candapack Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 So, current van is a 6m. coachbuilt. OH has gone off bedmaking, as well as shunting stuff around inside the van. She is talking about single beds over a garage, and a full width bathroom. I reckon that means at least 7.5 metres, or about 5 feet longer than currently. Doesn't sound a lot, but what is your experience of driving/parking a 7.5 metre van? Look forward to some informative (and no doubt some entertaining) replies. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Our MH is 7.6 metres. Driving is very little difference apart from the rear swings out more when turning corners - just need to keep an eye on it in your mirrors. As for parking - in the UK it is always a problem even for smaller MH's but in Europe, i.e France it is never a problem - c'est la vie ! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 We have found width more important than length when it comes to maneuvering in tight situations, last van was 6.8m x 2.35, current van is 7.2 x 2.21, current one is much easier around French medieval villages etc. go for a longer narrower van and you won't regret it. We also find an A class is easier with the flat sides a lot easier to reverse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I have recently moved from 5.99m to 6.99m and have found the 1m increase significant. I have to be very careful with the rear overhang which swings over pavements etc while turning. The worst aspect is that the top of the mh has hit an overhanging canopy when manoevering so now I have to crane my neck to see the top of the mh in my rear view mirrors. In practice I no w avoid parking in places where ther is an overhang. B-) ANyway, it won't be a problem for a few months as I have just dislocated my elbow! Bang goes my planned 3 month tour of Norway B-) :'( :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocro Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Myself I find 7 metres no problem but my wife wants us to downsize as she hates manoeuvring it, we will be on the lookout for a sub 6 metres soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynneroy Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 We have a 6metre with a fixed bed and we are getting on well with the size, it is 3 berth so we can take a grandchild occasionally, the single bed uses the dinette and the drivers seat, not big enough for an adult but fine for children. We love the fixed bed, but we do not have comfy sofas to lounge on and that might be important to you. Happy hunting Lynne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I have an 8.75m and have had no issues that are length related. Concur with previous posts about width, but honestly I just drive it like a bus (take bus lines on corners and roundabouts). We've been to small UK and French sites with no issues (again other than width - Dartmouth was a heart stopping realisation when an HGV was approaching, but slow and steady and went like clock work). Just think of all those places where deliver drivers with their 7.5t trucks, bus drivers and coach drivers go - the thing is to remember you are not driving a normal car and just go with the flow..... I believe the fact I have a tag chassis means the overhang is not as long as some smaller vans (?) - but honestly, just think a little and you will be fine. It's all about compromise and for us we'll take the impact of a larger van for the space, for others it is different. Just enjoy..... PS: it bothers us so little that if we get another van, if it isn't a fifth wheel it might very well be a little bit bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 AlanS - 2015-05-01 11:27 PM Our MH is 7.6 metres. Driving is very little difference apart from the rear swings out more when turning corners - just need to keep an eye on it in your mirrors. As for parking - in the UK it is always a problem even for smaller MH's but in Europe, i.e France it is never a problem - c'est la vie ! Alan me too,7.6 metres, concur with all of the above, because we Tour entirely in the UK and The Scottish Highlands and islands, we started towing our car on an A-Frame last year, we got fed up with all the petty parking resrictions in the UK, for daytime parking more than Overnighting, Don't know what Foreign motorhomers must think, when they come here, and are discriminated against so blatantly ? Especially with them being so accommodating to us over there. Having the car,solves all of our access and mobility problems. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 We bought our motorhome to be able to enjoy it's facilities 24/7, so I'd say if that's your intention as well smaller is always better if limited to touring the UK, especially when it comes to parking bay sizes, and as the poster above acknowledges the general difficulties of parking pretty much anywhere other than a site, in practice another metre in length providing it doesn't mean a stupidly long overhang has never presented any real difficulties for us, although a pal of mine struggles with reversing, had sensors fitted only a couple of weeks ago, then promptly reversed into a small concrete bollard on his first trip out with them, ouch. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazdog6007 Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 i would go for a bigger van but getting it on and off the driveway would be a nightmare,if a car parked on other side of road (always) impossible,but eks tracker o.k :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candapack Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 Thanks all - food for thought. I guess a lengthy test drive might be in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I agree with most of the above, especially regarding width being more significant to ease of driving than length. However, that is only half the story, the other half being, as others have also pointed out, parking. No 6.0 metre coachbuilt will fit into a standard parking bay allowing cars to park alongside. So, extra length will makes little difference if parking rules are relaxed, and spaces numerous. But that proviso, IMO, puts a lot of the UK out of bounds: though most of the continent should be reasonably OK - providing you choose your stopping places with care. We all use our vans differently, so I'd say think about how, and where, you use your van, and then think of any difficulties you may have experienced, and whether an extra 1.5 metres (about 5' 0") length would have made a significant difference. I'd suggest that other people's experiences may not be your best guide - unless you also know how they use their vans. For example, advice from someone who mainly uses motorways to get down to Spain, and then stays on sites for extended periods, will be likely to be that neither width nor length present any problem. However, if your particular penchant is for touring Italian hill villages, that advice may, just, prove a trifle misleading! :-D I'd also add to consider weight and payload as well as size. The size of van you are considering, if it is to have a reasonable payload, will need to be greater than 3.5 tonnes MAM: probably nearer 4. Driving licence categories and age may become critical factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Hymer exsis 474 A class. twin singles...6.55 long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 All motorhomes involve compromises of the ideal, so in this context it boils down to how much you are willing to take extra care with manoevring compared with how much elbow room or amenity you get in your bigger MH. We're older and somewhat horizontally challenged, so elbow room counts for more with us than it might with skinny and agile folk. We're retired and we tend to spend longer periods living in our MH, so habitation amenity is more valuable too. We're in process of changing from a 7 metre/2.35 metre A Class to a wider and longer one, to gain elbow room in the kitchen/lounge area and I'm hoping the extra 0.4m length and 0.1 metres width (together with 0.5 metres in height) will be worthwhile. I have never found the current MH a real problem parking (except in UK, where any decent size MH presents a problem) so I don't foresee serious difficulty, but I might find out the hard way. I'm not keen on very long rear overhangs, like the S Class Hymers of 2007-2012 so I avoid that sort of thing too. We once had a tag axle MH and that worked well as the alternative to a long overhang and it was also noticeably more stable when passing lorries on the motorways. You can get really nice MHs with lots of amenity which are just around or over 8 metres but the ones with narrow showers compromise shower space too much for us. Our current MH has a swing wall shower space which is pretty good but you have to exit into the main kitchen space, which is not ideal. Lots of settee all around the table at the front is a modern trend but it is too much settee for us because it makes an obstacle course of getting forward, so we prefer a "bar version" type front end. A slightly wider MH seems to offer us more elbow room as we try to pass each other in both kitchen and lounge areas too. It's a matter of personal choice in the acceptance of this or that compromise. I once had a VW campervan and that was OK at the time. But now I want more space and luxury and I'm prepared to take the trouble and pay for the fuel to drive it around with me. For driving in Europe 8.3 metres gives me what I want inside and seems OK to me from the driving viewpoint - but the 8.8 metre version of the same MH seems unnecessarily large and maybe too large because the extra space inside doesn't do anything I find useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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