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?

 

[stuartholmes]

We bought a new caravan, towed it down to North Devon to a small indie caravan Farm site, with great indoor/outdoor storage Cassoa Gold registered. Fantastic place to use as a base camp, we toured all over Devon & Cornwall, thinking most of the time "Glad we didnt bring the caravan down this road etc".
Well after only 220 towing miles, &12/13 visits to site over 15/16 months, we decided that towing a caravan arround Europe would be a pain, as much site planning would be needed, and that would spoil any spontaneous deviations to the original plan would be difficult..so we sold the van as new for our 1st MH with all the mod cons that the caravan had, albeit at 7.4mtrs long.
Having been on Fun for 6 years now, read all your conversations about MH's, layouts, size etc, then that some were reverting back to a caravan to get the ability to park up on sites to visit towns and tour an area more easily than with a large MH, which I fully understand, its a difficult choice for many.

I think in future, considering wife's health & lack of mobility for her youngish age, that we may have to join The Whoosh Bang Club! 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.
We tend not to use sites, if we do its for 1 night maybe 2 to empty & refill, Aires are the answer to this, we like to tour & enjoy the journey, with a general course to steer, but no fixed destination.

Decisions, Decisions, its a tough one, but you only learn through your own experiences, and life/health changing events, however Fixed bed, WC/ Shower is a must for us, but smaller would be much easier, so a tough decision in the future.
LES

Have you considered something like this - panel van conversion, kitchen toilet shower but also option of leaving bed in place all day... https://www.eshartleygroup.co.uk/detail/1176952/wildax-aurora-leisure-xl-

 

[pampam]

Wow id give my right arm to swap my little old caravan for a motorhome
But not doable at the moment
I loved motorhoming

 

[nicholsong]

This motorhomer would never think about a caravan. Never did before moving from boat to MH.

I am just adding this post to balance opinion.

 

[RobinE]

We have been back and forth a few times over the years. We loved European touring with the Motorhome meandering around wherever the will took us staying at small aires and camper stops.
We last changed to a caravan for these reasons,
1. Increasing popularity of motorhomes making our preferred touring styles more difficult.
2. Really needing to stay in the UK to be reasonably close to home due to my ageing mother's health
3. Caravans are much more comfortable, once pitched with awning, esp.with two large dogs and UK weather. I don't get pitching a motorhome with awning set up on their side. Ok if you don't want to leave the campsite for a week but we like to go on day trips from the campsite.
4. Day time parking of motorhomes in UK can be difficult, limiting access to town centres and other attractions.
So caravan's suited us for a while.
I am now totally fed up with the hassle of setting up and packing up the caravan encampment.
We also really missed the ability to take the motorhome out for day trips.
Now I am over 70, I have lost my C1E licence which pretty much means any half decent car and caravan combination is not possible for me. I still have my C1 licence - don't ask.
So we are now back with a motorhome. There seems to be an improved stopover network and we intend to use the extensive CL network. With a decent Lithium battery set up we should not need EHUs.
Time will tell.

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[nev robinson]

depends how you go on trips.

I arrived on site yesterday, backed onto the pitch in line with the white post, put the screen cover on, tv aerial on roof and plugged in the electrics. Thats me set up. On the pitch next to me a caravan arrived a few minutes after me. They then over an hour getting set up with their awning, water etc. Today the weather here is awful and the caravanners have driven off for the day. I'll be going for a walk from the site this afternoon to the lake / village etc

When I had a trailer tent (Skipped the caravan stage), i dreamt of set up only taking an hour, the trailer bit was easy but then you had to assemble a frame tent that zipped onto the side of the trailer to get the living area / kitchen / toilet under cover. This gave us acres of space but didn't feel worth the effort for a weekend.

My perspective is a motorhome is for short stays, one or two nights then you move on even if only a few miles to the next place. Caravans are pitched up and left for longer periods whilst you use the towing vehicle to travel further afield.

Have you changed how you plan trips or are you staying in one place for a week or more as you did in a caravan?

We only changed to Motor in August 2021 ,would not go back to tent or caravan but as one person stated it’s a few days and move on to next site.time to precious to stay in one place…

 

[Odd-no-more]

We had campervans and motorhome for years we used to tow a Harley and loved it. But since we got rid of the bike we missed having transport when on site, also we tend to stay in one place for a week or more and of it's not moved a caravan is much easier to run. We miss the pvc we had for days out but have fitted the tow car with a porta potty and a fridge freezer, we did have a gas hob but took it out as we never used it.

If money was no object we would have a small MOHO and tow the caravan with it but until the lottery win we will make do

 

[BikerJon]

Have you considered something like this - panel van conversion, kitchen toilet shower but also option of leaving bed in place all day... https://www.eshartleygroup.co.uk/detail/1176952/wildax-aurora-leisure-xl-

This is the one we went for, the front seats turn around and you can have a table between them. This allows you to leave the bed made up if you want. To be honest the bed is so quick to make up and lounge so comfortable we always put it away.

Apollo 6.4 RL - Motorhome Made to Order | S&L Motorhomes Yorkshire

The Apollo 6.4 RL from S&L Motorhomes has great flexibility of sleeping configuration, a spacious wrap around rear lounge, swivelling front seats & generous boot space.

www.slmotorhomes.co.uk

 

[Aspenshaw]

RobinE, "We also really missed the ability to take the motorhome out for day trips." Like you, we value our motorhome for days out. On a few occasions we have found the motorhome ideal for an emergency trip home.

 

[Realist]

Caravan, Motorhome, caravan in that order.

Caravan for space and facilities but ease of transportation motorhome.

Would I go back to a motorhome, yes but for now my Buccaneer is ideal with space and facilities and we have the car for trips.

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[Claire Ambler]

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’ve just gone be back to a caravan after 8 years. Best thing I’ve done (I think)

 

[Peregrinator]

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?

Common for someone who only did 700 miles in three years, total waste of time & money buying one

 

[Victor And Margaret]

We've had a few tuggers followed by a motorhome followed by another 12 years of tugging then a motorhome since last year. Both have their own advantages and shortcomings but we're pretty sure now that for us motorhomes are the clear winner. We went back to caravanning due to horrendous reliability issues and the van's layout not being suitable long term. We loved the ease of pitching and moving on and the freedom that provided and that's why we've gone back to a motorhome again. After 30+ years and massive quality and reliability issues with both, we'll never buy new again though.

 

[pampam]

I wouldnt call it a waste of money for clangers, at least he tried it and knows its not fir him,whats good fir one is not always good for everyone,

 

[stuartholmes]

I wouldnt call it a waste of money for clangers, at least he tried it and knows its not fir him,whats good fir one is not always good for everyone,

Absolutey! The last three years have not been entirely normal as regards getting the use out of a leisure vehicle. Or anything much else.

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[Peregrinator]

I wouldnt call it a waste of money for clangers, at least he tried it and knows its not fir him,whats good fir one is not always good for everyone,

Yes I agree, was not being discourteous, just my opinion.