Guest pelmetman Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Seeing as we should be a font of motorhome knowledge on here ;-)............ How about telling newbies about your mistakes :D.............and I don't just mean slagging of dealers *-)........ As they say;-)........................Confession is good for the soul :D....... So time to fess up >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Bought first van with our children in mind they came once and ended up in a tent by the van, Buy what is best for you, only got two seat belts now and loads of room now.:-D Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdybiker66 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 OK, great idea, please make sure you do a vehicle data check before you agree to buy! :$ It might save a lot of angst. ps. It all worked out in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon2 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Swap it for a caravan and nobody will wave at you. John (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Depreciation, Depreciation and Depreciation. Buying new and up to 2 years old expect to loose mega money if you want to part with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 rolandrat - 2013-10-29 8:03 PM Depreciation, Depreciation and Depreciation. Buying new and up to 2 years old expect to loose mega money if you want to part with it. Why? brought my van new and deprecation is less than a quarter it would have been on a car of the same price but then again I wasn't stupid enough to buy in the UK and pay 15 grand more for it. :D :D :D Also just ordered another new one at 16K below UK price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK5 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Confession you say, well don't ever park facing up hill on grass, front wheel drive fiats just can't get you out, although we managed it with a little help from a couple neighbours. Ive never made the same mistake again. Your turn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 ChrisK5 - 2013-10-29 9:11 PM Confession you say, Your turn Don't leave your camper parked up for a year..........................even in covered storage :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Good idea, it should be interesting to see if many of the more vocal contributors post! Be warned, particularly when buying new, it is not like a car, you cannot take your vehicle to the nearest franchised dealer. The dealer you purchased from is responsible for your warranty not the manufacturer or convertor. If you have a problem you need to be within reasonable distance from the dealer you bought from, otherwise you may have to go miles to get even the smallest things repaired or replaced. If you buy new, buy local . The first of many mistakes we made! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Layout, layout, layout! This is the single most important thing to get right. Our first van was an end kitchen job, nice we thought. Went to France for first long trip and got really fed up with making and unmaking the bed. So have a good think abouth the sleeping arrangements first,,then build the rest of the layout around that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 No mistakes with the van. Over 5 years and 50000 miles since we got it and its been fantastic. Stuff breaks all the time but its used all the time and often pushed to the limits First mistake I made was thinking it would be cool to put a 3 metre air deck boat and a bloody great outboard in the luton. It did work but it was way too heavy and awkaward and Mrs D went out it once and hated it. Said it was like bouncing around in one of those ringo things you see in the med. The second mistake I made on our first trip over the water was ending up totally lost on the first day. I had spied on Google earth a great wild spot for our first night in France near Pegasus Bridge in Normandy but put in the GPS as degrees east not west and ended up 40 miles from the Bridge with our sat nav telling us we had reached our destination We were in the middle of nowhere and embarrassingly it was a Tugger who came to our aid and pointed out the error! I then set the sat nav for what I thought was the Aire near Ouistream and we spent the night there only to realise the next morning when we were surrounded by cars and locals going to work that it was the off street parking for the housing complex we ended up at! 5 years on I can find a wild spot or Aire just by sniffiing the wind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 1st trip to France in 2007 came out of the 1st campsite next morning turned right a little way down the road I realised I was on the wrong side of the road luckily it was a quiet road . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Don't cut corners on regular maintenance, base vehicle service intervals can be 20,000 miles or more but for most motorhomes that will take four or five years. Tyres, brake fluid, anti freeze, brakes, gas hoses all suffer from age so check them frequently and have an annual service carried out with brake fluid changed at three years. Just yesterday I had a 2004 tandem axle motorhome in and all 7 tyres were over ten years old, front brake pads were crumbling and all six brake discs were badly pitted and corroded as well as brake fluid showing more than 3% moisture content. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capcloser Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Selfbuilt a camper specifically for a 6 month trip to spain,lots of ventilation,lots of solar panels on the roof,loads of spare parts,but didnt even think about heating,travelled back through france in november and it was freezing! The only time we had heat was while we were driving,wont make that mistake again .Also on the same trip we parked up for the night in a picnic area cos we had spotted some caravans there,it was late and dark so we just pulled in,in the morning we realised they were gipsys but the didnt bother us in fact they insisted on giving us food,for us and the dogs we must have looked hungry! B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocro Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Don't leave the awning out overnight or even if popping out to the shops unless it is securely tied down,in a matter of seconds a gust of wind can have it on the other side of your van! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mildi Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 We have it now but if we change vans again first thing will be a battery master and solar panel, both batteries will keep topped up even when you are not using it for a few weeks. We had gel leisure batteries and they don't stand the discharge very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Read the height restriction signs. We had to reverse out of an underpass forcing cars up onto pavements in an underpass in Dieppe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 We b*llsed up,when we traded in our '03 Duetto, for a Compass 120 low profile CB! :$ What a cheap'n'nasty piece of dog sn*t, that was! *-) ..and even though we've been really pleased with our current Chausson and can't really fault it,if we could just "click our fingers",I think we'd probably still have the Duetto. (...I suppose at heart, we're more "Campervanners" rather than "Motor-Caravanners"). As for "advice" to newbies..as well the obvious things they would/should check if they were buying a car,I'd say: 1.Check the payload/axle weights.. 2.Think about rear seat belts(even if only required for occasional use). 3.Don't just believe what the nice salesman tells you 4.Think hard on how a layout will function for YOU(we prefer layouts where the "areas" can function independently of each and don't "interfere" with each other and that don't have the loo/shower located opposite the hab' door!).. 5.Don't just believe what the nice salesman tells .. 6.Do your own research on the specific model under consideration 7.On Handover, check that EVERYTHING works... 8...and don't just believe what the nice salesman tells you.... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4cls Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Don't park under or very near trees in France, took 3hrs to clean off pigeon poo from the front. Don't park up near Pine tree's, you are kept awake by cones falling on the roof, and those darn pigeons again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Hi, starting point for me would be Payload. Beware not to buy a van with loads of cupboards and space to put things but no Payload to utilise. Some vans are very close to limit when just driver and co- pilot are on board. cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Steer clear of motorhome-related internet forums until you've read at least one book intended for novice motorcaravanners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 So Lenny, so unless we buy abroad we are stupid. I don't think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Derek Uzzell - 2013-10-30 9:33 AM Steer clear of motorhome-related internet forums until you've read at least one book intended for novice motorcaravanners. Some of the best advice so far ! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Collected first new van and drove to nearest campsite. Parked up - then decided to move it a bit. When I turned on the ignition an alarm sounded - and I couldn't trace the ' fault ' Phoned up the converter, and he said " You've probably left the electric step out " He was right. :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Derek Uzzell - 2013-10-30 9:33 AM Steer clear of motorhome-related internet forums until you've read at least one book intended for novice motorcaravanners. Ask lots of questions on this forum before you buy and get a wide variation of mostly practical viewpoints based mainly on actual individual experience not theory, but do be very aware of considerable bias from those with preconceptions and fixed ideas that their way is the only way - 'cos it ain't!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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