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UK Caravanning (uk.rec.caravanning) A forum for the discussion of caravanning undertaken by residents of the United Kingdom, whether in the UK or abroad. It encourages the interchange of views on the merits of models of caravan, makes of tow car, accessories, caravan sites, caravan clubs, and other related topics. The term caravan is to include trailer vans, motor caravans and trailer tents. |
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Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back
problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman |
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On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:26:13 -0000, "david coleman"
wrote: Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman I wonder if a motorhome would be any improvement? I would think that a motorhome is great if you are going out and touring, staying an odd night two in one place and then moving on. But to go to somewhere and want to stay then I do not see what advantage you get from one since if the motorhome is large enough to be able to be a good substitute for a caravan then it is too large to use as a vehicle on a day to day basis whilst you are away so you would be left to walk hither and thither or have to tow a small car which to me defeats the object of having a motorhome. You still have to load the motorhome and unload it, they still need parking and levelling, you still have to make some provision for fresh and waste water. I went looking at larger motorhomes last summer and was horrified at how difficult many of them were to get into, the steps up to them were quite daunting. I would have thought that making your caravan more user friendly would be a better proposition. First I would be making sure that I had a drill driver with attachment to wind the steadies, then using a mover to hitch and unhitch the caravan, then I would fit an alko hitch stabiliser to get rid of the bending and stretching that fitting a blade entails, this meand that you will have removed virtually all the physical activity in setting off and arriving. Don't even consider carrying water wheeled containers are much easier to handle, the smaller Aquaroll is much easier to handle than the larger one, and emptying the waste a couple of times a day ensures that the wastemaster ( or whatever wheeled waste container you choose ) does not become too heavy. If you use a TV then the more recent Staus directional aerial which you manipulate from within the caravan is very easy to use and puts no strain upon you. You have the electric to connect whether you are in a caravan or a motorhome. The next thing I would do would be to ask whenever I booked a pitch for one that was close to the water, explaining that I had difficulties carrying water, I know that all CC sites will try to accomodate this if at all possible. I appreciate that as a 30 year caravanner I am probably trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs but there may just be something you have not thought of. Bill Lord I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk ( Get rid of the spaces and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots ) |
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![]() "david coleman" wrote in message ... Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman We went from caravans to a succession of motorhomes (all new, each more expensive than the last - because that's the ethos of MH industry!) and then reverted to a caravan, and were glad to do so. Mh's are fine - and you'll certainly feel suitably proud, sitting high up behind the wheel of 50K palace ![]() felt. Parking wasn't *too* bad - although, in holiday hot-spots it was sometimes impossible to find a suitable space, either in car parks, or on-road. Packing up in order to go out from the camp site wasn't too onerous either - we tend to be quite tidy, so that helped. The main problems we found we 1] It's a vehicle (obviously) and a very insecure one at that. Much emphasis is placed in the cab door deadlocks - which conveniently overlooks that fact that all coachbuilt's have at least one 'caravan' type door (and very often a flimsy 'garage' door as well) which can be forced by any self-respecting 10 year old with a screwdriver. Thus, vehicle security is effectively non-existent. This is also true of caravans, of course - but the big difference is that a claim on your caravan insurance has no effect on your car no-claim bonus. With a MH it will. Because the MH is a vehicle, any claim (even for a break in to the 'caravan' part will count as a whole vehicle claim, and will adversely affect your NCB What's more, it's self-evident to would be thieves that a parked MH will contain the whole gamut of possessions that people take on holiday with them - there's nowhere else to leave those cameras, laptops, jewellery, etc - so if you're away from your MH, and haven't got the items with you, then they are inside - behind that flimsy door. 2] Windscreens - especially on an A-Class model can create all sorts of problems if they break. First time out in new Hymer we got a fairly large crack caused by a stone spun from a car going too fast on a newly gravelled road. No windscreen company could help as it was a Hymer part, and it took Bownhills over three weeks to get one from Germany. In this case the damaged screen was intact and useable - but if it had shattered, that would have been the abrupt end of a holiday. With chassis-cab models, of course, this probably wouldn't be so much of a problem - but, even then, it might take them a while to locate a suitable screen. 3] Despite being smart and modern, the MH's never looked 'cosy' in the evenings. The cab space was always a bit gloomy, and the presence of the steering wheel, dashboard, etc, seemed to make things worse. Some people curtain off the cab area, nut that (imo) looks tacky, and reduces space considerably. There is simply no comparison between a caravan and a MH when it comes to looking and feeling comfortable in the evenings. 4] Probably just a personal foible - but having spent several hours driving down to Cornwall overnight, it was slightly dispiriting to park up on a site - and *still* be in the MH! - much nicer to leave the car and go into a caravan, but again, that's just a personal thing. 5] MH's are hugely overpriced - and the caravan element is often flimsy when compared to the base vehicle mechanical's 6] If you're carrying passengers, that necessitates them sitting in the 'caravan' part for travel. The Hymer had full belts - but I was also aware that it was a flimsy as an eggshell, and that if disaster had struck those in the back would have come off very badly. Again, no comparison to all travelling in a steel car with a compliment of airbags, etc. 7] MH dealers expect an average mileage of about 6,000 - 7,000. If you exceed the average (hard not to do, if you actually want to *use* the thing!) the trade-in value will plummet dramatically. 8] The practicalities don't really differ from a caravan. Few sites (especially CL's, etc) have provision for driving a MH up you the tap for filling the water tank via a hose - and even fewer have the facilities for dumping the grey waste. That means using an aquaroll to cart the water to the MH, and then pumping into the tank with a submersible pump. Grey waste will need its own portable container (unless you dump it while out and about) while the toilet cassette with still need carrying in the usual way. So, all in all, not much (if any) labour saving. 9] Modern turbo diesels are becoming increasingly troublesome at far lower mileages than they used to. Things like Dual Mass Flywheels are posing very expansive problems - and it's much harder to change the MH if you run into trouble, than it is to get another car. In summary, MH's are probably better for a couple than a family - but even then, they are wildly expensive and have numerous disadvantages that might not be immediately obvious. They were great for days out to theme parks, etc - but not as good as a caravan for holidaying, at least, not for us. |
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Thank you for the advise I appreciate you views and will take onboard the
fors & against. Dave "david coleman" wrote in message ... Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman |
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![]() "david coleman" wrote in message ... Thank you for the advise I appreciate you views and will take onboard the fors & against. Dave "david coleman" wrote in message ... Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman Forgot to mention that you have to keep your hand your ha'penny when using a MH on wet CL sites - no 4WD, and easy to get stuck. You'll generally find somewhere suitable - but it might well not be the nicest pitch - which, with a caravan & 4X4, wouldn't be a problem. On the plus side, you'll find MH people much more tolerant of generators ![]() We went to a MH show last year (just for old time's sake) and it was quite refreshing to see everyone cranking up their gennies - quite of lot of the 'full frame' ones, which they left roaring away until after well 11pm. We have a small 'suitcase' Honda which was inaudible amid the din of Chinese 3KVa generators! - but I never feel comfortable using it on a caravan site after about 7pm at the latest. It was a treat to leave it running late into the night with all the other machinery. |
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![]() "david coleman" wrote in message ... Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. We went from caravan to motorhome a few years ago and with 2 youngish kids, both of us in full time jobs and using it mainly for weekends/single nights away it beats the caravan hands down. Insuring it costs less than the car (£300 pa comprehensive) and fuel consumption is similar to a car + caravan. For convenience and speed of getting away it's much quicker, setup on site or wherever you go is also much quicker, switch off the engine, open the door and it's done. If you arrive somewhere late just climb in the bunks and sleep. Cycles are quickly attached to the integral rack, water's already on board and waste takes a few days before it needs emptying. The other big pros are the ability to decide at the last minute whether to stay out for the night if you only originally went for, say, a day on the beach and as a daytime picnic wagon for days out. The big downside is not having a car to tour around in while you're away. It's not the hassle of packing up cos there is none, lock the fridge, wind in the awning and drive off. If you like where you find yourself after the day out just stay there. What you get fed up with is driving a big motor around country lanes and hunting for big, safe parking spaces to leave it when you're wandering around the town, bearing in mind that it's easy to break into it and even the dimmest thief realises that there's a good chance a motorhome in a holiday area has got some good stuff on board. This only really comes to the fore when away for a couple of weeks but as we only do that once a year we can live with it because of how easy/possible it makes all the shorter trips throughout the rest of the year. Once we're too old and crotchety to ride push bikes, when the kids stop coming on hols with us or when we both stop working full time we will most probably go back to a caravan but while time's tight and convenience is essential we'll stick with the camper. Having it on the driveway with all your clothes etc in it ready to go all the time is where it comes into its own. Rgds Andy R |
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Our friends have one but he is disabled and SHE does all the carrying, so we
are definitely not getting one! Seriously when we go with them it doesn't seem that much different but they have been so limited going out in the daytime they bought a little car to go about in which they tow behind the mh. I don't know why but they all seem to be very slow on the roads, does it make the cups rattle or something. Their mh doesn't seem very roomy to me to move around in, and I would not like climbing up into bed. I think you would still have to take away waste water etc. and I don't know if they all have inboard water tanks, something to think about. I would suggest first of all you try and assist your mobility problems with the caravan by buying perhaps a caravan mover and seeing if there other ways you can help to set up, is it carrying the water etc. take half loads! is there any sites with helpers for the disabled I wonder, park near taps etc. Liz "david coleman" wrote in message ... Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman |
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In message , Liz Hall
writes Our friends have one but he is disabled and SHE does all the carrying, so we are definitely not getting one! Seriously when we go with them it doesn't seem that much different but they have been so limited going out in the daytime they bought a little car to go about in which they tow behind the mh. I don't know why but they all seem to be very slow on the roads, does it make the cups rattle or something. Depends on size. Look very carefully at towing a car - there are all sorts of legals. Also max towing weight can be remarkably small especially for the very large MHs paradoxically. They are slow on lesser roads but then so is a caravan outfit. C of G is quite high so they can roll a bit if slung around corners, but modern diesels have plenty of power to propel along at 70 on motorways if you wish - I tend to sit at lorry speed on motorways as it saves quite a bit of fuel. Yes things do rattle if not stowed properly but usually it's the glass cover on the hob, I discovered on mine the rubber stops were set too low and the glass actually rested on the hob. Their mh doesn't seem very roomy to me to move around in, and I would not like climbing up into bed. I think you would still have to take away waste water etc. and I don't know if they all have inboard water tanks, something to think about. Most have on board water and waste tanks - presence and size is generally a reflection of price. I would suggest first of all you try and assist your mobility problems with the caravan by buying perhaps a caravan mover and seeing if there other ways you can help to set up, is it carrying the water etc. take half loads! is there any sites with helpers for the disabled I wonder, park near taps etc. If you are in the CC or use their sites get a "Helping Hand" sticker. That is a sign to others that you would appreciate some help Liz We have the best of both worlds BTW. We use the motor caravan for days out (with dog) and short stays and van which we keep on a seasonal pitch for longer holidays. Hugh "david coleman" wrote in message ... Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman -- hugh It may be more complicated but is it better? |
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the gods have made us mad pretended :
In summary, MH's are probably better for a couple than a family - but even then, they are wildly expensive and have numerous disadvantages that might not be immediately obvious. They were great for days out to theme parks, etc - but not as good as a caravan for holidaying, at least, not for us. Those were some of the most well reasoned arguments I have seen for not buying a MH. I do keep fancying giving one a try, but when I next get the urge - I'll just read your list of reasons not to give in :-) -- Regards, Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk |
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In article , david
coleman wrote: Hi been caravanning for over 30yrs loved every minute, but due to back problems begining to get harder to set up. Has anyone experienced the change over I would welcome any advice. Dave Coleman Seems very quiet these days but uk.rec.motorcaravans might get more info (although many folk read/post to both groups. I assume you are talking about uk use. If you were thinking of France or Spain, for eg the replies could be quite different as they are more geared up to 'le camping car' here, even with supermarkets often having MH parking bays. Ours is ready to go in minutes, has fixed bed, seperate shower, wash basin and bog, with adequate water and waste. Just come back after a trip around Spain where it handled well in the fairly heavy snow and was cosy in v. low temperatures. How about borrowing / hiring one to try? But layouts vary so much that maybe you could borrow / hire several to get a better idea. John -- John Mulrooney NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while. Nostalgia just isn't the same these days |
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