We are looking to purchase our first caravan (4 berth) in the next few months. Our current car has a towing limit of 1,200kg, but we will likely replace that within the next 3-5 years hopefully with an EV or at worst a Hybrid. We have been looking at what British and European manufacturers offer and have been tempted by the build quality and price of Weinsberg and Knaus lightweight UK spec models. However we have had some reservations about resale value in the UK in 5-10 years given dominance of British brands. This article and the video has made me wonder whether this is a turning point and we might now finally see people looking to the European brands in the UK market.
Good article Andrew, and as always a balanced view. Coming from a world of electric vehicles (my dad started our business selling electric milk floats and I've spent 27 years selling electric forklifts) I think there will need to be major advances in technology before the masses can embrace ev's in their current guise. Any electric vehicle needs to be recharged...either by hybrid means or plugging it in to a mains supply. This simply moves the pollution up the supply chain a bit.
The technological leap will need to come in the form of how the electricity is generated (and distributed) to the current ev offering or a redesign of ev technology. Hydrogen is one form waiting in the wings...once that power source becomes mainstream then I'll consider a shift....until then tow capacity and range remains the main stumbling block
This all sounds great to me because I would rather have a small caravan/van anyway, I've always preferred the smaller more compact models to all the luxurious, endless array of choice that there is on the market now!! There's something about having to make do with what you've got and not having all the convenient niceties that people seem to prefer!! Great vlog btw, you're very good you know!! But, I've told you this before!! Take care! xx
Interesting article, and I left a comment on the video with the follow points (repeated here for readers' benefit in case you want to put a reply here that you don't want to on YouTube):
1. I wondered if streamlining is just as important as weight of the caravan when looking to maximise range?
2. You mentioned that petrol/diesel vehicles will still be on the road in 2045. If they are, in significant numbers, then the climate is screwed. That may be the case, but it's also possible that within a few years of the 2030 cut-off there will be policies in place to get the fossil fuel cars off the road.
3. As the number of petrol/diesel cars on the road decreases over the next 10-15 years, there will be a reduction in the number of filling stations selling liquid fuels. So a point may come when range anxiety is more of a problem for those still burning fuel rather than using electricity.
4. I think most people are ignoring the huge environmental damage caused by mining to get materials to build EVs, if they're ever built in the numbers being predicted. Some people talk of a 'Just Transition', but they don't often factor in the impact on people in developing countries where the mining happens to enable us richer folk to have shiny, green lifestyles.
As you know, I don't tow a caravan but I do tow a trailer full of logs quite often, so this is a topic that vexes me as well. I'm in an even worse dilemma than you with my current vehicle, as at my current annual mileage of about 3k it could last a very long time indeed! It also only generates about 1 tonne of CO2 a year, whereas a new EV would cause perhaps 18 tonnes of emissions from manufacturing along with pollution from mining. Yet I know that my gas-guzzling but low mileage 4x4 will have to go. I have an ebike with a trailer than can haul about 60kg of logs at a time back from the woods, but it'll take me a lot of trips to get a year's heating fuel home at that rate!
I do wonder if the solution is car clubs. Maybe instead of owning a big enough vehicle to tow, we should join a club that will hire us one when we need to holiday with a caravan or tow a trailer of logs? It might be cheaper, and would certainly mean fewer EVs were needed, which would mean less mining and less CO2 from manufacture...
Great article to accompany the vlog. I don't think there's any doubt that things need to change. I'm confident that necessity will drive growth and accelerate manufacturers development of alternative fuel vehicles to find a solution. My concern though is infrastructure. The government money seems woefully inadequate to provide a network to convince users to make the change and for small business to install charging points to meet demand I fear will be out of reach for many. I like my creature comforts in my caravan and with a young family we enjoy the space too. Even if we towed a lighter caravan we still need to understand and appreciate the additional weights for carrying all the bikes, scooters, kit, awnings (another thing that will probably have to change to help with weight) even when in the vehicle as opposed to the caravan. We will get past these hurdles in time and I'm sure the developments will be exciting and I look forward to enjoying the tech advances that are surely to evolve, but at this time it just feels so far away from where we are and need to be.
Yes, its a long way off for some of us, but its been on my mind for a while. As I head into retirement time to travel increases but funds are depreciating so I cant afford to buy new wrong or twice. EV's will probably have shorter lives and higher depreciation for a few years yet. Also how beneficial are they for the planet as a whole. We may see cleaner air locally but the mining of raw materials and manufacturing processes are not so good for the planet. Would like to know more. This next year will see a increase in UK caravanners, my concern is will the campsites be full. I saw a YT vid recently where travellers in Spain were hold up half wayy down as all campsites further south were full and some were said to be fully booked up to a year ahead. Is this true and will th UK have a bottleneck in the near future.
We are looking to purchase our first caravan (4 berth) in the next few months. Our current car has a towing limit of 1,200kg, but we will likely replace that within the next 3-5 years hopefully with an EV or at worst a Hybrid. We have been looking at what British and European manufacturers offer and have been tempted by the build quality and price of Weinsberg and Knaus lightweight UK spec models. However we have had some reservations about resale value in the UK in 5-10 years given dominance of British brands. This article and the video has made me wonder whether this is a turning point and we might now finally see people looking to the European brands in the UK market.
Very prescient for both industry and environmental reason plus with the growth of “ non traditional “ caravan users
Good article Andrew, and as always a balanced view. Coming from a world of electric vehicles (my dad started our business selling electric milk floats and I've spent 27 years selling electric forklifts) I think there will need to be major advances in technology before the masses can embrace ev's in their current guise. Any electric vehicle needs to be recharged...either by hybrid means or plugging it in to a mains supply. This simply moves the pollution up the supply chain a bit.
The technological leap will need to come in the form of how the electricity is generated (and distributed) to the current ev offering or a redesign of ev technology. Hydrogen is one form waiting in the wings...once that power source becomes mainstream then I'll consider a shift....until then tow capacity and range remains the main stumbling block
This all sounds great to me because I would rather have a small caravan/van anyway, I've always preferred the smaller more compact models to all the luxurious, endless array of choice that there is on the market now!! There's something about having to make do with what you've got and not having all the convenient niceties that people seem to prefer!! Great vlog btw, you're very good you know!! But, I've told you this before!! Take care! xx
Interesting article, and I left a comment on the video with the follow points (repeated here for readers' benefit in case you want to put a reply here that you don't want to on YouTube):
1. I wondered if streamlining is just as important as weight of the caravan when looking to maximise range?
2. You mentioned that petrol/diesel vehicles will still be on the road in 2045. If they are, in significant numbers, then the climate is screwed. That may be the case, but it's also possible that within a few years of the 2030 cut-off there will be policies in place to get the fossil fuel cars off the road.
3. As the number of petrol/diesel cars on the road decreases over the next 10-15 years, there will be a reduction in the number of filling stations selling liquid fuels. So a point may come when range anxiety is more of a problem for those still burning fuel rather than using electricity.
4. I think most people are ignoring the huge environmental damage caused by mining to get materials to build EVs, if they're ever built in the numbers being predicted. Some people talk of a 'Just Transition', but they don't often factor in the impact on people in developing countries where the mining happens to enable us richer folk to have shiny, green lifestyles.
As you know, I don't tow a caravan but I do tow a trailer full of logs quite often, so this is a topic that vexes me as well. I'm in an even worse dilemma than you with my current vehicle, as at my current annual mileage of about 3k it could last a very long time indeed! It also only generates about 1 tonne of CO2 a year, whereas a new EV would cause perhaps 18 tonnes of emissions from manufacturing along with pollution from mining. Yet I know that my gas-guzzling but low mileage 4x4 will have to go. I have an ebike with a trailer than can haul about 60kg of logs at a time back from the woods, but it'll take me a lot of trips to get a year's heating fuel home at that rate!
I do wonder if the solution is car clubs. Maybe instead of owning a big enough vehicle to tow, we should join a club that will hire us one when we need to holiday with a caravan or tow a trailer of logs? It might be cheaper, and would certainly mean fewer EVs were needed, which would mean less mining and less CO2 from manufacture...
Great article to accompany the vlog. I don't think there's any doubt that things need to change. I'm confident that necessity will drive growth and accelerate manufacturers development of alternative fuel vehicles to find a solution. My concern though is infrastructure. The government money seems woefully inadequate to provide a network to convince users to make the change and for small business to install charging points to meet demand I fear will be out of reach for many. I like my creature comforts in my caravan and with a young family we enjoy the space too. Even if we towed a lighter caravan we still need to understand and appreciate the additional weights for carrying all the bikes, scooters, kit, awnings (another thing that will probably have to change to help with weight) even when in the vehicle as opposed to the caravan. We will get past these hurdles in time and I'm sure the developments will be exciting and I look forward to enjoying the tech advances that are surely to evolve, but at this time it just feels so far away from where we are and need to be.
Yes, its a long way off for some of us, but its been on my mind for a while. As I head into retirement time to travel increases but funds are depreciating so I cant afford to buy new wrong or twice. EV's will probably have shorter lives and higher depreciation for a few years yet. Also how beneficial are they for the planet as a whole. We may see cleaner air locally but the mining of raw materials and manufacturing processes are not so good for the planet. Would like to know more. This next year will see a increase in UK caravanners, my concern is will the campsites be full. I saw a YT vid recently where travellers in Spain were hold up half wayy down as all campsites further south were full and some were said to be fully booked up to a year ahead. Is this true and will th UK have a bottleneck in the near future.