt touch a RV as our current van gives us so much more freedom and the ability to use it all year not just the summer. But that could change again and maybe a caravan would suit our needs.


:ROFLMAO: things people do to save on fuel :ROFLMAO:
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Frankly, I think some folks buy a leisure vehicle before they consider what they need it for.. sort of..

"oh.. I fancy one of these .. don't they look great.. " rather than considering what they want/need it for first.

It's like buying the latest fad in power tools, taking it home then wondering what to use it for, and trying to justify the expense to the other half.. .. we've all been there.. haven't we ? :roflmto:

Another irksome comment often seen on forums..

We have a caravan and "I'm upgrading" to a motorhome, camper van.. RV or whatever ... when in reality they are actually changing for whatever reason.. an upgrade is trading in an old vehicle for a new or newer one of the same type.. Do we say I'm downgrading from my RV to a Euro van ? Of course not.. we are changing because we don't want it anymore..

I've owned them all.. never thought one better or worse than the other .. just tools, and provided you have the correct tool for the job in hand.. it's ideal !

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Terry

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Well I am guilty of buying tools that I really don't have use for ::bigsmile: but a van or caravan ? Never really had any interest in either until 12 yrs ago::bigsmile:As youngsters (18) we used mates dads caravan and thatput me off for life, cost us a bomb in fuel and camp fees :Smile:It was cheaper for us to stay in b and b then :winky:I told Ann for yrs she would not like a caravan (When mates were trying to persuade us to get one)::bigsmile:but our downfall was borrowing sons small camper for a long weekend festival/biker do which was infinantly better than the planned tent :thumb: It was after that we found we needed a van:winky:
Terry
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Well I am guilty of buying tools that I really don't have use for ::bigsmile: but a van or caravan ? Never really had any interest in either until 12 yrs ago::bigsmile:As youngsters (18) we used mates dads caravan and thatput me off for life, cost us a bomb in fuel and camp fees :Smile:It was cheaper for us to stay in b and b then :winky:I told Ann for yrs she would not like a caravan (When mates were trying to persuade us to get one)::bigsmile:but our downfall was borrowing sons small camper for a long weekend festival/biker do which was infinantly better than the planned tent :thumb: It was after that we found we needed a van:winky:
Terry

absolutely Terry.. :thumb:

but the point of the post wasn't to say why or if one was better than the other .. just that they are different and have different uses .. Buy or built what is right for the job .. not what the neighbours have.. just as you have done..
 

hdvrod

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Never having owned a caravan,does towing one a very marked effect on the cars mpg?would imagine it would but just curious.

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haganap

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Never having owned a caravan,does towing one a very marked effect on the cars mpg?would imagine it would but just curious.

Yes it does.


I loved our caravan.

If I were in some funsters position and long terming, I would have a caravan and a small panel van to tow it. I could then tow it to somewhere and live in the caravan for a few months whilst exploring the area in the panel van.
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Never having owned a caravan,does towing one a very marked effect on the cars mpg?would imagine it would but just curious.

Depends on the car/van combination.. and how you drive

My diesel Disco with a twin axle van dropped from around 28 - 24

My current Honda petrol CRV .. 30mpg drops to about 26 mpg , so not great ..

so yes, there is a cost , the best cars for towing are generally diesel... Vectra, Passat etc all make great towing cars and will get 40 mpg
 

GJH

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We bought a motorhome rather than a caravan partly because neither of us had ever towed and didn't fancy starting. We have managed very well (and still do) using public transport, bikes or walking.

However, if there ever does come a time when we need a car to get around I think we would go for a caravan rather than simply give up.

You're absolutely right Jim, the vehicle doesn't matter one jot so long as it suits and you enjoy it.

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hdvrod

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Depends on the car/van combination.. and how you drive

My diesel Disco with a twin axle van dropped from around 28 - 24

My current Honda petrol CRV .. 30mpg drops to about 26 mpg , so not great ..

so yes, there is a cost , the best cars for towing are generally diesel... Vectra, Passat etc all make great towing cars and will get 40 mpg
That doesn't seem like very good mpg? my MH has 2.9 merc sprinter best mpg 27 worst 25!
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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That doesn't seem like very good mpg? my MH has 2.9 merc sprinter best mpg 27 worst 25!

never said it was good.. I said as much "My current Honda petrol CRV .. 30mpg drops to about 26 mpg ,[HI] so not great .. "

[/HI] ie not good.. but it's a lot better than my 12mpg RV.

I didn't buy the car with towing in mind.. that came later.. if I were buying a car for towing it would be a diesel.. and would get over 40mpg
 
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jhorsf

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I think you have been to the same school as Buttons :ROFLMAO:

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Terry

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That doesn't seem like very good mpg? my MH has 2.9 merc sprinter best mpg 27 worst 25!

That's about right ::bigsmile:when you think about it you see more and more bigger caravans which need bigger, heavier tow cars which by there very nature are not very fuel efficient :Smile: Not many vehicle's with 2.5 ltr engines (and above) return much more than 30 mpg
Terry
 

chesterfield hooligan

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Yes it does.


I loved our caravan.

If I were in some funsters position and long terming, I would have a caravan and a small panel van to tow it. I could then tow it to somewhere and live in the caravan for a few months whilst exploring the area in the panel van.

just what we are thinking of doing but with a large sprinter as I like to carry everything ie welder ect :ROFLMAO:

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never said it was good.. I said as much "My current Honda petrol CRV .. 30mpg drops to about 26 mpg ,[HI] so not great .. "

[/HI] ie not good.. but it's a lot better than my 12mpg RV.

I didn't buy the car with towing in mind.. that came later.. if I were buying a car for towing it would be a diesel.. and would get over 40mpg

Do you really think you could achieve over 40 mpg towing, just because it's diesel?

Craig
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Do you really think you could achieve over 40 mpg towing, just because it's diesel?

Craig

Do you mean my Honda or another diesel car ?

if my Honda.. I don't know what a diesel version gets.. I think Dave gets about 45 mpg solo. so I imagine with a medium sized van he would get about 40

if you mean a Vectra or Passat diesel .. then yes.. no problem.. I had a Vecra diesel company car, no matter how hard I thrashed it,and I did that every day up and down the M1/M6, it did 45 .. driving easy it would do 50 ..

but again, depends on van size / weight.. I've seen some huge vans on the road.. must weigh all of 2 ton.. with big thirsty 4x4 s pulling them.. they won't get 30, never mind 40

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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The thread has really gone off topic.. it wasn't about MPG of car/caravans versus motorhomes.. that is altogether different topic ..

It was about choosing the right tool for the job.. not about how cheap or expensive it was to tow..
 
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jonandshell

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Yes it does.


I loved our caravan.

If I were in some funsters position and long terming, I would have a caravan and a small panel van to tow it. I could then tow it to somewhere and live in the caravan for a few months whilst exploring the area in the panel van.

Hi Paul

Will 'exploring' the local area in your panel van include collecting scrap metal, doing dodgy tree surgery and laying dodgy tarmac drives?!:roflmto:

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Nov 6, 2008
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I am sorry Jim, but i cannot believe that you could regularly achieve 40 mpg towing a caravan with a diesel.

Until, of course, someone proves me wrong.

Craig
 

GJH

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Hi Paul

Will 'exploring' the local area in your panel van include collecting scrap metal, doing dodgy tree surgery and laying dodgy tarmac drives?!:roflmto:

Of course. Why should he change the habits of a lifetime :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Only joking Paul ::bigsmile:

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