29 replies to this topic

[Grandad]

We are thinking of going back to having a motor caravan and, having got over the shock of how expensive they now are, are looking at thee completly different models.

 MC_T2.jpg   51.85KB   23 downloads A. Pretty & nostalgic.

 MC_Morello.jpg   53.3KB   20 downloads B. Big & comfy.

 MC_Topaz.jpg   40.08KB   21 downloads C. Similar to the Trident we used to have.

A Based on a new Mexican T2 VW. No power steering and old fashioned but just like my first motor caravan.

B Based on a Fiat Ducato. Bags of room, but is the base vehicle reliable or rust prone?

C Based on a VW Transporter. Less room, but I don't have any reliability worries having had the previous model transporter.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with any of the above.

[Dan Gleebitz]

I can just smell the Elsan .....

[Lancelot]

Not a direction that I'd head in now. Done the tent lark way back, and the reting of caravans, but not owned one.


Much prefer the comfort of an hotel. Brother in law and wife have just lashed out

Edited by Lancelot, 11 August 2009 - 11:50 AM.

[JoeBlunt]

A: The VW Camper Vans do seem to hold their value nowadays so probably a better residual value long term however I've never found them to be comftable to drive and there doesn't seem to be that much room in the back. I also find them flipping noisey (engine noise).

B: I suppose if you were to do quite a bit of travelling and comfort was paramount over mpg then this is the best option however if you only travel twice a year it would be an absolute crime to have it parked up the majority of the time. Parking will be harder and even the trip to the local supermarket to stock up might have problems as many have height restrictions. I'm not a lover of Fiat myself.

C: Probably a compromise between A + B, small enough to drive with ease but large enough to cope and a good level of comfort. VW over Fiat everytime in my opinion

[Lancelot]

My friend who lives in Canada has a RV and travels from there to Mexico in it each year for his holiday.

Edited by JoeBlunt, 26 March 2010 - 01:50 PM.
Duplicated image deleted

[bikerhoward]

My experience of a motorhome wasn't positive either. Too small cramped and cold. The Lake District in July finally made me sell it. EIGHT hours to get there chugging along at 60mph. Fuel hungry and it broke down while we were there. The AA decided that as it was 'a commercial vehicle' I could stay in a lorry park until a weekday when the parts would be available. All this and I still had to wait three hours for the AA to turn up.
Hmmm nice - didn't happen though as I didn't want to camp next to Rubber Duck whilst I had a pitch at a expensive site going to waste.

Other niggle was that when you've parked up if you find you need a pint of milk and the shops a few miles away. You have to pack ALL the stuff up and secure it all before you can drive to the shop and back. Times we did that, level the van etc etc. Supposed to be a break - too much hard work! You can carry a bike with you but on the one we had weight was an issue. Since it was massively underpowered.
More work lugging water both 'grey' ahem and fresh. Chemicals to bother with. Just hassle IMO.

Thats then. Now I have a static caravan and it's great. I have ALL my creature comforts and plenty of space. For me it's the way to go. Cheaper than your vans too. but if I wanted to tour about then I'd go for B+B's myself. Touring vans - again small cramped and I have no place to store it.

[Dan Gleebitz]

I hate to admit it but in the dim distant past we hire a van for a couple of weeks touring of the UK. It was a Transit based shed on wheels and we had it in early May if I recall.

Recollections of touring ....

• Stink from Elsan "Bucket" and the mixing of chemicals together with where to bung it when not using sites.
• Parking... don't think of using a busy public car park as the slots are too narrow and often with height limitations. I brought the center of a town to a complete standstill reversing out of a side street leading to a multi story carpark .... well it never said what type of car park it was !
• Fuel consumption was horrendous .. refill every two days
• Performance .... max of 60mph because of the noise and side winds .. and worst the affects on fuel consumption... forget overtaking
• Cleaning the damn thing (if you owned it)
• Parking on your drive .. would you want it there?
• Preparing for winter (freezing up)
• and ... The neighbours will hate it on your drive ... other road users will hate if for blocking roads as you wander .... you'll hate it for the unnecessary expense compared with a B&B

[EricH]

We've been motor caravanners for over thirty years and enjoy the freedom of being able to go when and where you want. Even visiting friends who may not have room for guests we just park on their drive. Now that we're retired we spend the winter months in Spain (warm weather all year round is good for the Arthritis). No problem moving around if you're organised - everything has a place to live in the van so it's simply put back when it's finished with and you can move when you want. We do tow a car on an A-frame when going to Spain (now legal thanks to VOSA ruling) as it gives us more freedom of movement and that does limit speed to 50 MPH on normal roads or 60 mph on motorways but "solo" we drive at normal car speeds (unlike towed caravans) and we get 28 mpg (26 mpg towing car) on diesel. I'll bet most caravanners don't often get that.

Enjoy your motor caravan, EricH

Edited by JoeBlunt, 13 August 2009 - 09:37 AM.
Quote Removed

[al-n-ing]

 DSCF0017.JPG   296.12KB   42 downloads

Hi Grandad, did you get one? Here's mine;

VW 1.9TDi, returns 38mpg & has all mod cons & very comfy to drive. Best of all when the Piccy is off the road for any reason, we still have transport. Mind you we have gone a bit over the top - everything colour coded, deck-chairs, awning & even my bike - Honda anf in red/silver.
Iv'e sold the trailer & have a bike rack fitted to the towbar.
If you have'nt... you should, & in 6 months you'll wonder how you managed without one!?
As for which one? well I used to sell the spares/accessories for them & its a question I was oftern asked, but always gave the same answer; 'you want a Bedford Rascal on the road, & a Winnybago on site' So its 'compromise'.

Edited by JoeBlunt, 26 March 2010 - 01:51 PM.

[Grandad]

al
I agree with everything you say. I like your high opening garage by the way, do you store the camper in there?

Shortly after I sold my third VW camper (1. Bay window Devon, 2. Autosleeper Trooper, 3. Autosleeper Trident {see image}) I started to suffer withdrawal symptons.

 VW2_5in.jpg   78.29KB   23 downloads

Due to the wife's health we are unable to go back to full camping again but need to be able to carry a wheelchair and liquid oxygen. It is realy awkward for us at the moment as 'the boss' cannot now climb stairs meaning that using our favourite hotel or visiting relatives is not possible. So we need a mobile overnighter.

We did manage to pack everything into our Tardis Picasso but it was a squeeze.

After looking at loads of motorcaravans we had to cross many off the list due to restricted access for the wheelchair.

Now, we are looking into the possibility of getting a LWB VW Caravell where the rear seat converts into a bed. They seem very versatile and, with some modification might suit our needs. I see that there is a new model out in January next year.

Hope to have eveything sorted out by next spring.

[Grandad]

Well, after much head scratching, we have decided to get a silver VW Caravelle Excutive, spending some of the money I was lucky enough to make by selling all our shares just before the last stock market crash.

.  VW2010.jpg   21.82KB   7 downloads This will be me doing a spot of sky diving.

Extras will include a bed and there will be plenty of room for grandma's wheelchair and oxygen paraphanalia.

It should make life more pleasant for us (we hope).
We are already planning modifications to suit our needs but it is very versatile already.

OK chaps, shoot me down.

Edit: Chapesses, feel free to join in.

Edited by Grandad, 25 March 2010 - 08:31 PM.

[JoeBlunt]

We'll have to have a new Thread - "Grandad's (& Grandmas) Travels" Where you travel round the country updating us every evening from your laptop like Michael Palin, (remember to remove wheel trims if you have overnight stops in Liverpool)

So, wheres your first destination?

[Grandad]

I hate to admit it but in the dim distant past we hire a van for a couple of weeks touring of the UK. It was a Transit based shed on wheels and we had it in early May if I recall.

Recollections of touring ....

• Stink from Elsan "Bucket" and the mixing of chemicals together with where to bung it when not using sites.
• Parking... don't think of using a busy public car park as the slots are too narrow and often with height limitations. I brought the center of a town to a complete standstill reversing out of a side street leading to a multi story carpark .... well it never said what type of car park it was !
• Fuel consumption was horrendous .. refill every two days
• Performance .... max of 60mph because of the noise and side winds .. and worst the affects on fuel consumption... forget overtaking
• Cleaning the damn thing (if you owned it)
• Parking on your drive .. would you want it there?
• Preparing for winter (freezing up)
• and ... The neighbours will hate it on your drive ... other road users will hate if for blocking roads as you wander .... you'll hate it for the unnecessary expense compared with a B&B

[Reply]
* Things have improved.
* Length 4.892, Width 1,904, Height 1.970, not too gigantic.
* Urban 28.8, Extra Urban 43.5, Combined 36.7 mpg.
* 107 mph
* True
* Parking no problem.
* Engines use antifreeze now.
* Neighbours have one too.
[/Reply]

We'll have to have a new Thread - "Grandad's (& Grandmas) Travels" Where you travel round the country updating us every evening from your laptop like Michael Palin, (remember to remove wheel trims if you have overnight stops in Liverpool)

So, wheres your first destination?

We hope to have it delivered for Grandma's birthday in May. Fingers crossed.
I don't think that anyone would be interested in our travels unless something realy interesting happens. A gang of us once visited Liverpool on our motorbikes and parked up. We returned a while later to find that all the bikes bar mine had been nicked. The cops found them quickly as they new where to look for them. They said that my Vincent was too difficult to start.

[Lancelot]

Bet you wish you had the Vincent now - just think of the value and the pleasure in owning one. Which model was it?

[Grandad]

Bet you wish you had the Vincent now - just think of the value and the pleasure in owning one. Which model was it?

 VINCENT_COMET_1950VS.JPG   30.63KB   4 downloads

It was a Comet, best bike I ever had. I always regret swapping it for a car but family started increasing. As you imply, it would have been a great anti inflationary holding. The car would now be worth nowt!

I wonder what other folks regret selling, come on confess, you know that "it's the rght thing to do".

[JoeBlunt]

When I think of some of the Reg numbers I had on my old vehicles and the prices they make today I wish I'd hung on to the numbers............... 39 CAN, 229 STW, 21 TWC, 803 MV, can't remember them all............

[Lancelot]

A friend had a Norton Manx and I rode it a few times. It had been raced at the Isle of Man by a local rider. He bought it from him. Could drop it into top at 100mph on the North Yorks Moors and lift the front wheel. I've always been mad.

My father often rode in a sidecar with Freddie Dixon, but I doubt that many have ever heard of him. Try Google.

[Grandad]

Go for it!!!

But beware of the new type2s from Danbury, conversion appears to be OK but apparently the base vehicle is a bag of nails, an underpowered 1.4 Polo engine and body rust from new, also some scares about brakes

Thanks for that information.
Although I was tempted as I used to have a 'Made in Germany' one years ago I am a bit skeptical of the South American quality. They also did not have power steering although it is now available as a costly extra. They still look nice though. During my research I noticed that many (rust free?) 'Bow Windows' are being imported from Australia and completly refurbished.

Judging from your name, I suspect that you may have a Tardis. If so how do you get on with it?

..................................................
Lancie
A mate of mine used to have a Morgan three wheeler with an aircooled JAP V Twin upfront. We too used to belt around the Yorkshire moors. Very hairy road almost holding.
Sutton Bank used to be a bit of a challange both going up and down.