Now that i am getting more into the agility and flyball competition scene i find that i am tending to have to camp more. Not being very keen on camping in a tent i am now looking into the idea of a caravan/ campervan/ trailer tent, anything slightly more solid and protected from some of the british weather. I don't have huge funds but my parents are willing to help me out as long as they can use it. It would mainly be for me and 3 medium dogs, so doesn't need to be huge. However i've never towed anything in my life, my ford focus estate doesn't even have a tow bar so anything that needs towing may be a challenge. (ALso i think i have a towing weight limit on my licence, as i'm only 23.)
So what wouldpeople reccommend, and what are the pros and cons that you've experienced?
I'm leaning more towards a campervan such as one of those auto sleepers, because theres no need for hitching and towing, but this also means more tax, insurance and mots.

Are you sure you can tow at all? Im 22, passed my test when I was 17 and Im not allowed to tow anything.

CAR DRIVING LICENCE FIRST OBTAINED SINCE 1 JANUARY 1997

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Campervans are ok if you can afford them. The drawbacks are that they tend not to have that much room inside, they are too thirsty to be used everyday so you have to keep your car - then you have two lots of road tax, mot costs, insurance and repair bills.

I would recommend you get yourself a wee 2 berth caravan, light and easy to tow. Light enough to just unhitch and shove into camping spot rather than trying to reverse it :D and if you look in your local free ads paper you should be able to get one for around £500. Ok, it'll be and old one, but as long as it's sound and dry then it could be a perfect introduction to caravanning without having to spend a huge amount of money.

The other great thing about a caravan is the vast amount of storage space, you can chuck all your stuff on the floor of the van for travelling leaving your car free for the dogs :)

You can tow a small caravan you just have to be careful not to go over your combined weight limit. If your serious about towing you could always have some lessons in towing and even prehaps take the test to be able to tow a bigger van. A Campervan would be easiest but would have to be 3.5 tonne or less for you to drive on your licence

Folding Caravans are very good for the inexperienced NOT the tent type but the hard to type. My brother has just upgraded from a tent to this and they are suberb. I am a bit of a caravan snob but I was really suprised at them.  They look a lot better than the pictures. I think it may be the cardinal is the only hardtop on this site but have a look.

http://www.conwayowners.org.uk/folders.htm

Agree with Blue - the folding campers are wonderful :)  We had one for years and it was much roomier than a touring van as all the floor space was free for cooking and dining since unlike regular caravans the beds are out on "wings" so no feeling of being cramped in a narrow space.  They're much better than "trailer tents" which still need to have the canvas pegged out - no pegging whatsoever with a folding camper (except the awning if you use it) and can park up on hard standing just like a caravan so also versatile :)

If you are able to sort out the towing issues on your licence they are easier and safer to tow also because they're not high sided so less likely to sway unexpectedly in wind etc. 

The pros IMO are better layout and space plus, importantly, safety and ease of towing.  Only cons I can think of are that  (A) once used to having that amount of space a tourer, no matter the size, seems too cramped and (B) lots of partying because everyone else on the camp site wants to see them from the inside :D

HTH, Teri

Hmm, the more i look into it the more i like the idea of a folding camper. I think the campervans are just going to be too expensive to run for just a handful of weekends a year but i don't think i have the towing experience for a real caravan. i've had a look at some folding campers on the net and was so surprised at how much room they seem to have and all the ameneties it has. How difficult is it to put up? THis is one of the reasons why i wrote off the trailer tent, because i saw how much pegginig out was needed, but the folding camper sounds much easier. How do they hold up in the great british weather of wind and rain? I presume they are about as sturdy as a normal caravan?

They take literally about 3-5 minutes to put up :)  Ours was a large 8 berth one and the longest part of putting it up or down was taking off or fixing on the travelling cover.  If buying second hand find out if the canvas section has been recently weather-proofed and if more than say 24 months have elapsed then have it re-done.  Ours didn't need re-proofed in around 6 years and the cost then (around 8 years ago) was about £200 for a very large area.  We found ours held up very well in all sorts of extreme conditions and remember that the base and around 25% of the height is a regular solid caravan :)

There's lots of storage under seats etc and even when folded plenty of floor space for luggage etc.  Just remember to stow your spare wheel & jack last for easy access in the event of a puncture!

HTH, Teri 

One thing for sure about the hard tops is they hold their value fairly well. You can store them on your drive without it looking like you have an artic on your drive :-D

There is a couple on e-bay just now which will give you an idea also.

If you see a hard top and them see ropes this is only because they have added an awning. Hard tops do not require ropes. THey are almost as simple as a caravan.

If you ring the caravan club and ask that for a range of caravans that can be towed with your car they will tell you what a match would be, we have been caravaning at show for the 23 years, either on show sites or Caravan CL's ( 5 van only sites that are a bit basic but very check) The caravan club also have learning days or weekend course's for you to be trained in the art of towing,

If you stop on the caravan park at shows there is always someone around that will come and help, if you are unsure how to set up etc. HOpe you get a caravan sorted and come and join in on some of the parties and barbQ's that are on site. Have a look at autotrader as they have a good caravan section. you can contact them on line, at this time of year you will find trade-in in plenty as quick a few sell at the end of the season, to aviod storage charges, other because they have bougny new at the NEC caravan show earlier in the year and they will collect them for the new season. April is the worst time to buy

Lynn

Just a quick update for you all, i am not the proud owner of a dandy destiny folding camper. Its not a hard top, but it does have solid doors and windows so it feels secure, and the walls and roof is lined with insulation and doesn't need waterproofing. Its got two double beds so the dogs will be nice and cosy and secure whilst i'm walking the rings or getting a bite to eat and i will be comfortable with a sink, cooker and fridge too. (The only think it is lacking is a toilet and central heating - other wise i would live it it!!!)

Hi guys, me again. I picked up my camper yesterday and i've just got a quick question about the electrics that i hope you can help me with. It runs off mains, which is lovely - except that at most agility shows there is no mains! The guy that sold it to me told me that it could be converted to battery using a specially made cable but i have no idea how to go about doing this! How does everyone else cope when there is no mains electric?

Nip into a caravan dealer, this is your best option. It may be worth picking up a small generator. The dealer will advice you as you need to get it right.

Hi again,

you would only need a generator if you require to use a lot of electricity - the downside is they are expensive and, depending on model, tend to be annoyingly noisy!

However, if you only need it for lighting, then you can buy a simple kit from a caravan shop that plugs into your towing socket on the car and it then feeds sockets etc in the camper which you can then plug lights into :)   If you don't have sockets in your camper again these can be bought cheaply from a caravan shop and easily fitted.

From memory on ours, we had two low wattage fluorescent lights running this way fed from the car battery which would work all night without draining the battery and was more than enough to light the whole camper.

HTH, Teri

Just becareful you don't end up with a flat battery

Most serious campers have leisure battries which come in all sorts of guises

Does anyone know of anywhere on line where i can buy the hook up wires for a leisure battery? I don't really have any camping shops nearby, and need it for next weekend.

Try www.justkampers.com they have quite a few items on there and are quite cheap, also they have a forum so you could go on there and ask. 

You could try these people  I think there's what you need under DIY but you could call them & ask them