Advice required from recently retired

[Brock]

How much did your type of motorhoming change when you retired? For example, did you take your bikes more, cover more mileage, stay on CLs or wild camp more, enjoy touring more than sitting on the same site for weeks?

 

I know when we retire like many others we will want to use our van more.

[Tracker]

There is no hard and fast answer as we are all different both in our use and perceptions of what perfect motorhoming is or should be.

 

What does change is your use of time and the ability to just chuck a few things in the van and just go - whenever and wherever you fancy, to us at least, is priceless.

 

But if that is your fancy I would advise to start doing it sooner rather than later before the continual round of doctor and hospital appointments start blocking your free time as the years mount up.

 

 

[alan k]

Yes we're all different but we spent longer away in Europe, 2 x 6 weeks plus a short xmas markets break was planned but the very cold weather last year put us off at the last minute. Previously it had been 1 x 3/4 weeks plus a short break somewhere close to the channel.

 

So both being retired gave us more freedom and longer away but we both find we've got to plan the dates early as otherwise too much other stuff gets in our diary. Oc course the odd few days up to a week and mainly midweek just gets thrown in whenever we fancy it!

 

Happy travelling

 

alan

[Guest JudgeMental]

same as Alan above or us due to restrictions on health insurance. we basically do what we always did but for longer periods...Try and have a proper hot holiday at Christmas or Easter also..This year India.

 

Going to buy a SAD lamp as I have just about had enough of the interminable greyness and rain.

[kelly58]

We bought our 1st motorhome as a retirement gift to ourselves 6 years ago we have just ordered our 4th motorhome and average 8/9k miles pa. Its great to look at the weather forcast and just up and go usually to France then if the weather turns stupid we come home and go off again as it suits us and as I have just started to receive my HM gov OAP we will have a bit more money to use on our travels. 

[maggyd]

The only thing that SHOULD change once you have retired is the length of time you can spend away :-D and that will depend on individual finances.

 

We dont stay longer than a couple of days on a site preferring to tour rather than put down roots for a couple of weeks at a time. Going abroad our biggest spend is on fuel, we shop the same as at home maybe eating out a few times but with dogs I much prefer to cater for ourselves and eat alfresco :-D enjoying the ambience of our surroundings .

 

Dont worry about retiring you will wonder when you had time to go to work. :-D and whatever you do dont think of yourselves as old !! OR YOU SOON WILL BE (lol) just enjoy yourselves we do.

 

Oh you asked about bikes Yes take them, your ability to ride them isnt going to change >:-) or as JM has had to do !!! go ELECTRIC !! we arent putting a bike rack on our new PV as yet were going to see first if we will need them !! but there again we havent just retired we are 68-76 and as our youngest dog isnt keen on the bag on the front she is causing us trouble we might just stick to walking and public transport for the time being :-D but we have no intention of selling the bikes.

[Clive]

We have bought a bigger van. We carry his and her motorbikes

 

BUT

 

We are still looking after mother-in-law (97) which sort of cramps our freedom to roam a bit!

 

SO

 

I carry on working part time as one day we WILL be able to be irresponsible!!

 

 

 

C.

 

[Guest pelmetman]

Not retired yet :-( .................so only had 4 months away this year :D

 

But being able to go away for more than 2 weeks opens up lots more possibilities ;-)

[vindiboy]

Whilst working we used our vans [Caravans and Motorhomes ] mainly weekends and for longer periods  when it was annual holiday time, now we are retired  we  just hit the road as when we feel like it and tour extensively further afield, Morocco, Greece, Norway Spain Portugal etc with no worry about time or route, Retirement is the best thing that happened to us and it started 13 years ago at age 55.

[mel wood]

maggyd - 2012-11-18 2:17 PM

 

we arent putting a bike rack on our new PV as yet were going to see first if we will need them !! .

 

I think that is very wise.

 

You may be interested to know that some of us have had problems with bike racks on Boxers/Ducatos with off side rear doors bending.

 

We had our bike rack removed, the door repaired to Peugeot standard (at great expense) and each bought a folding "bike in a bag" which we can transport inside our Auto-Sleepers Symbol ES.

[Guest JudgeMental]

well for us the holidays are all about cycling..... get a tow bar mounted rack and avoid the lifting and hassle

[Rayjsj]

For us it was being able to just go away for weeks at a time, we had 3 months in the North of Scotland and the Hebrides this year, late April til 2nd week in July, just right to miss the school holidays.

And as a Bonus, this year the weather was gorgeous. travelling around, some wildcamping, longest stay on Bunree in Onich. lovely time, and NO midges. Ray

 

[FRANKP60]

Retired at 60 ,went to New Zealand for 6 weeks hired a Motor home ,loved the freedown it gave us,within 6 months of returning home brought our own van.It had 11.5 k on the clock ,now 3 years later it has 37k,most of the mileage has been done in Europe,3 week trips ,6 week trips at least twice a year ,once over the pond Europe is your oyster and it is so easy to park stay move on,.Never thought we would have gone this route ,as while working we always fly to normally Greece ,but it is now on list to visit in van along with Norway.GO FOR IT.

[FRANKP60]

Sorry have re read post.Yes we now have bikes ,not ridden one for 40 years last time away we covered about 90 miles in France .You have the choice to stay for a week on site or Aire for couple of nights before moving on .That,s the flexibility of having your home on the back.

[maggyd]

mel wood - 2012-11-18 5:02 PM

 

maggyd - 2012-11-18 2:17 PM

 

we arent putting a bike rack on our new PV as yet were going to see first if we will need them !! .

 

I think that is very wise.

 

You may be interested to know that some of us have had problems with bike racks on Boxers/Ducatos with off side rear doors bending.

 

We had our bike rack removed, the door repaired to Peugeot standard (at great expense) and each bought a folding "bike in a bag" which we can transport inside our Auto-Sleepers Symbol ES.

 

 

Thats interesting :-D both our bikes fold and we have the Raleigh Bags that they go into, the only problem with that is there is not much room left under the double bed now O.H has placed all he thinks we need to take under there!! so it would mean transporting them somewhere else, we will see how next year goes I dont want clutter on our first years trial ;-)

[maggyd]

JudgeMental - 2012-11-18 5:36 PM

 

well for us the holidays are all about cycling..... get a tow bar mounted rack and avoid the lifting and hassle

 

 

Judge have you a photo of that? we had a tow bar on the last van though I! we dont want one particularly as the do add a lot to your PMTW dont they?

[gwyn]

Given that there's comments about bikes, can I digress slightly and ask anyone about the weight and durability of a folding electric bike and what weight of person it would comfortably take?? The weight of the bike by the way would be handy if someone can put it into simple language for me, ie not the actual weight but what it feels like in comparison to an ordinary folding bike. We have a PVC (La Strada) and carry two folding bikes inside now but getting somewhat limited on how much more we can cope with!!!

[Caroline]

We have electric folding bikes; they are carried on our bike rack which is a bit high on the back of the van due to the spare wheel. We do have a rear view camera, with the bikes semi folded so they do not obstruct the rear view. We would consider the tow bar carrier as a good alternative for the next van if a bike rack was not already fitted.

 

As to weight they carry, we are not light weight, petit people (I wish), just a bit bigger than average (we like our food and drink a bit) the bikes carry us with ease as well as panniers full of food and wine from shopping trips.

 

The bikes are heavier than normal because of the battery, but you get used to it and adjust accordingly, saying that I do not find them cumbersome. For travel we detach the battery and carry in the van.

 

With our bikes, we plan trips that sometimes get extended!!! the OH has run out of power but within spitting distance of home so not a problem, we do enjoy the full power feel when we need a rest, and full power and 1st gear will get you up any hill, (been there, done that, got the tee-shirt). We do not use the power all the time, just when a bit of help is required, up hill, a long straight bit that is boring, and to get off of roads with cars, great for junctions.

 

I do have weaknesses in both knees and these bikes help with getting around, I could not cover the distances we have covered on these bikes with ordinary bikes.

 

Best advice try them out, I have noticed some places are now hiring them.

 

I hope this is the sort of info you were looking for.

 

(lol)

[mel wood]

maggyd - 2012-11-21 11:37 AM

 

mel wood - 2012-11-18 5:02 PM

 

maggyd - 2012-11-18 2:17 PM

 

we arent putting a bike rack on our new PV as yet were going to see first if we will need them !! .

 

I think that is very wise.

 

You may be interested to know that some of us have had problems with bike racks on Boxers/Ducatos with off side rear doors bending.

 

We had our bike rack removed, the door repaired to Peugeot standard (at great expense) and each bought a folding "bike in a bag" which we can transport inside our Auto-Sleepers Symbol ES.

 

 

Thats interesting :-D both our bikes fold and we have the Raleigh Bags that they go into, the only problem with that is there is not much room left under the double bed now O.H has placed all he thinks we need to take under there!! so it would mean transporting them somewhere else, we will see how next year goes I dont want clutter on our first years trial ;-)

 

 

Margaret, I don't know if this will work for you in the Alto but we carry our bikes folded in their bags safely behind the front passenger seat. We are still able to access the lounge area and back of the van by walking through from the cab. On site we store one bike in its bag on the driver's seat ; when we turn round the passenger seat the other bike in its bag fits between the seat and the dashboard. Although it takes a few moments to do this, once done the bikes are out of the way until we need them.

[Dave225]

I suspect that your new lifestyle will depend on the depth of your pockets. If you have a large or even comfortable pension then basically the 'world is your oyster' but if like many you find your finances are getting much tighter, then your free time activity will match it. As a retiree I can state that although we thoroughly enjoy extended breaks away etc, they do not come cheap, even with a reduced mileage and saving costs at home.

 

I am not in any way trying to depress you but we did find that the first few years of retirement were quite (ok, very) expensive as we seemed to need (ok, want) things to enable our new lifestyle. Plus doing things to the house that we felt were necessary and we soon saw the 'pot' of money shrinking. Yes, I fully admit we made the choice to do it, but it is only afterwards you think' should we have'? However, things have now stabilised and we do go away for about 140 days each year in 1 long trip. We now find that we do not do the 'touristy' things anymore, after all once you have seen 1 chateau the others are pretty similar. Also fuel prices are never dropping and running around sightseeing soon empties the tank, so we tend to stick in 1 place and try to cycle as much as possible. Keeps you fit and costs down. The good thing it is still cheaper than booking a hotel somewhere for that length of time, but is comparable to possibly owning a small apartment, so it is relative.