Caravan or campervan / van conversion?

[srod]

Definitely not a caravan, unless you plan on just sticking to proper caravan sites, in my experience is it really limits where you can get to. There's also a certain amount of time and faff setting the thing up, I reckon I'd be quicker setting up a tent!

I've done several basic van conversions myself in the past, pre-children. I've got a couple of mates who have fitted small wood burners and they look great. I'd need a 4 berth van these days and that's either a big van, which I don't want, or a clever fit-out, which haven't the time to do, or spending ££££££££££££££££££ on an actual camper, which I don't have!

My current set up for winter is a home made heavy weight canvas tipi with woodstove (throw on some charcoal for a longer burn through the night). Survived a few snowy Cairngorm nights in this thing. Cost around £200 for the canvas and stove, sticks are birch trees salvaged from a local site being cleared for houses, you could use 2x2s.

We're also lucky to have a couple of bothies nearby that we can access easily. Also it's worth checking out sites that have things like yurts, camping pods, microlodges and the like, it's quite hard getting away in the winter, if you only likely to manage it a couple of times these can be a fun option. I must also confess to this winter becoming a fan of Airbnb... had a fun couple of long weekends away this winter.... ***find somewhere with a log burner and it's almost like camping****

 

[Paul_B]

Oh I do want a laavu and woodburner too. For me being in a tent is more fun.

We'd be on a site with a tent or van there's no difference they're all pretty similar in what they're like.

Modern caravans are a lot better than you think. They're much more stable and even have anti - roll / jack-knifing features. I've been told that early to mid 2000s they got a lot better to tow. I recall they're not limited to 50mph these days at all.

Heating is a lot better on caravans than in the past, even ones from early 2000s.

The issue I have with laavus and the like is sloping walls. I'm tall so unless the tent is really big I possibly won't have much standing room. I know most caravans have two skylights I can stand up in!

BTW the larger of these tents will be heavy, possibly very heavy indeed if cotton canvas. Plus bulky camping in winter with a child, large / bulky tent, woodburner and all the other extra winter camping kit will probably mean I'll need a van to carry it all. Or at the very least my move car won't be big enough.