Folding Caravans

[thickym]

Has anyone got one of these? I like the idea of camping, but can't be a*sed with the hassle of putting up a tent, but I don't want to tow a caravan either.

A folding caravan looks the nuts...but are they as good as they seem?

[B00]

I've no idea what a folding caravan is, i'm gonna Google it though as I'm intrigued.

My point is however though is don't dismiss the tent idea, a lot of tents are so simple to put together, usually only involving a few poles, and if you go all posh and have a Kayam tent they almost put themselves together!

Me and the hubby always go camping (with our tent) with another couple who went all swanky last year and bought a caravan- by the time they'd beggered about positioning the van, sorting water pumps out, n put awning on it, we were halfway down a bottle of wine laughing our socks off at them.

Anyway...I'm away now to Google this folding caravan thingymejig.

[gazzawazza]

We have a Coleman Missouri folding camper which we bought second hand in 1996 although it was already quite old then.

It takes about 10/15 minutes to set up completely but then we have two spacious bedrooms which are nice and comfortable, plus a kitchen area with oven and sink and a dining area with seats. We can also convert the dining area to make another double bed if need be.

We've used it many, many times and been loads of places but unfortunately we now have to get rid of it which is a shame because we loved going camping with it. We now have a car which is probably not capable of towing it, but more importantly we're going to have nowhere to put it soon due to extending the house over the drive. Never mind!

[gazzawazza]

I've just remembered, the day we bought it I towed it home with the trailer handbrake still on. I knew nothing about it till a bloke behind me flashed me and shouted "Your trailer's on fire" as he passed by!

I'd towed it ten miles and obviously the brake had overheated. I pulled over and jumped out to see smoke billowing from the axle. Being a firefighter I panicked like mad... I was 1 mile from the nearest fire station, which is the one I work at! The embarrassment of having my trailer go up in flames and some of my mates coming to put it out for me would have been worse than losing the �1300 we'd just paid! Fortunately nobody bothered calling 999, (this was before mobile phone ownership had really took off where I live) and the axle cooled down after a few minutes!

[thickym]

Thank you both for your replies.

Boo....I seem to lack any manual dexterity and hand to eye co-ordination, so the thought of even a few poles leaves me cold!

Did you find them on google? They look really good.

Gazzawazza...that's the sort of thing that happens to me!

How very funny though....<snigger>

How much would I expect to pay for one in relatively good nick? I don't want to spend a fortune, but I don't want to get one on the cheap and spend loads of money on it.

Thanks again.

[ianess]

Click here for one that's on eBay just now.
They do come on the market occasionally and some look really substantial....far better than a trailer tent in my opinion.
There is a reasonable choice of Eriba and Gobur makes.......I've never tried one but the idea appeals to me too.
Good hunting.

[ianess]

this is an even better example.