An Englishman’s home is his castle – but on holiday it could be his house on wheels. About one million people in Britain own a caravan with 550,000 being touring caravans and the others static caravans on a site.
A further 300,000 people own a camper van or motorhome.
A key appeal is cost, as caravans are widely regarded as excellent value for a budget break, offering home comforts and vacation flexibility, as well as being perceived as a great second-home investment.
But The Mail on Sunday has discovered thousands of pounds worth of hidden expenses that means it can work out cheaper to pack your bags and jet off for a holiday abroad instead.
Appeal: An Englishman’s home is his castle – but on holiday it could be his house on wheels
Pitfalls of a static caravan
A static caravan offers the ability to own a place to stay without the high price of a second home.
Purchased new they typically cost from £30,000 for a basic 12ft by 30ft two-bedroom with kitchen facilities and bathroom, or £60,000 for a 14ft by 40ft luxury model.
But if you later decide to sell, the site provider usually gets first option to buy – often offering a knock down price.
Saddat Abid, chief executive of agency Property Saviour, says: ‘We have people coming to us in tears because they have sunk their life savings into a caravan and were offered a pittance by the site owner to buy it back.
‘For example, £10,000 for a caravan bought five years previously for £40,000.
‘Always pay a solicitor to go through the small print of any contract with a site provider for such hidden clauses.
‘Even if you sell independently you may end up handing as much as 20 per cent of the final price to the site owner as part of the sales agreement.’
For those buying, park owners Holgates and Away Resorts suggest makes such as Willerby, ABI and Swift Group.
A two-bedroom 36ft Willerby Eminence can cost £35,000 while a three-bed 40ft ABI Beverley £55,000.
You cannot get a mortgage to buy a static caravan, but can take out a loan.
Website Moneyfacts Compare says a £30,000 five-year loan with a lender such as Novuna Personal Finance has £616 monthly payments at 8.9 per cent APR.
Hidden costs of a static home
Budget for an annual pitch fee from £4,500 up to £10,000 for a caravan site offered by providers such as Haven.
Sites can charge up to £800 a year to use gas and electricity, says website My Holiday Caravan.
A further £400 may be required for water and sewage disposal. Insurance can cost £300 a year.
Unless it’s your main home, you do not pay council tax. There are also typically £100 annual safety checks for gas and £120 electricity checks every three years.
As with all property, there are maintenance costs. Flooring can deteriorate in caravans after a decade, and replacing wooden floorings costs £5,000. You usually buy a caravan on site but to relocate may cost £3,000.
Abid says: ‘All these fees can soon ramp up – and you could end up spending £10,000 in a year just staying put. You could jet off on a luxury foreign trip for that price.’
Expense of a touring caravan
A touring caravan is usually cheaper than a static home and although typically smaller, provides flexibility on where you holiday.
You can pay £22,000 for a four-berth 18ft caravan, such as a one-ton Xplore XC Lite.
Andy Jenkinson, caravan industry expert, says: ‘These days people are increasingly looking for a lounge on wheels – and want modern luxuries, such as fitted kitchens and central heating.
‘Towing a caravan is easy once you get the hang of it – but lightweight caravans make motoring easier.’
Publication Practical Caravan recommends for small pulls a £17,000 two-birth Capsule Mini R, which is 12ft long and weighs 650 kilogrammes.
At the other end of the scale, a luxury four-birth £52,000 Coachman Lusso III weighs almost two tons and is more than 21ft long.
The Camping and Caravanning Club offers details of more than 2,000 campsites across Britain where you can visit. Membership costs from £53 a year, with sites typically charging £20 to £50 a night, enabling you to use toilets and washing facilities, water and their electricity.
Choose the right vehicle for towing
You probably need a two-litre vehicle for enough power to pull a caravan. Publication Practical Caravan says that vehicle stability is important, and this means large estate cars and SUVs are often the best.
It awards ‘best tow cars’ to the £46,000 2.2-litre Kia Sorento, £40,000 two-litre Skoda Superb Estate and £41,000 two-litre Volkswagen Tiguan.
Jenkinson says: ‘Petrol or diesel cars can be more practical than electric as they are better designed for load pulling.’
Budget £400 to purchase a towbar and get it fitted, according to car shop Halfords.
Buy a towing mirror and ensure that number plates and lights are also put on its rear.
Fuel efficiency drops when towing a caravan. It can add ten miles per gallon (mpg) to a fuel bill, so a 40mpg car might do 30mpg towing a caravan.
The RAC says the average price of unleaded petrol is currently 135p a litre – £6.14 a gallon. A 200-mile trip might cost about £10 more in extra fuel pulling a caravan.
Tourer caravan insurance on top of standard car cover can add £100 a year to premiums. You must tell your insurer about modifications, such as using a tow bar.
Camper vans that cost more
A camper van tends to be more compact, with the engine and driving cabin taking up much of the room. Although it can be easier to drive, the cabin squeezes the available space in the back.
Andy Jenkinson says: ‘The romance of holidaying in a camper can evaporate when you find the freedom of the open road is not what you imagined.
‘You cannot just park where you want and must be wary of break-ins if you leave a vehicle unattended.’
It is illegal to sleep overnight in lay-bys in Britain, and it can land you with a £200 police fine.
Publication What Car? recommends the £74,000 Mercedes V-Class Marco Polo and the £62,000 Volkswagen California.
Practical Motorhome suggests the £79,000 Benimar Tessoro 840 and £156,000 Le Voyageur GJF Heritage.
But large motorhomes, such as the 25ft Heritage, require a ‘C1’ driving licence. Those who passed their test before 1997 should be covered, but others must pass a new separate test, that can cost at least £115.
As with caravans, second-hand motors can provide a great way to save money on a new purchase – and it can be a good idea to try before you buy.
Online marketplaces such as Camplify, Yescapa and Goboony offer opportunities to hire from a typical £80 a day.
Expense of renting out
You can rent out your caravan for £500 or more a week via websites such as Camplify, Airbnb, UK Caravans 4 Hire or Rent My Caravan.
For static caravans, you may be forced to rent out through the site owner, who could demand up to 30 pc of your earnings. You must also clean the caravan before every visitor, which can cost £100.
How does it compare?
Caravan holidays are not always cheaper than other self-catering holidays. For example, you can currently fly to Seville in Spain for £185 return from Stansted in August and pay £300 for a one-bedroom apartment that sleeps up to four via Airbnb, making a total price for a couple of £660.
If they hired a VW camper van through Goboony for £81 a night, it would be £567 for the week. Although cheaper, it does not include cost of travel. Driving to Seville and back from London is 2,600 miles.
Even ignoring the cost of camp sites, if you manage 30mpg, at British fuel prices this is almost £400 on petrol and a return trip across the Channel on LeShuttle could cost a further £400.
Peter Washington (left) enjoys relaxing by his Dethleffs motorhome while industry expert Andy Jenkinson (right) is nostalgic about the simple pleasures of caravanning with the family
We have a motorhome… and caravan
Peter Washington, 66, and his wife Janet, 65, from York in North Yorkshire, holiday in either their Dethleffs motorhome – or Swift Freestyle caravan.
Retired chartered surveyor Peter says: ‘People might think it is crazy having both – but the motorhome is best if the journey is as important as the destination and you want to stop off for mountain walks, visit lakes or historic site.
‘But when you just want to get from A to B nothing beats the caravan – especially in the cold winter months. Modern caravans have all the latest conveniences and with central heating and double glazing are really cosy.’
While Peter admits his motorhome was a big investment at £65,000 six years ago, it holds its value compared to a static caravan.
Peter says: ‘People forget they do not own the land with a static caravan plot and are not only vulnerable to exploitation from greedy site owners when selling but be victims of soaring pitch fees.’
Peter believes with a touring caravan, such as his £18,000 purchase six years ago, you can escape if charges rocket.
He says: ‘A seasonal pitch lets you pick and choose where to stay. You can choose from thousands of options by signing up to the Caravan and Motorhome Club and Camping and Caravanning Club.’
When picking a caravan, he warns against tourers wider than 7 and a half feet for navigating narrow winding roads.
