anyone own a static caravan?

DrCornelius

Ive had a VW T6 camper for just over a year and it wouldn't be an over estimation to say its changed our lives (for the better). We previously had a place in Spain which was great but too hot most of the year and the upkeep wasn't cheap - plus its the same location 4 or 5 times a year.

We can now go anywhere at the drop of a hat and because we've just dropped down to 3 days a week at work (Tues, Wed, Thurs) we've been bumbling down to Cornwall and Devon a lot with the dogs and really enjoying it. Planning on a trip to France later in the year and maybe further afield next summer.

west

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VimFuego

DrCornelius said:

Ive had a VW T6 camper for just over a year and it wouldn't be an over estimation to say its changed our lives (for the better). We previously had a place in Spain which was great but too hot most of the year and the upkeep wasn't cheap - plus its the same location 4 or 5 times a year.

We can now go anywhere at the drop of a hat and because we've just dropped down to 3 days a week at work (Tues, Wed, Thurs) we've been bumbling down to Cornwall and Devon a lot with the dogs and really enjoying it. Planning on a trip to France later in the year and maybe further afield next summer.

yeah, that's the thing about my job is the hours are very compressed. So I tend to get runs of 4 or 5 days of couple of times a month usually. Be nice to take advantage of that.

sinbaadi

They are exactly what you expect. 

My parents have always had one somewhere or other.  For a time in Wales, then the Vendée, then Wales again.  They're great for a free holiday if you know someone that has one, but as an ownership prospect I think they're absolute madness. 

If you love somewhere enough to want to holiday there exclusively then do that it takes to buy an actual property.   The outlay for a static is huge.  If you can't stretch to a property then just find somewhere that will do you a deal for regular stays.

All the mobile alternatives have drawbacks, but at least are not stuck somewhere.

My folks lost a fortune over the years on them.  Could easily have bought a modest cottage in Wales.  The site owners rub their hands together when someone walks in to potentially buy.  They've just got you in this trap.  You can't sell the thing because you'll be in negative equity immediately unless you were mad enough to buy it outright, so you are stuck paying site fees or a massive fee to move the thing. 

You also HAVE to make it your only holiday destination, which is also madness unless you love the place enough to find a way to buy an actual property.

VimFuego

@sinbaadi thanks mate, good to get your experiences with your folks, very valuable information.

57Deluxe

you can beat an old caravan in the garden...

TTony

57Deluxe said:

you can beat an old caravan in the garden...

How much for a week in August?

VimFuego

57Deluxe said:

you can beat an old caravan in the garden...

my budget's only about £50k, will that be enough?

Kittyfrisk

57Deluxe said:

you can beat an old caravan in the garden...

That's the next evolution from the stealth white van, the garden camo van.

Rob1742

sinbaadi said:

They are exactly what you expect. 

My parents have always had one somewhere or other.  For a time in Wales, then the Vendée, then Wales again.  They're great for a free holiday if you know someone that has one, but as an ownership prospect I think they're absolute madness. 

If you love somewhere enough to want to holiday there exclusively then do that it takes to buy an actual property.   The outlay for a static is huge.  If you can't stretch to a property then just find somewhere that will do you a deal for regular stays.

All the mobile alternatives have drawbacks, but at least are not stuck somewhere.

My folks lost a fortune over the years on them.  Could easily have bought a modest cottage in Wales.  The site owners rub their hands together when someone walks in to potentially buy.  They've just got you in this trap.  You can't sell the thing because you'll be in negative equity immediately unless you were mad enough to buy it outright, so you are stuck paying site fees or a massive fee to move the thing. 

You also HAVE to make it your only holiday destination, which is also madness unless you love the place enough to find a way to buy an actual property.

Do they enjoy it though? 

sinbaadi

Rob1742 said:

sinbaadi said:

They are exactly what you expect. 

My parents have always had one somewhere or other.  For a time in Wales, then the Vendée, then Wales again.  They're great for a free holiday if you know someone that has one, but as an ownership prospect I think they're absolute madness. 

If you love somewhere enough to want to holiday there exclusively then do that it takes to buy an actual property.   The outlay for a static is huge.  If you can't stretch to a property then just find somewhere that will do you a deal for regular stays.

All the mobile alternatives have drawbacks, but at least are not stuck somewhere.

My folks lost a fortune over the years on them.  Could easily have bought a modest cottage in Wales.  The site owners rub their hands together when someone walks in to potentially buy.  They've just got you in this trap.  You can't sell the thing because you'll be in negative equity immediately unless you were mad enough to buy it outright, so you are stuck paying site fees or a massive fee to move the thing. 

You also HAVE to make it your only holiday destination, which is also madness unless you love the place enough to find a way to buy an actual property.

Do they enjoy it though? 

A good question! 

Yes, they did.  Certainly enough for it to have been worth buying an actual cottage as an appreciating asset rather than multiple occasions of a ridiculously depreciating liability.  But perhaps it's more the commitment that would have merited that, rather than the actual enjoyment of it.

To be fair they still are very good at not thinking about the bigger picture!

TimmyO

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Kittyfrisk

TimmyO said:

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Good advice, but is only applicable to the Yorkshire Dales 

TimmyO

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Good advice, but is only applicable to the Yorkshire Dales 

See, win-win! :-) 

Kittyfrisk

TimmyO said:

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Good advice, but is only applicable to the Yorkshire Dales 

See, win-win! :-) 

Wensleydale eating surrender monkeys... 

TimmyO

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Good advice, but is only applicable to the Yorkshire Dales 

See, win-win! :-) 

Wensleydale eating surrender monkeys... 

Ok ok I’m not saying NOTHING good ever came out of Lancashire. I mean, Snake Pass is a wonderful drive in to Yorkshire… :-) 

crunchman

TimmyO said:

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Good advice, but is only applicable to the Yorkshire Dales 

See, win-win! :-) 

Wensleydale eating surrender monkeys... 

Ok ok I’m not saying NOTHING good ever came out of Lancashire. I mean, Snake Pass is a wonderful drive in to Yorkshire… :-) 

Jimmy Anderson, Freddie Flintoff, and Fred Dibnah are/were from Lancashire.

[I'm neutral in this.  I'm from Devon.  Just pointing out that something good came from Lancashire.  As for the alien place that puts jam on the scone first, not so sure about them.]

Snap

TimmyO said:

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

Kittyfrisk said:

TimmyO said:

For walking trips in the Dales, B&B in Skipton (major roads thin out further north so getting there takes exponentially longer on arrival day) 

Good advice, but is only applicable to the Yorkshire Dales 

See, win-win! :-) 

Wensleydale eating surrender monkeys... 

Ok ok I’m not saying NOTHING good ever came out of Lancashire. I mean, Snake Pass is a wonderful drive in to Yorkshire… :-) 

this is feytin talk........

I'm from East Lancs, and a chunk of the family are from the Ribble Valley, right on the border with N Yorks. Over the years the border has shifted around a bit, probably due to local horse trading/witchraft etc etc, so there are generational disputes about who was a yorkshireman or lancastrian - all good ale fuelled banter.

the Ribble Valley is an oft overlooked gem though. Sitting between the Lakes and The Dales, it's a gorgeous part of the country and it's full of good places to walk, eat and drink, and stay of course. The people are some of the warmest and funniest you could meet too.

I've long since emigrated to Yorskhire (well, with one toe in Derbyshire too), but I do love the trips over the hills back home.

The areas of the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, Ribble Valley, North Yorks Moors and the Lakes are simply stunning. Wonderful parts of the country and perfect for a camper van odyssey. 

And yes, the Snake Pass is a spectacular drive. I do it several times a month. Always makes me smile when you see that sign saying City of Sheffield, slap bang in the middle of a moor top. We broke down on the summit of the Snake Pass in the snow once. No phone signal and was three mile to nearest phone box. That was fun.

CountryDave

Yorkshire is nice enough, but it's no Lancashire.

There are some good things to come out of Yorkshire though, the A59 for one, the M62.....

Kittyfrisk

I live further North in the Durham Dales so although we're geologically related, sod the lot of you