MH or Wobble Box (1 Viewer)

wotme

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Sep 26, 2018
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Its been a while since I switched back to a caravan and I did promise you lot I would let you know the outcome. Apart from the disastrous maiden trip when I lost an argument with a very sturdy gate post things on the whole have gone very well. I've found there are many pluses and minuses when it comes to towing. A lot of negatives soon came back to me, especially the farting around before you set off and when you get there. The travelling bit in between depends to some extent on the year of your outfit and how far you go. I had a 2007 Elnagh which was easy to drive, had a well presented interior with a layout exactly what we wanted but it was under powered and very very noisy. Sound proofing helped a bit but I still had to shout at my wife, but she's used to that anyway. So I ended up with a very nice little two berth Luna which tows like a dream and its so quiet, no doubt the rattles or bangs are still there but you can't hear them. Of course setting up a base camp and using the car for shopping and visiting places of interest is a big plus for us as we tend to use CLs that are off the beaten track. So to sum up the caravan although a pain in the backside in so many ways has won the day and will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. We are thinking of changing our tow-car for a campervan giving us the best of both worlds and it would allow me to post on this forum legitimately. Stay safe guys and watch out for those idiotic fastards on the road
 
Jun 10, 2010
8,421
20,056
Shrewsbury (sometimes)
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12,013
MH
N&B Clou Liner MAN
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2006
Imo it depends what kind of holiday you want.

Park for a week in UK and want to explore surrounding area = caravan

Touring in europe mostly moving on every couple of days or so = motorhome.

I'm making the geographic distinction because europe generally enables you park where you want to be whereas you generally have to compromise more on location in UK

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Badknee

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 25, 2014
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Living the dream.
We are thinking of changing our tow-car for a campervan giving us the best of both worlds
Imo it depends what kind of holiday you want.

Park for a week in UK and want to explore surrounding area = caravan

Touring in europe mostly moving on every couple of days or so = motorhome.
Bang on with both posts. I was thinking more of a day van than a full blown camper. Cheaper to buy. Low roof to get under barriers, shorter for parking. Great idea though……… well apart from the setting up of the caravan :doh:
:giggler::giggler:
 
Oct 26, 2014
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Its been a while since I switched back to a caravan and I did promise you lot I would let you know the outcome. Apart from the disastrous maiden trip when I lost an argument with a very sturdy gate post things on the whole have gone very well. I've found there are many pluses and minuses when it comes to towing. A lot of negatives soon came back to me, especially the farting around before you set off and when you get there. The travelling bit in between depends to some extent on the year of your outfit and how far you go. I had a 2007 Elnagh which was easy to drive, had a well presented interior with a layout exactly what we wanted but it was under powered and very very noisy. Sound proofing helped a bit but I still had to shout at my wife, but she's used to that anyway. So I ended up with a very nice little two berth Luna which tows like a dream and its so quiet, no doubt the rattles or bangs are still there but you can't hear them. Of course setting up a base camp and using the car for shopping and visiting places of interest is a big plus for us as we tend to use CLs that are off the beaten track. So to sum up the caravan although a pain in the backside in so many ways has won the day and will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. We are thinking of changing our tow-car for a campervan giving us the best of both worlds and it would allow me to post on this forum legitimately. Stay safe guys and watch out for those idiotic fastards on the road
we have both and as much as the Motorhome is great for touring in Europe your still reliant on cycling and walking (if your able ) or public transport at least with a car and caravan you have freedom to explore far and wide
We did a 4 month tour of France , Spain and Portugal in 2014 with a caravan and car and travelled without an awning just a pull out canopy and could set up in 10-15 minutes very easily .
Stayed in 17 different locations over 16 weeks and visited lots of interesting places some very remote , we carried our bikes on caravan A-frame mounted fiamma carrier .
Some days we cycled locally and if wanted to go further a field used the car , would I do it again ? Absolutely wouldn't phase me one bit .
Enjoy your caravan
 
May 29, 2013
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I have often thought that a vw campervan and a small caravan would be a great combination.

Before buying our MH, we very seriously considered this as we had owned a VW Transporter years ago and used to pull a trailer tent with it.

The Campervan could replace our car for everyday use, we could use it for days out where it would have advantages over a car, such as sleeping in if required and making hot food. We could also use it for festivals or short trips away on a campsite.

Then we could buy a caravan to tow for longer breaks.

BUT, BUT, BUT. we could never get the sum of these two parts to add up to what the MH provided us with. We go to a festival in the Motorhome and we have a full sized kitchen as opposed to a cut down one, we have a full sized fridge with a large freezer, we have two double beds which are much more pleasant than the ones made out of planks in the VW. We have a toilet and a full sized shower.

So for us it would be a compromise if only using a VW camper, plus having to have a fairly large caravan to tow to equal what is already in our 6m MH.

And that is all without the hassle of towing and setting up and breaking down the caravan when getting to camp.

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wotme

wotme

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Sep 26, 2018
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Yep, what it really boils down to is what unit is best for what destination and what level of comfort you want and then for most of us there's the cost to consider. If money was no object then I would have a choice of vehicles and employ a chauffeur to drive what ever suits the occasion.
 
Dec 24, 2014
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Hurstpierpoint. Mid Sussex.
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34,553
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Compass Navigator
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Ever since lighting was by Calor gas.
A lot of negatives soon came back to me, especially the farting around before you set off and when you get there.
No. 2 son has a caravan and putting up and taking down the annexe room in peeing rain (as we had to do last week) is a PITA. I've never seen a wind-out awning with the zip-on annexe attachment on a caravan but one would make that task so much more pleasant as it can be wound out and in very quickly so that most of the chairs, table, BBQ and the annexe could be set up and dismantled underneath it and out of the rain.
 
Oct 26, 2014
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No. 2 son has a caravan and putting up and taking down the annexe room in peeing rain (as we had to do last week) is a PITA. I've never seen a wind-out awning with the zip-on annexe attachment on a caravan but one would make that task so much more pleasant as it can be wound out and in very quickly so that most of the chairs, table, BBQ and the annexe could be set up and dismantled underneath it and out of the rain.
Yep they do fit wind out Fiamma F45 to caravans , seen a few
Or you can have Fiamma caravan store which hangs on the awning rail

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Feb 20, 2017
849
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Bailey 75-2
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Tugger now Motorhome
Best combination for me (only two of us) is Motorhome towing SMART. No faffing around trying to drive down narrow lanes and trying to find literally anywhere a 7.5mtr Motorhome is either welcome or able to be parked (specifically UK). Always and I mean always a SMART sized space left by idiots who cannot park for toffee 😁. 26mpg getting to our destination then 70mpg in diesel SMART touring around the neighborhood. Had a large caravan and AUDI A6 to tow it with and fair bit of mucking about on arrival at site followed by trying to park a car the size of an A6.
Motorhome & SMART = Dog wagging it's tail.
Large Car/4x4 towing sizeable caravan = Tail wagging the dog.
 
Apr 11, 2015
5,353
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hull
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Well we have 6M Laika and a motorbike on an easylifter, I have a converted doblo, my everyday vehicle, it is fine for me, not tried it 2 up yet, both have awnings. Although I have towed, someone else’s car and caravan, I have never had any desire for a caravan of my own, even though i have seen some beauties.

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Dec 13, 2019
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We have come from the opposite direction. Large caravan and large tow car to a 7.5m motorhome. I agree with all your pluses for the caravan. When we took ours to Cornwall it was still a pain getting down the roads in a 4x4 when we were unhitched. We like our MH and, when in Cornwall this year, we got public transport around and hired a car for a few days so we could get to the nice coves. I have no desire to use a toad and would rather go back to a caravan than do that. We also like being able to stop almost anywhere we like in the MH and have a brew.
Enjoy your trips all in whatever you drive/ tow! 👍
 

Don Quixote

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Jul 29, 2012
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Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........
We sold our MH in December last year due to wife not enjoying driving the MH. In January we bought a VW Camper van and have not looked back. Whilst traveling to the UK is out for now we have (living in Spain) traveled all around it since January and parked in villages and camp sites etc etc. Much easier than trying to park the MH and driving around small streets etc a breeze. Wife loves driving it.
We do miss some things of the MH like build in shower and loo and a fixed bed, but got used to it after a while. We are off next week to Germany to the big CARAVAN SALON in Düsseldorf.
 
May 3, 2016
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This has been an interesting thread reading the different view points.
Although we do love our MH, we have been talking about a change.
We have had a few really lovely caravans in the past and although Robert tended to do most of the driving I don't mind towing at all.
We have been thinking about buying a lovely big caravan and a weekend type camper, but one that can tow and be used as our everyday vehicle. The wrench would be parting with our MH, and and even bigger one parting with the best car we have ever owned.
IF we do this we would site the caravan for the summer and bring it home for the winter, taking it out from time to time when we feel like it as we like off season breaks, we would also then be able to do shorter breaks in the camper.
We always had a pretty good routine when setting up a caravan, between us we had it done in no time at all, the steadies are down in no time and really the only other thing is filling the aquaroll, everything else is the same.
We will see.

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Don Quixote

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Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........

Mrsambulancekid

Well since we got the campervan we are away most weekends as so easy to park up in campsite or wide camp (ish)

We plan to fit a towbar later this year as here in Spain, but it is a pain to get done as cannot just fit and forget.

As there is only the two of us + cat (used to be two) room enough and as we site outside under awning only really use inside to sleep on upper bed and keep sitting area free.

At first we were not sure but 6 months down the road so glad we made the change.
 
Jun 29, 2015
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We made the same move to a caravan, and after 2 years or so we still love it. We have always used sites and like to stay in one place for a week or two, even when we toured on our Harleys we used them to get to where we were going and then stayed for a couple of years. The caravan is a lot more faffing to set up but once on site easier to fill the water and dump the grey, having a car with us is good too, now that we don't tow a bike. We did miss having the MOHO for days out and have compromised with a "picnic" car. The car has not had anything altered yet, although that may happen later,. In the car we have a fridge/freezer, a gas ring, kettle, coffee filter, picnic chairs, small table and a pota potty. So far we have only used it in good weather, so everything (apart from the toilet) is outside, I need to find a better storage system but it works well and goes some way to replacing the MOHO as a day van, and of course it is easier to park and most height restrictions don't worry it.
 

John Barrett

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Jan 19, 2020
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We've towed an Elldiss 375 caravan with a Kia Sorrento 4000 km round France, next a Hymer 640 Starline to Croatia and back via Portugal- a Coachman 475 caravan to the French Riviera and back behind my Merc E350, a Hymer B544 bought from my friend's widow -lockdown prevented any travel - and now we have decided that we prefer to stay on sites, we have gone back to probably one of the most luxurious UK caravans ever made, a Fleetwood Heritage 560-4 towed by my Mazda CX-5 AWD. We are taking it down to Spain on Sept 5th to find somewhere to site it, and we are going to leave it there! Here's a nice video of a similar 'van: it's the tops and ours is just as nice inside and cost us just £4500...! We found a two year old Isabella Dawn awning to go with it for just £650. Have a look, you might get converted... :eek:
Janet and John

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Last edited:
Feb 21, 2016
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If I was intending to stay in the uk I would have a caravan of small motorhome/pvc.

The price of some caravans is nearly as ridiculous as some motorhomes…………… see this months C&CC you can buy a Coachman Lusso 2 for £44310 !!!!!!!!!!! And it hasn’t got a lot more facilities than my 14 year old Rapido that cost a hell of a lot less…………and doesn’t need a £40k car to tow it! I don’t belieeeeeeeeve it! :rofl:
 
May 3, 2016
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Ayrshire, UK
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Swift Kon-Tiki
We've towed an Elldiss 375 caravan with a Kia Sorrento 4000 km round France, next a Hymer 640 Starline to Croatia and back via Portugal- a Coachman 475 caravan to the French Riviera and back behind my Merc E350, a Hymer B544 bought from my friend's widow -lockdown prevented any travel - and now we have decided that we prefer to stay on sites, we have gone back to probably one of the most luxurious UK caravans ever made, a Fleetwood Heritage 560-4 towed by my Mazda CX-5 AWD. We are taking it down to Spain on Sept 5th to find somewhere to site it, and we are going to leave it there! Here's a nice video of a similar 'van: it's the tops and ours is just as nice inside and cost us just £4500...! We found a two year old Isabella Dawn awning to go with it for just £650. Have a look, you might get converted... :eek:
Janet and John

That's the age bracket and type that we like, only we like an island bed.
We made the mistake of buying a new Swift Sterling twin axle caravan before we switched to MH's and although it had good points like the lovely tall fridge/freezer the rest of it was a let down in terms of quality.
Prior to that we have had Swifts in the early to mid 2000's, the best we had was a Bessacarr Cameo.

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Jamesh

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Jun 28, 2020
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On
I have often thought that a vw campervan and a small caravan would be a great combination.
One for me and one for the Mrs!!!

I'd fine a VW transporter too small. I'm too messy and the wife is too neat!

With 4 kids there wasn't enough space for us 2+4kids in Avondale dart 556.

Wrong layout should have got a 6b double dinette but they didn't really appear till later on a single axle.

Anyone we have a lodge now and the pvc I use for visiting elderly parents and my charity work.

Cheers James
 

Coolcats

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Jan 24, 2019
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Bang on with both posts. I was thinking more of a day van than a full blown camper. Cheaper to buy. Low roof to get under barriers, shorter for parking. Great idea though……… well apart from the setting up of the caravan :doh:
:giggler::giggler:
If you have a day van and a tow bar you could have the benefits of both worlds 😎
 

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