Caravan vs camper van

Hi guys, me and the missus rented a camper van a month or two ago and really enjoyed ourselves. We are now looking to purchase either a camper or caravan for ourselves. I was wondering which one to go for? Having never towed anything before i am quite weary about the caravan. Also ive never set one up. Can anyone provide any advice from their experiences? Many thanks in advance. You reds!!

 

had both , caravan all the time
just as easy to set up as a camper but you have your car with you. Of course you can take bycicles or mopeds .

some tow a small car behind the camper, but I never saw the point in that.

 

Had both too much like hard work

 

Have you considered a pod? I've been considering a second hand camper van for a while now but somebody I know suggested taking a look at pods. They do look pretty good.

https://www.go-pods.co.uk/home.html

 

Camper van. We have a 1970 kombi and get a lot of joy from her.

 

Several times we have used a family caravan until one year we decided on a change.
I hired a brand new 6 berth Camper van and undertook a very pleasant tour of Scotland.
Re- Edinburgh, Inverness, Gairloch, Skye, Fort William, Sterling and Inveraray.
Have to say the latter was better than the caravan and if I was buying something to
spend holidays in, it would be a camper van everytime.

 

Go down route of getting something like a VW T5. If you do you can get vans that are converted into Camper vans that look same but are cheaper. Equally you can have someone convert it to your requirements and not that dear either.

 

Dun roamin and bought a static, no having to book a pitch in advance, no setting up in the rain, no paying for storage out of season. Leave your clothes, fill the larder, home from home. Bloody marvelous.

 

Don't you essentially have to pay for storage out of season with static?

 

Like being asked which is better,,,,being hit in the b0110cks by a baseball bat or a cricket bat.

Stop clogging the roads to the coast up and book a hotel

 

You do, but you’re guaranteed a pitch, you don’t have to set up/pack up, and you know what your costs are going to be, with the motorhome we had all the costs of running an additional vehicle plus the pitch fees, and if it was good weather or a bank holiday we couldn't always get where we wanted to be because they get booked well in advance. All things considered we much prefer it.

 

I share this sentiment but for coveting a split screen VW more than my neighbour’s wife.

 

Tell us more about your neighbours wife .....does she have a split screen

 

I’ve seen enough to form the view that I’d like to split the difference.

 

Is it the model with a rear engine and a wide bore exhaust

 

I've had two t5s, I used one for work and we used one as a daily/camper, and whilst they are an excellent bit of kit I'd be tempted to go for the caravan.

With a T5 you pay the standard 'scene tax' which makes a big dent in the finances, although now people seem to be converting vivaros and they look excellent and you can shave upwards of 10/15k off the price of the T5, and even more for the new T6. So look at vivaro conversions if need be, a lad I know darn Bolton does them and they are phenomenal.

With caravans, whilst more of a ball ache when it comes to packing up and towing etc you get more room, W/C and you don't feel as trapped. It's also much easier once you are set up as with a camper you constantly have to pack up again if you want a trip to the beach or whatever.

Go for the caravan pal, unless you've got money to burn and you can do both as we used to. Used our T5 camper to tow our 4 birth tourer, but we didn't get enough use out of either of them to make the outlay worth it. Just make sure you get enough time to use them as they're an expensive thing to just leave left on your drive or in storage.

 

Depends on exactly what you mean. You need to know the difference between motorhome and campervan. The former had a body mounted on a chassis and will have a full kitchen separate shower and WC. A camper van is a modified van which will have none of these. I've had caravans and they are cheaper to run. No road tax mot or engine service but you do need a decent tow car for a caravan, Google tow matching websites and stick to caravan clubs advice of 85% weight. Don't expect better than 30mpg when towing. Don't park either on your drive. Might aswell put an advert in window that you're away when it's not there.

 

Oh and if you get a T5 expect to develop some weird compulsion to spend all your spare cash on needless accessories and to bore anyone you meet by talking endlessly about it. Pulleeeze don't hang a garland over the mirror or people will just point and snigger as you drive past.

 

Had both, it depends what you’re going to use it for, we used to do quite a few music festivals and the motorhome was brilliant for that but for trips away it can be a nightmare. Packing everything up and securing the inside when you realise you forgot something from the shop and have to drive back, returning to site to find someone on your pitch because “it was empty”, just the pain in the arse of having to drive such a large cumbersome vehicle everywhere and the fuel charges. There are also quite a lot of coastal car parks that won’t let you park up for fear of you staying there overnight. Caravans are a pain when you’re setting off and take that bit longer when you reach your site but you soon get into a routine and it gets easier.

 

Yep. And cold.
Bricks and mortar - every time.