Touring caravans

[Sean 2]

...the type that you tow.
Anyone else got one? Mine's an Avondale Dart 556-6 berth with alloys, tinted windows (one shade down from limo black) and soon to be fitted under 'van neons:D

What a larf! Wished to god i'd bought one when i was in my twenties, no need for hotel rooms or sneaking about at home for a bit of how's yer father!
*clears throat* Not that we get up to that sort of thing now y'know;)

People seemed to have stopped going abroad as much to Europe as they get bugger all for the money and started buying up these single or twin axle wonders. No suprise though when you step into a new
caravan these days, they are more like modern apartments on wheels. Everything runs on either gas, electric, leisure battery or solar. Take your pick.
I've got satellite tv, blown air heating (trust me, you do not get cold), dvd, blasting hot water shower that's better than my house, the kids have fixed bunks which are over 6ft long and i own and use 3 different size awnings which double the size of the unit quicker than it takes the kettle to boil.
It's a bright airy 'van that Freddy and his mates would be proud to call a home!
With sites charging as little as a fiver a night it's starting to make financial sense holidaying in this country and you can get away a lot more than you've ever done. My kids love it and you meet such nice people as you've already got something in common to talk about.

If you haven't already then maybe it's time to consider. Oh and don't worry about reversing a caravan, you only do it twice on a trip, when you get there and when you sod off!

 

[Pubey]

My fiances parents have one, and I have to say, I'm dead jealous! Most weekends they head up to the Lakes or Scotland (from Wigan) and take the dog with them for a weekend of walking and pub lunches!

 

[Sean 2]

My fiances parents have one, and I have to say, I'm dead jealous! Most weekends they head up to the Lakes or Scotland (from Wigan) and take the dog with them for a weekend of walking and pub lunches!

We need younger guys out there Pubes! Go and investigate.

I never, ever thought i'd take up fishing for example, but now i combine that with 'vanning and my two kids are learning to as well. You can buy an older 'van for a grand these days, that's peanuts. Most campsites are full of people in their thirties and are always welcome to share my beer and put the world to rights.
We often go away with 3 or 4 other couples/families and drag our units around the countryside.

 

[McNasty]

So Mr Shrimp and 2 veg, you are one of those people doing 25 mph along the A303 holding up all the traffic. Bad man.

 

[Alexis_SUFC]

I imagine its a sense of freedom that you don't get with other holidays.

 

[Sean 2]

So Mr Shrimp and 2 veg, you are one of those people doing 25 mph along the A303 holding up all the traffic. Bad man.

Listen up bruv, there's no stopping my blingin' pick-up once we've hitched up. Me reckons that you'll be in my way!

One geezer raced in front of me once then blocked the bleedin' lanes up to the lights, prat. So i undercut him with my 37ft truck 'n' van when the lights changed and stuck on the indicator as i slowly drifted across in front of him.
Muppet:D

No, 60 is the law on M-ways and a nifty on the A-roads. But hills get eaten alive as my truck tows 3000kilo and the unit grosses out at 1400kilo. It's these loaded-up bloody Mondeo men that get in my way.All those suitcases in the boot slows 'em down y'know and they don't like it when i steam past them!

 

[Sean 2]

I imagine its a sense of freedom that you don't get with other holidays.

If you don't like your surroundings then you don't unpack, simple as. There is certainly a sense of freedom, it's not the stuffy atmosphere it used to be.
These days there are farmers all over the country opening up their acreage to us, as there is now something called a C.S or a CL. (certified site/location). These are places which have no clubhouse or the like but can only admit 5 caravans on site. You can find some stunning locations for as little as a fiver a night, we always choose sites with electric hook-up 'cos we like our creature comforts but they normally charge a tenner.

You simply join up with the Camping and Caravanning club or the Caravan Club and they send you the sites book. Hundreds of places to choose from.
I found a farmer in Felsted who has 25 acres and it's all mown, i asked him why he mows the lot so he showed me his plane in the garage and said he uses the fields as his runway! But what a view!

 

[Aberdeen Shrimper]

We have a Bailey Pageant 2002

The selling point on this model for us was the separate bathroom including full shower (not wet room)

These are pics we took of it when we brought it 18 months ago

 

[Sean 2]

The couple that come with us have exactly the same, model and year!

Fixed double bed at the rear makes the living easy. Popular 'vans are the Baileys. What do you tow it with may i ask Abers?

 

[OldBlueLady]

Far too claustrophic for me - I like my space! The only near encounter I've had with a caravan was when one flipped over in front of us after a very impressive weave on the M5 some years ago.

 

[Sean 2]

Far too claustrophic for me - I like my space! The only near encounter I've had with a caravan was when one flipped over in front of us after a very impressive weave on the M5 some years ago.

Depends how big the 'van is love, mine's 22ft7in and you could get lost in there! Certainly better than a hotel room when the awning is up. There's less of those caravans flipping these days now that most people tow with a stabiliser bar at the hitch.

 

[Aberdeen Shrimper]

If you don't like your surroundings then you don't unpack, simple as. There is certainly a sense of freedom, it's not the stuffy atmosphere it used to be.
These days there are farmers all over the country opening up their acreage to us, as there is now something called a C.S or a CL. (certified site/location). These are places which have no clubhouse or the like but can only admit 5 caravans on site. You can find some stunning locations for as little as a fiver a night, we always choose sites with electric hook-up 'cos we like our creature comforts but they normally charge a tenner.

You simply join up with the Camping and Caravanning club or the Caravan Club and they send you the sites book. Hundreds of places to choose from.
I found a farmer in Felsted who has 25 acres and it's all mown, i asked him why he mows the lot so he showed me his plane in the garage and said he uses the fields as his runway! But what a view!

Mate, get yourself a whisper Generator, 8 hours running time with extremely low dB.

We just head for the highlands and the Cairn Gorns then stop in any one of hundreds of remote stunning locations next to a really fresh stream or river with plenty of salmon and trout, fresh water, then we are fully sufficient......and the best thing of all is at that around 10pm in the summer, you can just sit there completely isolated and just listen to the mountains and take in the incredible feeling of mother nature.

 

[Aberdeen Shrimper]

The couple that come with us have exactly the same, model and year!

Fixed double bed at the rear makes the living easy. Popular 'vans are the Baileys. What do you tow it with may i ask Abers?

We went to see a major supplier of tourers in Aberdeen and asked what our Ford Focus (06) could manage and then went about 100kg under and searched for that weight, which is when we came across the one we have now.

But planning on looking at a new Audi A4 Avant in the new year so will fly along with the Bailey :)

 

[Sean 2]

Mate, get yourself a whisper Generator, 8 hours running time with extremely low dB.

We just head for the highlands and the Cairn Gorns then stop in any one of hundreds of remote stunning locations next to a really fresh stream or river with plenty of salmon and trout, fresh water, then we are fully sufficient......and the best thing of all is at that around 10pm in the summer, you can just sit there completely isolated and just listen to the mountains and take in the incredible feeling of mother nature.

Fine, but can she run her hairdryer and will it power up the Wii?

 

[OldBlueLady]

Depends how big the 'van is love, mine's 22ft7in and you could get lost in there! Certainly better that a hotel room when the awning is up. There's less of those caravans flipping these days now that most people tow with a stabiliser bar at the hitch.

Is this a bit of caravan one upmanship? :stunned:

 

[jamesmut2000]

The only type of caravan I like to see!

 

[Aberdeen Shrimper]

Fine, but can she run her hairdryer and will it power up the Wii?

It can generate 2.2kVA.........so covers prety much everything, what is your max usage you would need at any one time?

 

[Aberdeen Shrimper]

Is this a bit of caravan one upmanship? :stunned:

No chance, S2V has a far bigger one than me

;)

 

[Sean 2]

Is this a bit of caravan one upmanship? :stunned:

Not in the slightest, just demonstrating that if it's space you need then it's not a problem. By law you can tow 26ft on a normal licence and if you want to be impressed, try going to a dealer and stepping into a new one, you'll want to part with the dough there and then.
The one thing caravanning is not is competitive and don't let anyone tell you different. You can update an old one as easy as pie, flush-fit your plasma screen to the wall and away you go!

 

[Sean 2]

It can generate 2.2kVA.........so covers prety much everything, what is your max usage you would need at any one time?

We do tend to have on quite a lot at the same time, though i could easily switch the fridge and heater to gas.It's more the point that i just get an electric pitch and then it's hassle free.