How many people regret buying a MH and then go back to a caravan?

[Clangers]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

 

[RYHALLRED]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

I covered that millage in the first 2 weeks of owning my van. At a guess I would say your in the un-common bracket.

 

[andysam]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

A MH/PVC is not for parking on the drive and getting out once or twice a year, well you can if you can afford that, otherwise it is an expensive caravan. We use ours weekly, in fact in winter I commute 36 miles a day in it. We also rarely use a campsite. I do not understand why someone would buy an expensive MH and then park it on a camp site and take another car with them, or get the bus everywhere...that it exactly what a caravan is for.

MHs are NOT for everyone. It can be a bind packing up and moving on if you are untidy like us, but there you go.

 

[Neil S]

I do not understand why someone would buy an expensive MH and then park it on a camp site and take another car with them, or get the bus everywhere...that it exactly what a caravan is for.

Well it would seem a sizeable number of Motorhomers do prefer campsites
I’m currently at Winchester C&MC site and there are more Motorhomes than caravans .
And the site is pretty full

 

[cyberyacht]

I think Clangerds has made the right choice. If solely in the UK, I think the balance is in favour of caravans. Once in Europe it's a whole different ball-game.

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[MrsC]

Having been a motorhomer for 25 years and recently changing to caravan due to He Who Must Be Obeyed having health problems. (And I don’t know anything about updating my profile). But I think now with a caravan I am “nesh” and do not like the idea of camping at all in this weather. Didn’t much like it in a motorhome either come to that although experienced being snowed in and negotiating floods - but now the hotter the better for me. So perhaps this is why there are currently more motorhomes on campsites now because it’s easier setting up and hiding. Bput maybe after the summer we will go back to a motorhome though I have to say I quite enjoyed our maiden voyage. Levelling and getting water etc - I felt much more like a pioneer with a purpose and I liked not feeling vulnerable if something didn’t work. To me these days motorhomes are built from the inside out, in the good old days our old Hymer was a Trojan

 

[pampam]

I like your dog mrs c

 

[busbuddy]

My motorhomes have been the only motor vehicles I have owned that were capable of towing a caravan

 

[RollingRog]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

We have been motorhomers for 22 years thought we’d give caravan a try! Lasted 1 season too much flaffing about and we like to move around so not for us, but glad we tried it.

 

[nicholsong]

We have been motorhomers for 22 years thought we’d give caravan a try! Lasted 1 season too much flaffing about and we like to move around so not for us, but glad we tried it.

I like that new-found word 'flaffing' - combination of 'flailing' and 'faffing', says it all.

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[Reallyretired]

I had had both. Caravans were ideal when the kids were young and we were mainly in the UK. Motorhome best for us now, Europe is first choice and two days is plenty of time to stay anywhere. Packing up minimal if organised, and rarely bother with levelling. Never had a problem parking our 7.6m and now only 6.8m.

 

[cossie303]

We have had both, caravans when the kids were younger, motorhomes for the last 10 years. We find the motorhome quick and easy to set up whether on or off a site, it is easy to use for a day out where you can drive to where you want, stop and enjoy for the day, great for pup stopovers, it is versatile for us in as much as we can tow the motorbike on a trailer and use it when we get to where we are going, or the track car to weekend or track days, get there and you are set up in minutes for the weekend, also if required (which isn't very often) our smart car fits on the motorbike trailer (I should say the motorbike fits on the smart car trailer) and we have transport if we need it. We can also visit relatives on our travels and stay overnight on their driveways with no hassle. There is no right or wrong, it is horses for courses and what suits some won't suit others, but getting back to the original question, we changed from caravanning to motor homing and have loved every minute of it.

 

[DaveFromBarrow]

Never had a caravan and only had a MH since July 2020. Camping before that then cottages before getting the MH.

I think a caravan would work for us, and be cheaper, but there’s something about the MH we love.

I’d go smaller than the Apache, down to a PVC and believe we’d use it more, for example for very short trips and day trips, but Mrs Dave isn’t convinced.

d

 

[tonyysue]

Never did any" touring" and went to a few close sites and didn't go anywhere because of the hassle driving a MH round as opposed to a car. I was shocked when I added up the miles as I thought it would have been a lot less!

What hassle? Been doing it with the same motorhome for 22 years all over Europe and the UK / don’t remember any hassle anywhere!

 

[Tina the Tourer]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

We only had a caravan for about 3 years - the retirement plan was to set off across the Channel, turn right & see where we ended up!

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

we had a caravan for 3 years - post retirement plan to leave Dover, turn right, and keep on going! We had such fun. But bloody cancer had other ideas and eventually took my Navigator. In our younger days, we talked about adventures in a VW camper, so when it was clear that my Navigator was not going to be my co-pilot for as long as we’d planned, it was his idea to get a MoHo! So much easier to manage on my own. I loved it - albeit one of the neighbours said it was « a very expensive garden ornament ». True, I didn’t do the miles (can use Covid as some part of that) but I did go to France, and with a girlfriend travelled to N.Italy, and post lock-down and pre overseas travel did a fab 10-week trip all round the UK! But after 7 years, and in the middle of a house move (not to mention coveting a lovely new van!) I sold the one that we carefully chose together, but that my Navigator never got to ride in . My take on the whole caravan/MoHo debate is same as others have said…..caravan + car is so much easier for exploring, shopping etc. You do have to plan very carefully where you are going to park with a MoHo! Europe is a whole lot easier, but UK a nightmare of height barriers and just generally unwelcoming local Councils. But I will get another MoHo as I can manage it alone…..

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[Northernraider]

I don't get all this talk of packing up to move. My view is that things have their place and if not in use they go back there. Should only take minutes to be ready to move off if needed in a hurry..

Yep I live in mine fulltime it takes me 2 minutes to be ready to move. Kettle comes off hob , lock drawers , lock fridge . Good to go

 

[boldhamster]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

MH every time. I like NOT being able to drive round endlessly on holiday!

 

[BikerJon]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

We live in Cornwall and if we had a caravan we wouldn't be able to nip down to the beach with a changing room, toilet and kitchen.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Going out for the day in a PVC is quite easy although you need to do some research on parking near visitor attractions.

Occasionally, on our return we have found that some cheeky sod ignored our pitch reserved sign, and stuck a caravan on "our" pitch.

Obviously that doesn't happen if you are a caravanner. I would have one if we only toured in the UK. Duxette refuses to even consider the idea.

 

[andysam]

Just to add that we did try a caravan for a couple of years...it spent a lot of time on the drive with us pondering whether it was worth the hassle of hooking up for the weekend. On longer holidays it was okay and we enjoyed the easier freedom of a standard car, but broadly speaking we find a MH much easier.

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[nicholsong]

Yep I live in mine fulltime it takes me 2 minutes to be ready to move. Kettle comes off hob , lock drawers , lock fridge . Good to go

We take nearly 5 mins., because I do a walk around, shut off the gas and close windows, including roof hatch. That is an extra 2 mins. then we have to put the satnav on phone and rig it on dash.

You don't bother Tam?

 

[TheBig1]

Motorhomes and caravans have always been part of my life. Having bought, done up and sold both for years, we always had a choice. Motorhomes win most of the time for our use though as it suits our lifestyle and health needs better. Caravans, especially modern ones are no longer boring boxes on rows on wet campsites anymore. All mod cons, plus a vehicle to travel about. Downside is that I have yet to find a towcar with fitted toilet shower and fixed bed

We tend to be away as much as physically possible and from the first good weather of spring, we are off to rallies and THSs across the UK. We can be away 8 months and the cost would have bought us one 2 week package holiday. It is a lifestyle choice and motorhomes just happen to suit us better

 

[Tony50]

We have had caravans and motorhomes over the years, enjoyed both , now waiting for 5th Motorhome, downside with M/H no car and I'm not towing , upside we don't have to back to caravan on same roads, although we tried different routes back, but there are only certain roads back especially if you're pitched for a week, yes we prefer few days here or whatever, with a motorhome, we walk ,bike , and use as somewhat of a challenge sometimes foreign public transport, there again camped in Versailles's took a easy train to Iffel tower, now if you have a car I doubt you would want to drive around Paris ,I done once in the 1960' s that was enough.

 

[Peregrinator]

We only had a caravan for about 3 years - the retirement plan was to set off across the Channel, turn right & see where we ended up!

we had a caravan for 3 years - post retirement plan to leave Dover, turn right, and keep on going! We had such fun. But bloody cancer had other ideas and eventually took my Navigator. In our younger days, we talked about adventures in a VW camper, so when it was clear that my Navigator was not going to be my co-pilot for as long as we’d planned, it was his idea to get a MoHo! So much easier to manage on my own. I loved it - albeit one of the neighbours said it was « a very expensive garden ornament ». True, I didn’t do the miles (can use Covid as some part of that) but I did go to France, and with a girlfriend travelled to N.Italy, and post lock-down and pre overseas travel did a fab 10-week trip all round the UK! But after 7 years, and in the middle of a house move (not to mention coveting a lovely new van!) I sold the one that we carefully chose together, but that my Navigator never got to ride in . My take on the whole caravan/MoHo debate is same as others have said…..caravan + car is so much easier for exploring, shopping etc. You do have to plan very carefully where you are going to park with a MoHo! Europe is a whole lot easier, but UK a nightmare of height barriers and just generally unwelcoming local Councils. But I will get another MoHo as I can manage it alone…..

So sad for your loss, we planed to retire early as too many people we meet had great plans on retirement, some even bought their MH's before the great day, but too many couples lost their partner before the day came, it was so sad to see & hear, so enjoy life to the full, no matter what life brings.

 

[Clangers]

We have had both, caravans when the kids were younger, motorhomes for the last 10 years. We find the motorhome quick and easy to set up whether on or off a site, it is easy to use for a day out where you can drive to where you want, stop and enjoy for the day, great for pup stopovers, it is versatile for us in as much as we can tow the motorbike on a trailer and use it when we get to where we are going, or the track car to weekend or track days, get there and you are set up in minutes for the weekend, also if required (which isn't very often) our smart car fits on the motorbike trailer (I should say the motorbike fits on the smart car trailer) and we have transport if we need it. We can also visit relatives on our travels and stay overnight on their driveways with no hassle. There is no right or wrong, it is horses for courses and what suits some won't suit others, but getting back to the original question, we changed from caravanning to motor homing and have loved every minute of it.

Sounds like you have it sorted!
I must admit one problem having got rid of the motor home is my off road Motability scooter, which has it's own purpose built tailer.
It could have been towed behind the MH but obviously can't with the caravan we have now got. I must change the car soon so I might have to get a vehicle I can fit the mobility scooter into. I've had a VW transporter of varies types for the past 30 odd years and they tow OK, and they are not to big to go down lanes and go shopping.
What I really need if a huge MH with a car slung underneath but there is only one problem with that, I am £350,000 short!!!!!!!

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[ontheroadagain]

I've had a VW transporter of varies types for the past 30 odd years and they tow OK

I often think a VW camper and an Eriba caravan would be a great combination.
It would give you a lot of options.

 

[Realist]

Had them all, Caravan then Motorhome and now a caravan again.

Motorhome with car on the rear for convenience.
Caravan which is the same as towing a car behind a Motorhome.

Me, the caravan is the best option for us, loads more room that’s the biggest difference plus the car at the front and not the back for a change lol.

Ignore the misses and dog snoring their heads off lol.

 

[daventess]

I like that new-found word 'flaffing' - combination of 'flailing' and 'faffing', says it all.

I thought it was a kind of difficult to eat food ....

 

[wp1234]

Having owned a MH for 3 years and covering 700 miles we have sold it and thinking about going back to a caravan.
Is this common?

It depends how you use a Motorhome or caravan . We spent 6 months touring Italy , Slovenia , Bosnia and Croatia last year , I don’t think I would fancy dragging a wobble box around doing that trip

 

[Minxy]

We have thought about getting another Carthago, a smaller leaner one like the Compact Line, but even though they are narrower, they are still over 6.5 mtrs long, so not exactly car park friendly in most towns.

The shortest one, 138 model, is 6.41m so only 5cm longer than the extra long Ducato PVC which is 6.36m, it's one of the main reasons we bought ours and is actually easier to park than the PVC we had due to a better turning circle.

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[cyberyacht]

I've squeezed my Compactline 138 into quite a few car park slots.