You can stay in a lot of hotels and b&b’s or fly and stay in many exotic places for the cost of a caravan

Yeh but some people need to sit in a boring field, watching the cows, and carry their to the sluice every day.
 2018 SE SDV8 4.4 Byron Blue

ur20v wrote:

You can stay in a lot of hotels and b&b’s or fly and stay in many exotic places for the cost of a caravan

I fully agree. It does defy logic....

But I still like it. Last “boring field” I stayed in was devoid of cows, had indoor pools, saunas, steam rooms,
was next door to a lovely pub which had great food and made a cracking g and t.😉 There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

I only got ours to have while my other half was pregnant / on maternity to get out the house. We absolutely loved it, so we kept it.

There is something about it that I cannot explain, it’s illogical and expensive but I’m hooked!

There’s also the social aspect, we often just go away for the weekend to a CL with friends and spend the weekend walking the dogs, having BBQ’s, visiting cafe’s and just generally enjoying life.

I get it on a good day (have done the caravan ownership plus the other side as ops manager for a very large manufacturer making up to 30 vans a day)

But the quality of vans, their expense (high cost, maintenance, depreciation etc), sitting in traffic and busy caravan parks which are now getting expensive as well just pushed this over the edge for me. Since going to the Maldives, Bora Bora, Balia etc I cannot see the need to lock up a ton of money in a van that sits for the bulk of the year loosing money. A taxi, flight and G&T on the deck of a on beach villa with your own secluded beach or an in ocean villa with its own over the ocean pool, four poster day bed at the end of your own jetty and snorkeling to die for. That’s me now plus home in Spain and a bolt hole in Australia 😇

Buy a Hymer. British stuff is pants! 2008 L322 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 in Java Black with parchment and Navy interior. 125000mls.

I used to be indecisive and have a split personality... but we are ok now...I think?

I get around 22 weeks a year off with the wife so a caravan suits me far more than going on package style holidays. Every other weekend is Thursday evening to Monday night so works well at £10/night. I set the van up somewhere on either Thursday or Friday afternoon and go back to collect the Mrs. There's no way I could afford constant holidays any other way. We go all over Europe in the summer for six weeks at a time and enjoy all that hot sun, amazing people and food. I have a Vanmaster V640TBEW which I had built in 2016 which really hasn't put a foot wrong in the five years I've owned it. It was built to our spec and includes self levelling, self seeking satellite dish (Good for British tv in Croatia), underfloor Alde heating with Flow constant hot water system, full WiFi system, air con, quad movers etc etc etc. I absolutely love it and spend ages upgrading all kinds of stuff. I can get the kettle on the boil from the car for when we arrive and turn the awning and interior lights on by voice control. It has a payload of 500kg on top of all the kit fitted and my 2017MY 4.4TDV8 FFRR pulls it like a steam train. I understand it doesn't suit everyone and the cost was high but I intend to do it till I fall over and the kit is there to help me do it even after that. The actual build quality isn't perfect but it is hand made and real wood so I can strip it with a Phillips screwdriver and fix it on holiday without any real problems. The issues I've had have been very minor and easily put right. Usually human error and corrected by this human quickly and easily. I bought mine new which is possibly the second or third from last one ever built and will look after it for the rest of my caravanning life. I also love being in the middle of a field looking out over a different view every now and then. It may be lakes or mountains or distant horizons but it isn't home, which I like.

Vanmaster is the one exception to the general shoddy workmanship / design of British vans. That said, they are horrifically expensive etc. With the price of the van, the depreciation, towing costs, insurance and site fees, you definitely could have some nice holidays in very comfortable accommodation. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

I thought about the purchase cost quite a lot. It is very expensive but does include shedloads of kit too. I thought about how most people have a new/replacement van every three years or so and generally lose depreciation values of about 40-50% in those three years. According to Glasses guide. So if I bought Buccaneers I’d be at the same cost after my third change so 9-10 years. I hope to get more than this out of the Vanmaster. Insurance is £700/yr new for old based on £75k replacement value so not overly expensive. Towing I get 21-22mpg which is similar to my old Swift. Staying costs no more than any other van.

I do get it but there are less risky hobbies/holidays, like Sky Diving, Rock climbing and swimming with sharks

A few have mentioned cow’s, fields, saunas and pubs, plus ff towing 2+ tones effortlessly as ‘benefits’… a lot of hotels have fields next door or gardens and even beaches, plus A380’s seem to ‘pull’ 500 passengers effortlessly and probably use less fuel than a 4.4tdv8!

I don’t think I can be converted and sounds like you guys love emptying port-a-loos and causing massive tailbacks on every public holiday to much 😂

Best you stick to your airports and hotels then. I’m sure they suit you and you get exactly the holiday you want.
I prefer the freedom to tour different places and experience multiple destinations on my holidays. I get so much fun out of going on weekend breaks with friends and not having to drive home. Other friends and family come over to where we’re staying to have bbq’s etc. Great outdoors fun. I get it that some see it differently but it doesn’t matter. This year the dealerships have sold out of caravans and getting a pitch has become far more difficult so the sooner these newbies can go back to flying the better.
Safety wise I’ve never had any issues at all so I don’t understand the shark analogy.
500 people in a metal tube travelling at 300mph a mile up and you call caravanning unsafe?

Last edited by Huwrhys on 23rd Jun 2021 4:47pm. Edited 1 time in total

UR20V LOL, causing massive tailbacks on every public holiday. OMG - are you serious!!!!!
...... perhaps you were baiting for a response?

Exiting roundabouts I'm generally in the outside lane accelerating past the slow cars, vans etc that hold me up. (obvs only up to the speed limit!)
Th FF just doesn't slow down on hills, in fact another ideal overtaking opportunity

I've been towing for years, I'm confident and competent, it's not me holding up traffic. Quite the opposite.
Oh and boy does it make me smile.
I'd love to see the faces of the people I pass, unfortunately I'm past them too quick to see their reaction!
I do try to travel when the roads are quiet, and I avoid bank holidays - Too many damm tourists LOL

To get back to the original thread, yep it does make me somewhat sad that the good old days of coachbuilt caravans by hand seem long forgotten, modern uk vans are so flimsy now. Anything can be made to work if you fiddle with it long enough (and have deep pockets|)
Current cars, 2011 FF 4.4 TVD8; Audit TT 1.8T convertible.

I was looking like a lot of people to get a caravan I had a look at a Coachman top of the range for £40k before you put motormovers on or other extras? look nice in the brochure? then had to wait until next year to get it.
Found a 2015 Vanmaster V640SD that suits me and SHMBO, Even at £40k+ build is not great I understand that it's done to keep the weight down? but the Germans seem to be able to do it well?

That £40k Coachman has no payload left once you fit movers to it. If you fit A/C too you’re left with about 40kg. Not enough to take your cutlery.
The Vanmaster will have about 400kg to play with.