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[CLKD]

……… can be money sitting on the driveway 

About 8 years ago we began looking and it was Great Fun!

Now have to go to the town for shopping - began this to remind me to start the thread  - be back later

[honeybun]

Was the looking better than the reality of having one CLKD .

Guess if they don't get used enough then they are an expensive ornament.

Had a notion years ago for a caravan but it never came to anything.


Honeyb
x

[CLKD]

At first - I had panic once we had bought ours 

We went to lots of outlets and almost signed on the dotted line - twice.  But it was a HUGE amount of money and it would have cost between £3-4,000 to pay to run/fuel/MOT etc. - we wouldn't spend that in Good Hotels a year!  Then Life over-took us with parents being ill until I got to almost 60 and decided we should look again.

We spent almost as much on our Hyundai people carrier conversion camper-van as we could have done on a Lunar Motorhome.  The Hyundai however fits into our garage so is out of the way and spontaneous to use.  Anything larger would have to be stored away which increase the cost, the risk of it being pinched and takes away the 'let's go out today' scenarios.

I LOVE Rapido - washroom across the back, fixed bed and wardrobe, lounge area and good sized kitchen.  We loved the Lunar fixed bed too ……….. the model we have is a people carrier with the middle row of seats removed and a folding bed and kitchen inserted (Plus Porta Potty tucked away  ).

We spent hours thinking about how we would use one.  We spent hours scanning 'for sale' adverts and were amazed at how little mileage most motor homes have clocked up - we know why now  - they get used occasionally for holidays rather than as day vehicles too.  We also felt when first searching that, had we spent a lot on a motor home, we would have felt forced to use it at weekends (DH was still in work) which would have put pressure on us - and in the UK as we know, the weather isn't always suitable for camping.

I have a system now - a change of cloths in the wardrobe area and spares in a basket at the back …….. crockery is carried folded into tea-towels to stop it rattling and to give us spare tea-towels.  Bedding/blankets/ are under the bed area which can be accessed when the bed is pulled out.  There is actually a lot of storage if used 'correctly'.

I think I enjoy it, certainly days out are great: being higher up than our Toyota means I can see for miles and miles and ……. 

[honeybun]

You sound as if it has grown on you CLKD.

At the caravan park we were at a few weeks ago the van we were in was brand new. I had a little look to see how much it was...£33,000 and then £1,700 per year site fees 

Not cheap and not possible for us at the moment as I have my commitment to mother every week. I am a lot more keen than hubby as we don't spend that much on holidays in a normal year but it would be so nice to have my own caravan to play with 

Maybe one day


Honeybun
X

[CLKD]

To play in   

DH went on a towing course in our vehicle but he was  by the time he returned after 2 hours so it was no good for us.  Again we would have needed to store it somewhere.

We did consider, in the 1990s/2000, buying a 'van as you describe - on the Welsh coast.  But it's a long journey from here so after much discussion we talked ourselves out of the idea.  We would have bought it which included the end of Life for it i.e. towing it away after 10 years ……. plus annual fees plus fees had we wanted the family, who we know quite well, would do the letting/change over days for us.

[Scampi]

Static caravans are a real money pit - you have to really love them and use them frequently to make it even worth thinking about ... and that's coming from someone who has one and has never regretted the cost for a minute!  Ours cost £27,000 (it was not quite a year old - 4 years ago), plus a further £3,600 for a huge wooden deck on it, and our site fees are close to £3k a year (plus electricity bills, gas bottles and insurance).  It's an expensive beast, but we both work full-time (hubby works away a lot) and it's our little piece of heaven - I can feel the tension releasing as we drive closer to it, and it feels like we are on holiday every weekend. 

I'm glad you're enjoying the camper CLKD.

[CLKD]

Had 2 days in it - sunshine lovely, wind keen but the views, walks, peace have been great 

[CLKD]

So what have you bought?

We are away in The Bedsit next Thursday ……… 

[honeybun]

At the moment we will just rent.

There are so many special offers just now for rental motor homes.

Three day breaks.....can't pick up until 11am and return at 10am. £750 deposit for what equates to one full day...plus fuel plus £25 for an extra driver, plus £25 for the dog.
It makes the special offer a complete joke.

I would rather hire a static caravan, turn up, move in, all my home comforts. Job done.

I still would like my own but hubby is not in favour 


Honeybun
X

[GeordieGirl]

I've just bought a new VW and I love it. I've had a couple of older ones and as much as I loved them, the thrill of returning home on the back of flat bed trucks so many times soon wore thin.  My new baby is only 8 years old, bright, shiny and very low mileage.

I did have most of last year without a camper as my old one blew her engine and it killed me. I've plenty of tents but I just love the convenience of jumping in and driving off without the packing. The van's outside now ready for this weekend's adventure 

GG x

[purplenanny]

I am green with envy GG.

We had a VW 'splitty' when first married, until it blew it's big end! I absolutely loved it and dreamed of retirement day when we could buy another. Sadly didn't happen

I wish you happy carefree days, there is nothing like the thrill of driving a VW camper!! Even the queues that build behind you uphill are all part of the fun!

What colour is it?

PN x x

[CLKD]

How exciting!  We are members of the Small Motor Home Forum  ……. we even talk about motor homes etc. and Meets are arranged so that like-minded owners can get together -  +  + blankets = lots of chat about everything under the Moon 

Does your VW have a  name yet?

[Greyhoundgal]

We toyed with the idea of buying a static somewhere but didn't want to be tied to the same place.  We got a touring caravan early last year (staff found it hilarious when we took the dogs down to see if they would fit!) and use it whenever we can.  We usually stay fairly local to us (Suffolk) but did take it Holland for a week last year for brother-in-law's 50th 

[Scampi]

We had a tourer for 6 years before the static, and a folding camper (think caravan to window height, then canvas!) for 4 years before that.  We enjoyed touring, but hubby's working hours meant we could go less and less (it was often gone 6pm when he got home on Friday - once we'd got the 'van from storage, driven to site, pitched and sorted everything out, if was usually around 10pm), and my arthritis meant doing fun things like putting up the awning, fetching water, emptying waste, etc were getting harder and harder.  It was becoming a toil of a pleasure - all that setting up and packing away for effectively one day of relaxation (as Sunday morning was always spent thinking about packing up, watching the weather to try to get awnings down dry, etc!)We thought about getting seasonal pitch for a tourer, but we weighed everything up and went for the static, and we're still sure it was the right decision for us.  Just being able to turn up any time we like and know all we have to do is turn the water on is heaven.  It's like a home from home - in fact, I have more kitchen 'toys' at the caravan than I do at home!! I love cooking, but hate being shut in the kitchen on my own - caravan is open-plan, so I can spend hours cooking something yummy and still be with hubby, watch telly, chat, etc.

[GeordieGirl]

I am green with envy GG.

We had a VW 'splitty' when first married, until it blew it's big end! I absolutely loved it and dreamed of retirement day when we could buy another. Sadly didn't happen

I wish you happy carefree days, there is nothing like the thrill of driving a VW camper!! Even the queues that build behind you uphill are all part of the fun!

What colour is it?

PN x x

My new camper is white with lots of chrome but I'm looking into graphics.  My last van had a vinyl wrap and was literally covered in flowers - we called it the Happy Van as so many people would point and wave at her. The new van is a little too anonymous at the moment, but that suits my teens who hate to stand out in any way at all.

GG x