Caravan or Motorhome?
Discussion
I see caravans of being the best way (for me) to holiday in the UK, I like having my caravan on the site and then my car to get about during the day, returning to my caravan later in the day. With a motorhome or campervan I'd be in that vehicle all day, whether at the site or driving about. I prefer having the two separate areas.
However if I was doing longer distance travelling for longer periods of time then I'd probably fond a motorhome easier, instead of having to hitch up and un hitch all the time. Also with a motorhome you can pull up anywhere you can park, put the kettle on and chill out, whereas with a caravan it's not as easy to park up like that.
Depends on what kind of holidaying you want. Both options are are brilliant and cr@p at different things.
However if I was doing longer distance travelling for longer periods of time then I'd probably fond a motorhome easier, instead of having to hitch up and un hitch all the time. Also with a motorhome you can pull up anywhere you can park, put the kettle on and chill out, whereas with a caravan it's not as easy to park up like that.
Depends on what kind of holidaying you want. Both options are are brilliant and cr@p at different things.
Motorhome (bigger than a Transporter/Transit).
Pros: If you're looking to stay places but not more than. 1 or 2 nights. You can drop into a campsite, switch off the engine and you're set up. Can be used for days out
Cons: got to strike camp every time you want to drive out somewhere. Doesn't fit in a lot of car parks. MOT Servicing costs additional to your daily.
Caravan
Pros. Great for multi days at a site. Can take car away for days knowing camp is set up on site when you get back. Generally more space than a motorhome so good for families. Servicing cost usually cheaper.
Cons. Storage. You have to tow it. You need a suitable tow vehicle. Lower speeds (if adhering to limits)
Camper. Can still pull a caravan with it. Can have a camper for days out. If no caravan, still have the setup/take down issues involved every time you go out.
If I'm exploring a foreign country at pace, I'd go with a motorhome. If I'm wanting to establish a base for more than 4 or 5 nights, I'd say caravan. We have a big caravan, towed by a day van which is ideal for family plus a load of kit for hobbies etc.
Pros: If you're looking to stay places but not more than. 1 or 2 nights. You can drop into a campsite, switch off the engine and you're set up. Can be used for days out
Cons: got to strike camp every time you want to drive out somewhere. Doesn't fit in a lot of car parks. MOT Servicing costs additional to your daily.
Caravan
Pros. Great for multi days at a site. Can take car away for days knowing camp is set up on site when you get back. Generally more space than a motorhome so good for families. Servicing cost usually cheaper.
Cons. Storage. You have to tow it. You need a suitable tow vehicle. Lower speeds (if adhering to limits)
Camper. Can still pull a caravan with it. Can have a camper for days out. If no caravan, still have the setup/take down issues involved every time you go out.
If I'm exploring a foreign country at pace, I'd go with a motorhome. If I'm wanting to establish a base for more than 4 or 5 nights, I'd say caravan. We have a big caravan, towed by a day van which is ideal for family plus a load of kit for hobbies etc.
Money - Motorhomes in my experience tend to be much more expensive than a caravan. I know you can argue that with car to tow costs may be similar, but you use car when not using the caravan. It’s an awful lot in money sat in storage or on your drive for 46 weeks a year.
Transport - if you are only doing 6 weeks a year and tending to want to go places when you arrive, caravan allows you to set up settle down and still travel with car, park where ever you want and visit where ever you want. Motorhomes restrictions where you can park and thus where you an go on trips out from your location.
En route visits - with a caravan you are definitely travelling site to site, if you can find parking for Motorhome you do have flexibility to visit places between site and site. More options in Europe.
Driving Ease - No doubt driving a Motorhome is straight forward and less stressful with fewer dramas. Having said that I towed for 17 years, to south of France most years and do get use to it and more confident. Although a car is quieter engine with no rattles and noise from the habitation area.
Motorhome cheaper channel crossings, separate locations often for service, MOT and habitation checks. Basically with caravan habitation check and you drop it off and collect later. Better fuel consumption for Motorhome, 28mpg v 20mpg. I would not base the decision on fuel consumption just something to be aware of.
We had a caravan for 17 years and wondered why people had motorhomes, we finished work and within 12 month we had a Motorhome and wondered why we hadn’t done it before. I think that was first and second point above, money and length of time away. We were using the Motorhome more, staying away for longer periods and short stays at locations.
The ability to have on board water and waste water helps massively if you are travelling a lot with short stays on sites. Europe is definitely more orientated to Motorhomes which is where we spend more time now.
Transport - if you are only doing 6 weeks a year and tending to want to go places when you arrive, caravan allows you to set up settle down and still travel with car, park where ever you want and visit where ever you want. Motorhomes restrictions where you can park and thus where you an go on trips out from your location.
En route visits - with a caravan you are definitely travelling site to site, if you can find parking for Motorhome you do have flexibility to visit places between site and site. More options in Europe.
Driving Ease - No doubt driving a Motorhome is straight forward and less stressful with fewer dramas. Having said that I towed for 17 years, to south of France most years and do get use to it and more confident. Although a car is quieter engine with no rattles and noise from the habitation area.
Motorhome cheaper channel crossings, separate locations often for service, MOT and habitation checks. Basically with caravan habitation check and you drop it off and collect later. Better fuel consumption for Motorhome, 28mpg v 20mpg. I would not base the decision on fuel consumption just something to be aware of.
We had a caravan for 17 years and wondered why people had motorhomes, we finished work and within 12 month we had a Motorhome and wondered why we hadn’t done it before. I think that was first and second point above, money and length of time away. We were using the Motorhome more, staying away for longer periods and short stays at locations.
The ability to have on board water and waste water helps massively if you are travelling a lot with short stays on sites. Europe is definitely more orientated to Motorhomes which is where we spend more time now.
It really depends how you intend to use it, for us there is no way something like a van based around a Volkswagen or Ford is suitable, the beds are small and realistically you cannot stand up in them, use them all year around and with the top up they are no more than having a tent on top
Motorhome, massive, but no more space than a caravan, expensive too, we hired one and the noise from the plates and cups rattling as you drive drives you up the wall, we chose a caravan, cheaper to buy, has a big bed, has a toilet (no body wants to run across a campsite at 2am for a wee) we tow it put it in storage when not using it and it suits our needs. Others will hate caravans and want to be al T6 scene …
If it must be a motorhome then something like a Ducatto or transit van (lwb high roof is what I would go for)
So decide how much you want to pay, how you intend to use it and what for then go somewhere and view all the options
Motorhome, massive, but no more space than a caravan, expensive too, we hired one and the noise from the plates and cups rattling as you drive drives you up the wall, we chose a caravan, cheaper to buy, has a big bed, has a toilet (no body wants to run across a campsite at 2am for a wee) we tow it put it in storage when not using it and it suits our needs. Others will hate caravans and want to be al T6 scene …
If it must be a motorhome then something like a Ducatto or transit van (lwb high roof is what I would go for)
So decide how much you want to pay, how you intend to use it and what for then go somewhere and view all the options
My wife and I have a motorhome - roughly 7.5m long. My wife is happy to drive it on her own, whereas she's not keen on towing. It means we can both have everyday cars that suits our needs and desires as an everyday car - she has a RenaultSport Clio, and I've got a first-gen Audi RS6. If we had a caravan, one of us would have to be boring and have a car that could tow as an everyday car.
If we go away in it for a holiday we'll possibly take one of the cars, probably the Clio to run around with - although last year we toured Ireland in the Motorhome and used motorhome apps to find suitable parking in towns and cities.
A motorhome suits us better than a caravan would.
Yes, there are some rattles from plates. Judicious use of non-slip mats and towels etc help.
If we go away in it for a holiday we'll possibly take one of the cars, probably the Clio to run around with - although last year we toured Ireland in the Motorhome and used motorhome apps to find suitable parking in towns and cities.
A motorhome suits us better than a caravan would.
Yes, there are some rattles from plates. Judicious use of non-slip mats and towels etc help.
Edited by andrewcliffe on Monday 21st April 23:00
Motorhome wins if you want to explore a bit, we like to get a cheap ferry crossing and tour up to the Netherlands or around the coast of France, make a road trip of it and park up for the odd night wherever we can, includes stopping in nice places for a quick brew up. Also have bikes on the back so we can park out of towns and cycle in. Just back from 4 days in Amsterdam, £330 inc return ferry, sites and 3x admission to Keukenhof tulips.
We have friends with a caravan and it's more of a single destination thing, fine to park up for a week and drive round locally in the car but a pain to tour around with, not quite as spontaneous and caravans are not usually allowed in aires..
All depends if you want to park on a campsite in a sea of white caravans or hit the open road and tour round. Saying that you could get a permanent pitch for a caravan in say the New Forest (or any forest holiday site) for a grand and use it as a summer holiday home, that would be nice.
We have friends with a caravan and it's more of a single destination thing, fine to park up for a week and drive round locally in the car but a pain to tour around with, not quite as spontaneous and caravans are not usually allowed in aires..
All depends if you want to park on a campsite in a sea of white caravans or hit the open road and tour round. Saying that you could get a permanent pitch for a caravan in say the New Forest (or any forest holiday site) for a grand and use it as a summer holiday home, that would be nice.
Have had owned camper, trailer tent, caravan and motorhome! Motorhome wins for us.
Camper great in terms of easy to drive, quick set up, easy to visit places from site etc but lack of space and facilities didn’t work for us
Trailer tent was very easy to tow, gave us a vehicle to use to explore once set up but set up was a faff and again lack of proper toilet / shower was a negative
Caravan worked very well once on site. Bit of a faff to set up but again great to have car available to explore etc. But I hated towing it and in the end that kind of killed it for us
Motorhome now and love it. Find it easy to drive, set up in 5 mins (bit longer if I inflate the awning) and space works great (it’s 7.4m ). Big downside is lack of mobility once on site but with a bit of planning we work around that (and use it for festivals etc where that’s not an issue).
Cost is a big factor and obviously the purchase price and serving on the motorhome materially higher than the trailer tent / caravan but I man maths that away.
If you are thinking of taking the plunge try and test / hire before you buy (we’ve hired motorhome a few times and really liked some layouts and hated others for instance).
Camper great in terms of easy to drive, quick set up, easy to visit places from site etc but lack of space and facilities didn’t work for us
Trailer tent was very easy to tow, gave us a vehicle to use to explore once set up but set up was a faff and again lack of proper toilet / shower was a negative
Caravan worked very well once on site. Bit of a faff to set up but again great to have car available to explore etc. But I hated towing it and in the end that kind of killed it for us
Motorhome now and love it. Find it easy to drive, set up in 5 mins (bit longer if I inflate the awning) and space works great (it’s 7.4m ). Big downside is lack of mobility once on site but with a bit of planning we work around that (and use it for festivals etc where that’s not an issue).
Cost is a big factor and obviously the purchase price and serving on the motorhome materially higher than the trailer tent / caravan but I man maths that away.
If you are thinking of taking the plunge try and test / hire before you buy (we’ve hired motorhome a few times and really liked some layouts and hated others for instance).
We have had both Motorhomes and Caravans.
Motorhomes are fantastic if you have kids. They are sitting in the back at a table, so its easy to keep them occupied on a journey.
They are also, ready in minutes once you arrive.
The benefits of a caravan are mainly around price and the ability to use your car when you get to your camp site.
Motorhomes are fantastic if you have kids. They are sitting in the back at a table, so its easy to keep them occupied on a journey.
They are also, ready in minutes once you arrive.
The benefits of a caravan are mainly around price and the ability to use your car when you get to your camp site.
We had a caravan for 6 years until last year. We towed for the first year but I got fed up with towing. Fortunately we found a site that we loved in York that did indoor storage and put it on or off the pitch when you left.
This suited us and worked well. I never towed again. York is lovely, 30 min walk or a 5 minute drive from the site and a bus stop right outside.
When we sold it we considered a motorhome but my wife did not like the idea of “having to take your house with you” if you needed a pint of milk.
So the money we got for the caravan we use for uk breaks in Airbnb.
This suited us and worked well. I never towed again. York is lovely, 30 min walk or a 5 minute drive from the site and a bus stop right outside.
When we sold it we considered a motorhome but my wife did not like the idea of “having to take your house with you” if you needed a pint of milk.
So the money we got for the caravan we use for uk breaks in Airbnb.
Edited by Anastie on Wednesday 23 April 13:02
Motorhome for us. Although touring has become a little more challenging with 3rd child's arrival and him only just turning 1, we love the flexibility that motorhoming offers and tend towards spending our time on the continent where the use of Aire's and Stellplätze deep in rural villages of Germany and France unlock the most enjoyable moments in our experience.
The cost of owning a motorhome is for sure far greater than a caravan and it can also be a pain with maintenance of both habitation and base vehicle but we've had a few now over the last 10yrs and I struggle to be without one. The downsides of motorhomes versus caravans are outweighed by the flexibility of spending time off grid and in some truly special places, away from campsites (which I detest in the main).
The cost of owning a motorhome is for sure far greater than a caravan and it can also be a pain with maintenance of both habitation and base vehicle but we've had a few now over the last 10yrs and I struggle to be without one. The downsides of motorhomes versus caravans are outweighed by the flexibility of spending time off grid and in some truly special places, away from campsites (which I detest in the main).
We have Been down this discussion so many times!
In the end it’s still Caravan for us, all the arguments for and against have been stated above, but at the end of the day this comes down to your own personal opinions of what you get out of a holiday.
For us, the extra space in the caravan and ability to use the car whilst away still outways the ease of set up and the ‘freedom’ offered by a MH.
My Brother has been down this road too, caravan first, then MH, then back to caravan? Now talking about a small MH again……
Maybe the ideal and something we have wondered about is towing a Caravan with a small Camper, a T5 or something. That way on a long trip you can spend the odd night away in the MH free camping and also still have the smaller vehicle for normal trips out during the day.
Downside being possibly getting charged twice on sites, or being told you can’t leave the van unattended at night.
In the end it’s still Caravan for us, all the arguments for and against have been stated above, but at the end of the day this comes down to your own personal opinions of what you get out of a holiday.
For us, the extra space in the caravan and ability to use the car whilst away still outways the ease of set up and the ‘freedom’ offered by a MH.
My Brother has been down this road too, caravan first, then MH, then back to caravan? Now talking about a small MH again……
Maybe the ideal and something we have wondered about is towing a Caravan with a small Camper, a T5 or something. That way on a long trip you can spend the odd night away in the MH free camping and also still have the smaller vehicle for normal trips out during the day.
Downside being possibly getting charged twice on sites, or being told you can’t leave the van unattended at night.
Caravan for me. I can set it up and leave it and have a nice car to drive about in rather than have to pack up and drive a van. I've done NC500 in our caravan on the single tracks without issue.
I've never minded towing. I can see both sides of the debate, but a caravan suits me. I have space to store at home for either.
Caravan is probably cheaper to run than a camper - no separate tax and MOT for example - service for twin axle about £200.
I've never minded towing. I can see both sides of the debate, but a caravan suits me. I have space to store at home for either.
Caravan is probably cheaper to run than a camper - no separate tax and MOT for example - service for twin axle about £200.
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