Why do people tow cars behind motorhomes, rather than have a caravan?

[PP Bear]

Can I ask, are you thinking of getting rid of the van and becoming a tugger, if so, just go with it and tell us the actual differences you’ve discovered in the process. Might be that more Funsters would change to tugging.

Me personally, couldn’t think of anything worse. Love having a motorhome for the very fact that if I wanted too, I can roll out of bed, climb behind the wheel, in my PJ’s or pants if I wanted, bed hair and breath, start it up and leave straight away. Setting up again, means putting the kettle on and sliding back into that bed. Perfect. No awnings, no 1000000kw heaters to warm up the awning area, no aqua-rolls and grey tanks sitting beside me, no worries of 4 windydown legs to level…..the list is quite long.

We also use buses, use em or lose em, bikes, we actually walk lots of places and even hired cars when we’re static for a period.

Could never have the same being a tugger. Imagine doing the NC500 as a tugger, but each to their own.

You also mentioned in an earlier post that this was the argument, I’d say discussion as this isn’t an argument either for or against

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I think the point being made that you don't always have to take the car if it's behind the MH but you do if it's in front doing the towing is a valid one, we see a MH with a car behind but don't know how often that happens.

We have friends with a car in the back of the van but they don't always take it with them but the van is still the same size so you could argue that a trailer or A frame would be better.

We do the same. Having a tow car (which doubles as Alison’s daily driver) we have plenty of choice as well as not having a special extra car for the job. My car is the “decent car” to use the OP’s words

 

[charliesgrandad]

Another advantage for the car and caravan - that car can be your only motorised vehicle. Whereas if you have a motorhome and tow a small car, that car may well not be enough for your daily use at home. So you end up with three motorised vehicles, 3 lots of tax, 3 MOTs, etc.

We are in this category of large motorhome, small toad, and then an Suv for everyday use at home.
We only take the toad on long trips in UK , ie touring Cornwall or the Lake District, but the majority of our trips in the Motorhome are without the toad, we much prefer this setup to the 20 years we spent towing a caravan
As for the extra costs , they are not extra costs if it's for your enjoyment.
There are no pockets in a shroud,if we wanted to save money and not do all the things we enjoy we would sell the motorhome and both the cars and live as a recluses
Everyone to their own I suppose

 

[Tallyboggle]

Quite interesting to see the comments and there is always going to be advantages and disadvantages. For an individual the weighting of each will be different and no right or wrong, it is highly unlikely that it is an individual advantage or disadvantage will lead to a decision, it is a combination. For a quick example we had a twin axle van and a decent car(whatever that is, personal choice again). Very nice it was indeed. We live in a cul de sac so to go away I needed to collect from storage, get as close to the house as I could and load what did not “live“in the van. Alternative load the car and then load the van at storage. Two loads not one. Dependant on work at the time dictated when the van was collected and time available before we went away. The motorhome also lives in storage and I can pick it up when passing. It can then fit on my drive whereas 30’ of caravan can’t. I could go on and on but it’s personal to me. So no right no wrong.
ps my toad is decent as well.

 

[TOAD on Tour]

other than price, it’s the perfect solution, plus if we don’t take the car we have a massive garage for loads of crap to take (a ton on payload )

Don’t talk to me about taking crap! Don’t have a van like yours but are fortunate (apparently!) to have +ton of payload….so obviously we have to use it

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[eddie]

Yes, I’m not arguing that a car and caravan is better than a PVC, or even than any motorhome. The argument is: if you tow a car behind your motorhome, why wouldn’t you have a car and caravan instead? The argument seems to be mostly about use of aires and set up speed - but it seems to be that you are paying a lot for that fairly minor convenience.

Because caravans are shit by comparison in my opinion

And we very occasionally take a car when it's convenient so tow infrequently as opposed to having to tow all the time

And also its a free world

 

[eddie]

I'll give an example last year my mates from Scotland met us in Norfolk on the coast. We live in the Westcountry

We had planned a week using the vans as a base so the four could cycle to various places we all wanted to visit, however the weather forecast looked dire, so we took the car as well

As it happened we didn't need it as the weather stayed kind, so we stuck with plan A and cycled, but it's really no hassle on an A Frame so absolutely no reason not to take it

 

[reckless]

Because caravans are shit by comparison in my opinion

And we very occasionally take a car when it's convenient so tow infrequently as opposed to having to tow all the time

And also its a free world

That final sentence could so easily terminate many of these discussions but then where would the Fun be??

 

[PaulyP]

I just don’t get it. If you’re going to tow, surely it makes more sense to get a really decent car, and tow a large caravan. I must be missing something.

Advantages of car & caravan
Cheaper purchase cost
Only one vehicle with an engine, less to go wrong, lower road tax, lower MOT
Better fuel consumption
Much better car to drive around when you get there
More living space in the caravan (probably)

Disadvantages
Longer to set up, but then if you’re towing, you’re not moving on every day anyway.

How about the vast majority of sites are not convenient for local towns and places and when you have a disabled wife it’s not possible to go walking long distance with a wheelchair or cycle to places. I wouldn’t want to tow a caravan but a car was easy, each to their own, various people have their reasons.

 

[Mikeco]

You might not get it as you say but you don’t know the reasons why people do it .
We used to stay on one site in Spain for 6 months so we towed a car behind our PVC because we needed it there , we wanted to and we could.
We don’t do it now because we don’t want to.

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[Odd-no-more]

I have had a motorhome and a caravan, and whilst they are somewhat similar they are best suited to different trips. Some people like to tour and move on every day or two, some people like to stay in an area for days and explore more fully. If you are a strayer then a caravan is far better, it's what they are designed for. If you are a tourer then a motorhome wins every time.

 

[PP Bear]

Thinking on, after many years of family jealousy, my sister broke and finally got a motorhome. They were over the moon with it and took the granddaughters away with them, however they only used sites, always on EHU and fully serviced pitches, so never really exploited the benefits of having that freedom.

So last year, they sold the van (for £4000 more than they paid) and brought a new caravan and a used landrover to tug it with. Her reasoning was that they would only ever go from home to a single site and just stay there, then home again, so with the grandchildren a caravan offered more space, day trips out in the landrover etc.

It worked for them and they’re quite happy with it all, but still a shame they didn’t get to explore the abilities of having a van, a bit of FLT parkups etc.

 

[PaulyP]

I have a friend who was a tugger, he would disappear to Spain for 6 to 8 weeks at a time, I was always saying he should get a motorhome much easier without all the setting up, just recently he did, mainly because he said as he is getting older he was fed up with all the setting up, he know finds it’s much easier in a motorhome and now goes to Spain but instead of staying for 6 weeks in one place they will stay in a favourite place for up to a week then move on to another favourite place, he’s finally realised it’s more versatile.

 

[Holly's mum]

We rarely use sites and like to travel around, not staying in one place for more than 2-3 nights (unless it is a Fun rally ), so a motorhome suits us much better. We don't tow a car as we use our bikes, walk or use public transport.

Our neighbours on the other hand love their caravan but they only tour in the UK and they prefer to use sites and travel from that base each day, they sometimes take the grandchildren away with them and the caravan suits them better for that too, as they choose sites to stay on that will help to keep the children entertained.

Everyone is different and has different requirements and how they use their home on wheels.

Jane And Rog, I wonder how different your recent trip to Morocco would have been in a caravan compared to your PVC, would you have even thought of doing the trip in a caravan?

 

[Jev88]

We only take Towcar when we want to. The Towcar is the Wife's daily car. We hate the long winded faff of setting up a caravan and unloading and loading.

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[Neil S]

The reason that caravans are not allowed is that they usually don't have all their self contained own facilities, basically toilet and waste tanks.

all modern caravans have cassette toilets and many have onboard fresh water tanks as mine does
we can be as self contained as you , don’t even need EHU as I have 150 watt of solar
only thing I use outside is a grey water tank on wheels

 

[Feltwell]

We used to stay on one site in Spain for 6 months so we towed a car behind our PVC because we needed it there , we wanted to and we could.
We don’t do it now because we don’t want to.

Plus you can't do more than 3 months now, unless you're lucky enough to have an EU or Northern Irish passport.

For a slightly different take - once the kids have finished going away with us, I plan on getting a bike trailer and a car trailer to go behind an MH (not at the same time! though it might be 1 trailer to do both duties). That MH will probably be a PVC. Why?

Boys and their toys - I've got a kit car that's nice in the summer sun, I've got bikes that are also nice in the summer sun. Much as I enjoy camping, and still do with the bike, it is a lot more comfortable in an MH, especially if the weather isn't as good as hoped for. Nice to have the toys to play with. A classic car is on the list as well.

I quite fancy the idea of my 7-type car (like a Caterham 7 but not a Caterham 7!) for a pootle round the south of France, without actually having to drive it all the way there! It's lovely but not even remotely practical...........

 

[Jane And Rog]

Hmm, not that difficult to figure out, with a caravan you always have to take the car with you, with a MH you dont. Furthermore, with a MH you can use aires/car parks for overnight stops and you cant do this with a caravan.

I’ll put it down to it being an early morning post.

Ian

I’ll do the same with the snippy reply

 

[steve69]

The idea is to tow a small car that in itself would not be able to tow a caravan. Small car = better access for local travelling.

 

[Larrynwin]

A caravan is fine if pitching up for a few days or more but a pain in the butt if touring especially in Europe where a motorhome is perfect with Aires and sites close to communities so a car not needed.

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[Odd-no-more]

We only take Towcar when we want to. The Towcar is the Wife's daily car. We hate the long winded faff of setting up a caravan and unloading and loading.

I've swapped to a caravan and now in my 4th season I can set to caravan up in about 30 minutes, not much more than it took in the MOHO. People keep saying they arrive on site and put the handbrake on and that's all with a MOHO, but that ignores driving to the service point to fill the water tank and then back to the pitch. If you have a toad I think I'm probably quicker than you, as you have to remove the A frame and I just unhitch and level the caravan

 

[Fdhadi]

Not really sure what size Caravan I could tow with my Kia Picanto Toad.
If I were to have a Caravan it would probably be twin axle 6-8mtrs long.
I would probably need a Landrover or something 4x4.

I use my Toad for my job, I’m a driving instructor, I think a 4x4 Landrover would probably work out very expensive.

At the Plassey nr Wrexham at the moment. Brought the Toad because my wife wanted to nip into Chester yesterday, we don’t do a lot of sites, mainly pub stopovers and don’t take the Toad, which again we couldn’t do with a Caravan.

 

[pappajohn]

I towed a car because I could.
I didn't need a reason.

 

[Spriddler]

A caravan is fine if pitching up for a few days or more but a pain in the butt if touring especially in Europe

Quite so.
I have on occasions toured with my m/h in France accompanying my son and DIL with their caravan. They stay in the same place for at least a week and I like to be moving on every 2 or 3 days.
I really couldn't be doing with setting up and packing up a caravan plus awning/annexe every couple of days, (especially in bad weather).
I've always got the kettle on before he has even put down the corner steadies and it would be the same if I had a toad..

 

[funflair]

all modern caravans have cassette toilets and many have onboard fresh water tanks as mine does
we can be as self contained as you , don’t even need EHU as I have 150 watt of solar
only thing I use outside is a grey water tank on wheels

Not sure that's quite true but we do cheat by having 250 litres of black and grey tanks, isn't the grey waste still the issue with caravans though? as in it is not self contained as it is outside and needs getting rid of.

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[Verteuil Man]

Besides the advantages highlighted above of a motorhome, I think the my main answer would be I tow a car when and if I want to. Tuggers do not have the option.

There are many trips we do with the TOAD.

 

[Realist]

And don’t forget about bragging rights.

The bigger the MoHo with a toad and the MoHo has all the mod cons and cost you a family home price.

MoHo and toad yes engine pulling an engine and transport at the end done it uuuuummmmm?

Discovery 4 and a big BIG caravan is more practical, more space, alde heating, self levelling, motorised satellite and a nice 42” tv.

I just drive to site, park up, press a button van levels, press a button for satellite, plug power in, turn heating on and away we go.

I have 8ft wide space, far more space that most MoHos and I have a car to use plus one load of tax, fuel etc.

MoHo yes it feels like it’s simple but in reality naaaaa caravans or tuggers if you like in my mind is simplicity in itself.

Big MoHo with a car hahahahah bragging rights on site that’s all it is .

 

[msb03]

I hate caravans to be honest with you, I don't want a big car and the capital expense of that and a caravan. I can take my toad as and when I want to or just take the MH depending on where I'm going. It suits me and what I want to do

 

[Northernraider]

I towed caravans for years ....hated it
Tried towing a car with a van a few times. Wasn't keen on that either as it didn't suit my type of travel. It was actually restrictive in many ways.

I like bikes too but don't want to tow anything so I opted for a scooter on a rear rack. I think that works best for me although I still don't use the scooter as much as I thought I would.
I'm now planning to downsize yet again so undecided yet whether I'll bother carrying a bike at all.

If I used sites and stayed one place any length of time it would be different.

But that's why I've had countless campervans , caravans , motorhomes and cars ..because things are always changing and the more off grid I want to be and the more of the beaten path I want to go the more I discover the smaller, cheaper and more robust vans are the ones that do better.

 

[Treefitter]

Well! I don’t know car on trailer, inside motorhome, etc. I went down the route of 3.5t camper with electric motor cycle in the back

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