Just bought our first camper !

MillyD123

Hi everyone,

As title goes, we just bought out first camper, having upgraded from a tent first and then a caravan - we are finally living the dream.

Just wondering do many of you 'wild camp?'. We have 3 kids with us, so any tips for staying safe or locations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance !

crabbypaddy

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

As title goes, we just bought out first camper, having upgraded from a tent first and then a caravan - we are finally living the dream.

Just wondering do many of you 'wild camp?'. We have 3 kids with us, so any tips for staying safe or locations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance !

Congratulations, better sleep awaits.

Wild camp all the time, 99.9% of people will leave you alone as long as you're considerate and don't obstruct people and leave no trace. Very rarely have I heard of problems apart from the odd drunk banging on the van if you're somewhere rowdy.

Rule number one leave no trace. Be discrete tuck yourself out of the way and have common sense. Do shop local / have a pint in the local pub.
For example some of the don'ts we regularly come accross that shouldn't need explanation..
Don't dump your waste water in the car park.
Don't cram the council bin to overflowing with your rubbish
Dont put your deckchairs and table on the promenade in the way of thousands of people (salthill)
Don't park across 6 car spaces (mullaghmore)
Don't block the public toilet with your triple velvet toiler paper from your toilet cassette (achill, carraroe, garrylucas, etc. etc.)
Don't roll out your awning and sprawl across the car park (banna strand)
Don't dump your toilet on the beach (germans in ballyvaughan)

Day Lewin

Very good advice, above!

We usually "stealth" camp, though just a retired couple, not with kids, in a small van: but I think the same would apply:
Arrive at evening, leave after breakfast, don't be a nuisance (or even look like one) and leave no trace behind.
Don't overstay - 2 nights maximum.
Beach car parks, out of season or midweek better than at busy times.
and in the hills, those gated entrances to forestry, are good places for a quiet overnight. You can tell by the grass growth and rusted padlock that they are not in frequent use.
Also, we are willing to ask friends, relations etc if it is ok for us to park in their yard, if we know someone in a county.
And, quite a few pubs and hotels will let you park overnight if you buy a meal or a pint in the premises. Local knowledge, gossip, and asking nicely, will get you some nice surprises!

MillyD123

Hi there and thanks for the great advice. Apologies for the delay in replying. We were abroad and came home to a problem which may curtail our travels for the time being. I'll do a new post !

joinme

Hi, congratulations on your purchase.
this is slightly off topic. we would like to try a short holiday in a campervan with the goal to see if we would like to buy one down the road. We have two kids. My question is: is there a camper van community in Ireland that would rent us a van off the market, because the official rental companies are very expensive for 3 - 4 nights? we couldn't justify it.
any feedback welcome

crabbypaddy

joinme wrote: »

My question is: is there a camper van community in Ireland that would rent us a van off the market, because the official rental companies are very expensive for 3 - 4 nights? we couldn't justify it.
any feedback welcome

Theres no insurance for this sort of thing, if money changed hands the regular insurance would be invalid. You say its expensive but rental companies have to make their years income in 1/3 of the year. They still have to pay wages, rates, rents, maintenance etc. during the rest of the year when they are making nothing. Even a tiny amount of damage can be very expensive and put the van out of action during the rental season.

joinme

crabbypaddy wrote: »

Theres no insurance for this sort of thing, if money changed hands the regular insurance would be invalid. You say its expensive but rental companies have to make their years income in 1/3 of the year. They still have to pay wages, rates, rents, maintenance etc. during the rest of the year when they are making nothing. Even a tiny amount of damage can be very expensive and put the van out of action during the rental season.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Are you from a rental company? I am just feeding back that the prices I am being quoted are too expensive for me, maybe others find them reasonable.
Can you explain how there is no insurance 'for this sort of thing'? What if, for example, my father owns a campervan and would like to put me on the insurance for a week, are you saying this is not possible?

crabbypaddy

joinme wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the reply. Are you from a rental company? I am just feeding back that the prices I am being quoted are too expensive for me, maybe others find them reasonable.

No I'm not. I agree its expensive and I couldn't justify spending that amount of money myself but I disagree that its unreasonable given the risk, outlay and outgoings.

joinme wrote: »

What if, for example, my father owns a campervan and would like to put me on the insurance for a week, are you saying this is not possible?

Thats a completely different scenario to renting a van 'off market', your father could add you as a named driver for a fee or with some companies he could add open driving for anyone with a full Irish licence between 25 and 70 years of age. If money changes hands it would invalidate a normal insurance policy although its unlikely any insurance company would ask if you had paid to borrow your fathers camper.

Moomat

crabbypaddy wrote: »

your father could add you as a named driver for a fee

Stuarts Insurance will let you add a family member who meets the requirements for free :cool:

crabbypaddy

Moomat wrote: »

Stuarts Insurance will let you add a family member who meets the requirements for free :cool:

Dolmen also at renewal but mid policy theres a fee €50 I think I paid.

bridster007

joinme wrote: »

Hi, congratulations on your purchase.
this is slightly off topic. we would like to try a short holiday in a campervan with the goal to see if we would like to buy one down the road. We have two kids. My question is: is there a camper van community in Ireland that would rent us a van off the market, because the official rental companies are very expensive for 3 - 4 nights? we couldn't justify it.
any feedback welcome

I've spent a large part of my life in tents, caravans, mobile homes and campers with and without kids ( just for holidays mind, I have a house too..) .
3-4 days in a rented MH is not sufficient to decide to spend a significant lump sum on buying a camper.
Rent a camper for a longer period and make it your main holiday to test it out. Or rent a caravan on a serviced site and consider whether you like the confined space etc.
I always think people should graduate from tent to caravan to camper/MH. It's all about enjoying the life style, if someone cannot consider the joy of a tent then I can't see why a camper would be better for them. Lifestyle in a camper is not so different, just a few extra comforts. Have rented numerous campers/RVs and have a caravan now but I still keep my tent. Will have a MH when kids older and space not such an issue. I see a few threads like this and think people look at it from the wrong angle.

Benbecul97

bridster007 wrote: »

I always think people should graduate from tent to caravan to camper/MH. It's all about enjoying the life style, if someone cannot consider the joy of a tent then I can't see why a camper would be better for them. Lifestyle in a camper is not so different, just a few extra comforts.

Yes, I also agree you should graduate from tent to caravan/camper/MH and that it's all about enjoying the lifestyle of camping. But lifestyle in a camper is completely different and its those few extra comforts that make all the difference, especially in Ireland!

crabbypaddy

I wouldn't describe a camper as having a few extra comforts, ours is fully packed and ready to go at all times, all we do is throw some clothes in a bag, put milk in the fridge and drive out the gate. We go out at least 20 weekends a year in Ireland in the van, we are out in all weathers all seasons. When we were tenting it would be about 6 in a good year to as little as 3.

Last summer we arranged several weekends away with friends some of whom had tents who had to cancel due to weather, a couple of the hard core people made it out in Achill last july where it ended up gusting force 9 tent poles were snapping stuff blowing away left right and center, we we toasty warm in the van and still had a fantastic time.

I have had some of the best holidays of my life in tents when I was younger. Have had frame tents, tunnel tents, dome tents, ridge tents now a driveaway awning. But you are really limited by the weather in Ireland. But I have also had plenty of putting up and down tents in the pissing rain and having to unpack then clean and dry them at home, rewaterproofing them, repairing them, replacing poles, hours of walking around trying to find a level pitch or one that wasn't waterlogged or covered in tufts of scutch grass or rushes or when you're in the west finding one where you can actually drive pegs. Have had lots of waking up drowned in condensation, or freezing cold in the middle of the night or waking up baked and dehydrated after a late one.

Benbecul97

Agree fully crabbypaddy!


Wow, at least 20 weekends a year in Ireland in the van - that's impressive!
That's almost every 3 weeks year round. obviously more in the Spring/Summer/Autumn.

I presume that includes day trips to a beach/event or whatever where ye don't necessarily stay over?
And do you have to factor in weekend kids activities/sports that can tie you do somewhat?

joinme

Thanks for the replies. Just in relation to my question, is there a 'camper van community' in Ireland? any online forums? have or would any of you guys 'lend' out your camper van to family/friends or be willing to 'lend' it to a first time family? (proviso - meet beforehand, insurance sorted etc.)

crabbypaddy

Benbecul97 wrote: »

Agree fully crabbypaddy!


Wow, at least 20 weekends a year in Ireland in the van - that's impressive!
That's almost every 3 weeks year round. obviously more in the Spring/Summer/Autumn.

I presume that includes day trips to a beach/event or whatever where ye don't necessarily stay over?
And do you have to factor in weekend kids activities/sports that can tie you do somewhat?

I live for the beach and my wife love small festivals. in winter lots of weekends its just headout Saturday morning to somewhere within an hours drive come back Sunday night. May to september this year is going to be 5 weekends in west cork, 3 in Kerry, 2 roscommon, 1 kilkenny, 1 burren, 1 galway, 1 in Dublin for wedding and probably 1 in belfast to see people back from oz then we usually get out the midterms, kerry for Christmas and Easter and I bring it for the odd stag / pissup