Motorhome vs Caravan

[Winston_C_4ever]

well we've been arguing between us for some time whter or not to get a caravan or a motrohome. any ideas here please?

 

[upmarkethippy]

hello,
If the motor home sits in the truck body then that is a demounatable, the 5er is an articulated trailer as on a lorry but usually on a smaller scale with the turn table being mounted in the back of pick ups.
hope this clears the mud slightly
Cheyne

 

[pappajohn]

oh is it a 4x4 truck with a motorhome attached to truck part ?

no....thats known as a 'dis-mountable'
totally different thing.

a 5er is just like a regular caravan but towed in a different way.

on site you drop the front support legs and drive the pickup out from under it.

have a look at this website. >>Link Removed<<

 

[scotjimland]

Well they have everything a R.V has inc slide out,for a fraction of the cost & no need for a toad:thumbhow easy is it to reverse a motor home with toad attached)plus they bend which makes them very manoeuvrable.

Yes, but a toad is a lot cheaper as a runabout, mine does 50mpg .. but agree it's not easy to reverse, and a 5er is probably easier to manoeuvre, but in saying that I've had few problems with the RV .. provided the pitch is large enough.

Other benefits of an RV, you have plenty of space while travelling with access to the facilities, plus large basement storage and a big payload .. very important for a full timer.
Arriving on site is as simple as pulling the brake on and lighting the gas for a cuppa.. no faffing about with uncoupling and jacking .. the EHU can wait until the rain goes off

But it is all down to personal needs and choice, as in all things motorhome everything is a compromise..

I know a couple who changed from a C class to a huge 5er, with a Dodge Ram, but as it's too big for the drive it's in storage, now they hardly use it .. IMO a wrong choice for their needs.

If I had the space and money I'd have a back yard full of motorhomes..
all different and all suited to different purposes .. for now I'll need to be content with the RV..

 

[robrobc]

why not go for a 5ver & have the best of both worlds:thumb:

I agree.

:thumb::thumb:

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[Wildman]

what a strange question to ask on a motorhome forum, do you really expect an unbiased answer, hee hee.
Motorhome getup and go
wild camp or stay on a site or show
Drive and park like a car
no need to go back on yourself
total freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Decent roof to hold Solar panels, air con etc.
Storage easier, you might even use it all year
prices hold better
Well suited to the self relient dedicated traveller

caravan stay put
site or show
costs to store, only used a few months of the year.
devalue very quickly.
more suited to fulltiming and site sitting.

 

[barryd]

You never mention if you have children. This could make a difference as they may be better entertained on large sites where a caravan may be a better choice.

For us it has to be a motorhome, I never even considered a caravan. We dont have kids and 90% of the time we wild camp and despite what people say it is quite easy to do this in the UK. The reason we do this is not to save money it is purely for the adventure and freedom you get from finding out of the way places and being on your own. Nobody has mentioned scooters yet. This is probably because not many MH's have them but we have a 100cc scooter carried on a rack on the back. This for us is our best addition as it means we can leave the van and explore all the little alleyways and streets you couldnt get to with a van (or even a car in some cases). We can also belt down motorways at 70-80mph no problem with it on the back. You have to watch the payload though and most vans wont take one and of course as I mentioned if you have kids then its not much use. I just spent 2 days plotting likely wildcamping spots with GPS positions on Google Earth in France. We are off there for a 10 week trip next week and apart from emptying the loo, charging the battery and filling with water we intend to wild camp as much as possible. You cant easily do this with a caravan. Good luck with whatever option you choose.

 

[madozz]

well we've been arguing between us for some time whter or not to get a caravan or a motrohome. any ideas here please?

hello there
if you can do not think about it .after 30years camping we bought a caravan had 4years of fun then 3week ago we bought a m/h the diferance pull up hook up and start your holiday ,no but your holiday starts when you get behind the wheel you see so much more being higher up .
best regards john and teena:thumb:

 

[Sundowners]

Hi
we have travelled with tent, roof-tent , caravan and motorhome, we then decided to get either a R/V motorhome or 5th wheel, we eventually decided on a 30ft m/home, but a 5er and pick-up turned up at a price we could not resist !!!!!!!!!! (3 years ago)
We have changed the petrol truck for a diesel and love this outfit for fulltiming (since June last year)
Because it's a bit big for small villiages and mountain roads, we now also have a truck-camper (de-mountable, dis-mountable) to use on our pick-up, so the one truck is a shopping basket, 5er hauler (caravan??) and also truck-camper (motorhome??)
We love our outfit, but it does mean that something has to be parked up at all times, but we only need to MOT & tax the one vehicle.
Nigel & Pamala

 

[scotjimland]

Hi
we have travelled with tent, roof-tent , caravan and motorhome, we then decided to get either a R/V motorhome or 5th wheel, we eventually decided on a 30ft m/home, but a 5er and pick-up turned up at a price we could not resist !!!!!!!!!! (3 years ago)
We have changed the petrol truck for a diesel and love this outfit for fulltiming (since June last year)
Because it's a bit big for small villiages and mountain roads, we now also have a truck-camper (de-mountable, dis-mountable) to use on our pick-up, so the one truck is a shopping basket, 5er hauler (caravan??) and also truck-camper (motorhome??)
We love our outfit, but it does mean that something has to be parked up at all times, but we only need to MOT & tax the one vehicle.
Nigel & Pamala

Hi Nigel

that makes for a very flexible outfit .. best of two worlds, haven't seen your 5er but love your truck and de mountable .. :thumb:

Jim

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[sirhandel]

Last weekend we pulled into a CL in our MH, positioned it, hooked up and opened a Stella. Took about 3 minutes.

A caravan then appeared next to us:
Manoeuvred into approx position with car
Unhooked electrics from car
Unhooked van from car
Manoeuvred into final position with electric mover gadget
Wound down 4 jacks
Hooked up site electrics
Filled up water container
Connected water to 'van
Connected waste container to van
Removed awning and BBQ from van so they could get in
...and they were still messing around after 40 mins when I was on my 2nd Stella...

Leaving takes us about 5 mins max and most of that is emptying the Thetford.

 

[barryd]

Last weekend we pulled into a CL in our MH, positioned it, hooked up and opened a Stella. Took about 3 minutes.

A caravan then appeared next to us:
Manoeuvred into approx position with car
Unhooked electrics from car
Unhooked van from car
Manoeuvred into final position with electric mover gadget
Wound down 4 jacks
Hooked up site electrics
Filled up water container
Connected water to 'van
Connected waste container to van
Removed awning and BBQ from van so they could get in
...and they were still messing around after 40 mins when I was on my 2nd Stella...

Leaving takes us about 5 mins max and most of that is emptying the Thetford.

What! They didn’t put their awning up? Unbelievable! I would have been on the third Stella watching that lot. We saw two caravans on a CL once that arrived after us. I am not exaggerating but they messed about for a whole 2 hours doing similar stuff!

 

[scotjimland]

What! They didn’t put their awning up? Unbelievable! I would have been on the third Stella watching that lot. We saw two caravans on a CL once that arrived after us. I am not exaggerating but they messed about for a whole 2 hours doing similar stuff!

ahh yes.. but they were still sober

 

[Sundowners]

Hi Jim
A bit off topic I know---- but we had the 5er at Peterborough again this year, we have not decided whether to take it or the truck-camper to Malvern yet !! we took the T/C last year.
Decisions decisions !!!!!!
Nigel & Pamala