A Camper, Motorhome (RV) or a Caravan?

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Dreaming about the freedom to travel and sleep wherever your heart desires? A camper van, motorhome (Americans might be more familiar with the term RV, recreational vehicle) and caravan can provide you exactly this, but the one which suits you the best depends on multiple factors we are going to have a look at.

What kind of traveler are you?

I personally think this is the one of the main considerations to think of. If you like to keep moving easily from place to place, a motorhome or a campervan is a must. This also applies to freedom camping – small campervan is the most discreet if necessary.

If you prefer to stay in campsites for longer periods of time, a caravan will be handier – you can park your caravan, take your car to explore places close by, which also makes city exploration much easier and set everything up for more home-like feeling. Great example of this is the kitchen – if you live in a motorhome or a camper van, you will always need to pack all your kitchen stuff back into the cupboards, do your dishes etc. before you can set off.

How much stuff are you going to take with you? Caravans are very light-weight and there are limitations on weight on how much you can take. On the other hand you can pack more in the motorhome but being as sturdy as they are, bear the cost of fuel in mind.

How much money are you willing to spend?

The highest initial price for all of these options is usually for the motorhome, although sometimes you can find older (30+ years) models with a fraction of the price of new one, and still in decent condition. They usually come in the ugliest of colours though, but if you are a keen DIYer or interior freak like me, this is not a problem – in fact it’s more like an invitation to let your imagination run free!

This is the option we are taking next – we lived half a year in a campervan converted from usual traders van and as lovely it was, it wasn’t a permanent solution for us for full-time living. Call us glampers if you like, but we like our space!

Caravan is one of the cheapest options, you can find one in good condition for only a few thousand dollars. Take extra care when choosing the towing vehicle though, wrong choice could end up costing you loads in fuel or running afoul of the law. There are many great websites where you can calculate the perfect match for you car/caravan, like Towcar.info.

The best part of owning and building a campervan from scratch is that you can set up your own budget. If you decide to get it fitted, the prices usually start from £3500 on top of the price of the van.

Are you a confident driver?

If you are good at steering a car with a trailer you will have no problem learning to tow a caravan as the same principle applies. Bear in mind that this requires a certain level of skill, especially when reversing, so if you are not the most confident driver, the other options could be better for you. (Practice makes perfect though.) Big motorhomes/RVs can be clunky to steer as well so take an advantage of your travel companions and agree some hand signs you can use to help each other when parking.

Julie and Jason in their blog Our Tour had a very handy tip for you when driving a big motorhome – attach strips of tape on the windscreen where you should see the edge of the road and the centre line, this way it is easier to figure out where the road goes and you’ll stay perfectly in your lane. Check out their other great tips for travelling Europe in Motorhome.

Camper van is the easiest to manoeuvre but at the compromise of living space inside.

Are you planning on living in your vehicle full time?

If this is the case, caravan is really only an option if you are thinking about moving to a campsite/caravan park – to be able to fully take all the advantages of non-grid life you should really consider a motorhome or a big campervan. Here is my list of the important questions you need to think about when choosing a van.