[camusdarrach]

Well, regretfully, wifey( :kneel: ) has had an idea :doh: (must be linked in with those "pregnancy hormones..... )

"Wouldn't it be great if we all had a camping holiday", she keeps on saying :shock:

So, having asked around at work, much to my collegues amusement, the choice has to be made, either we buy a tent, or go the whole hog and get a trailertent/ folding camper.

So, was wondering if anybody on here had advice / help / experiences, general thoughts, etc which they would like to share????

Or, should I just file for divorce on the grounds of insanity

 

[jonas1022]

I always advise friends and family that trailer tents, we call them pop ups, are wonderful investments. Then when they tire of them, I borrow them and use them more than they do! :yes:

Most are fairly light wieght and provide better accomodations than a tent. For sure! Real beds and mini kitchen facilities all properly mounted to the trailer for ease of transport and collapsing. Most also have a modicum of storage for personal item too! :thumb:

We, on the other hand own a tent and stove...They were small enough to fit into the trunk of our Escort and spend a weekend at the camp ground. Lately I have been thinking more of buying my own camper. That is further down the list of things to do than I care to admit, as I am still paying on the house and Tribute... :shrug:

 

[Dasha]

Used to own a pop-up camper. It was a nice one w/shower and toilet too. Pros: easy to store, easy to haul, easy to set-up and take down. Cons: Loud voices carry, fabric may start to mildew, can be a pain to set-up and take down.
Overall, it was nice experience but if we ever do get another camper it won't be a pop-up.

 

[GreatEscape2004]

When I was a kid (back in the '60's) we had a pop-up and pulled it all over the country behind the family station wagon (a '64 then a '68 Ford Country Squire!!). We did the east coast one year (Niagra down to NC, then over to TN and the Smokies), then another year we made the grand tour of the west (From Mich, down across TX, NM, and AZ and Mesa Verde, up through Grand Canyon, the Rockies into the Teotns and Yellowstone, then across through Dakotas, around Chicago, and home to Detroit). Great way to bond as a family. All these years later my brother and I still reminisce with my Dad about the fun we had on that trip.

 

[JIMMYJOHN]

In the past years we owned a Coleman Pop Up and loved it. We didn't have to sleep on that hard ground any more. Since my Cancer And brain Surgery the only camping we do is at Motel 6 or super 8 . There I can shower and lay on the bed in my shorts and watch TV no more rain to bother me. Best Of Luck :shades:

 

[Colleen]

We camped in a popup camper with our kids for a good number of years. In fact, we still own the camper just have not used it in a great while. It has a shower and toilet in it as well. Didn't use the shower because there was always a bath house close by, usually within a few campsites. The toilet sure came in handy in the middle of the night. It has all the comforts of home, including a microwave. We very much enjoyed camping and so did our kids. The memories that we created will last a lifetime, and Camus, I feel that you and your family will like camping. Tents are relatively inexpensive and a good way to start off and make sure that this is something that your family enjoys. Later you can always upgrade to a popup. My husband and I have tossed around the idea of buying a regular camper because we have outgrown the popup days and if we decide to do more camping in the future we would want to be able to pull on a site and have minimal setup. This is something that we may or may not purchase down the road. We haven't totally made up our minds yet.

Camping is alot of fun, especially when other couples and their kids go along. We planned many camping trips with friends and their kids over the years.

Let us know what you decide.

 

[camusdarrach]

All very interesting, and thanks for your views. :thumb:

At the moment, we are still pondering, but I think we will end up getting a tent, as most British trailer tents are basic, in that they don't come with solid roof's, toilets or showers etc...

American made ones (eg Coleman) are like most other American trailers, sadly banned here as they don't comply with our rules regarding tow hitches and brakes, which is a shame, as a quick trawl though eBay.com made me realise how superior yours are.. :rant:

 

[Ajax]

If you're tent camping, I would highly suggest air mattresses, sleeping on the ground can be very difficult and even painful if you don't have one. I tent camp, the air mattress is the only thing I really need!

 

[latan]

Hi Camus,

Is there any places that hire camper trailers over there. Here a few of the places that sell campers also hire them.

We started of with a tent then upgraded to a the camper after a couple of years.

Ours is in the background of this picture - other one is the brother-inlaws.

 

[jonas1022]

Thats' a pretty spiffy camper latan!

The popups that I have borrowed usually had the lid of the camper form the primary roof. Never had a mildew problem :shock: , but then I live in Texas and things do dry out! :bill:

I think all of them were Coleman brands except one that I borrowed once and only used one weekend. It had a generator, but we didn't use it. We were camping with others in tents and didn't want to keep them awake during the night just to run our A/C. eace:

 

[camusdarrach]

Hi Camus,

Is there any places that hire camper trailers over there. Here a few of the places that sell campers also hire them.

We started of with a tent then upgraded to a the camper after a couple of years.

Ours is in the background of this picture - other one is the brother-inlaws.

Wow, what a really nice setup, just what I would like, but sadly, over here they aren't like like that here :rant:
Viz, the major UK manufacturer....
http://www.thepenninegroup.co.uk/?movieShown=yes

As for hiring, well you can, but with 2 young children and a dog, not many companies will, as the chances of losing the deposit is classed as being quite high, due to accidental damage by dog claws / sticky fingers etc........

The alternative is to get a caravan, but thats a whole different ball game :worry:

 

[jonas1022]

I leased a Caravan (Bedford) back in the summer of 1978 from a concern in Sheffield. It seemed to be in the heart of the city. I kept it for a month and toured the circumference of the main island on the "coastal" roads. Not totally, but nearly as it turned out. Lots of good times. I had been stationed in Ludwigsburg Germany at the time.

 

[camusdarrach]

Wow, you drove a Bedford CF, and lived to tell the tale.......
For some reason, Sheffield (1/2 hour drive from here) seems to be the epicentre for Motorhomes and Caravans in the UK, but glad you enjoyed your journey
BTW, a neighbour has offered to sell me his 1978 Austin Sherpa motorhome, just needs a little work to get it roadworthy, must admit I'm very tempted...................

 

[jonas1022]

1978! Back in the day that thing was new. It's a bit of a rolling relic now isn't it?

My experience with old travel equipment has always been bad, so I say think about it again. Are you sure you want to put your family in that thing? And drive it on the Queens Motorway...

 

[camusdarrach]

TBH, if I aquired the Sherpa Motorhome, it would be with the intent of getting it roadworthy, tidied up, gas safety certificate (for the cooker / waterheating / fridge, then use it as a deposit/trade in for a trailertent.

I've spent far too long in the past driving absolute heaps of junk, would'nt want to do it again with my family, (although we do still own a Renault Laguna :doh

 

[jonas1022]

(although we do still own a Renault Laguna :doh

We don't even allow Renault to sell cars here in the good ole' US of A... :stop:

You do have a good plan, buy it cheap and fix it up for a trade in. Might be a way to get something down for a minimum amount of money. Here, your plan would suck as they almost always steal the trade-in from their customer.

 

[camusdarrach]

Well, thanks to an opening offer from a Camping Superstore just down the road from us, we got a 2 berth tent at 75% discount (cost £19,75).

Tried it out in our back garden, eldest son loved it, I had a good nights sleep in it along with him, so having judged the camping experience a success, a trawl of eBay produced a 6 Berth Dome tent, 6 months old, used twice, for a bargain price of £40.00 (new cost is £299.99 :shock: ), so having bought, and collected it from the next city to us, we've erected it in the back garden.

Will post piccies soon..................................

 

[camusdarrach]

You do have a good plan, buy it cheap and fix it up for a trade in. Might be a way to get something down for a minimum amount of money. Here, your plan would suck as they almost always steal the trade-in from their customer.

Thanks to Google streetview, here's the campervan in question..
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 33.36,,0,5

 

[jonas1022]

Looks like the van we rented! Did he buy that used? If so, it had about 13K miles on it when I last saw the beast.

 

[camusdarrach]

Looks like the van we rented! Did he buy that used? If so, it had about 13K miles on it when I last saw the beast.

Funnily enough, he bought it from a dealer in Sheffield approx 15 years ago................ :worry:
For some strange reason, Sheffield and surrounding suburbs are the epicentre of the British campervan scene........ :worry: :worry: :worry: