Renting a van (not camper) to go camping

[GT6 Jonsey]

Anyone had a go at this ?
My girlfriend and I along with our two dogs are planning a trip from London to the north of Scotland via Ben Nevis around late august early September. Camper hire for a week is more than we can currently afford but a LWB van for the week is £180 . Will most camp sites allow you to rock up in a sign written rental and stick on a side awning

[Hainey]

In short, no, they wouldn't allow that.

[otherman]

I've seen it happen a few times. I'd just call and ask the campsites you're thinking of using and ask them.

[Hainey]

otherman said:

I've seen it happen a few times. I'd just call and ask the campsites you're thinking of using and ask them.

I doubt you have around Ben Nevis. The road guys tried it when the upgrades were getting done to save money and were turned away.

I know someone that does it in the USA in a U Haul van with a 200 dollar mattress from Mattress King and parks in Walmart but not here in Scotland at any reputable site I've ever used.

[GT6 Jonsey]

I had thought it may frowned apon but not sure why, surely it's the same as driving up in an all kitted out camper van.

[Hainey]

A lot of it is to do with preserving the image of the site.

If you're a camper good sites aren't cheap to rent and for the owner of the site the higher tier justification of cost dissappears quickly if you have a brace of liveried transits or sprinters parked in spots.

Camping has moved its image upscale considerably over the last 30 years and almost all sites are trying to keep it that way as it means greater revenue for them and less anti social behaviour. Not that I blame them at all for that.

[myvision]

Just go the route of wild camping with it.

[Trabi601]

myvision said:

Just go the route of wild camping with it.

I find that women folk don't take to kindly to being given a shovel and roll of bog paper in place of a clean and hygienic bathroom!

[GT6 Jonsey]

Ha my missus is pretty easy going and wouldn't mind the wild camping route but we would rather some facilities to use after a long days walking with the mutts. Our only other option is to tent it with an estate rental car unless anyone knows of a good place you can hire a 2 berth camper for under the £1000 a week I get quoted at most places around London

[Trabi601]

You can hire a Bongo or Previa camper for 500 quid for a week.

Even better, buy a Previa camper for £2.2k.

(Although this is madness, as you start looking at a £2-£3k basic Previa camper and end up with an £11k Alphard)

[FiF]

Hire a Hymer, Milton Keynes, Lenny Hymer 685 for 7 nights including cdw.
Lisa Hymer the same, both early September.


https://www.hireahymer.com/

[GT6 Jonsey]

Trabi601 said:

You can hire a Bongo or Previa camper for 500 quid for a week.

Even better, buy a Previa camper for £2.2k.

(Although this is madness, as you start looking at a £2-£3k basic Previa camper and end up with an £11k Alphard)

Have to admit I have been looking at campers on eBay all very tempting. I have a van for work but it's all kitted out with racking and a bench so no real space for dogs and kit hence my predicament.
We have been camping in wales quite a few times in my (not sign written) work van with a tent and the dogs before I racked it out and not had any issues. We generally prefer very basic campsites on farms or fields out in the middle of nowhere without pubs, pools and shops. Would I get away with it at these type of sites up in Scotland ? Any recommendations on sites like this around an hour of Ben Nevis

[snowandrocks]

It's worth seeing if you can get a van that isn't sign written. The last time I hired from enterprise I ended up with a plain silver sprinter.

Stay away from the horribly stuffy and corporate caravan club type sites (i.e. the site in Glen Nevis itself) and you'll probably be alright I reckon. I tend to go further North and West but the Red Squirrel in Glencoe is suitably relaxed - there were certainly a number of campers with vans when I was last there, open fires allowed, good river pool to swim in on site and the Clachaig pub is within staggering distance.

If they can see that you're obviously not workies (or worse) then I think you'll be fine!

[Hainey]

What the man above said

The Nevis site is lovely but when we were there a couple of years ago it was very much Discovery 4 and 25k caravan if you get me. Or debt, as I like to call it.

[djsmith74]

GT6 Jonsey said:

Trabi601 said:

You can hire a Bongo or Previa camper for 500 quid for a week.

Even better, buy a Previa camper for £2.2k.

(Although this is madness, as you start looking at a £2-£3k basic Previa camper and end up with an £11k Alphard)

Have to admit I have been looking at campers on eBay all very tempting. I have a van for work but it's all kitted out with racking and a bench so no real space for dogs and kit hence my predicament.
We have been camping in wales quite a few times in my (not sign written) work van with a tent and the dogs before I racked it out and not had any issues. We generally prefer very basic campsites on farms or fields out in the middle of nowhere without pubs, pools and shops. Would I get away with it at these type of sites up in Scotland ? Any recommendations on sites like this around an hour of Ben Nevis

Not sure if there are any of those sort of campsites in Fort William, as it is quite commercialised round there. I've stayed at this one, which is quite nice...
http://www.lochy-holiday-park.co.uk/camping-and-to...

If it's within an hour of Fort William, then you need to head west and along the A830 (which is nice and fast) and right up to the coast to the Arisaig area, which is lovely. There, you have these sort of campsites...
http://www.arisaigcampsite.co.uk/

http://www.camusdarach.co.uk/

Much nicer than the ones in Fort William and about an hour away

[DelicaL400]

Camusdarach is a very nice site, although it's got pretty expensive in recent years. There are other sites right on the beach too eg Invercaimbe and Gorten Sands. All of them are better than anything around Fort William in my opinion.

[GT6 Jonsey]

Thanks for the info guys, our plan is to stop over night in the Lake District on the way, climb Nevis with the mutts and then head on over to Skye

[anonymous-user]

GT6 Jonsey said:

Ha my missus is pretty easy going and wouldn't mind the wild camping route but we would rather some facilities to use after a long days walking with the mutts. Our only other option is to tent it with an estate rental car unless anyone knows of a good place you can hire a 2 berth camper for under the £1000 a week I get quoted at most places around London

I rented a T6 from Bristol camper company for something like £550 for 6 days, I think it was unltd mileage, in June. Was excellent.

[mikeiow]

You can always tell them your Volvo estate broke down the week before your holiday and you had to take what you could to house the dogs. Can't imagine many campsites turning down a good sob story if you look vaguely genuine!!
Does that make me a bad person suggesting this?

[Chicken Chaser]

Or you could look at getting some plain black magnetic signs which you tend to find stuck on vans that change use depending on the season. The Police also use them for signage sometimes. If you stuck those over the rental sign, they would look like windows and therefore you might have a better chance of avoiding the hassle of the site owner.