There's an obvious decision to be made between Caravans and Motorhomes.
I'd summarise it as:
Caravans -
Pros - Cheap especially used. You have access to a car to drive into town car parks. Spacious for the length.
Cons - Overall length of car and Caravan is large. Harder to go "off grid".
Motorhomes -
Pros - It's easy to pitch up anywhere quickly. Self contained (water on board, waste on board). No 240v required. No hitching, towing, unhitching. (Handbrake on, engine off...you're camping).
Cons - Expensive, even used. Something else to MOT, tax and insure. A pain to get into some towns. Not so much internal living space for the same footprint (usually).
What appeals to me most about Motorhoming is the self-contained nature of it. With 100L of water on board, large LPG Gas bottles and Solar-charged batteries, you can pitch up just about anywhere and have everything you need. Delays at the ferry terminal are no issue, we're good for about 4 days with a full water tank. They lend themselves perfectly to overnighting en-route to somewhere, or just sightseeing somewhere for the one night and moving on.
Another Pro, abroad, is that Motorhomes are well catered for by "Aires". That is basic overnighting areas (sometimes nothing more than a municipal car park) but with water/waste facilities. There are thousands of them in France, either free or a couple of Euros, and, as far as I know, not open to Caravans. That really takes the pressure off trying to find campsites. You know that there will be an "Aire" within 10km or so. Failing that....just park up on a back road somewhere and go to bed.
