N
OW YOU’LL want to decide, if
you haven’t already, whether
you’d prefer to tour in a
motorhome or with a caravan.
There are, as you would expect with such
a decision, a number of pros and cons. As a
quick summary, before we go into detail, the
advantages of a caravan are these.
Caravans are usually less expensive than
motorhomes, and your existing family car
will probably be able to tow one. With a
caravan, you can use your towcar to explore
on holiday, leaving your accommodation
behind on site.
The disadvantages are that you’ll need to money’s no object of course, there are MAIN PHOTO:
put your caravan somewhere when it’s not some fabulously luxurious models with
Trewethett Farm
being used, and it may be that towing does every conceivable extra, with prices for
Caravan Club Site,
not appeal to you. people with very large pockets!
Cornwall. The site
has a clifftop
The advantage of a motorhome is that it is New motorhomes start at around
setting,
self contained, so you don’t need a tow £30,000, but the sky’s the limit with overlooking
vehicle. The downside is that you might these vehicles too, as there are so many
Bossiney Cove with
need a regular car for everyday use as well, options available.
its safe and sandy
especially if you choose a large motor
beach
caravan. When you’re on holiday, you could WHERE WILL I KEEP IT?
hire a smaller vehicle for daily excursions, so Think about where you’ll put your touring
you can leave the motorhome set up on site, vehicle when it’s not in use. If you buy a
avoiding the need to ‘de-camp’. A small car motorhome this may not be so much of an
can be hired for as little as £15 a day. issue. Do you have you room for a caravan
A motorhome can also work out more in your drive, assuming your local byelaws
expensive to buy, as you are in effect buying allow you to?
accommodation with the towcar ‘built-in’. Fortunately there are secure places
where you can store your caravan for
DECIDE ON A BUDGET reasonable fees. The Caravan Club has
As you may imagine, decisions such as this many sites where you can safely store your
will depend significantly on the available caravan. There are even places that allow
budget. you to keep your caravan at your chosen
Bear in mind that you could buy a holiday site for some of the year.
secondhand vehicle, making considerable
savings. This would be a logical route, DO I NEED A NEW CAR?
especially if you are simply ‘testing the If you buy a caravan, you’ll need to check
water’ to see if touring suits you. whether your existing vehicle can tow it. If
The quality of caravans and motorhomes you buy a big caravan you may need to buy a
in the past few years has been high, so a larger car to tow it safely.
recent model which has been cared for The rule of thumb is that the caravan,
should not be a particularly risky purchase. laden with all the stuff you’re taking on
If you do decide to sell, as many people holiday, should not weigh more than 85% of
like to ‘trade up’ quite soon after starting the tow vehicle’s weight.
touring, you’ll probably get back much the Most people, however, discover that
same price as you bought it for, if you’ve their typical family car, perhaps a
looked after it. Mondeo or similar, will tow an average
caravan quite safely.
WHAT WILL IT COST?
So, what’s it likely to cost? Well, a good- TO SUM UP
condition five year old caravan with decent It’s all down to personal preference, only
accessories could come in somewhere you can decide what’s right for you.
between £5,000 and £7,500. Your decision may be based solely on
Of course, if you choose something your budget or possibly by the size of your
older, you could even start touring for a few family. It could just be matter of which
hundred pounds. But then you might miss you’d prefer to drive.
out on luxuries that have become standard Why not visit a local dealer and have a
over recent years. look around, to get a good idea of what the
A used motor caravan of around five inside of a modern leisure vehicle looks
years old with about 35,000 miles on the like? To search for dealers in your area refer
clock might be around £20,000 or so. A ten to The Caravan Club’s website.
year old possibly at half that price, though Whatever your preference, there’s
motorhomes tend to hold their value. bound to be a touring vehicle on the market
Buying new, a caravan could come in at a that will suit your purposes admirably,
bit over £10,000 up to maybe £17,000. If without costing a fortune. a73
discovertouring.co.uk DISCOVER TOURING 17
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