Caravan or Motorhome
Did you know our passion for van travel began not with a motorhome, but with a touring caravan? Buying our first caravan, a tiny Thompson Glen 2-berth back in 1989.
Can you believe, we were just teenagers and caravanning was completely an uncool thing to do. Yes, these were the heyday of the package holiday, when most other teens were jetting off to Majorca. Yet, here we were beginning a lifelong love of van travel and first step into the most incredible adventures.
Caravaning
Soon, our tiny caravan was sold for a slightly more roomy Sprite Alpine, taking us exploring across Britain. Then overseas trips came along in our next tourer, an ABI Marauder Gold before buying a Compass Corona. These were just the most memorable holidays with our young family.
But, 14 years after buying our first caravan, the experience gained was spurring us on for greater adventure. By 2003, those itchy feet really began to set in.
Motorhome travel came calling
By the time the Millennium came along, we were spending our Summer holiday abroad in the caravan. We still took holidays in Britain in-between, often booking a site for a week, in a different region each trip. This way, we slowly got to see most areas of our home country too.
Then, on what turned out to be our last Summer with a caravan in 2003, suddenly the world of motorhome travel came calling. This change of outlook came about by chance, during a trip to the Loire Valley in France.
During this trip we suddenly became a bit bored with caravanning. But why?
Why our change from Caravan to Motorhome?
We were staying on a lovely campsite in the scenic Loire Valley, so there was nothing wrong with the surroundings or the caravan. In fact, we did still loved it.
However, each day we’d be venturing out in the car to see what the Loire had to offer, and each day, we’d drive pretty much the same direction, along the length of the Loire. Although we were visiting a different Chateau or scenic town, the journey back and forth was pretty much the same.
So, we began thinking the once unthinkable – what if we changed to a motorhome instead?
Imagine, with a motorhome we’d be able to just keep driving, finding somewhere new to stop in the region or maybe move on altogether. In other words, we could just take our accommodation with us without the restraint of having to return to a base each night.
Surely, a motorhome would bring much more flexibility and freedom?
Motorhomes were rare
Remember, this was 2003, when motorhomes weren’t as popular as caravans, basically there were far more touring caravans out and about than motorhomes.
After this trip to the Loire the seed was firmly planted. It was time to change from caravan to motorhome and with it more exciting opportunities to travel.
Hiring a motorhome in New Zealand
In 2002 we went to New Zealand, hiring a motorhome in the North Island. The following Winter in 2003, we went again, this time hiring a motorhome in the South Island.
So, I guess we’d already given motorhoming a try, although at that stage, selling our caravan wasn’t in our minds. In other words, we weren’t intentionally hiring before buying.
Buying our First Motorhome
Soon our caravan was put for sale and buying our first motorhome became priority.
A few months later, we found a Swift Bessacarr in Barrons, the big motorhome dealer up North. It had an unusual layout for its time – a transverse fixed bed with a garage, but it was exactly what we’d been looking for.
Our first trip over Christmas took us to Scotland, where heavy snow fell. Soon we were touring abroad, taking every opportunity to see somewhere new. From that very first trip, we never looked back – motorhoming had replaced caravanning for good.
Caravan or Motorhome – You decide
20 years later and for us the freedom of a motorhome far outweighs that of a caravan.
Having said that, we never lost our love for caravanning and still believe it rightfully holds its place, depending on the type of touring you prefer to experience.
Advantages of a Caravan – Caravan or Motorhome
Caravanning is great for lots of reasons. Read on here:
- Flexibility: With a caravan, you can unhitch and go off exploring once you’re all set up at the campsite.
- Cost-Effective: Caravans are usually cheaper than motorhomes, and the car doesn’t use as much fuel either.
- Spaciousness: Modern caravans are designed to make the most of the space inside, so you’ve got plenty of room to relax.
- Ease of Use: Hitching up and towing a caravan is relatively straight forward, once you know how and gain confidence and skill, but some can’t master it.
- Diverse Camping Options: You can take a caravan to all sorts of campsites, from holiday resorts to low-key caravan parks or more remote, basic camping spots.
- Community: Caravanning often brings people together, so you’ll have plenty of chances to make new friends along the way.
- Connection with Nature: With big windows and outdoor living spaces, caravans let you feel like you’re right in the middle of nature.
- Extend with an Awning: Add on an awning and you’ve got an extra large space to dine, relax and watch the world go by.
- Pitch and Go: Pitch up then go off in the car to explore, returning to the comforts of the caravan without having to move it.
- Staying on Site: Caravan sites are best suited to caravans – the clue is in the name. You don’t need to worry about getting about after pitching up. The awning, all the outdoor furniture, bikes and everything else can be left in situe for your return.
Caravanning is great fun, but there’s also a lot to be said for motorhomes. Want to hear about their advantages too?
Advantages of a Motorhome
- Flexibility: With a motorhome, you don’t need to unhitch anything to go exploring. Your accommodation travels with you wherever you go.
- Convenience: Everything is in one place, from the kitchen and bathroom to the sleeping and living areas. Making it easy to move around without leaving anything behind.
- Travel Comfort: You have the freedom to relax, eat, or simply enjoy the scenery while on the move. Giving a more comfortable travel experience compared to towing a caravan.
- Accessibility: Motorhomes provide easier access to your belongings while on the road. Comparing this to accessing the back of a caravan when towing, which isn’t as easy.
- All-Weather Travel: You can move around within the motorhome during travel, regardless of the weather conditions outside, making it suitable for all seasons.
- Camping Versatility: Motorhomes can be used at a wider range of camping locations, including wild camping. There’s no real need to leave the vehicle at a campsite.
- Solo-Friendly: It’s easier for a single traveler to manage a motorhome compared to a caravan.
- Relaxing Drives: Driving is comfortable, relaxing and brings great sights right to your cab. There’s no worrying about towing and stopping for rest or exploration is easier.
Advantages of a Motorhome continued
- Compactness: Some motorhomes are designed to be more compact and can navigate narrower roads with greater ease.
- Immediate Use: Once parked, a motorhome is ready for use without needing to set up or unhitch.
- Freedom: There’s no need to plan ahead, just go explore and find a place to park up when the mood feels right.
- Park up options: Using Aires abroad, pub stops or camperstops. There’s plenty of motorhome park-ups without stepping onto site.
- Travel Ease: A motorhome can be travel-ready between trips, with everything in place. So, those ad-hoc spur of the moment getaways are really easy.
- Long Distance Travel: Driving long distances is so enjoyable in a motorhome, covering 1000’s of miles. There’s a great view from the cab, spaciousness and ease of pulling over to pop the kettle on.
- On Board Water tanks: A motorhome has water tanks on board. So there’s running water from the taps, toilet and washing facilities on the road.
Both caravans and motorhomes offer unique advantages depending on the travel style and preferences of the user.
Disadvantages of a Caravan
Drawbacks of owning a Touring Caravan
- Getting Around Can Be Tricky: Touring caravans might pose challenges when it comes to maneuvering and accessing certain camping spots or narrow roads.
- Towing Can Be a Pain: Towing a caravan requires skill and can be more demanding than towing smaller trailers, especially for inexperienced drivers.
- Storage Headaches: Unless you can store the caravan at home, finding the right storage for a caravan can be a hassle due to its size and security, possibly requiring off-site storage solutions.
- Setting Up Takes Time: When you arrive at a campsite, setting up a caravan involves unhitching, manoeuvring into position, lowering the legs and leveling as well as preparing it after, which can take a while.
- More Fuel, More Money: Towing a touring caravan can lead to higher fuel consumption, increasing the cost of travel, particularly on long trips. Although this is likely to be less or equal to driving a motorhome, depending on vehicle.
Disadvantages of a Caravan continued
- Need the Right Towing Vehicle: Touring caravans require a suitable towing vehicle, potentially limiting your car options or necessitating an additional purchase.
- Weight, Mass and Payloads: Caravans and tow cars need careful balance between what your car can legally tow and getting the weight and balance right inside the caravan to prevent snaking.
- Loading up: Loading up the caravan has to be done carefully, ensuring weight is positioned in the right places and distributed correctly. A caravan loaded incorrectly can lead to swaying, snaking or even turn over.
- Water Carriers: Caravans generally don’t have on board water tanks, so you fill water carrier’s on site and waste water goes into a separate container.
- Travel Troubles: Towing and getting stuck in long traffic jams, taking one wrong turn leading to a dead-end or encountering unexpected winds. These are some of the perils of towing a caravan.
- Moving on: If you want to tow the caravan from place to place during the trip, it’s hassle. In our opinion a caravan is best left on site for the duration of the holiday, as moving on is a time-consuming nuisance.
Disadvantage of a Motorhome
- Motorhome Driving: Getting the hang of driving a motorhome, can be daunting to begin with. Once you’ve cracked it, you’ll feel like the King or Queen of the road.
- Motorhome Fuel Efficiency: Be mindful about fuel as it’s usually more pricey than a car. Fuel is money and it can be tempting to drive 1000’s of miles across various countries, costing £’s.
- Costly Maintenance and Repairs: A motorhome can be costly to maintain and when things go wrong, the price can be extortionate. Whether it’s mechanical or habitation – bills can soon add up.
- Campsites: Not all campsites are ideal for a motorhome. Many sites abroad have small pitches and obstacles in the way, such as trees.
- Parking Challenges: Finding parking for your motorhome is sometimes challenging. Often, perfect views or idyllic wild spots are hard to find or even impossible!
- A Big Investment: A motorhome can cost a small fortune. Nowadays some are the price of a small house, so that big investment can involve a lot of initial outlay.
- Older Motorhomes: Taking care of an older motorhome can bring vintage charm, but it can also cost a fortune to keep trouble-free. Then there’s the disadvantage of not complying to modern low emission regulations found in some areas.
- Depreciation: Although in recent years some second hand motorhomes have increased in value, there is still the dreaded prospect of depreciation.
- Pint of Milk scenario: Often used as a disadvantage of having a motorhome. What to do if you park up and realise you need milk! Well, we just cycle or walk to get some or leave the milk till tomorrow! Even better, just make sure you’re stocked up with essentials beforehand. If all else fails, as long as you keep things simple, moving shouldn’t be a problem!
Summary – Caravan or Motorhome
Overall, caravans and motorhomes are quite different forms of travel. For us, our caravan days were spent pitched on a caravan site, going out for days in the car and relaxing on site.
Since owning a motorhome, we do things very differently. Our enjoyment of motorhome travels comes from moving on regularly, sometimes we’ll find a place to park the night, only to move on within a couple of hours!
Yes, we’re truly nomadic and love the freedom that it brings.
Motorhoming is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, without too much planning and just finding those extraordinary places without pressure to move on.
20 years ago when we first swapped to a motorhome, we’d have a saying of “always wanting to see just what’s round the next corner”. Today, that buzz of finding out is still with us. Spurring us on to adventure and bringing the thrill of experiencing views, sights and landscapes from the comfort of our own campervan cab.
On the other hand if you don’t want to set off across all corners of Europe or are happiest on a site, then a caravan may just fit the bill.
For us, the freedom, excitement and whole aspect of Motorhome travel is still the one and only means of seeing the world for us. We absolutely love it and all those incredible regions, historic sights, amazing beaches, lakes and mountains that we’ve come across along the way.
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