Campervan Advice for 2014

[jono_01]

Morning all, hope you had a good 2013 festival!

I've been attending for about the past decade and always camped. I really want the Mrs to attend next year and she is (finally) up for it after years of pestering her to go. I have fancied hiring a campervan in the past but never really been able to justify the expense however I think that swmbo will have a much better experience in the campervan on her first year. Primary reasons being I really don't think she would manage lugging the gear from the car etc and she would want to have an element of comfort too. I'm getting to the stage where I am a boring old fart too and just can't be arsed with being in a tent for nigh on a week, especially with the bread knife!!

We are in the North East so would think it would be sensible to drive our car down to Bristol and collect a campervan from there Tuesday morning, then drop it off on the following Monday or Tuesday.

There are plenty of recommendations here and elsewhere but just wanted to know about people's experiences, especially if they took a campervan for the first time this year. I would want to get something half decent but for under £500 for the week. How long does the gas bottles/batteries generally last? Is the vibe in the campervan fields on the night still a good one or is it totally quiet? Any preferences over East/West CV fields - I assume West would be closer to getting in to 'the action' as East side requires you to trawl through a lot more in the way of standard camping beforehand.

I remember reading before about some scam regarding Sunview (or similar) CV hire. Has anyone got any recommendations for long established or reputable hire companies in the Bristol area? Again, it would be nice to get a relatively decent one ie. not a clapped out converted tranny van or rickety VeeDub ready to take it's final breath!

Any other info would be welcomed!

Cheers

Jon

[TheNewUnion]

Camper fields are pretty chilled at night, nice vibe but (where we were at least) no partying to speak of. If it were at all possible, I would hire from somewhere close to the event, we drove down from the North West in a 6 berth motorhome and did £160 of juice there an back, so a car to the South West then the motorhome to the fest would save you a lot of money I expect.

This is only semi helpful, but there is a thread on here from last year (or the one before) about a company that does/did pre erected caravans on CV East, you just rock up in the car (you have to buy a camper ticket) drive up to where they pitch and jobs a good un (will try and find the thread later)

[rischbrit]

Just be wary of mentioning you are going to glastonbury to the camper van hire people cos some companies hear 'Glastonbury' and increase the prices

I have done glastonbury 3 times in camper van east. Yes it's good as in 2011 in the rain after U2 on Friday night it was nice to go back to warm van you could actually stand up in instead of wet little tent!!

Gas bottle lasts about a week but depends how much you use stove/fridge obviously so my hint would be take a spare. With regards to battery life we tend to turn the van on Friday am (not too early) for about 15 min just to let battery charge up etc.

Yes it is expensive and you are out of the main area and have to walk to site each day. The family area is quieter at night but general camper van fields can get lively!!

In my opinion it is worth the expense not to drag your kit from car, can get there a day early (Tuesday lunch) so when gates open on the Wednesday you're ready to go instead of rushing in to find camping spot!!!

[eFestivals]

Depending on your finances, it might be worth looking at buying a cheapish van, even if you sell it again straight afterwards.

Chances are that any loss on the re-sale would be less than what you'd pay in hire fees.

[redmosquito]

You don't walk through any camping field to get into camper van East. It's just up the hill if death outside gate c and its really close to places like the circus fields and the acoustic stage. I think it's closer to the Pyramid than West too.

[jono_01]

It might be an idea to invest a little more in purchasing a cheapish van - could 'let' it out to friends and family over the summer for a small fee which might well cover any shortfall! I had a look before at buying one just out of interest and couldn't believe how much some of them hold their value (after initial depreciation). Even some 20 year old auld sardine tins fetching quantities measured in bullion!

I'm preferring the sound of East side - closer to my areas of choice and handier if needed to pop pack to the 'van during the course of the day. We normally camp in Pennards and had to go back to the car a couple of times this year for beer etc and it didn't half seem a bit of a trek through Dairy/ past Baileys etc (then again being intoxicated and a bit of sun always makes it seem further...). The West CV fields have their own dedicated gate I understand. I take it that it's not in fact too far from the Park?

[iloveglasto]

Went in a motorhome for the first time this year and stayed in west. Definitely recommend as no queues to get in and out as not a public gate, yeah bit of a trek but all on metal tracks so quite easy going and good to see how the guys in tents are getting on. Also nice flat level walk into site. Great to have a fridge, comfortable bed, shower and toilet with the only downside the cost. Didn't even use a complete gas bottle in the week and it was used for the fridge, showers, plenty of teas and two fryups. Wouldn't recommended not mentioning to the hire company that you are taking it to a festival as some hire companies do not allow their vans to festivals and if you have an accident or problem you need to contact them on site you may well find you've invalidated your insurance or they keep your deposit. Don't think you will get one for £500 though, that was merely the level of our security deposit!

[grumpyhack]

We met up with friends who proudly showed us the caravan they'd bought this year in Immaculate condition for £4,000 . With them were another couple who'd bought a motorhome for £24,000 that had less space than the caravan.

The advantage of both a caravan and a motorhome is that they usually have a decent toilet. A campervan generally doesn't have a loo - it's really a small tent on wheels.

My 20 year old caravan, bought for £1,400, worked really well. I had three friends next to it in tents and they were all really grateful for the loo. The full sized awning also provided a communal area and a bit of shade.

Spread over six or seven festivals the outlay has been well worth it. The only downsides are storage when not in use and if you have to tow it any significant distance. But all of my festivals are under a hundred miles from my home.

[sunnyshoes]

First time in east CV fields this year in campervan - was a bit nervous about the hill of death trek but coming from the rolling hills of Yorkshire it wasn't much to worry about. it was quiet where we were - not much noise at night from the vans just from the actual site. I didn't find it too much hassle showing ticket, wristband etc each time went in and out. I presume most people take their stuff for the day when in the CV fields but we managed to get back to the van during the day too - the walk didn't put us off going back for hoodies etc for the evening. we were really thankful not to have to do the lugging of camping stuff from car and back this year. Have own van so cant advise about hiring one. I get the impression though that once you've CV'ed you won't want to go back to tenting!

[rischbrit]

What we tend to do is take stuff down for the whole day including warm clothing for evening and leave hoodies, scarves etc in the property locker which is next to gate c (entrance to site from camper van east) until needed to save carrying them round all day

[TheNewUnion]

^ Yep, we do exactly the same. Makes the trek a little easier eh?

[**claire**]

We're very tempted to do this or WV next year... we have a couple of options for hire hopefully from acquaintances, before I achieve the ultimate goal of having one of my own!

Do you pay the full campervan ticket price when you pay the deposit in October?! And am I right to assume that if you don't get tickets in the first sale, there's not much hope of getting one by the time of the resale in April (don't want to bank on getting tickets in October as we failed last year & had to wait until April for 2013 tickets!).

[thisusernameistaken]

We're very tempted to do this or WV next year... we have a couple of options for hire hopefully from acquaintances, before I achieve the ultimate goal of having one of my own!

Do you pay the full campervan ticket price when you pay the deposit in October?! And am I right to assume that if you don't get tickets in the first sale, there's not much hope of getting one by the time of the resale in April (don't want to bank on getting tickets in October as we failed last year & had to wait until April for 2013 tickets!).

[**claire**]

Excellent! That helps greatly! (do you have to reserve one at the point of paying your deposit though?!)

[rischbrit]

No you can't reserve one unfortunately its a case of pay your remaining balance off ASAP in April and at the same time get CV ticket!

[muddychick]

We campervan'd it for the first time this year.husband is handy and an RAC patrol so we built our own van from scratch for £5000.We did it over a long period so as not to feel the cost too much and managed to do it to a high spec with double bed,hob,sink,toilet room and even a tv!

Having tried this I would never ever go back to tenting it now. We loved coming back to the van at night and East worked out great for us as we like the cabaret,Acoustic and Greenfields side of the festival.

We have been thinking of renting it out to cover the build costs, maybe something you could consider doing?building your own would get you exactly the van you want.There are lots of firms out there who sell furniture kits for vans if you prefer something ready made. just a thought.

[stripeybea]

Hi there

We hired a 2 berth motorhome this year for the first time and will never go back to camping again!

We were in the west campervan field and found it friendly and very chilled. Loved driving in on Tuesday lunch time with no queue at all, moved the van near to the exit Sunday night and drove straight off and on our way early Monday morning.

Ran the gas fridge all the time so the cold milk and drinks were lovely. A shower, hot running water, loo and a comfy bed were bliss

Topped up the leisure battery by running the engine for a while the site was fairly empty so not to disturb people and you have a gauge to tell you what all the levels were.

We used Tilshead caravans near Salisbury and were very happy with them, they dealt with our daft queries with no problems.

We drove down from nottingham and left the car with them while at the festival. It was great parking next to the van and just bunging all our stuff in!

They did say when we picked it up that they already had bookings for 2014

[_jojo_]

How much was it to hire stripeybea? We don't mind camping at the moment but we're not into the late night stuff and would love to go back to a caravan/ motorhome at night. Got a feeling we won't be able to afford it though.

[stripeybea]

We picked it up on the Monday so had it for the full week and paid £650. Had a couple of meals from the stalls as I love the food there but ate most of our meals in the van, late breakfasts of bacon butties etc and back for an meal before the evening session, it saved a fortune

[**claire**]

No you can't reserve one unfortunately its a case of pay your remaining balance off ASAP in April and at the same time get CV ticket!

[**claire**]

We picked it up on the Monday so had it for the full week and paid £650. Had a couple of meals from the stalls as I love the food there but ate most of our meals in the van, late breakfasts of bacon butties etc and back for an meal before the evening session, it saved a fortune

[clarkete]

Having just checked I've paid all sorts of prices - 1200 in 2010 but that was for a 6 berth motorhome. 630 in 2011 for a 4 berth caravan. 600 this year for a 5 berth caravan.

All of these firms tend to have a small number and they're usually booked well before tickets are sold out, so I had to pay 100 non-returnable deposit in October yet didn't manage to get a ticket until May in the 2nd unannounced resale of coach tickets.

In each case they've usually supplied two gas bottles but I've only used one of them, but then I've only used it for the fridge, tea and bacon sarnies. The battery I only used for lights so that was no issue, I believe the sockets are usually off and would only be activate when given a mains hook up (which you don't get here).

This year I arrived on the Thursday half an hour after the rain started, which we walked across the site through, so it was brilliant having somewhere dry to hang my clothes up (as didn't double-bag and some had got damp through the rucksack), then being able to hide out until Friday morning and the weather dried and things kicked off.

Edited July 18, 2013 by clarkete

[**claire**]

These aren't bad prices either Clarkete - I always thought they would be more!