what's the best for us

[nell]

Hi Having just returned form 4 weeks on the continent in our touring caravan we have decided that we can do this much better in a motorhome and are going to start looking out for one soon.

 

We wonder what's the best for us we are both retired (59 and 64) and have 2 labrador dogs who come with us. We like walking and are fairly fit and active. We also like out comfort and enjoy cooking and eating in the caravan

 

We are a bit daunted by the prospect of looking for a motorhome and want to get what's right for us - can anyone advise us on what to go for. Do we go for 2 or 4 berth - having the dogs?

[BGD]

Personal view (and that's all anyones view can be of course): under no circumstances go for a two berth. Far too small to actually live in.

 

Go for a four berth if there are two of you.

 

We've got a notional "6 berth" and it's just great for the two of us plus a small dog.

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi Firstly, one man's meat is another man's poison. By that I mean that you are the only person who can ultimately answer your own question.

 

Firstly, I assume that your driving licence will permit over 3.5 ton vehicles so check that out before indulging. there are a lot of 2berth vehicles under the weight restriction which applies to newer licenced drivers.

 

We started with an Autocruise Starfire, 2 berth small van We dont have dogs, but I guess it would have been very crowded . No seatbelts in rear so couldnt have restrained them if we had.

 

next was Autosleeper Inca, 4 berth (2 in overcab) and rear seat belt to restrain passengers. Similar in size to starfire but with rear seatbelts.

 

Current van is Stargazer, 2 berth with long lounge seats capable of taking 6ft body stretched out. Still only 2 berth and no rear belts

 

All under driving licence weight restrictions, but again unlikely to be overly dog friendly, but dog owners do manage , depending in dog size and requirements. Restraints in rear are a Must I feel.

 

Best recommendation is to visit shows/dealers with dogs in tow and see what you think.

 

Once you get to bigger vans, and over 70 years, driving licence conditions kick in, so will the 'old dog' still be driving?

 

Good luck with your van search, and enjoy the lifestyle

 

tonyg3nwl

[mondo]

Yes I too would say a 4 berth if only for the extra bit of so called storage..We had an Elddis Autoquest 4 berth with the overcab bed and thats where all the bedding went during the day...also dependent is your price range layout etc

 

Happy Hunting!! Oh yea welcome to the forum on here there is no such thing as a daft question the only daft ones are the ones you don't ask

[colin]

As above, only you can decide what size you need, my aunt has a Talisman for them and dogs, some would think this was to small for a couple without dogs. You can only draw on your own experiance with the caravan as to best size.

As for cooking and eating, generaly british built vans tend to have better equiped galleys for any particular size of van.

[johnnerontheroad]

If you intend to use your M/H all year round then you will need to look to a european maker not UK. Also BEFORE you buy ask on here and other forums about the M/H and the DEALER. Go around as many shows and dealers and sit in the M/H and play house pretend to cook a meal ect.

 

Good Luck

 

Dave

[rolandrat]

You need to consider build quality such as Autotrail, not the Excell range, do you want a fixed fire or blow heater which is an important consideration and buy off a dealer with proven good after sales service record. I mentioned Autotrail because it's built in Britain and if you have any future problems they can be quickly resolved. Some continentals have top notch build quality but most have blow heating. Someone mentioned a very good point recently and it was, "Buy one that has enough power to be able to overtake an HGV doing 60mph on the motorway". My own recommendation would be a 3ltr manual Fiat x250. A no no for me is a body that has joints plastered with sealant. Remember to look underneath as well for shoddy plumbing and wiring. Good hunting!

[Guest JudgeMental]

Mine is in classified on this site for sale, and in November magazine, German quality, fully winterised and two kingsize doubles + stacks of storage and extras....... :-D

[rapidoman]

take all the above advice into account ,but if you have been happy with the caravan layout maybe a good starting point would be to look at what's available within your price range with a similar layout. also it may be worth looking at nearly new as someone else would have had any teething problems and will have lost the initial off the forecourt costs. our current motor home was 11 months old 2000 miles and like new BUT 18000.00 under current new price at the time :-D

[maggyd]

I was going to say much the same as rapidoman, you have lived in a caravan so know how much room you need, I would be wary of going too big when you havent driven a motorhome before, remember you have to get used to reversing etc; and on small country roads both here and abroad you can come up against hairy situations in a medium sized van never mind a bus size.

 

I would suggest you look at as many as you can, and decide the layout you like! we manage fine in a 2 berth 21' its horses for courses! just make sure the bed is big enough, and if you eat in a lot as we do having a dog, you need a cooker, a good sized fridge. and a decent size shower room if you intend to try the Aires and Stals abroad. We bought a second hand van that had 8,ooo mls on the clock and was only two years old, we have now had it 5 and never had any problems with it, we bought it for £33,000 instead of over £40.000 and any teething problems had been sorted.

 

Good luck they are lots of bargains out there so take your time as its a very expensive item and you will lose out a lot if it doesnt suit and you end up changing it.

[Brian Kirby]

You are at the beginning of a long road!  There are no easy answers: what suits one person is anathema to another, so advice on layouts/models is as likely to (inadvertently) mislead, as to help.  Motorhomes are ideal for use that involves moving around, caravans are better suited to being parked somewhere while you tour around in a car.  This difference is quite profound, and involves different mind-sets when planning routes etc.  What works well in a caravan may not work so well in a motorhome, or may not be so convenient when you have to take the whole caboodle with you all the time.  That is why so many have bikes, scooters, or tow cars.  The way out is a small van, but two large dogs rather preclude that.  A large van will impose its own restrictions on what you are comfortable doing.  You will need to do a lot of research, and a lot of thinking, to get as near right as possible first time.  There is an excellent book, called Go Motorhoming Europe, that will answer many of the above points, and more, and would probably save you from false starts.  It is published by Vicarious Books, but is presently out of print while being updated.  Maybe your library could get a copy?

That apart, try to get to the NEC for at least two days (preferably dogless!) and look at as many motorhomes as possible.  Day one is to get confused - you will!  :-)  Day two is to start trying to make sense of it all.  You should emerge with some idea of what may suit you.  Then, try to hire one, or something similar, for about a week: don't park it, but tour around in it, and see if the experience of using a motorhome changes any of your earlier views.  If necessary, repeat.  Don't rush.  Buying the wrong motorhome is a good way of turning a shed-load of money into dust!  :-(

[Travelling Tyke]

Hello, Must agree with the above, however......one main point that can be easily overlooked.... check, and I do mean check yourself, the "payload" that your "choice" can carry.

 

By that I mean get it weighed with full fuel and water before you part with cash and subtract that from its maximum running weight.

 

The amount left is for your passengers and all of their accoutrement's and life systems. (Food, cooking utensil's, entertainment, bedding, clothing, reading material, any tools that you may decide to take, etc.) In short, all of the "stuff" you needed for comfortable living in your caravan. Remember that you will not be loading it into your car!

 

You may be surprised to find what percentage of the payload "allowance" has been taken by one passenger and two dogs.

 

Having said that, good luck with your search. We found our choice after six months, but only when we went back to turn it down and realised that it did "tick most of the boxes" except one I didn't consider (or even consider that it would be a problem) the payload!

 

This was overcome by having it "re-plated", fitting air-ride suspension and uprated tyres........Well, one bottle of wine weighs about 1Kg.... :-D