I said hell would freeze over first but I'm actually considering buying a 'van
Bear with me and hopefully I haven't started the Armageddon by even considering it
The family including the dogs are loving the whole 'camping' thing. We've graduated from a basic tent, through a trailer tent and onto a camper van. The camper's my Dads and is great fun but a bit pokey for 2 adults, 1 kid and 2 decent sized dogs. I'd love to go out and buy a bigger / better camper for us but for the following reason it doesn't make sense- I've got a Toyota Hilux company car that comes with a personal use fuel card meaning I can tow anything anywhere for free, then use it to drive around once at our destination. So unfortunately a caravan just makes sense.
So, back to my original question. How big is too big? I'm looking at the 20ft+ twin axle jobs as they seem to be a bit of a bargain and you obviously get a lot more for your money. The Hilux should be the ideal tow vehicle and shouldn't have an issue towing anything should it? Fuel economy isn't an issue. I can store it somewhere where size doesn't matter cost wise. So is there something I'm missing why I shouldn't go for such a behemoth??

touring caravan bessacarr 600glx

[Edited on 6/6/14 by Nickp]

Because it will do your head in!
We had a fibreline (medium sized but light) and were given a huge van complete with everything. It was just no fun anymore.

Too much like home.

Also coming up steep passes we could no longer overtake dawdlers because it was so heavy compared to the fibreline.

Sold it after 2 months and bought the fibreline back. Chap who gave us the monster van was right pissed off

Cheers!

quote:

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Originally posted by v8kid

Because it will do your head in!

It was just no fun anymore.

Too much like home.

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Unless you can tow it easily with the Monte it's too big!

We had two twin axle caravans over the last 12 yrs. the last one was 8mtrs (shipping length), having 4 kids and a small dog. Go for as big a van as you can tow. Would have a van again tomorrow. Used to spend 3/4weeks at a time in France........

The only thing I would add (we have owned 10+ vans) its not necessarily the overhaul size its how good the interior designer was, if its not laid out well inside no matter how big it is it will be a PIA to stay in.

The largest van we had was just that a pain, everything had to be planned in advance, without doubt in a tourer for me a awning is a must, double the size of the van and makes life much easier, we used to take a small pop up tent and put that up inside awning, kids loved to sleep in there and it opened the van up particularly in the evening when you didn't have to make beds up.

Best van we ever had, a fixed bed one so bed didn't have to be touched and kids in tent in awning, job done.

Like you I upgraded to a van end of season last year from tenting. The whole family love it, we've been away in it 6 times already. I bought a 23ft single axle which is about as big as they get on a single axle. Be careful with twin axle, many sites don't accept them as they churn up the ground when turning. Servicing costs are higher on a twin axle too. There are some good websites where you can check your vehicle against particular vans to check it's towing compatability. I always said I would never be seen towing a van but don't regret it at all.

quote:

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Originally posted by whitestu
Unless you can tow it easily with the Monte it's too big!

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Thanks for all the input guys, interesting to hear the differing opinions. Still a bit of thinking / considering to do I reckon.

Have to admit I've been a bit of a Clarkson when it comes to caravans. Now with 3 kids and a couple of years family camping behind us, I'm quietly coming round to the idea of a caravan

Can't offer any advice, but I would be interested to see what you end up getting and how you get on with it.

quote:

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Originally posted by nick205
Have to admit I've been a bit of a Clarkson when it comes to caravans. Now with 3 kids and a couple of years family camping behind us, I'm quietly coming round to the idea of a caravan

Can't offer any advice, but I would be interested to see what you end up getting and how you get on with it.

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We have an Avondale 4 berth, thats is 20 feet body single axle, and with the right car its a very good tower
we have a 2'0 Tdci Mondeo. and still averaged 45 mpg towing over 700 miles to Cumbria and back

Once you exceed the matchbox scale of 1:43 it's getting a bit to large

I have to add, ive had the car chipped, and can out accelerate most normal cars to 40 even with the van on the back

steve

Had a twin axle for a good while, towed with a Kia Sorrento, nice to have the room, though you just end up taking more crap on holiday. Keep an eye on the weights surprising how little it takes to overload it, especially when starting with a heavier van. I didn't particulary enjoy towing so only used it for long breaks rather than short weekends etc. a smaller one is a bit more user friendly. Some sites may be wary about letting you on with a commercial tow vehicle because of the pikey connection so make sure you check when booking.

quote:

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Originally posted by Nickp
The Hilux should be the ideal tow vehicle and shouldn't have an issue towing anything should it?

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Twin axles tend to be more expensive & harder to insure also because the pikey's like them

[Edited on 6/6/14 by snapper]

What you wanna do is size it up against your toy car, so when the caravan inevitably stops getting used, or starts to fall apart you can convert it into a trailer.

We went from a 5 berth to a 2 berth as the kids got older, though we did make sure the eating area was big enough to seat five.
Reasoning was that the kids were more than happy to have their own space in pup tents plus they could camp out in the awning if the weather turned really nasty.
The 2 berth was much more manoeuvrable, easier to drive on and off pitches (no need for a big pitch either).
It was also generally easier to drive in traffic and tour with.
Unless you intend spending lots of time inside watching the tellie I'd go for a smaller van.
Finally IIRC bigger vans are stolen more often than smaller ones - just thought you'd like to be aware of that.
HTH
Cheers, Pewe10

The Hilux is begging for one of these:


Description

As long as you don't write Yuup all over it

quote:

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Originally posted by r1_pete
The Hilux is begging for one of these:


Description

As long as you don't write Yuup all over it

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Some camp sites dont like twin axles
And while theyre more stable to tow theyre a pita to move about off the vehicle
Ide go for the largest single wheel with an awning for the dogs

quote:

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Originally posted by 19sac65
Some camp sites dont like twin axles
And while theyre more stable to tow theyre a pita to move about off the vehicle
Ide go for the largest single wheel with an awning for the dogs

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Our 1st twin axle was a Lunar, then moved onto a Bailey Sentor........ We found the Lunar a far better van, plus they are much lighter vans...... Wish we still had the van....
Good luck. Have a good luck around all the company's and see which layout is best for you. Enjoy it, great fun.

If you're going big, aim for permanent beds!! Nowt worse than having to cock about moving heavy cusions and then having your arse on a join......

conway cardinal , fleetwood/coleman camper , or a pennine pathfinder.......

definitely viable to a van , and easier to tow....

We use ours quite a bit, and opted not to have a made up bed for various reasons
There always on the small side so not much room
they take up a lot of space, that is unusable during the day
and all vans that have them will be at least 6 feet longer (heavier) that ones that do not

Also Lunars are the lightest vans around,