red247 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Hello All! We are new to all of this and are currently looking into buying our first campervan/motorhome and I was wondering if I could get any advice from you regarding what would be the best for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children & 1 dog). Having looked on various sites I found that some of them were quite spacious for very affordable prices until I realised that most of them had only lap belts fitted in the rear passenger seats, which completely rules out the kids car seats :( We don't want anything huge, but needs to be a 4 berth with the correct 3 point seat belts in the rear passenger seats and a bit of room in the back wouldn't go a miss :) Our budget isn't huge and we realise now that it is more than likely that we will have to buy this on finance, which is fine but we would like to stay below £15K. Does anyone have any ideas on the best makes/models to look at? Many thanks in advance for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 My advice would be to look at everything in and just out of your price range and try to get an idea what you can live in. So many vans when you get into them just do not feel right and you wonder why anyone would buy such a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Hi and welcome.. Not suggesting you buy off E bay but if you put in 4 berth Motorhome you can look at the results and see the photo's that have been put on and get some idea of what you want..... And costs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 same advice as previous 'low budget for family' thread - buy a smallish caravan and you'll be able to use your car for travel (safe seats etc) and you'll get a great little caravan for £10-15k. Buy an old MH for same budget and, without good expertise, you may well buy a load of trouble which you can't afford. You'll only have one vehicle to tax/insure/repair etc. Also, if you find you dont like the lifestyle you can cut your losses relatively easily. If your budget were £35-55K I would be offering a whole different scenario. not trying to put you off motorhoming (it's a great life) but it ain't cheap. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 bolero boy - 2013-03-25 6:23 PM If your budget were £35-55K I would be offering a whole different scenario. not trying to put you off motorhoming (it's a great life) but it ain't cheap. Good luck. Naturally I don't agree that motorhoming needs to be expensive ;-)..........But I would agree that assuming your a young couple with kids, then a caravan is probably the way to go :D.............As campers need to be used, IMHO the worst thing you can do to a camper is leave it parked up for months at a time. Most people with kids tend to only be able to get away for a fortnight once a year, plus a few weekends :-S...............so in all honesty tugging would be the best option ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Even if you do find a motorhomes with full seatbelts, you might find they do not take child seats. Motorhomes seats double up as seats and beds so the foam tends to be a compromise. You might find that the seats bounce around on the foam more than they do in a car. If you are buying within your price, there is a serious risk of buying a bad one and facing bills of up to £5k to correct. Children struggle to travel in motorhomes because somewhere in the van, they are so far away from their parents. It is harder to restrain a dog in a motorhome. Buying a motorhomes on finance could be a bad idea. If you do not like motor homing, you are stuck with something that is going to drain your finances for a long time. A caravan should be easier to sell on. Having had 2 young children and a dog, my vote is with the caravan brigade. Once the children are old enough to travel without a child seat, then maybe look for a motorhomes. There is simply more caravanners than motorhomes and that is because many of them started caravanning as children. Compared to motorhoming, caravanning is a less risky option. Kids will probably like it better because there are more little jobs they can do when setting up on site. Children seem to love collecting the water and emptying the waste water for example. Have a look at the Caravan Club website. It has a lot of useful information on caravans and motorhomes. Visit dealers that sell both so you can compare. A family caravan is not difficult to tow. Whatever you decide, your kids will be in for a treat if it all works out well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 You can get a prefectly good van for 15K........as long as you do your homework. Plenty of good, chershed low owner vans about - although the caravan idea is valid. If you're like me the very last thing I would ever want to do is drag something about. Not the same freedom as a camper for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Proper rear seat belts are rare on older vans..............but they are around ;-) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-ducato-motorhome-2-5-turbo-diesel-/171013727500?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item27d136650c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Have to say I agree with the caravan advice. All of the above reasons plus small children seem generally not to like the travelling bit, though they become much happier when they arrive (at least that was our experience!). So, finding somewhere they will stay for a while and make friends with other children will probably suit them better than moving around more frequently. That you have young children, as others have said, suggests school holidays as well, when it is never so easy to just turn up and find spaces - except in the kinds of places children generally don't much like! It also suggests, as said above, that you won't be using it that frequently and will mainly be restricted to spring and autumn half terms and summer holidays. Older motorhomes can be very problematic - not all, but the older the van the greater the risk. No motorhome benefits from long periods static, caravans are really made to be relatively static. So, you'd get a far better four berth caravan for you money than you'll ever get a motorhome, leave money for towbar and electrics, and get an awning for extra outside shelter. If you look at either of the two clubs' websites you'll find downloadable information on matching cars to vans, and a lot more besides. Getting the match right is critical to making towing as easy and pleasurable as possible, so don't start choosing caravans until you know what will suit the car you have. Get yourselves to a decent campsite, put up the awning, and break out the refreshments of choice! Next, do your sightseeing and shopping using your car with its proper child seats already fitted. Your children will have made new friends in no time, and if abroad, language will be no barrier to them. The van will wait until they are older and you can all get better use from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Don't like caravans full stop. When our kids where baby's we managed very well with a VW westfalia with pop up roof bed. We also had an awning and as wife in education and I was self employed we went away Easter / witsun / summer (for a month) and the odd weekend. We had memorable holidays in Europe and always booked well ahead to get the sort of sites the kids desired ( if kids happy I was happy) Van cost 7.5k and 7 years later sold for 6.5k. All it needed in that time was a new exhaust. After that still had small campers, and as kids grew they slept in awning and eventually a tent which they loved. Then we went for a coachbuilt which on reflection regretted as prefer van camping. Now the kids are 19 and 21, they still join us for a few weeks in summer, last year Italy, year before Croatia . We carry a pop up tent, they fly over and back and it works fine..... Old coachbuilt can bring a world of grief, you may be lucky who knows....but with a vsn conversion not much chance of rot and at least it can be identified. This the kind of thing we started with but ours was an American import so better spec. I would look at ducatto based vans, more room, cheaper and more practical and good value if you buy LHD http://www.campervans4u.com/vwwestfaliapoptops.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Maybe the OP doesn't want to tug something about!! I can't understand why most of you want to discourage him from buying a camper, thats not the advice he is after. A bit like the Judge, we always had campers and with kids I think its easier. Manys the time we've come off the beach showered them off, had an ice cream out the freezer etc etc, whilst my mate put his sandy, hot and damp kids in his car to drive back to the site - mind you that was 20 years ago (lol) I seems that a few of the replies veil some kind of bad experience with older campers? There are good older vans out there, with appropriate seating arrangements - and not all of us have the financial resources or desire to spend any more than 10-15k My advice would be - Do the homework and leg-work and you will reap the benefit of your efforts - spend 15k on a good 'un with pretty much all the residual beaten out of it. If your not sure and do consider a caravan I suggest you spend a friday evening watching someone pitch up with a 'van then proceed with the rigmarole of putting up the awning, dragging the water, winding down the steadies etc whilst its peeing down and the night closes in! Maybe the OP likes the idea of moving around on a daily basis rather than a fortnight on some disappointing site - I know my kids preferred the prospect of moving to a new place every couple of days. And what about those last-minute one nighters, far less inclined to do that with a caravan. Don't put the guy off - give him some words of encouragement, he's going to think he's gone on to the caravan forum by mistake!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Mike, my advice was not intended to put him off camping but to offer up sensible option within his price range. He started his post by admitting they were 'totally new to all this' and most of the advice to go for an old motorhome is coming from people with much more experience than he seems to have. Even Dave (Pelmetman), who sings the paraises of old bangers from the rooftops, thinks that this might be a step too far for a complete beginner. Now, if he has a mate who knows loads about vans, can help with the purchase and piont him in the direction of a good, cheap mechanic then it might be a goer. This sounds to me like it might be his life savings (plus a shedload from the bank) going into this project. I'm just trying to offer options. For those of us on our 2nd, 3rd, 4th vans, the next one will be much nearer the 'right' one but for a complete newbie I just think some care and thought are required. Good luck to the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I don't think there is anything wrong with throwing caravans into the equation. However if the OP has decided to take the camper route, I'll assume he's already taken steps which have led him to this choice. If that's the case then the onus is on him to do [as I said previously] the homework. I think there are many who think a new hobby/lifestyle sounds like a good idea at the time, whether its golf, boating or bowls for that matter! Only to find its not right for them. Over the years I have seen for sale many motorhomes, a year or two old, with hardly any mileage on them. I always get the impression that its either a mistake in the layout, or more likely an idea borne out of more free time or retirement only to find it just doesn't work in practice. There is a distinct difference between theory and reality! I think what I was really trying to emphasis is that there are Campers good enough out there for that kind of money. For 15k a well maintained, cherished one is hardly likely to be a banger. Last year we decided to go back to a camper - by the way I call all motorhomes campers. So thought it prudent to buy ourselves an 'immaculate banger' Hymer for 5K to make sure our memories weren't tainted! We didn't want to spent too much as we also have a little holiday 'shed' in Brittany, however I have since purchased an '05, nicely built, Dethleffs lowprofile Globebus - one owner, 22,000 miles - for less than 15k, and selling the Hymer for a profit! As the OP has yet to reply I'm thinking we've put him off already :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I don't think anyone is trying to put him off, just to put forward an alternative strategy that he may, or may not, have considered. There is no right or wrong here, it is all about personal preferences. However, I rather suspect that those saying think about a caravan may have experience of both caravans and motorhomes (guilty! :-)) on which to base their judgement, and some who are saying go for the motorhome irrespective, may have no experience of anything but motorhomes, so lack the experience necessary to judge the merits of one versus the other. If the OP eventually decides to go for the motorhome, even after this brief string, he will at least be doing so better informed than he says he started out. Surely, that is a good thing overall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Agree with a lot of the above, we went from Frame tents with the kids, to Caravans again with the kids + dogs, then, when they had left home (the kids, the dogs are still with us). We tried a Motorhome. There is a lot to learn, firstly, as you probably already realise, any sort of camper/motorhome holds it's value longer than a car, SO, although £15k is a lot of money for a car, It won't buy you a Similar aged Camper or Motorhome. Older Motorhomes did not have rear seatbelts fitted as standard, there was no legislation demanding it, AND in the UK our most popular layouts, would only have supported 'side sitting' rear passengers, with lap only belts. Which experience has shown is a 'Lethal' combination. That will mean rejecting a LOT of Motorhomes within your price bracket. Best bet would be Mainly Imported vans, as they tended to produce more 'Family Friendly' motorhomes a lot earier than the UK. You will STILL see that the majority of Motohomers in the UK are of a 'Certain Age', and if they have children with them, they are usually Grandchildren. Lots of dogs though. BUT, that IS changing, finance allowing, more Families are coming to motorhoming. Within your price range though Choose VERY carefully. Good Hunting. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Big is not always better...Us in the VW Westfalia (dog was a neighbors:-D) http://i48.tinypic.com/w7z9nd.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Nice pic Eddie ;-).............but what's that Dalmatian doing to your other leg 8-)..............but ....hey you both look happy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panagah Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I too don't know what all this caravan talk is about. I suspect if he wanted a caravan he would be asking what one he wants on a caravan forum. OP, I too was thrown all the caravan answers. I had a caravan for two years and hated it, I hated towing. I too have two kids now teenagers so have dumped us leaving us to go alone. We have had two family layouts which might work for you. With kids I think bunk beds are the way to go, gives them their own space to go and play games etc. We had initially a CI Carioca 656 then when the kids got bigger went for an adria 670sk, bought privately you may get one or similar in your budget. I can honestly say for 8 years we have taken our kids all over Europe, surfing, skiing and just having fun. Loved every moment of it and when the kids grow old they will remember it. I would do it all again tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panagah Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I too don't know what all this caravan talk is about. I suspect if he wanted a caravan he would be asking what one he wants on a caravan forum. OP, I too was thrown all the caravan answers. I had a caravan for two years and hated it, I hated towing. I too have two kids now teenagers so have dumped us leaving us to go alone. We have had two family layouts which might work for you. With kids I think bunk beds are the way to go, gives them their own space to go and play games etc. We had initially a CI Carioca 656 then when the kids got bigger went for an adria 670sk, bought privately you may get one or similar in your budget. I can honestly say for 8 years we have taken our kids all over Europe, surfing, skiing and just having fun. Loved every moment of it and when the kids grow old they will remember it. I would do it all again tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonflyer Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 I would opt for a camper/motorhome. Background: Guide camping as Leader - 25 years borrowed ridge tent with 2 under 3s to France second-hand french frame tent - 4 years second-hand trailer tent - Camping Sport - 19 years second-hand folding caravan - Esterel - 8 years visit to USA and hired a 19 ft RV. Came back and started looking for a motorhome. second-hand caravan - Hobby - 6 years Finally 13 year old Karmann Gypsy on VW T25 - kept for 6 years brand new Wingamm Micros VWT5 (auto) - 6 years and counting - until no longer capable or safe. Life has certainly changed and from our experience I would go for a motorhome, especially with young children as there is always a mobile loo and safe food available. Our young grandchildren (Americans) were thrilled to be in the van. A carefully selected vehicle, properly equipped would provide a weekend escape, especially if joined to a rally group. The only downside I can see is the cost of fuel for many trips. I am just envious of a young couple. Joyce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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