It’s a fad Once they find out how inflexible they are they will all get caravans instead😀

Motorhomes do seem to be on the increase in some places although in central Spain this year it was still mostly caravans. It is unfair to tar them all with the same brush. Our neighbours have a nice new motorhome this year now they have retired but previous to this they have converted 3 old Transit type vans into campers to take their kids away. They are equally horrified at the people they see who in their view don't understand the ethics or niceties of camping. Hopefully we will educate these motorhomers or they will decide to do the sensible thing and get an Eriba. Not holding my breath.

OK, I've gone through 5m hightop Transit PVC, 6m Adria coachbuilt, two Troll 540's, two WWB's and I've arrived back at a 5.2m hightop Transit of the same type as we started with.

I love Eriba Tourings but I don't really enjoy all the faffing about that caravans entail. By the same token coachbuilt motorhomes are all very nice but just too big for use as a daily driver.

I'm happy with 4 belted seats that make up into 7ft long single beds, a fridge, a sink, gas hobs, a proper toilet, masses of worktop , loads of lockers and a hurt great 3ft deep full width 'boot' for the dog crate and all the other stuff.

We always use formal sites, can't see the point of off grid pitching and enjoy our site showers as we don't have one on board.

Sadly too many folk are taken in by the image of campervan living but don't realise that in pitching in car parks etc they're actually destroying the thing that they purchased the van to enjoy.

Just to extend my last post.

Having a 5.2m PVC is akin to white van man and they get everywhere. Well everywhere without a height restriction anyway. We no longer run two cars and I'll use the family Yeti whilst at home, unless Mrs SDA needs it, when I'll use the Tranny if I need to go out.

We save on caravan insurance, caravan storage and can be packed for a break in an hour. True we have to break camp every day we want to go off somewhere but you set your camp up so that it isn't a big issue. I've loved getting rid of Wastemaster, Aquaroll, awning, noseweight gauge and enjoyed the challenge of minimilisation, determined not to get swamped with stuff.

I think that many expensive motor homes are bought with the lump sum payments on retirement. We have come across lots of EU civil servants and public sector retirees who bought with their golden handshakes. Pension benefits like these are diminishing, so maybe motorhome sales will too. I have nothing against motor homes, but I will never understand why they squeeze themselves on cheap aires or think they can ignore ‘no motorhome’ signs and go wherever they like, often causing chaos for others.

We are currently touring Canada and the US for 5 weeks. Even though the rigs here are enormous, they are far less of an impact generally than those in Europe.

It's also true that renting a motorhome has become much more popular than a few years back. Sometimes these are vans owned privately with the rental facilitated by an agency, making use of the downtime when the van would not be being used by the owner. Though there are obvious risks in letting someone else use your van. Others are owned by rental companies, but only a few are sign written as renters don't like it and it reduces residual value when the van is sold on. It's expensive to rent a van butnot anywhere near as expensive as fully owning one and having it sit on the drive for 45 weeks a year.

Like my Eribas, I regard mine as my hobby which I'm gradually bringing back to original condition, almost as a homage to the original Innovation we purchased new in 2006.

I may have got the wrong end of the stick on this, but I think related to this theme is the decline in the typical 'Municipal' campsite. The impression I have gained is that some years ago, the French government started an initiative to 'uprate' the facilities offered by such places. Hence, you see chalets and facilities for motorhomes more commonly now. Many of the Municipals simply weren't able to afford the improvements and simply closed, much to my disappointment... I've just come back from Brittany and the last campsite, just on the outskirts of St. Malo, is now about 50% chalets, each chalet simply dropped onto what used to be an emplacement. That appeas increasingly common...

Lets's face it, everything is in constant change and the changing nature of camping is no exception. When I started camping, I had a heavy canvas tent and a motor home would have been a home converted van. It is clear to me, that over the past few years, Motorhoming has seen a huge increase. I don't know what that reflects, perhaps just a greater disposable income by a larger percentage of the population.

MInd you, even I muttered under my breath when at an earlier pitch on the Brittany trip, the world went dark when a Motorhome built on a 7 tonne Mercedes truck chassis pitched next to me for the night...

In the last 9 years, campsites in France have gone from 10700 down to 9300
Dave

Just had a quick look around the small site we are on in Slovenia, 14 camper vans [all small], 5 tents [young people] 2 cars with sleeping on top, 1 touring caravan [us].
Dave

I suspect two further reasons might well be:

1) Macho man “Look at me I’m driving a big lorry!”

2) Too frightened/worried/timid to tow

Just as Blueyonder suggested we once met a couple marooned on a French campsite in a brand new enormous motorhome they had bought with their retirement lump sum. The local supermarket had a height restriction on the car park so they were forced to buy everything from the camp shop and basically stay on site 24/7.
The thing was so massive you could probably have declared it a separate country

I dont know what it's like in Britain or other European countries, only home. They're a plague. Some towns here have banned them as already, traffic is difficult. In Binic, theres a park especially for them, but it's cunningly hidden down a side road, away from the beaches........if they want a view, they have to pay. Quite rightly so in my humble opinion.
But, I do understand. Often, out of season, we find ourselves the only people with our own teeth on the site. They must buy them with the kid's inheritance......many very modest people are driving around in enormous campervans. But, isn't it better when you're too old to be pushing a caravan about, to be having fun with your mates....rather then be alone at home. They get up late, fish a bit, have an aperitif, lunch, snooze, petanque, aperitif, dinner......nice life!
What I don't understand is how They park 5 centimetres from each other, in overcrowded car parks without a blade of grass.....they must hear each other snoring and farting.....ghastly.
I think municipal camping are thriving in France....Hugh I think you liked the one here! They are often cleaner than some private ones we've stayed at. Atbthe one in Clisson, the lady in charge reckons thatbcaravans are be coming more popular again. We have noticed a lot more teeny, old ones about.

Well, that is certainly true, Islay, Binic is a glorious little site. I still think you should organise an Eribafolk weekend there. I'd come! For me, the classic French Municipal is still the perfect campsite...