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PostPosted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 17:38 
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willcove wrote:
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For me, the cost of caravanning is much cheaper than hotels. All-up, the total cost of my caravanning including depreciation, site fees, extra fuel, gas, insurance, servicing, and food is about £110 per week for my wife and I.


Is that £110.00 per week, x 52 weeks for the year.

Sorry, that is set way to low, and not very realistic.

Ist you have the caravan cost which a budget caravan will cost you £14,000. Which would lose approx

2 years: 40 % of its value
4th year: 60% of it value

At which point you would be looking to upgrade anyway

So you are in the region of £2,000 per year to own the caravan, as expenditure.

Plus insurance, what approx £5.00 per week

Fuel cost

Maintenance: £500 per year

Site cost, at least £150.00 per week

I can stay in a first class hotel for that sort of money, and not cause misery on the roads.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 18:36 
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bmwk12 wrote:
Is that £110.00 per week, x 52 weeks for the year.

Sorry, that is set way to low, and not very realistic.

It is for actual usage. Here's the figures:
  • Usage = 4 weeks per year plus numerous weekends to total 6 weeks approx equivalent.
  • Cost of 'van four years ago = £2,150. RV = £1,500, so depreciation is £650 over four years, or £165 p.a., or less than £30 per year.
  • Insurance costs nothing (the van isn't worth enough to cover fully comp and TP comes FOC with house insurance when not on tow and is included with car insurance when on tow).
  • I do my own servicing and have spent about £80 in spares over four years, which is roughly £3 per week.
  • On an average 200-mile round trip, I'll burn an extra three gallons of fuel, which costs about £12. I'll use that for a weekly figure because I tend to travel much shorter distances on the weekend trips and usually have one or two fortnight's breaks (so reducing the number of trips).
  • I buy on average, two gas refills a season @ £12 per refill, which averages at £4 per week.
  • I don't pay more than £10 per night for site fees, which is £60 per week.

So, depreciation + insurance + servicing + extra fuel + gas + site fees come to about £110 per camping week - or £660 per year.

Of course, I don't have a new 'van (it's a 1990 4-berth ABI). I aspire to something a little swisher in the next season or two, but I won't buy new. :wink:

FWIW, I prefer the sheer convenience of a trailer caravan and would use one even if it costs the same as a hotel. Perhaps the hotel staff of your experiences were more friendly than mine, but I always feel like I'm imposing if I ask for extra tea/coffee/milk for my room, my schedule doesn't quite fit their mealtimes, etc.

BTW, you're way out on the cost of a new budget caravan. you wrote: Ist you have the caravan cost which a budget caravan will cost you £14,000.
Take a look at the prices for Bailey's budget range, which goes from £8,070 to £8,600 -- way less than your fourteen grand. Since depreciation forms the lion's share of your calculated costs, they too are way out. Another thing about caravans is the very low depreciation. Whereas most things depreciate by 25% of RV each year, caravans depreciate at a much lower rate. For example, this year's Bailey Pageant Moselle costs £11,600, a two-year-old can be found on dealer's forcourts for £10,500, which represents an annual depreciation of only 5% of RV. So, over four years, a brand new £11,600 Bailey would lose about £2,000 - about £500 a year assuming you changed your caravan every four years.

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 18:44 
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Well said willcove.

Parents have a 26yr old 4 birth Sprite which theyve done up a bit (got rid of the orange felt curtains..). Great little thing. Maintainence costs are pretty much non existant. These things go for naff all, and was originally purchased on the cheap for use as a building site hut.

Id say your maintenance costs are still a bit on the high side compared to ours.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 21:46 
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Rat wrote:
was originally purchased on the cheap for use as a building site hut.


This is the thing which worries me about caravans and the fact that there is no equivalent of the MOT for them.

I have known other people buy an old caravan where the seller has marked their reciept as "sold for use as garden shed" or similar. Clearly because the seller knows it is not safe for use on the road. They then set off for the other end of the country without so much as checking the tyre pressures.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 22:15 
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That isn't how we do things in this country bmwk. People can make their own choices about what kind of holiday they personally enjoy without imposing their will on others.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 23:26 
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Homer - yes i agree that there is a need for checks to be done, however a full mot system would be difficult to implement and would end up requiring the thousands of caravans to voluntarily be registered and checked, costing a lot of money to set up, most garages arent going to eb set up to do the checks, and there is the problem of people changing use from "shed" to van to conkers(ala topgear).

The best way of ensuring saftey is ensure the drivers know what is required to be safe (give a checklist with the required licence upgrades) and the ever present, more traffic police on the road to spot dangerous trailers and perform spot checks.

Vans dont really require a huge amount of maintenance to keep them safe and require a very extended period of neglect to become dangerous, the main structure being a pretty solid ladder frame with a couple of wheels stuck on the sides, and a towpoint. The rest is alloy sheet and timber afaik. Only other item is lights which i see pretty much every vanner i see check before they set off each time.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 18:17 
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BTW, you're way out on the cost of a new budget caravan. you wrote: [i]Ist you have the caravan cost which a budget caravan will cost you £14,000.


We were comparing luxury to that of a Hotel, not an old Caravan.


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For example, this year's Bailey Pageant Moselle costs £11,600, a two-year-old can be found on dealer's forcourts for £10,500


That is a dealer price, which means they are making a Profit on what they paid for it, you sell or trade one in, you are back upto to your 25% plus.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 18:19 
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That isn't how we do things in this country bmwk. People can make their own choices about what kind of holiday they personally enjoy without imposing their will on others


But they impose their will of blocking up the main routes every summer.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 18:23 
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The best way of ensuring saftey is ensure the drivers know what is required to be safe (give a checklist with the required licence upgrades) and the ever present, more traffic police on the road to spot dangerous trailers and perform spot checks.


Disagree, the best form of ensuring safety, is by annual testing. The system is already in place for LGV trailers, no problem to include Caravans.



Quote:
Only other item is lights which i see pretty much every vanner i see check before they set off each time.


BRAKES :!:

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 19:17 
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bmwk12 wrote:
Quote:
BTW, you're way out on the cost of a new budget caravan. you wrote: [i]Ist you have the caravan cost which a budget caravan will cost you £14,000.


We were comparing luxury to that of a Hotel, not an old Caravan.

Hmmm, luxurious surroundings aren't everything -- otherwise why would people go on safaris? I'd rather have spartan freedom than luxurious constraint.
  • there is less space in an affordable hotel room than there is in a 15 ft van plus awning
  • you can't light a barbecue in your hotel room
  • a lower proportion of hotels than campsites are dog-friendly
  • you can have 400-channels of Sky TV in a caravan at no extra charge
  • you can have as much tea and coffee as you choose
  • you can have a bacon sarnie whenever you want it without having to wait for some spotty youth (who may have spat in it) to fetch it
  • etc.
Nope, you can shackle yourself to as much velvet and crepe-de chine as you like, I'm happier with the freedom of a caravan. But then, as I wrote earlier, each to his own.


bmwk12 wrote:
Quote:
For example, this year's Bailey Pageant Moselle costs £11,600, a two-year-old can be found on dealer's forcourts for £10,500


That is a dealer price, which means they are making a Profit on what they paid for it, you sell or trade one in, you are back upto to your 25% plus.

OK, I've just checked Autotrader and, while I can't find a private Moselle, I did find a private Provence. This year's model is £11,815, a private sale for a two-year-old is on sale for £11,295, which is about 96% of the new price. Of course, the seller may not get quite that for the van, but then last year it almost certainly cost less than this year's model now does.

Anyway, enough :!: :roll: You have clearly made up your mind in a way bordering on bigotry so I'll leave you to it.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 19:41 
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bmwk12 wrote:
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That isn't how we do things in this country bmwk. People can make their own choices about what kind of holiday they personally enjoy without imposing their will on others


But they impose their will of blocking up the main routes every summer.


Is the really the way you see it? Or were you just grasping for a reply there :wink:


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 19:28 
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willcove wrote:
[*]you can have 400-channels of Sky TV in a caravan at no extra charge


I hope that Sky box is connected to a land-based 'phoneline. We wouldn't want you recieving broadcasts outside the intended geographical area, that would be illegal. :wink:


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 22:02 
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Homer wrote:
willcove wrote:
[*]you can have 400-channels of Sky TV in a caravan at no extra charge


I hope that Sky box is connected to a land-based 'phoneline. We wouldn't want you recieving broadcasts outside the intended geographical area, that would be illegal. :wink:

It doesn't need to be connected to a phone line unless you are obliged by contract. So, if you've had your digibox for more than a year or paid the non-discounted price, you're probably free to disconnect it from the telephone right now.

AIUI, the geographical area for Sky is all of UK. Although I understand that it's a offence to take your Sky viewing card (but not the digibox) out of UK, AIUI you are completely free to use your Sky digibox and viewing card at any campsite in this country.

HTH,

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