Our Motorhome/Camper Journey. 38 Years and Rising. Part 1

  1986

Our camping journey started back in the summer of 1986. We decided to have a go at camping and when a almost new trailer tent came up for sale through a friend we decided to give it a go. At the huge price of £450 it was actually a bargain as they were about £800 new.

With two relatively small children, a seven and six year old at the time, a four berth trailer tent might be just what we needed. We did not have much camping experience between us but as a child I had spent a few summer holidays in a ready erected tent in Spain and Den had done some basic camping too. Luckily a friend had the same trailer tent so he came out on our first trip with us....then we were off.

One of our first nights away. Blackpool Sands, North Devon.

The back end was fairly easy and quick to put up, except in the rain. The main disadvantage with this tent was if it was wet, the wet canvas went down onto the beds. We put the back end of the trailer up for the overnight stop and slept very comfortably in the two parallel double beds. We spent a lot of time watching for rain on the overnighters through France. When we got home we could just fit the tent in the back lane for drying.

We actually had a good system going and could put the whole thing up including the awning in a relatively short space of time. The kids were actually very helpful most of the time and had their own little jobs to do. We towed with a Rover 100 car, poor thing! Three sailboards on the roof and everything else in the trailer. Looking back on it I'm surprised the whole rig actually moved.

 Three lovely holidays in France with pitches booked through Eurocamp. We were hooked on the great outdoors.

Camping Mariflaude at Hourtin South West France 1987.

1989

By 1989, we had a new hobby wind sailing. This meant we needed to carry more kit. Three boards, sails, wet suits and by then the kids wanted to take bikes. Time for a change. Our Erka trailer tent had to go 😞 We were actually quite sad as we watched it being driven away. Still the £500 in our pockets cheered us up, we actually made a profit after nearly 4 years.

Our next purchase was a panel van, a VW, called  "Harry". 

Bought as a 9 months old parts van in Cardiff and converted by Auto Sleepers in Poole. Overall the cost was around £12 500. High top roof with a roof bed, tow bar and the luxury of a rock n roll bed for us, water, gas and electric!! The kids had a Khyam fast erect tent between them. The top bed we used for storing wet suits, sails and all the other stuff we carried. We did love this van, we had a comfy bed and the kids got a bit more independence. Also this van could be taken anywhere and was much more comfortable for the kids to travel in with duvets and pillows on the back seat, they could snooze the miles away we could have a bit of peace. The only disadvantage here was loo breaks, though it did give us the opportunity to try out all those little French bars with disgusting toilets!!

Over the years our set up grew, until we had two tents ( just in case little friends came for the night) and a drive away awning. Not forgetting of course, the tow bar which now carried 4 bikes....no thought of pay load in those days.

We really enjoyed "Harry" spending most weekends between May and August by a lake in the UK and three weeks every summer in France. The kids made loads of friends and so did we. With two expanding teenagers after 4 years it was time for a change.

1993

Our next van was a "proper" motorhome. Strange when we look back we bought our next van almost by accident. We had started to look around but were not totally sure what we wanted next. However, a toilet and end kitchen springs to mind. We had been vaguely looking at motorhomes when we went to Poole for the day sailing. On the way home we stopped at a dealers and came upon our next van. An Elddis Autoquest 320D GT, this was on a Peugeot 2L petrol engine and it was only 5.49m long, an easy fit on our drive. Six months old and the beds had never been slept in, it cost around £20 000 and we were offered a great deal on "Harry." April had been born.

Pale blue dralon seating ( the colour grew on me after a while) with a front dinette and bench seat, rear kitchen, loo, shower, an awning and a heater! Officially it was a 5 berth but we knew the kids were happy with their tents so sleeping would be fine. It was actually a comfy van with loads more travelling room for the kids and plenty of room for wine and beer crates. Getting the sail boards on the roof was a bit tricky but we managed it. We used the luton for storage. This little van travelled miles and when the children had out grown holidays with us and left home it still kept going. We kept it for 10 years and when it was finally time to go it still looked tidy. The aluminium body work came up beautifully with a few dabs of Mer polish. The only area which was showing it's age was the bed which over time became a bit lumpy, we had our sights set on a more comfortable bed! Time for a change.