Caravans and Camping

This was the first caravan we ever had. I cannot remember the size of it but it was probably about 14 foot long and would have weighed about half a ton. Caravans were much smaller and lighter in those days.

We bought it in the late eighties and it was to replace our trailer tent. With three children it was quite cramped but we had some fun times in it.

 

 

The furthest journey we ever took in it was over to france. It was very strange driving on the other side of the road. I shall always remember driving the wrong way down a one way street and near the end was a french policeman. Instead of letting me turn and drive back he insisted that I reverse car and caravan all the way back. He walked in front of me just waving me back. I now know why I am not keen on the french.

Looking at this picture its incredible to see how basic the caravan was inside but of course at the time we thought it was really great. If you wanted water in the sink you had to pump it up and there was no sort of heating. The lighting was gas lamps as their were no leisure batteries back then. Still we had some lovely adventures in it.

When we first bought this caravan we thought it was exactly what we wanted. It was 6 berth and seemed very plush. The beds were configured as a double and four singles. The double could be made up from using the two bench seats at the front in the lounge and the singles were all bunk beds. Two of the bunks were at the rear of the caravan and were permanent but the other two were made up from the breakfast seating area. We soon found that the bunks at the rear were used for storage and the double was a pain to make up and take down. Apart from this the caravan was lovely. It was brand new but the previous years model. We bought it in 2008 and have had some fantastic times in it . It is so relaxing and still quite exciting.

This was the first caravan I had ever towed with this car. The caravan weighed 1.3 ton and was 23 feet long. The car did not seem to have any problem with this. We felt it was huge and could not really imagine ever towing anything larger but how wrong we were.  We went up to Wales on holiday and decided on the journey up to stop as soon as we had crossed the bridge into Wales. Knowing that I needed plenty of room to park we took the sign for the services and followed the signs for the car parking as it did not mention caravans. We ended up in a car park that was not much longer than our rig and it had a dead end. The only way out was to reverse the caravan into a space and let the end of the van overhang the bank. In this way I was just about able to turn. With other traffic waiting is was a bit nerve wracking but we managed it.

We bought this caravan in March 2011 and it is 26 foot long and weighs 1.7 ton with twin axles. I can definately feel it on the back but as long as I bear that in mind it tows it perfectly well. Fuel consumption is down but better if i do not use the cruise control. It is harder to reverse and you have to get it in the right position from the start as you cannot push it after wards.

We enjoyed the above but as time goes on dealing with a caravan weighing 1.7 ton slowly becomes too much so we moved into the next evolution which was of course the Static which we purchased on a site in Burham on Sea.  It was lovely, of course much bigger than a caravan can be but still a lovely getaway.  The only real problem with a static is just that, you have to take your breaks in the same place every time.  They are very expensive to buy and then you have the ground rent which is also very expensive and of course you are never going to get it back when you sell as they do depreciate quite fast.

Static at Fritton in Norfolk