Motorhome v Caravan.

[Neil S]

If you do touring in Europe you would lose access to the Aires/Stellplatz etc as from what I have seen they don’t allow caravans. That might restrict your options? I can understand the use of the tow car is a big plus though. In the uk a caravan could be the better option.

Not entirely true CCP allow caravans on some of their Camping Mon sites in high season

 

[Lenny HB]

One thing not mentioned is that most caravans have naff all payload ,only just over 100kg even big twin axle ones only around 150 kg.
This means you end up filling the car with all the junk you want to take, an awning (which are flipping heavy) has to go in the car boot. Most caravans run way over weight, police often have purges on caravans on the main roads into Dover in the summer.

 

[Snowflakes]

Over 20 years we have had 4 MH and Caravans, but this year just sold the MH (Sad to see it go) and returned to a caravan, for most of the reasons stated by the knowledgeable people on this thread.
Love driving the MH but Cara no problems at all.
when on sites you are limited to visit places with a MH
Spiralling costs of something that sits on the drive 5 months of the year (MOT, TAX, Servicing, Running costs, all add up,) Caravan paid for no extra expense
Most towns have an aversion to MH parking which curtails visits to the local area.

I was sad to see the Motorhome go this year (Last week) but for us I believe that touring the UK 2024 we have opted for our Caravan, BUT who knows next year it may be the MH bug again, but for now settled.

Finally Good luck in your decision making process, only advice try/hire before you buy.

 

[TwistNShout]

Like many others, I caravaned along with my ex-wife and kids, mainly weekend rallies. Once in practice it never took long to setup or take-down, maybe a porch awning for weekend and full awning for long breaks. Suited us for that time in our lives. In France we stayed on a site for a week or more. It does take some planning for weight distribution, but so do all vehicles.

Now we tour, especially abroad, staying no more than 3 nights normally so a motorhome suits us. Especially as just the two of us.

It comes down to your health and what sort of trips you want to do.

 

[Tarn2]

Done both for many years. Caravan was better while kids were young, but tended to stay on a site once set up.
Now have a campervan and tow car which suits us perfectly. If we are going to be staying in one place for more than 3 or days, we usually tow the car, if we are going to be travelling from place to place, we leave the car at home.
We needed a small car for local running about at home and for the wife to drive easier (she can drive the campervan and has in the past driven 7.5 tonne horse lorries, but both of us prefer me driving!), so it made sense to have one we could tow when we feel like it. Best of both worlds!

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[Brains]

The answer is simple:
Short stay anywhere - Motorhome
Long stay anywhere - Caravan.

This is the fundamental difference.

It depends on your holiday style.
If it's all about moving on and looking at lots of stuff and doing lots of different things then the motorhome wins hands down
If you prefer to park up for days, or even weeks, at a time, and lie by the pool or just pootle around the local area then the caravan wins hands down.

And if you are not sure then how about a decent, but smaller, PVC with a tow bar and get a caravan as well.
That way, a bit like Thunderbird 4, you pick the most suitable combination for each trip.
(After a couple of seasons, sell one or the other)

 

[two]

This seems to be keeping you up ?-)
The activities you describe are typical caravanning.
For the UK, I would recommend caravanning anyway but Europe is good for caravaners also.
Caravanning is cheaper as you only have one vehicle to maintain and the caravans seem cheaper than motorhome coachwork.
You may need a bigger car.

 

[Richard n Ann]

We used to park the motorhome up for weeks at Benidorm, some will say we should have a caravan but we just preferred the motorhome

 

[JRT]

On the subject of awnings - we gave up on ours a few years back and just bought a 'sun' canopy. I can put it up on my own in less than ten minutes. Provides shelter from light rain for a BBQ.

As there is only two of us (+dog) there is still plenty of room in the 'van without a full awning. I wish I'd got the slightly longer version though as the 'van could take it.

 

[mikeg40]

I too have considered this, especially as the cost/value of a motorhome is so much higher and the increasing difficulty of the freedom option in the uk. for europe, it's motorhome hands down but in the uk........ If I put the approx value of my motorhome in a savings account, I'd have a lot of nights in hotels, holiday parks, etc. I rarely stay on sites and prefer moving most days. even for a few miles, I carry bikes for local travel and enjoy the freedom the van gives me. for me the motorhome is still the best, even just in the UK, but for you I'm not so sure, especially if you travel mostly here

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[Larrynwin]

No need for a bulky awning , we never had one on our motorhomes other than a wind out shade and won’t have an enclosed awning on the caravan, it seems to be an habitual religion with caravanners on arrival to put up a massive awning even for just a weekend spending half of their weekend erecting and taking it down.
With our motorhomes we pulled up on site and in minutes had our feet up and it will be the same with our caravan which has the same inside space and facilities as our Hymer so no need for an enclosed awning.

 

[nicholsong]

The answer is simple:
Short stay anywhere - Motorhome
Long stay anywhere - Caravan.

'Long stay anywhere - Caravan or Motorhome

 

[GMLS]

You sound like a closet Caravanner!! Completely opposite to us - who enjoy the touring nature of a motorhome, dislike campsites and use electric bikes to get places. Although we agree on the walking!

While it would be nice to have a car in tow I really couldn't be bothered with the cost/hassle.

Exactly the same.Also I'd want a decent sized caravan and then I can't help but think of "travellers". I'd also have to change my car (which I love) to a 4x4

 

[Hymer Tony B]

On this trip are assessing if Motorhoming is what we want out of a holiday/passtime.
Last couple of trips we have/are towing a twin axle trailer with a car on.
We don't/won't do bikes, peddle or part peddle electric.
We don't, try not to do buses/trains and the like.
We do walk a good bit (country/mountain roads with no pavements are nerve racking).
We do like the camp site life/vibe.
I do like the driving to and from countries/places. The more miles the better.
At the mo on this trip we think it's 51% give up motorhoming and 49% continue. By the end of this trip who knows.
Then we got to thinking and talking last night why don't we give a CARAVAN a go for a year to give it a sample.
Thinking again pros v cons. We have come up with a few in favour that would SUIT US.
So may i ask..........................i know it's a motorhome forum.............thoughts from your goodselfs that have gone either way MH to Caravan visa versa.
If we were to go the other way i promise from the bottom of my heart i will not mention the C word again.

We have a 6m Hymer MH. 2.2m wide. Fits in most parking spaces. Has Garage at rear for storing stuff. A 100w solar panel. Can do 3 days without EHU in uk no problem. In Sunny Spain never need EHU. Have Gaslow system easy to refill Gas. Done away with awning now just use a pop up sun and rain shelter 2.5m x 2.5m. Takes 5 mins to put up and 5 mins to pack away. This suits the 2 of us and our Dalmation. I have had caravan in past and would never go back.

 

[OutTheOffice]

We are in the process of switching from a motorhome back to our caravan. For me the deciding factor is having the car with us, but also as a caravan is a much cheaper piece of kit and non mechanical we wont feel the need to keep using it. Since having the motorhome we have forgone any other type of holiday "because we have to use the motorhome to justify the cost " Leaving a caravan at the side of the house untouched for months at a time does not seem such a waste

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[scotjimland]

Not entirely true CCP allow caravans on some of their Camping Mon sites in high season

Indeed.. they are the old municipal sites now run by them..

the one in Chateudun is a good example.. they have spend money upgrading facilities including shower and toilet blocks..

but it came at a cost.. they have closed the free aire in town under the walls of the Chateau..

 

[minesapint]

Could you downsize to a pvc. If you don't need storage for bikes it may be a good compromise, and small enough to use for day trips or shopping trips whilst away?

No I do not think we could ever downsize to a pvc/Whoosh bang. it would be far to cramped after a large coach built, behind which we tow a little car on an A frame. Expensive on road tax etc but so much easier to use. We did once try a caravan but soon went back to motorhome.

 

[BikerGraham]

bobnick one thing to also consider too is that you have gone away in the van with the bike in tow on a trailer. You wont be able to do that if you get a caravan. So will need to consider the alternative way of bike holiday. May not be an issue mind but jsut a thought.

 

[oldiesontour]

Seems to be a common thread here.
One persons like is another person's loathe.
One persons need is another person's unnecessary inconvenience or expense.
Our opinions and desires change with circumstance.

 

[hja]

Had a caravan for years initially when son small then just the two of us. Yes we enjoyed it, generally only spending a few nights in any one place. Having the car was good, allowing us to drive down narrow roads and explore with no issue. We had a motor mover so getting on a pitch was not much problem. But we increasingly didn’t like towing. Getting on and off drive was a faff, connecting up etc. Tugging water and waste barrels became hard work. We now have a 6.4m PVC so easy to drive, pitch up etc etc. Fixed beds so no making up beds etc. We have gone away on far more occasions. It is a high top so parking can be a problem, with research needed. Happy to use public transport, but we are not city people. We are using it in UK only. Yes there are compromises but we do prefer it to the caravan. If we were to swap to a caravan we wouldn’t want a large tow car so it would have to be a small caravan which I think would not be easy to live in.

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[gus-lopez]

but surely its all about organisation and teamwork

Any 'team' here only ever has one in it. Regardless of who is travelling.

Not entirely true CCP allow caravans on some of their Camping Mon sites in high season

& for the other 10 months of the year? not a lot of use.

One thing not mentioned is that most caravans have naff all payload ,only just over 100kg even big twin axle ones only around 150 kg.

This^^^^^^^

 

[Neil S]

One thing not mentioned is that most caravans have naff all payload ,only just over 100kg even big twin axle ones only around 150 kg.
This means you end up filling the car with all the junk you want to take, an awning (which are flipping heavy) has to go in the car boot. Most caravans run way over weight, police often have purges on caravans on the main roads into Dover in the summer.

You can upgrade the weight at no extra cost on many caravans my Coachman has a payload of 203kg with an MPTLM of 1700kg which is more than sufficient for clothes , food .
We don’t use an awning in the summer just a simple Isabella sun canopy so setting up doesn’t take that long .
Whilst towing doesn’t suit everyone , I find it a breeze and far more comfortable travelling in my tow car long distances as well as quieter .
Horses for courses I say

 

[Neil S]

.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

Any 'team' here only ever has one in it. Regardless of who is travelling.

& for the other 10 months of the year? not a lot of use.

This^^^^^^^

Any 'team' here only ever has one in it. Regardless of who is travelling.

& for the other 10 months of the year? not a lot of use.

This^^^^^^^

Our Adria Adora Seine has 188 kilo payload as is not a twin axel.

 

[Neil S]

Any 'team' here only ever has one in it. Regardless of who is travelling.

& for the other 10 months of the year? not a lot of use.

This^^^^^^^

Bit more than that CCP allow caravans on their Camping Mon sites 5-6 months of the year

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[tribalbrit]

We had a caravan for a few years when we holidayed in the UK, then we bought an old F reg Hymer when kids were little, they loved to stay in bed while I drove early hours to get down to Spain. Then we purchased a twin axle caravan and dragged that to Spain and back for a few years, staying on sites and travelling out by car.
Kids grew up and we bought a van conversion, toilet shower etc included. We loved it. On extended trips of 6 to 8 weeks decided more space was required and swapped it for a MH.
We now have a touring caravan permanently stored in Spain. We tour through France, Germany, Italy, etc and most years end up at the caravan in Spain.
Best of both worlds apart from not having a car to use while away.
Would I Tow a caravan for thousands of miles again? No.
Would we have gone to The Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Italy, France and Spain all in the same trip with a caravan? No.
We drag a smart car around occasionally in the UK but wouldn't take it abroad, due to cost and flexibility etc.
We also like to jump in the MH on a Saturday, drive into the Peaks or somewhere and have night out at a Pub, in their carpark.
We prefer the MH.
Would I help a struggling caravanner with their awning? Yes, have done in the past. I remember I started in a small two person tent on a motorbike and my roots are still camping based.

 

[JRT]

Just like MH's caravan payloads can be increased by up plating which we did with our current and last 'vans. Obviously you have to take into account licence restrictions, the max towing weight of the tow car and the max. train/axle weights if carrying stuff in the car as an alternative to carrying it in the 'van. Our current payload is 180kg.

Not a massive upgrade agreed but it really is not an insurmountable problem.

And certainly not one to make a huge impact on whether to have a MH or caravan IMHO. There are far more pressing reasons to choose one or the other.

 

[JRT]

You can upgrade the weight at no extra cost on many caravans my Coachman has a payload of 203kg with an MPTLM of 1700kg which is more than sufficient for clothes , food .
We don’t use an awning in the summer just a simple Isabella sun canopy so setting up doesn’t take that long .
Whilst towing doesn’t suit everyone , I find it a breeze and far more comfortable travelling in my tow car long distances as well as quieter .
Horses for courses I say

Annoyingly Swift charge for this, I can't recall now how much it costs now but it was a few quid. Bit of a cheek really as all you get is a new NCC weight certificate and of course a new weight plate (sticker!) for down by the door.

Good to hear Coachman do it for free.

We use the exact same Isabella canopy too.

 

[Lenny HB]

Annoyingly Swift charge for this, I can't recall now how much it costs now but it was a few quid. Bit of a cheek really as all you get is a new NCC weight certificate and of course a new weight plate (sticker!) for down by the door.

Good to hear Coachman do it for free.

We use the exact same Isabella canopy too.

If was swift payloads I looked at.

 

[JRT]

If was swift payloads I looked at.

As I said ours is 180kg. Which for us is not an issue.

On our previous T/A Swift it was more but TBH I can't recall by how much now.

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