Pretty much anything above an old VW camper should cope with a caravan. Certainly a transit size van would be fine
Caravan or campervan / van conversion?
- Thread starter Paul_B
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Pretty much anything above an old VW camper should cope with a caravan. Certainly a transit size van would be fine
Can't you get heat recovery ventilation systems for vans yet? There's a niche in the market there if you can't.
I'd go for a caravan with a younger kid as you get more space and usually better facilities. It depends on what you do on holidays though. Vans are great for ease of travel and setup but you're kind of stuck once you've parked somewhere. If you need to drive away a lot to places then a caravan gives you the freedom to take the car without having to pack up the van. It also means you can camp further from places you want to walk or whatever so you get more choice of campsites.
My Mazda Bongo is set up to tow a caravan so I'm hoping to buy a small caravan while our kid is younger and go back to just using the van in the warmer months when he's old enough. I figure both is the best compromise. My dad's always been into sailing and I used to spend winters potching about on the boat with him from about age 8. No heater or anything but I used to love it even when it was freezing cold. As long as your kid enjoys it he'll put up with the cold just for the fun times.
I'd go for a caravan with a younger kid as you get more space and usually better facilities. It depends on what you do on holidays though. Vans are great for ease of travel and setup but you're kind of stuck once you've parked somewhere. If you need to drive away a lot to places then a caravan gives you the freedom to take the car without having to pack up the van. It also means you can camp further from places you want to walk or whatever so you get more choice of campsites.
My Mazda Bongo is set up to tow a caravan so I'm hoping to buy a small caravan while our kid is younger and go back to just using the van in the warmer months when he's old enough. I figure both is the best compromise. My dad's always been into sailing and I used to spend winters potching about on the boat with him from about age 8. No heater or anything but I used to love it even when it was freezing cold. As long as your kid enjoys it he'll put up with the cold just for the fun times.
Yes caravan means the mobile version that gets towed behind a vehicle from site to site. Anything from a bicycle to a box van can tow a caravan (with the right caravan or course). This is different from fifth wheels (like a larger caravan but one that sits over a pickup truck).
I forget terminology can differ depending on the side of the pond you hail from.
I forget terminology can differ depending on the side of the pond you hail from.
Then I'll put my vote for the caravan for the same reasons others have already listed. Maybe add a small (ish) tent on the same campsite for a bit of additional room if needed.
I only stay in hotels with work. Horrible places IMHO. Very confined in the corridors. I'd rather sleep in the car. Which for a tall guy isn't comfortable. Heck I've even slept under the car before and it was a better place than a holiday inn. In fact I've parked up and nipped up a hill to bivvy out many times rather than staying in a hotel or getting a taxi.
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Our hotels have larger corridors (at least I've never felt too enclosed in them) However motels (an acronym for Motor Hotel) have no corridors at all. Each downstairs room opens onto the sidewalk adjacent the car park (outer row of rooms) or the courtyard and swimming pool (inner row of rooms) and each upstairs room opens onto the open balcony/walkway directly above the sidewalk in front of the rooms below. Each room is a completely self contained entity with private entrance/exit to the outside.
These are by far the most common lodgings outside the super industrialized inner city. Most have a two queen size or larger beds, small table for two, a chest of drawers, a small hanging closet, and the bathroom. Many of them (especially near vacation areas) also offer mini suites; a bedroom at least partially separated from a mini kitchen area and a couch that will convert to additional sleeping space so that the room can accommodate a small family of 4 to 6.
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I have never seen the US style Motel in Europe, but some must exist for sure.
We prefer hotels, with a reception, consierge, restaurant, corridors and so on. Plenty of those connected to the motorways.
Btw, another great Italian invention, the motorway. Invented in Italy, Perfected in Germany!
OP, what about renting the various options and checking what Boss No 1 and Superior Commander think?
We prefer hotels, with a reception, consierge, restaurant, corridors and so on. Plenty of those connected to the motorways.
Btw, another great Italian invention, the motorway. Invented in Italy, Perfected in Germany!
OP, what about renting the various options and checking what Boss No 1 and Superior Commander think?
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All motels have a lobby with reception. All used to also have (and many still do) a restaurant (usually with free breakfast full buffet in the 1990s and early 2000s) and room service as well as a bar (often with live entertainment) free wi-fi and cable tv in the rooms. (many campgrounds now also offer free wi-fi) Newer iterations have fewer of some amenities such as restaurants (although most still offer free continental breakfast and SOME do still have full restaurants) because people weren't really using them and fewer (we've never really been real big on a concierge in the past but that seems to be changing somewhat lately) Many of the newer iterations also offer free "fitness rooms" where you'll find assorted gym machines and work-out equipment for an exercise regimen. Most prefer to dine on local cuisine when traveling (or go for the fast food option) Families on a budget vacation are the most likely to use the suite with a kitchenette (In fact even many more wealthy like beach condo luxury apartment vacation rentals)
I suspect the difference in taste is attributable to our vacations being almost exclusively tied to traveling by automobile (yeah, you're correct that they flourished originally along the highways here as well) The main point of my original post on motels was that they offer more privacy and less of the tight corridors Paul said he disliked.
I think it is a cultural thing. Also the distances. In Europe, every town and most large villages have hotels since hundreds of years.
Originally inns for the Postal system and travelers by horse.
Never a great distance from the Roads/motorways to a town or a large village.
Hotels by the motorways are boring, generic and not a good value, imho.
Originally inns for the Postal system and travelers by horse.
Never a great distance from the Roads/motorways to a town or a large village.
Hotels by the motorways are boring, generic and not a good value, imho.
[QUOTE="Janne, post: 1846092, member: 47509".....Hotels by the motorways are boring, generic and not a good value, imho.[/QUOTE]
If they're your final destination, I agree. On the other hand if they're a stop enroute to your real destination, those very traits are what defines their value: Boring/generic = reliable, dependable, no surprises
If they're your final destination, I agree. On the other hand if they're a stop enroute to your real destination, those very traits are what defines their value: Boring/generic = reliable, dependable, no surprises
Some of those centuries old hotels are well worth seeing in and of themselves. The pub I used to frequent most in Fairford begun life when the stone masons built it to live in while they built the Church. Next it served as a coaching inn for several decades (possibly a century or two) and if local stories were true, a brothel at one point before becoming a pub. The hotel next to it was equally full of history.
But all this is a separate issue from Paul's desire to camp.
Pauls desire is not Paul's family desire!
Hence my recommendation to rent first. Could save him a lot of work and money!
Hence my recommendation to rent first. Could save him a lot of work and money!
English equivalent of a motel is a pub/inn with rooms and in more recent years B&B's (bed and breakfast) these are often a large house converted
I do know of a couple of american style motels in the uk, neither has a pool though lol
I do know of a couple of american style motels in the uk, neither has a pool though lol
Come on folks, this is a bushcraft forum, any references to hotels or B&Bs should be frowned upon 
!!!
Interesting thread. I went a bit controversial and voted 'Other'!
Caravans and Campers are all good and well but they also have their own problems (as already alluded to in this thread). If it were me, I'd save the money that you'd otherwise spend on a camper and buy a very nice bell tent/Lavvu/Tipi and take the family glamping. Throw a wood burner into the mix and you have the makings of an amazing family holiday. All of this high-end glamping luxury will come at a fraction of the cost of the camper. Moreover; it will require considerably less maintenance; it will last considerably longer than a caravan or camper; will potentially be even more spacious; doesn't require any road tax or boring motorway journeys (limited to 50mph in a caravan!!); bares no risk of jack-knifing and it can conveniently pack away into your attic/cupboard/garage/shed!
A friend of mine has a Bergans Lavvu which he uses in conjunction with a frontier stove for winter camping and it gets very warm indeed (touched on 30°c). Your family will have no worries about getting cold and I'd suggest that they'd be considerably warmer in a hot-tent than they'd ever be in a metal box!
The advantages are very clear. The disadvantage seems to be that your son/wife are not up for it!
I'd suggest that you refine the negotiating skills and do your best impression of someone on Dragons Den. Tell your wife about the significant cost savings and how that could even finance a summer holiday to the Costa's (if that floats your boat!) and tell your son about all the epic adventures that you can have.
If that fails then I'd suggest bribing your son with sweets and tuck and promises of succulent bacon and egg sandwiches (or whatever else might take his fancy) cooked over the fire. Perhaps show him some cool youtube videos of Joe Robinet's winter camps in his hot tent!
!!!Interesting thread. I went a bit controversial and voted 'Other'!
Caravans and Campers are all good and well but they also have their own problems (as already alluded to in this thread). If it were me, I'd save the money that you'd otherwise spend on a camper and buy a very nice bell tent/Lavvu/Tipi and take the family glamping. Throw a wood burner into the mix and you have the makings of an amazing family holiday. All of this high-end glamping luxury will come at a fraction of the cost of the camper. Moreover; it will require considerably less maintenance; it will last considerably longer than a caravan or camper; will potentially be even more spacious; doesn't require any road tax or boring motorway journeys (limited to 50mph in a caravan!!); bares no risk of jack-knifing and it can conveniently pack away into your attic/cupboard/garage/shed!
A friend of mine has a Bergans Lavvu which he uses in conjunction with a frontier stove for winter camping and it gets very warm indeed (touched on 30°c). Your family will have no worries about getting cold and I'd suggest that they'd be considerably warmer in a hot-tent than they'd ever be in a metal box!
The advantages are very clear. The disadvantage seems to be that your son/wife are not up for it!
I'd suggest that you refine the negotiating skills and do your best impression of someone on Dragons Den. Tell your wife about the significant cost savings and how that could even finance a summer holiday to the Costa's (if that floats your boat!) and tell your son about all the epic adventures that you can have.
If that fails then I'd suggest bribing your son with sweets and tuck and promises of succulent bacon and egg sandwiches (or whatever else might take his fancy) cooked over the fire. Perhaps show him some cool youtube videos of Joe Robinet's winter camps in his hot tent!
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