Advice on possible motorhome purchase

[Klyne]

We have caravaned for over thirty years. However we have been thinking that it might be time to be thinking of changing to a motorhome. Several reasons, the towcar will need replacing at sometime in the near future which will be quite an investment so would that be better spent on a motorhome? We keep our caravan in our back garden which is very handy but we are often finding that access in and our and getting hitched up increasingly stressful because there are now so many cars in our immediate neighbourhood. Whether they are good enough reasons to change I don't know!

 

I think I understand what we would gain and what we would loose viz a viz caravan/motorhome so that is not a particular issue. What is taxing us is what style and size of motorhome should we go for? We have quite a large caravan and so are used to the space, although there are only two of us, no pets either. As far as budget is concerned we are thinking of no more that £45000 using any value of the caravan to reduce that figure. Looking at various ranges the sort of thing that would suit us is a low profile coachbuilt perhaps something like the Swift Sundance or Bailey Approach. Don't quite understand why van conversion seem expensive in comparision although can perhaps appreciate their more compact size. That brings me onto what seems to be the blockage in our thought process, size! Like the look of the Bailey Approach 740 (or similar) but it is 7.5 mts long is this too big although my towing combination is around 12 metres but at least its in two bits! Alternatively there is the Bailey 625 (or similar) which is a two berth and about a metre shorter but have concerns about the amount of storage space when we go on our longer trips of a couple of months at a time. Appreciate that we won't need a lot of the gubbins that you have with a caravan. Should mention that I don't want to go above the 3500kgs max weight.

 

So guys what advice can you offer, particularly the pros and cons of motorhome size and would be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has made the change from caravan to motorhome.

 

Thanks

 

David

[Guest JudgeMental]

Well......... you have come to the right place.......This should be fun :D

 

Buy German, save a bundle and a hell of a lot of heartache and grief. better still get a panel van...everyone else seems to be :-D

[Brock]

Like others, we moved into motorhoming from caravanning - 17 years ago. The traditional view that caravanning suit those who like to stay on site with the kitchen sink et al whereas motorhomers tend to be on the move more and carry less is valid so be sure which camp you fall into. Motohomes are also great for days out. We enjoyed both caravanning and motorhoming and may revert one day. For now, the stress free driving a motorhome offers, the ability to take it with us wherever we go [avoiding height barriers and parking bans!], and its ability to act as a delivery van are all useful.

 

Biggest shock for us between motorhoming and caravanning was the noise in a motorhome. The base vehicles are not as quiet as cars and no matter how well the motorhome is built, you will hear a lot of internal noise from either the fixtures and fittings or what you pack.

 

You'll need to say whether the motorhome will be your main or only vehicle,what restrictions exist for parking [they are harder to manoeuvre in tight spaces because they don't pivot!]. You will also need to work out whether you can get a motorhome along your road.

 

Van conversions are the narrowest and cost more. They are difficult to make because of the tight internal space. Hymer do an Exsis coachbuilt which is narrow and you might find a Ford based one second hand. You will have to shop around. narrow Bailey's build the widest motorhomes.

 

I find a maximum of 6.5m length useful. My last two vans have been a-classes with pull down beds in the cab which makes better use of the vehicles size but has pluses and minuses. If you keep to 3500kg, you are going to be compromised by what you can take so length for storage is less of an issue.

 

I'd be tempted to go for a good quality second hand A-class motorhome no longer than 7m and probably around the 6.5m length. You probably will find it hard to buy a bad motorhome nowadays at your budget but you will need to find a dealer you trust.

[Barryd999]

7.5 Metres isnt big. You get used to it. Within no time at all you will be throwing it around the Alps like a mini. They are all pretty much the same width.

 

The only thing I would say is unlike a car when your reversing and you think your about to hit something yet when you get out your miles from it, in a 7.5m van its the opposite. I often think Ive got loads of room behind only to find myself hitting something. Luckily the scooter rack is solid as a rock.

 

On last years trip I knocked over a lamp post in Landes, an Aire sign in the Dordogne and in Figeac sent a massive wheelie bin spinning down the main road in Figeac. :-D

 

I would like a panel van but I just cant make it work space wise.

 

Layout is the thing though. You need to see loads to decide which is best for you. We were lucky. Went for the traditional rear lounge, loads of windows, front dinette layout and would now not have anything else. With that budget you should be able to get a great van. I still wouldnt buy new though even with £45000

[dipstick0_0]

we moved over to a motorhome almost three years ago it is a 4 berth that has a bed over the cab that can be made up and left even when driving and that does give us lots of floor space we use a ladder to access the bed thats the only down side I dont find it noisey to drive at all and as stated above you soon get used to the size I love driving it Its a bit big to use as a car when away so we either use site close to a bus stop or take a car with us fuel wise it is about the same as towing in our case We find it a lot quicker to prepare than a caravan another point only one service per year to worry about no caravan insurance to worry about and I think it will hold the value better these are just my thougts whatever you do I hope you enjoy your touring forgot to mention we mostly use our motorhome in devon and cornwall weekends during the winter and a little further afield during the summer good luck with your choice

[hallii]

Ours is just under 6m, German (Hymer) and we go everywhere.

 

Yes, it's small compared to some, but we get 30 MPG and can park it on a normal car park (just).

 

It has everything we need and we go off for 6-8 weeks at a time.

 

We used to caravan and motorhoming is a different ball game, it's very much a matter of kettle away, and we are off, rarely staying more than 2 or 3 days in one spot.

 

If you do decide to go small(ish) consider the layout very carefully, we went far a fixed bed having had various niggles making up beds. Then there is the matter of "winterising" you need a winterised M/H if you want to go away when it's cold.

 

Once you get used to not having a bl**dy great thing stuck on the back it is very liberating, no snaking, no reversing problems, better MPG, better hill climbing and so on.

 

H

[Mel B]

Hi David ... I've seen you 'moonlighting' on the Swift Talk website! :D

 

Ideally we need to know:

 

1. What model/layout of caravan you have at present and what parts you really love about it.

2. What you MUST have.

3. What you don't like/don't want.

4. What sort of payload you're going to need.

5. Is there any particular type of layout that really appeals to you.

6. Are you ever likely to want to carry passengers.

7. What type of 'holiday' person are you:

- Do you travel around every couple of days or so or stay at the same place for a week or more.

- Do you intend to use aires or campsites?

- Do you intend to use it in winter?

- What about going abroad?

 

[mel wood]

Hi David.

When you're on campsites and you see any motorhome or campervan/van conversion you think looks interesting and could be a possible for you it will be worth having a chat with the owner. In the main you will find motorhomers are friendly folks who are willing to chat about their vans. You are quite likely to be invited into some vans and you will be able to see and ask about layouts, storage and other practicalities.

Many (most) owners won't mind you approaching them - we've had folks ask about our panel van on campsites,aires, English Heritage carparks and even on a supermarket car park.

Being able to chat to owners and look inside vans as they are being used should give you some useful pointers as to what will be suitable for you.

You probably know that there are some hire companies and you may find it helpful when you have identified a probable van to hire a similar model for a short break so you can experience living in it as well as driving it. Some dealers who hire will refund the hire fee if you buy from that dealership within a certain time.

All the best with your research and decision making.

[Brian Kirby]

Hello David.

 

Good questions! First thing I'd say is, unless you already have a copy, go to Vicarious Books and buy a copy of Go Motorhoming and Campervanning, here: http://tinyurl.com/8973u2p

 

It is written by motorhomers, for motorhomers, is a mine of information, and just might save you a lot of money. At the very least, once you have read it, you will probably think of a load more questions to ask!

 

Regarding comments above, I agree with the generality of what others say, with one or two exceptions.

First noise. Down here in East Sussex we don't have the best roads in Europe, and bouncing over recessed drain gratings and manhole covers, poorly executed patches, and the odd pothole, there can be a fair bit of clatter: commercial vehicle suspensions are not the subtlest on the planet! However, once out of the UK, and onto reasonable blacktop, it is perfectly possible to converse at normal volume.

Second, all motorhomes are not the same width. Most are around 2.3 - 2.35M wide, but the mirrors extend beyond this. However, ours (coachbuilt) is only 2.07M wide, and other 'vans made by Dethleffs, Knaus, Burstner, and Hobby range from 2.07 up to 2.15M wide. The main difference being that these models are only marginally wider then the cab of the base vehicles. Whether this is important to you, will depend somewhat where you intend going, and whether you would take to secondary roads. I can only say I have encountered a few instances where a wider body would have defeated access, quite a few more where it would have been down to a "fag paper" for access, and rather more where I should have needed to slow down rather than shooting the gap. So, in my book, these narrower vans are definitely worth a look.

Third length and payload. Length, within reason, is not the problem it may at first seem. However, even ours, at 6.07M long, won't fit a standard parking bay in most supermarkets. We use it mainly "across the ditch", where car parking space is not generally so much of a problem, so taking one and a bit bays doesn't generally cause any hardship. So, a reasonably compact van gets my vote. The longer the van, inevitably, the greater its self weight and the lower your payload. So, adding space inside reduces what you could carry. We tend to go for 8-12 weeks at a time, and find the space quite adequate over that timescale, and we have over 500kg payload to play with, so are never loaded to the maximum, either overall, or regarding individual axles. The later is the main point to watch, as in many cases one runs out of axle load before the MAM is reached. Whatever you do, don't rush into buying, as assessing how much payload per axle is available is frustratingly difficult. Dealers are generally clueless, and manufacturers avoid the issue if at all possible!

If you are thinking about travelling wider than your present sphere, I think a smaller, lighter, van will be more satisfactory, and less restrictive, generally, than a larger van, so I would be looking at trading internal space for "go anywhere" compactness. As narrow as I could live with, and no longer than I need.

You won't need as much clutter as for a caravan, for a start the fresh water and waste tanks are built in, so don't have to be transported separately. If you usually take an awning, you will probably find a roll out satisfactory, so that goes too. Got to go now, lunch beckons! Will add bits later as they occur. :-)

[Guest JudgeMental]

Brian sweetie, you have a wobbly old Ford......Fiat far superior ride and drive and a hell of a lot quieter

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

It all depends on the individual of course, and there are so many factors to take into account. But we caravanned for years before going over to a M/home, but in common with most you will be VERY lucky to get it right first time, if ever, so my advice would be don't do all your cash on your first purchase. We have owned three coach-built vehicles, and two panel van conversions, we currently have an IH Savannah tio PVC.

 

In an ideal world I'd like a 37 foot American job with triple slide outs when parked up, but something that shrunk to the size of a smart car when on the road.

 

If funds permitted the ideal for us now would be a LWB panel van conversion that provides the option of two single beds.

As you've previously been a tugger you will feel as though your driving a double decker bus in comparison to a tow car, but the comparative freedom of a van means you can be off in a minute, you've got all your facilities with you at all times ( no hunting out dodgy public loos for example ) and if you can get over the channel you'll think you've died and gone to Motorhome heaven, with the freedom you'll have, unlike towing a caravan over there, or here for that matter.

 

The other big plus as we so often remark is, we've got a cup of tea in hand before the average vanner has even wound down a couple of corner steadies, and on departure you can be ready to go in a flash.

 

I've only got to hear either of these words to realise I'd never go back to caravanning, AQUAROLL, or WASTE HOG ;-)

[Ina]

Hi David, fancy seeing you here!

 

There have been many comments made already about various aspects of motorhoming.

 

We too went from caravan to motorhome about 13 years ago now and prefer it to caravanning for a lot of the reasons already pointed out. We very rarely stay on a site more than about 4 or 5 days when in France, often only 2 or 3, so that was one of the main reasons.

 

One thing also worth mentioning is, probably very obvious, but nevertheless a consideration: when on site the only vehicle you have is the motorhome, a totally different concept to just nipping off in the car to get that forgotten loaf of bread or pint of milk. If you get a smaller motorhome then going off site to visit places of interest/shops etc will be that much easier, although you'll still encounter things like height barriers. But a smaller motorhome also means less space and possibly less payload, swings and roundabouts!

 

We always take bicycles with us, we are lucky to be fit enough to cycle long distances, so in our case we leave the van on site, then set off on the bikes to explore. We also really love walking/hiking, so again, if we're in "walking country" then the van stays put and off we go walking for a day. Alternatively, we'll use public transport for visits too far away.

 

There are pros and cons as you'll appreciate, it may be an idea for you to hire one for a week and see how you feel, although it's quite expensive, it's not as expensive as forking out on one and then realising that a motorhome is not for you! Then again, motorhoming in the UK is a different kettle of fish to France etc, where it is much more motorhome-friendly.

 

Good luck with it, David.

 

Ina.

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

Just re-read the OP post, and can only say this, we had two PVCs, the first one was useless as far as storage space was concerned, it soon went, it really is down to the ingenuity of the converter, our present van although now getting on ( 2003 ) as acres of storage space, but it does not have rear doors which I think makes all the difference, and does not provide any challenges for a 8 / 10 week trip, apart from the use of a launderette maybe once, and oddly will accommodate more kit than a previous couch-built we had, it is all down to design, bigger does not necessarily mean better, perhaps a 6 metre low profile CB may be the way to go for you though, but why buy new when you are testing the water, or hire as someone else has suggested.

 

But here's an IH the same as ours, may fit the bill ?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-FIAT-DUCATO-2-8-JTD-IH-I-H-CAMPER-OREGON-R-MOTORHOME-27000-MLS-FSH-LEATHER-/181053383958?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item2a279f6516

[Guest JudgeMental]

I certainly would not consider a van without the practicability of twin rear doors....With current exchange rates you can get a new 2013 model 6 M panel van from around £32.000 in Europe *-)

[Guest JudgeMental]

:-S

[lennyhb]

Having been tuggers for over 20 years until we saw the light 4 years ago, we hired a couple of vans with different layouts before buying certainly found out what layout we couldn't live with. We hired in Germany as we wanted a Hymer so we wanted to hire Hymer's & it was far cheaper to hire there.

As Eddie say you won't go far wrong buying German certainly wouldn't buy a British built van even if it ticked all the boxes.

 

Our van is 6.8m just over 7m with the bikes on the rack, one point worth mentioning if you are having a bike rack & carrying 2 bikes get a 3 bike rack it makes life so much easier. Compared to tugging it's bliss to drive so much more relaxing. Ours is a low profile CB we like it but will probably go for an A Class when we change.

 

Knowing you like to do longish European tours do make sure you get a van with enough payload although no need to carry as much junk as caravanner's do, you do have to take into account weight of passengers, water, gas, fuel and any extras fitted to the van. Different manufacturers calculate the amount they allow before giving the payload differently, most allow 75 kg for the driver some allow 90% gas, water & fuel, some 75% gas, fuel & water some only allow 20 Lt of water.

 

Regarding the length it really depends on how you are going to use, a big van is great if you are going to carry on using it like a caravan and plonk it on a site for a week or two but not so good if you are going to move around a lot often staying on Aires & Stellplatz. We found our style of use changed rapidly now we rarely stay in one place for more than one or two nights. I would have thought 7.5m is a sensible top limit for varied pattern of use.

[Klyne]

Wow, thanks everyone for some really useful information which I will digest and store away in the old grey cells.

 

We are hoping to go to the NEC in February which will enable us to get a feel for the different different types of motorhome. Take on board the suggestion of hiring one before purchase and I think that was half in our mind anyway, especially if we can find a dealer that hires and refunds on purchase :-)

 

I suspect if we change we will continue to use campsites, but who knows? Interestingly looking at my log for 2012 we spent 116 nights away in the caravan. On three sites we stayed 7 nights, on three sites 6 nights and the rest we spent between one and five nights so we don't actually stay that long on a site at present.

 

Thanks again for the help.

 

David

[mirage]

We have gone back to a caravan after three vans, got a bit fed up with the overall loss on motorhomes i.e. cost of changing, we still run a reasonable car so looking at the van depreciating on the drive mid winter does`nt add up anymore. ( No we don`t enjoy tripping around damp cold camp sites mid winter or sitting in car parks making cups of tea! before anyone suggests we get out and use it).

However I did enjoy going all over Europe in them.

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

If the OP buys wisely to begin with there is no reason to fear depreciation, buy a good second hand van and let the first buyer take the largest chunk of depreciation, and of course depreciation happens with a touring caravan and car just the same. Plus there is no reason why his first buy could not last him 10/ 20 years,why the need to change at all

As for out of season use we do make use of ours all the year round, but in the winter months tends to be just visiting friends and relatives, although we do try to fit in some city breaks as well from time to time. Caravanning I think on the whole is more suited to being in one spot for a good few days, if this is what the OP prefers then staying with a caravan would IMO make more sense, rather than a Motor Home,but for us personally at advancing age a M/home is so much less like hard work, and we do get bored if in one spot more than a 2 or 3 days, as they say horses for courses.