Campervan/Caravan questions

[H.M.V]

Hi All

Just a few questions with ticket day looming. Always got the coach but thinking of buying a camper or caravan in the spring cos the camping lark is just geting too weary for me oul bones.

So here goes. 

1 - Can you buy and return in April if you find you cant go? What admin charge is taken?

2 - How much roughly are the tickets?

3 - Can you decide which site you want i.e East or West?

4 - How noisy are the fields? (just back from a festival with no sleep and still recovering)

5 - Toilet in caravan can you use it? I know there are no hook ups but never been to stay in a caravan or at least not in memory

6 - assume you can use your cooker to make a brew in the morning and a buttie to set you up for the day?

Sorry if questions are silly but just weighing up the options in advance. Ta.

[grayzer1]

Think the campervan tickets were 100 quid last year. You can choose East or west,West sells out first,but they both sell out quickly. There is waste disposal in field and you can cook in your van or have a Barby.  I've been in East field last two years and there not to noisy at night at all. Only downside to campervan field is the long walk back to van at night,but in weather like last year the van was a god send!

[carlosj]

13 hours ago, H.M.V said:

Hi All

Just a few questions with ticket day looming. Always got the coach but thinking of buying a camper or caravan in the spring cos the camping lark is just geting too weary for me oul bones.

So here goes. 

1 - Can you buy and return in April if you find you cant go? What admin charge is taken?

Yes, don't know the charge, maybe the same as the ticket charge, £10? Warning, don't get multiple people buying the ticket since there was no mechanism to avoid buying multiple tickets per registration, like there is for the festival ticket. Also, it's one ticket per application, for example, if there are 2 tickets needed for your group, you need to apply twice.

2 - How much roughly are the tickets?

£100 for 1 pitch/vehicle, £200 for 1 large pitch/1 large vehicle (eg horse bus type)

3 - Can you decide which site you want i.e East or West?

Yes, it's on the page, West is smaller and goes quicker

4 - How noisy are the fields? (just back from a festival with no sleep and still recovering)

If you're not near us, then it's quiet enough to sleep easily. If you are near us, then sorry for my cousin's snoring.

5 - Toilet in caravan can you use it? I know there are no hook ups but never been to stay in a caravan or at least not in memory

Yes, just put the waste in the large waste containers near the toilets and bins in the fields. Make sure you have enough gas or leisure battery power and use lights sparingly and you'll be fine. Edit - presume your caravan will have flush on the loo as I see the waste buckets on the outside.  The toilets on site are clean enough, especially pre-9am. None have loo roll in, but each has sanitiser.

6 - assume you can use your cooker to make a brew in the morning and a buttie to set you up for the day?

Yep, and tinnies in the fridge.

Sorry if questions are silly but just weighing up the options in advance. Ta.

You could consider a trailer tent too, whisty and grumpyhack have advice about those, and they're less than a caravan to buy. Maybe easier to store too.

If you do get one, get a flag to help identify it on returns.

Edited September 8, 2016 by carlosj

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I'm not certain of this but you might get a cheaper or higher specification campervan / caravan by buying it during the winter months rather than the spring.

[noplacelikehome]

Hi Yeti,

Agree with all of the above but add, ticket sales changed this year and came out after the main sale but before the resale and they are linked to a registration so if you don't get lucky in the main sale you can't buy one it is likely they will have sold out by resale time (a few came back on line throughout the year IIRC but not many) - in theory you could get someone with a ticket to get one on their reg but you may have to meet up with them to get in.  I can't comment on how closely they would check the registrations because we only ever made it Bath & West last year so didn't go through the ticket checks.

We run fridge and cooker off the gas so make sure you have enough in your gas bottle and then just use the leisure battery for lights but tbh we don't have them on much just to get changed when we come in and it is usually getting light then anyway. Just don't leave them on all day while you are out.

The fields are pretty quiet at night, only been in east so can't say for west - you can hear a distant rumble of shangrila (always louder on the Sunday night) - but not really loads of people up and about so you do get a good sleep.

And Yog is right after summer lots of people decide to sell their vans so it is a good time to pick one up at a reasonable price over the next few months and into winter and if you don't completely trash it you can probably pick up a cheap one hold it for a year or 2 and get some money back if you don't use it by selling in spring. 

Don't forget to factor in though that if you get a caravan unless you have a large drive where you can keep it (and neighbours who wont complain) you will need to pay for storage, fitting of tow bar and extra insurance. 

We used to borrow one but bought our own last year and have had loads of use out of it - not just for festivals - and I don't think I could camp anymore - like my home comforts a bit too much.

[H.M.V]

Thanks all. That's brilliant info. 

[carlosj]

On 09/09/2016 at 6:31 PM, H.M.V said:

Thanks all. That's brilliant info. 

So, your avatar. You got new glasses then?

[grumpyhack]

Trailer tents - cheapest and easiest to store.  Mine used to live in mother in law's garage.  Easy to tow - but you still need to get a tow hook and electrics fitted to your car but can be towed with a small car.

It's generally advised that the thing being towed should be no more than 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle, to avoid the 'tail wagging the dog'..  So the heavier the caravan, the heavier the car you need to tow it.  

I started with a Lunar caravan - they specialise in relatively lightweight caravans but when I got a bigger, heavier car was able to move up to bigger and heavier caravans.  I've now got a twin axle Dethleffs - a bit like this.

The key thing with caravans is damp.  Damp kills caravans, so anything you buy should be professionally checked for damp.  A lot of caravans are largely made with chipboard and when it gets wet it becomes brittle.  You can get the damp bits replaced but it can be expensive.

Caravans usually need secure storage - costs me £230 a year.

Whatever you get it's worth investing in an awning - either an 'awning in a bag' that travels fixed to the outside and rolls out to give you a sunshade or a full awning that will give you an extra room and a social area.

For a one night stop an awning in a bag like this is fine.  

One person can put it up in ten minutes.  For longer stays, at festivals like Glastonbury, it's worth investing in a full awning.

You get an extra room for socialsiing or where people can sleep.

I don't, personally, rate campervans - a small tent on wheels or motorhomes as they are both expensive for what they are.

I'd start with a trailer tent and if the bug gets to you go for a decent second hand caravan.  I don't think prices drop a lot over the winter, that's a bit of a myth.  Just as there is a Glasses Guide for second hand car prices there is similar for caravans.

Really it's about buying from someone you trust and having the van thoroughly checked before buying - just as you would with an expensive second hand car.

[H.M.V]

Hey another question, ticket sale dates announced today. Is there an option to buy the camper ticket at the same time or is it a separate sale? Sorry but never noticed the camper sale before. 

[Bonedaddy]

2 hours ago, H.M.V said:

Hey another question, ticket sale dates announced today. Is there an option to buy the camper ticket at the same time or is it a separate sale? Sorry but never noticed the camper sale before. 

It's a separate sale.  it says on the further ticket info page it will be later in October.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Bonedaddy

[eFestivals]

On 07/09/2016 at 6:27 PM, H.M.V said:

Hi All

Just a few questions with ticket day looming. Always got the coach but thinking of buying a camper or caravan in the spring cos the camping lark is just geting too weary for me oul bones.

So here goes. 

1 - Can you buy and return in April if you find you cant go? What admin charge is taken?

2 - How much roughly are the tickets?

3 - Can you decide which site you want i.e East or West?

4 - How noisy are the fields? (just back from a festival with no sleep and still recovering)

5 - Toilet in caravan can you use it? I know there are no hook ups but never been to stay in a caravan or at least not in memory

6 - assume you can use your cooker to make a brew in the morning and a buttie to set you up for the day?

Sorry if questions are silly but just weighing up the options in advance. Ta.

1. Yes. £20.

2. £100 for a standard pitch, £200 for a double pitch.

3. yes.

4. not noisy at all, tho there's some noise that travels from the festival site (which runs all night, don't forget).

5. yes. there's emptying points.

6. yes.

[carlosj]

14 hours ago, H.M.V said:

Hey another question, ticket sale dates announced today. Is there an option to buy the camper ticket at the same time or is it a separate sale? Sorry but never noticed the camper sale before. 

Following on from Bonedaddy's post, you will need to have a festival ticket in order to buy a CV ticket.  I don't want to tempt fate, but if we don't get tickets in October, the other option is to get a festi ticket holder to buy our CV tickets in their name and go in with us, when we do get tickets in April.  My stomach is lurching typing these words :-( 

[TheNewUnion]

On 10/09/2016 at 11:27 PM, grumpyhack said:

Trailer tents - cheapest and easiest to store.  Mine used to live in mother in law's garage.  Easy to tow - but you still need to get a tow hook and electrics fitted to your car but can be towed with a small car.

It's generally advised that the thing being towed should be no more than 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle, to avoid the 'tail wagging the dog'..  So the heavier the caravan, the heavier the car you need to tow it.  

I started with a Lunar caravan - they specialise in relatively lightweight caravans but when I got a bigger, heavier car was able to move up to bigger and heavier caravans.  I've now got a twin axle Dethleffs - a bit like this.

The key thing with caravans is damp.  Damp kills caravans, so anything you buy should be professionally checked for damp.  A lot of caravans are largely made with chipboard and when it gets wet it becomes brittle.  You can get the damp bits replaced but it can be expensive.

Caravans usually need secure storage - costs me £230 a year.

Whatever you get it's worth investing in an awning - either an 'awning in a bag' that travels fixed to the outside and rolls out to give you a sunshade or a full awning that will give you an extra room and a social area.

For a one night stop an awning in a bag like this is fine.  

One person can put it up in ten minutes.  For longer stays, at festivals like Glastonbury, it's worth investing in a full awning.

You get an extra room for socialsiing or where people can sleep.

I don't, personally, rate campervans - a small tent on wheels or motorhomes as they are both expensive for what they are.

I'd start with a trailer tent and if the bug gets to you go for a decent second hand caravan.  I don't think prices drop a lot over the winter, that's a bit of a myth.  Just as there is a Glasses Guide for second hand car prices there is similar for caravans.

Really it's about buying from someone you trust and having the van thoroughly checked before buying - just as you would with an expensive second hand car.

 

I assume you have a Land Rover/SHogun or similar to tow that monster with!?

I had never towed before I bouhgt my 1st trailer tent and I towed it back to Wigan from Northants, wasn't too bad but I would suggest getting a bit of practice in before heading off to the festival. I actually went for "lessons" at a farm in Barnard Castle, it was great. I spent the day towing a horsebox with a ton of sand bags in it around with a land rover, learned loads and I can now (almost) reverse with my trailer tent and get it to go roughly where I want it to.

You can also get folding caravans, which are easier to tow.

All that said, I have a Dandy trailer tent, they're great! Have a look here: http://www.rivadandysales.co.uk/category/camper

Chap who owns the place is great, offers brilliant advice.

 

Edited September 13, 2016 by TheNewUnion

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

One thing I'd add is none of the stewards took a blind bit off notice of the name on the CV ticket this year, despite all the talk of it having to match. I bought two in my name but one was for the other half of our group who came separately and they didn't check or notice that I wasn't the ticket holder. Not sure if that was other people's experience but it was certainly mine.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[5co77ie]

the girl on the gate I was chatting to, whilst waiting for the CV to get there said they did to start off, but as the queue issue started to bite they dropped it

[eFestivals]

19 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

One thing I'd add is none of the stewards took a blind bit off notice of the name on the CV ticket this year, despite all the talk of it having to match. I bought two in my name but one was for the other half of our group who came separately and they didn't check or notice that I wasn't the ticket holder. Not sure if that was other people's experience but it was certainly mine.

I wouldn't take that as being what will happen next year. I've done the campervan fields since 2011, and this year had by-far the lax-est checks at the gates of any year I've been.

As there were also seemingly fewer staff inside to help park the vans up, my guess is that a big number of staff were stuck in the traffic chaos outside and so everything they should have been doing fell apart, and the priority was just trying to get the vans into the site.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

26 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

I wouldn't take that as being what will happen next year. I've done the campervan fields since 2011, and this year had by-far the lax-est checks at the gates of any year I've been.

As there were also seemingly fewer staff inside to help park the vans up, my guess is that a big number of staff were stuck in the traffic chaos outside and so everything they should have been doing fell apart, and the priority was just trying to get the vans into the site.

I'd agree that this year was (hopefully) an exception due to the extreme weather conditions and all they were interested in doing is getting vans in as quickly as possible. Equally half the stewards do not seem to know what day it is at the best of times, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was similar again next year, possibly it would depend on what time you arrive.

[grumpyhack]

Because of the recommended arrival time of 6.30pm for the CV fields, and then the huge traffic jams, we didn't arrive till 1am on Wednesday, by which time the stewards were knackered and past checking anything.

[carlosj]

I agree that the checks will be strict, it's just that the queues and frustrations meant that the checks were minimal.  We arrived at 4.30am on the Thursday after queuing since 4pm the afternoon before.  The bloke did check our tickets but no vehicle checks were made, and we were waved in to the tractors. After introducing this match of names, I'll be surprised if it's not in use next year.

[Tuttifrutti]

I think I already know the answer but I thought worth asking my question anyway. This year we were goig to maximise our ticket day chances by buying for another couple just to ensure we had 6 of us trying come T day. However we would then require 2 caravan tickets and looking at the info these would both have to be in the lead persons name. I know checks were lax this year but I certainly don't want to take any chances so my current thoughts are that this would be a none starter, is that right?

 

[incident]

I think maybe you've misunderstood the page. What you want to do would be absolutely fine.

The "lead booker" mentioned would be the person who buys the Campervan ticket - ie the person who must be present when the CV arrives on site. What's previously happened with the Festival tickets is irrelevant.

[Tuttifrutti]

That's great

Thank you

 

[J1990]

Are there any vendors open on the Tuesday for food in the CV east field? Or do they all open on the Wednesday?

[eFestivals]

Just now, J1990 said:

Are there any vendors open on the Tuesday for food in the CV east field? Or do they all open on the Wednesday?

I'm pretty sure they're open on tuesday.

[Glasto peaches]

Sorry if this has been asked before.. Some friends who have a caravan have invited us to camp with them.  We will be arriving on the Thursday (coach) will we be allowed in to camp with our friends already on site?  I'm going to give them our tent so will have less to bring on coach which can only be a good thing .