Caravans: What's the Point?
Discussion
skinnyman said:
...Now I know it will give him the freedom to go where he likes...
I've always wondered. Are there many people on here who have ended up wedged in one of those narrow Cornish lanes, or small medieval French town centre street after getting a bit lost en route? That would always be a worry to me.Caravanning appeals, certainly more than campervanning as you can unhook, leave the caravan at the campsite and go exploring by car. The most extravagant "tender" transport I've seen was a Winnebago towing a Range Rover Sport into Hurley campsite, I always wondered how big the old feller's pension lump sum was to afford that setup!
prand said:
skinnyman said:
...Now I know it will give him the freedom to go where he likes...
I've always wondered. Are there many people on here who have ended up wedged in one of those narrow Cornish lanes, or small medieval French town centre street after getting a bit lost en route? That would always be a worry to me.Caravanning appeals, certainly more than campervanning as you can unhook, leave the caravan at the campsite and go exploring by car. The most extravagant "tender" transport I've seen was a Winnebago towing a Range Rover Sport into Hurley campsite, I always wondered how big the old feller's pension lump sum was to afford that setup!
Tend to plan the routes in France before I go and know where I'm headed beforehand.
Rosscow said:
No, never happened to me. I've been down some tight Cornish roads (you have to to get to the Slapton Sands C & CC site!) but all was well.
Tend to plan the routes in France before I go and know where I'm headed beforehand.
Underlines the importance of plotting a good course to avoid hazards before getting underway I imagine!Tend to plan the routes in France before I go and know where I'm headed beforehand.
prand said:
Underlines the importance of plotting a good course to avoid hazards before getting underway I imagine!
Yeah. There's no excuse these days - work out where you're going, have a look on Google Maps for any tight looking spots and you can go into Streetview and assess for yourself.Mind you, the A379 had some very tight spots, but you just had to go for it and hope you didn't meet a bus!!
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.2732707,-3.69073...
Rosscow said:
prand said:
skinnyman said:
...Now I know it will give him the freedom to go where he likes...
I've always wondered. Are there many people on here who have ended up wedged in one of those narrow Cornish lanes, or small medieval French town centre street after getting a bit lost en route? That would always be a worry to me.Caravanning appeals, certainly more than campervanning as you can unhook, leave the caravan at the campsite and go exploring by car. The most extravagant "tender" transport I've seen was a Winnebago towing a Range Rover Sport into Hurley campsite, I always wondered how big the old feller's pension lump sum was to afford that setup!
Tend to plan the routes in France before I go and know where I'm headed beforehand.
crankedup said:
This time a serious reply to the op, as opposed to my earlier bad taste quip.
I enjoy my vintage caravan and tow it with my vintage car. It's a bit slow so I keep a careful eye on my mirror. Most weekends I am attending steam rallies and country shows. Display my outfit during the day and then turn it into my accomadation for evening.
When the show closes to the public I can cook my evening meal and open a bottle of wine, no driving duties for me at this point. Then off to the marquee to enjoy the entertainment, usually live local band, and enjoy some beers with old friends and meet new.
Hotels? boring and staid imo but sometimes I have to comply !
Just catching up on this as I'm looking at basic campervan at the moment and had looked at some micro caravan things, too.I enjoy my vintage caravan and tow it with my vintage car. It's a bit slow so I keep a careful eye on my mirror. Most weekends I am attending steam rallies and country shows. Display my outfit during the day and then turn it into my accomadation for evening.
When the show closes to the public I can cook my evening meal and open a bottle of wine, no driving duties for me at this point. Then off to the marquee to enjoy the entertainment, usually live local band, and enjoy some beers with old friends and meet new.
Hotels? boring and staid imo but sometimes I have to comply !
Edited by crankedup on Wednesday 30th March 19:46
But this caught my eye as it sounds like hell in knitwear.
Edited by Trabi601 on Tuesday 4th October 20:49
Antony Moxey said:
Rosscow said:
prand said:
skinnyman said:
...Now I know it will give him the freedom to go where he likes...
I've always wondered. Are there many people on here who have ended up wedged in one of those narrow Cornish lanes, or small medieval French town centre street after getting a bit lost en route? That would always be a worry to me.Caravanning appeals, certainly more than campervanning as you can unhook, leave the caravan at the campsite and go exploring by car. The most extravagant "tender" transport I've seen was a Winnebago towing a Range Rover Sport into Hurley campsite, I always wondered how big the old feller's pension lump sum was to afford that setup!
Tend to plan the routes in France before I go and know where I'm headed beforehand.
We have a motorhome that we use for work, racing and the occasional break away with the kids. If you don't have to tow a trailer then a caravan is the better option for multiple reasons. It's inane to tow a car behind a motorhome, why would you do that when you can tow a (much cheaper to buy and next to zero cost to maintain) caravan behind a car? I just can't understand that. The only time a motorhome makes sense is if you are going from location to location or if it's small enough to take into town centres and the like.
foxsasha said:
We have a motorhome that we use for work, racing and the occasional break away with the kids. If you don't have to tow a trailer then a caravan is the better option for multiple reasons. It's inane to tow a car behind a motorhome, why would you do that when you can tow a (much cheaper to buy and next to zero cost to maintain) caravan behind a car? I just can't understand that. The only time a motorhome makes sense is if you are going from location to location or if it's small enough to take into town centres and the like.
Disagree. A motorhome's easier to navigate than a car and caravan, easier to reverse if need be, has better driving visibility and, I might suggest, easier to set up when you get to site. Of course it suffers the obvious disadvantage of once you get to site you're effectively stuck there unless you want to pack everything up before going off for the day,and that a car without a caravan behind it is easier to pilot than a motorhome but I don't think it's quite so simple as your 'the only time a motorhome makes sense' comment.Antony Moxey said:
Disagree. A motorhome's easier to navigate than a car and caravan, easier to reverse if need be, has better driving visibility and, I might suggest, easier to set up when you get to site. Of course it suffers the obvious disadvantage of once you get to site you're effectively stuck there unless you want to pack everything up before going off for the day,and that a car without a caravan behind it is easier to pilot than a motorhome but I don't think it's quite so simple as your 'the only time a motorhome makes sense' comment.
I've never had any particular issue manoeuvring a 7m motorhome with a 6m trailer so don't see why a car and caravan would pose a problem assuming you are going from A to B and then back to A. Setting up a motorhome of that size is similar to a caravan, the only differences being that you need to reverse and unhook the caravan and plumb water and waste but theyre not a major task. You still have to wind the supporting legs down, plug in electric, take covers off fridge vents etc with a larger motorhome. And if you are dragging a car then you've got the agro of unconnecting that, removing the A frame and the like before you can park the motorhome.Why would you choose a motorhome over a caravan to go from A, spend a week at B then go back to A, assuming a family sized van/mhome and that you'll be out and about through the week and not just stay on site?
I've not towed a caravan but don't you fit those big ear mirrors to provide visability?
foxsasha said:
You still have to wind the supporting legs down, plug in electric, take covers off fridge vents etc with a larger motorhome. And if you are dragging a car then you've got the agro of unconnecting that, removing the A frame and the like before you can park the motorhome.
Well that must take all of 2 minutes of your life.Gassing Station | Tents, Caravans & Motorhomes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff