“Before spending 70,000 euros, rent a motorhome for a couple of weekends to see if you like it.” This is the good advice of Javi Garrido and Alicia Martos, two people from Barcelona who for four years have been hitting the road in a Tessoro 494 on their days off. It is also the key recommendation given by all caravanners we have spoken to.
Prior to the boom caused by the pandemic, this couple already had a Volkswagen California and they talked about their trips on their social networks, which today have more than 12,500 followers on Instagram (@condestinoalmundo). “We were tired of doing Tetris with things every time we went out,” they explain and add that “we only had to approve the solar panels because new regulations have come out.”
Claudia Robles and Claudio Martín (@viajandoconmanuela) have followed a similar path, a couple from Granada experienced in motorhome trips since they were children who decided to get a second-hand one as soon as their first daughter was born. “After trying everything, we were clear that we wanted a new, larger motorhome with specific characteristics,” says this family, who admits to being “accustomed to living in a small space, there are those who travel with pets and notice it even more ”.
Both couples also agree that the main drawback to practicing this type of tourism in Spain is the lack of infrastructure. “Every two or three days we have to refill the clean water tank and empty the gray and black water, and we can’t do that anywhere,” explains Claudia, who highlights that “in many towns they even prohibit us from parking.” Javi and Alicia believe that these limitations may have an economic motivation. “Especially in high season and on the coast, it is believed that the only way for tourists to spend money is to go to a hotel, when we would be happy to pay to spend the night in a motorhome area,” they say and, they regret, that Some of the few that exist are even next to a cemetery or in an industrial estate.
For these caravanners, France is the example to follow; Claudia highlights that “it has many free camping areas, when it is prohibited in Spain.” Alicia and Javi spent Easter in the neighboring country, where – they say – “even towns with 50 inhabitants have at least one parking lot available.” This is, according to them, an ideal strategy to promote tourism in the most remote locations. “If we didn’t have the motorhome, we would travel less and always to the same places,” Javi and Alicia acknowledge. Claudia also admits that “thanks to the motorhome we have visited nearby places that we would never have gone to due to lack of accommodation.”
Shortly after renting a motorhome, Daniel Acosta and Nayra Mesa decided to leave their conventional house behind and are on their way to four years living on wheels. “We were in a four-story house that we did not enjoy, I spent 10 years working 80 hours a week and we only rewarded ourselves with banal things like dinners and video games,” says Daniel. This “spiritual collapse”, together with the pandemic and after their first big trip, promoted Borrón y Ruta Nueva, a project with more than 13,000 followers on Instagram (@borronyrutanueva) to which the couple now dedicates themselves almost full time. “I focus on writing and the audiovisual part is in the hands of Daniel, so we are the perfect tandem,” explains this journalist from Tenerife.
After simplifying their routine for mental health, this couple believes that emptying the gray water tank is like taking out the trash at home “even if you have to travel 40 kilometers to access that service.” With a budget of 50 euros, laundry is usually the extraordinary expense of the month, since the motorhome has solar panels, heating and air conditioning, internet and a refrigerator that is supplied with gas. And if there is something that they consider essential for traveling, that is a level. “Cooking and sleeping are essential and doing it unevenly is quite uncomfortable. If we are not on level ground, the water in the shower does not drain properly,” advise these Canarians who, if they had to leave the motorhome, would opt for another “alternative home.”
In their case, Ani Flores and Juan López thought about it for ten years before living in a camper van. It is called La furgo de Liante in honor of her dogs Lío and Dante and her lifestyle attracts the attention of 35,000 curious people on Instagram (@la_furgo_de_liante). Although they admit to having gotten used to living in six square meters, breakdowns have been the main inconveniences over the last four years. “We have had problems with the clutch, the gearbox, the damping… We have been left out of the game and we have gone to sleep inside the dismantled van or at the door of the workshop,” confess this gemologist and this veterinary assistant converted into content creators.
Another who has made campers his habitual residence is Iñigo Mendia. “My first van cost me 900 euros and I had nothing. I have had to shower outside in Norway at zero degrees in October and rely on pre-cooked foods,” this San Sebastian resident tells us, whose adventures 100,000 people are watching on Instagram (@viajandosimple). In contrast, he now lives in a camper truck with a fireplace and oven, although “I’m still on the limit because I can’t go over 3,500 kilos.”
Although “everything has happened” to him in six years, he was recently driving on a bumpy road, with the bad luck that one of the jars fell on the faucet and ended up turning it on: “I use the cutting board as a lid for the sink, so that the water went down the counter and ended up flooding everything… I had to deactivate the entire electrical system,” says Iñigo about his latest setback on the road.
