Thinking of giving it up

[CazPaul]

Depends on your wants and needs.

Will you still want the odd weekend away, not using hotels etc?.

I / We plan to do the same in the future. Sell the UK house (Or turn it into a Buy-to-let). Buy a Caravan and live in that whilst we rent the house in Spain during the summer.

BUT!

I want a small Motorhome, very shorty wheelbase, with toilet & shower. So we can use it daily and travel using aires or things like Ski trips in the winter.

PROBLEM:

SWB motorhomes, with auto boxes are like rocking horse muck.

TM

Sounds very similar to the La Strada you sold, are you regretting this now Trev?

 

[wasp]

I've got a caravan but to get the size I wanted for the space I bought an old Rangy to tow it , it was cheaper than another MH, but, I now want a PVC with a tow bar so I can get the best of both worlds . Yes storage is also a problem I py 500 quid to store mine but I kept the RV at the same place so no difference

 

[Reallyretired]

I had a caravan when the kids were smaller but I don't think I'd bother again. You don't have to have an awning if you don't need the exxtra space which makes setting up so much easier. What you do have to do is stay on sites, and when you go out you don't have your facilities with you. Public toilets are practically non-existent both home and abroad. There is a small advantage over hotels if you have dogs, but personally I would rather have the smallest of PVCs rather than the most luxurious of caravans.

 

[Chris]

Phew.

Thought this was a smoking thread

 

[Steve N Tracy]

We have done the caravan thing, had 6 changed to a motorhome had 2 so far would be 3 if the damm thing arrives.
Will not go back to a caravan, dearer insurance on one, unless you have a newer towcar you are still facing emission charges.

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[CazPaul]

Not really. AFAIK most are parked at RAF Thurleigh.

https://www.motoringresearch.com/ca...government-save-cars-traded-scrappage-scheme/

I saw loads going to be crushed.

 

[gus-lopez]

im in london and have yet to see a survey ive signed evey petition but the reponse is always "so you want to kill babies "the questions of any survey would have been worded to get the result they wanted
its obviously ok to kill babies if you pay 12.50 a day

I probably get the stuff from Tfl as I'm aforeign registered mh for the lez . Iget the new dart crossing stuff as well. I got the original ulez info & then shortly after the suggestion & survey as they were "thinking of extending it to N&S circulars " even though it hadn't even started. I vehemently stated no.
As you say , surprise ,surprise or really no surprise to then get the email " 53% of those surveyed agreed with the suggestion" .

As I posted on another thread when I asked the question 53% of how many? there was a resounding slience.

i will be forced into retirement and loose our motorhome in 3 years not having the funds to upgrade either vehicle unless i win the lottey

It's disgusting. It should have been a household letter/email to everyone affected .& that is why they don't do it. scum all of them.

Public toilets are practically non-existent both home and abroad.

Every road I use in France has them in abundance at any airede repos or lorry park that I've stopped at ? & in excellent condition.

 

[Reallyretired]

I was referring more to public conveniences in towns villages you might visit with your towcar. You can use cafés etc but they usually require you to be a customer.

 

[PeteH]

We sold the caravan when SWMBO became unable to use it. The M-H is (IMV) far more usable for someone with (HER) mobility issues. Originally we had R-V`s (which I love, huge reclining seats) but having let my HGV lapse at 70, We are now into our second "Euro-Box" One of the issues specific to US is the fact that the driver seats can be turned and the side benches used as leg suports, an aid the circulation issues, and crtical in SWMBO`s case. The only time I have seen this remotely in a Caravan was many years ago in a Huge German "Jobby" on Twin axles which had two "Armchairs" in the lounging area!.

On the subject of "TAXATION", which lets face it ALL these so called "Zones" are, is that the Cretins who propose them are the same cretins that want to control EVERY part of "our" lives. Even the "B***T" Vote was biased Against leaving by these Cretins, but thankfully that failed.

 

[PORKSTER]

Clean air zone in Southampton ? What about the dirty cruise ships ?

Can't help with your decision but a nice caravan set up on a nice site on a seasonal pitch. Would suite me nicely to get away from real life.

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[EuroTrotters]

Sounds very similar to the La Strada you sold, are you regretting this now Trev?

No, not at all. The la Strada was a cracking bit of kit. Superb build quality but not as compact as it first looks and not as spacious for its size.

But that was a Medium Wheelbase with extension. Making it a tad over 6.5m.

I am thinking of a 5.24m sprinter SWB PVC.

The Strada was easish it park, but not as agile as a small sprinter

 

[EuroTrotters]

As seen here

 

[EuroTrotters]

Sounds very similar to the La Strada you sold, are you regretting this now Trev?

I Do miss it sometimes though.

*Wife would drive it
*LHD (where it spent most of its time)
*Super Smooth LHD
*Warm in Winter
-Drew quite a crowd (that I did not like)

 

[mustaphapint]

I too have been thinking of changing to a caravan and storing it in Spain. We are not making the best use of the MoHo in that we prefer staying on sites for long periods and using it as a base for local motorcycle touring. We do use aires or wild camping on the way to/from Spain but not the end of the world if we have to make alternative arrangements for a couple or 3 nights in a 3 month trip. We started off with push bikes in the garage, then a Honda 125 scooter, then we took my Enfield 350 which is pushing the weight limit and I'd really like to take my Triumph which is just too big and heavy. We are also moving house so we've lost our free storage. My "car" is a Fiat Ducato panel van which would easily take the bike and all our gear and could even be adapted with a bit of work as a PVC if I wanted. We'll decide during our next trip starting next February.

 

[ymfb]

I have always been anti caravan, it’s not that I don’t like the caravanners but all the years of trundling up and down the M5 and now the A303/A30 has proven them dangerous and unsafe. Tearful families looking at a destroyed pile of plywood and plastic strewn across the carriageway, holiday ruined, large pile of money wiped out and the cause of more traffic jams than farmer Giles.

For us when we get to the stage where the MoHo loses its appeal or we start wanting to stay in the same place for weeks at a time we will carry on. Southampton is close to us, so familiar with the traffic and LEZ discussions on South Today etc, surely the docks are the biggest polluters, ships and container movements being the biggest. But I suppose the local motorist is an easy target.

Good luck with your decision

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[Mattbee]

Caravans aren’t ‘dangerous & unsafe’, any more than any other trailer is. It’s bad driving and incorrect loading that is unsafe.
Thousands of tuggers do thousands of miles without incident.

 

[Ginster]

When I was married, we always had caravans, which I did tow, however, had a few years without and then had the opportunity to buy my cousins MH just before Christmas last year, never looked back, best thing I did. Its been a steep learning curve, but with a lot of help from the experts on here, I've had an excellent year with it. Still got two years and 2 months to retirement (not that I'm counting) but hope then to tour the UK full-time and rent out my flat. There's good and bad points with both options, but I'm definitely leaning towards MH's, I have my cycle on the back, I had to sell my old bike as it too heavy to lift onto the rack, but now have a lightweight which I can easily manage being a physical weakling woman, but it suits me perfectly. I'd say, if you're not sure, try hiring both options for a bit and see how you get on.

 

[Odd-no-more]

We have decided to put off a decision for a year or so. We might be moving, and only one change at a time. Like the idea of renting a caravan to see how we manage without the "day van"
I would like to keep the MO HO and sell the car but that's not an option for several reasons. We may just keep both and get a caravan as well.

 

[The general]

Clean air zone in Southampton ? What about the dirty cruise ships ?

Can't help with your decision but a nice caravan set up on a nice site on a seasonal pitch. Would suite me nicely to get away from real life.

Correct , cruise ships plus containers ships coming into Southampton create a LOT of pollution but it’s the business they bring out weighs the pollution problem ?? I stand corrected ,but I think I am right in saying a large portion of ships moored in the docks got to run their own generators when moored up because there is no shore power available ? Thus creating even more pollution .