Left hand drive?

[grocer jack]

Hi there! having just passed 60, her indoors & I have decided to pack it all in & go full timing. We are complete novices and don't yet own a motorhome. We have loads of questions, but one basic one I want to start with is.......left or right hand drive. We intend spending half the year in Blighty and half over la Manche. guidance please on this subject as it obviously affects which manufactiurers we look at. Thanks in anticipation. :-D

[terry1956]

Hi, best thing to do is have a go in both, One thing to think off is this. If you have not done a lot of driving in europe it will pay to go for LH drive, at the most you will be sitting in the right place when driving, so you are 50% right to start with. When in the uk, well you know the layouts of the roads etc so are 50% there if you see what I mean.

also LH maybe less money, and would allow you to buy from germany etc.

terry

[Fetch Carry]

I am on my third LHD and do not have any trouble in the UK, the only thing I am glad of is that I can look over my right shoulder and see through the side window, helps at some junctions where you need to get the angle right.

[Guest Frank Wilkinson]

I don't claim to know anything about the relative merits of LHD or RHD in your case but what does occur to me is that LHD part-ex prices may be lower in a few years if you are trading in in the U.K.

Having said that though, the argument for LHD on unfamiliar Continental roads does have some merit but is it all that important?

I never found towing a caravan with a RHD car any problem when abroad as I always had a navigator to watch the wing mirror but if you're ever going to be alone I suppose that LHD would be a boon in Europe but then of course you're at a disadvantage in the U.K.

I'm going round in circles here so I'll sign off!

[enodreven]

Hi,

 

Regarding LHD/RHD I can only tell you of my experiences when I have hired out LHD cars while on Holiday in Spain etc I have found that it wasn't as pleasant as i thought it would be. For the short time that i have had the vehicles it did seem awkward which i feel may have been due to my judgment being built up over the years to judging the width to my left and on a LHD vehicle you need to make width judgements to your right and when I have driven my RHD car and motor-home in Europe i have never found any problems,

 

If you haven't driven a LHD vehicle in Europe it may be worth trying before you commit to anything

 

hope this helps

 

Brian

[Guest starspirit]

A LHD van is, in some ways, easier to drive in the UK than a LHD car due to the better view ahead from the raised driving position. However pulling out to overtake even a tractor and trailer relies on the passengers visual input and can be a bit fraught sometimes.

 

Also there is the question of which side the habitation door opens out onto, and whether that matters to you.

 

The whole scenario is reversed for RHD in Europe of course. Strangely enough I find driving a RHD van in Europe much easier than I expected and sometimes less confusing at unmarked or complex junctions than a LHD drive hire car?

 

I guess at the end of the day it will come down to money - how much you have to pay for LHD/RHD vans of similar specification and whether you expect to be living in the UK when you come to sell or p/x the van.

 

The differential should in theory remain constant but supply and demand tactics from dealers suggests that a LHD van will be expensive to buy in the UK due to 'limited supply', but worth somewhat less when selling time comes due to 'reduced demand'.

[Basil]

I have driven both LHD and RHD in the UK and I have to say I found LHD really difficult and hard to get used to. Even I find it strange, if not impossible, to explain why I can take a RHD to Europe and happily drive over there in what is the wrong position yet reverse the situation and put me in a LHD over here and I am like a fish out of water!!

Another downside along with the resale value is the cost of insuring the LHD vehicle I had was by far higher than a standard RHD, you are now asked if the vehicle in question is LHD when applying for new insurance now, least way I was.

 

Bas

[terry1956]

Hi all. Well all my cars are LHD and that encluds the motorhome, The only one on UK insurrance is the M3 and I was never asked if it was LHD or not. The think when driving from RHD to LHD is just drive it, don,t overthink about it, my other half was a real pain at the start, but when she just got into the car and just did it, she was find.

The above are right about buying in the UK, but then why buy in the UK when they are a lot more expensive then in europe.

It all depends on what works for you, and what your plans are.

terry

[Mel E]

If in doubt, you really need to drive LHD van/motorhome in the UK. If you find it is a problem, go for RHD.

 

All our motorhomes have been LHD by choice. My arguments are:

 

1. They kill over twice as many on French roads as we do on UK roads for much the same population. In fact almost all continental countries have worse road casualties rates than we do. So I want every advantage I can get and LHD is a key one.

 

2. In the UK I adjust without even thinking. The view high up in a van/motorhome is much better than from a car. Sure, I cannot easily overtake on single carriageway roads, but UK traffic densities make that near impossible anyway

 

3. In my experience, LHD has very little effect on resale values UNLESS you are planning to change the vehicle frequently. We normally keep ours until they are around 7 to 8 years old, and we've never had a problem selling LHD used motorhomes of that sort of age via the MMM pages. Of course, if you buy from abroad, the often very substantial saving will make it of no matter if you do lose a bit on resale. Be aware that motorhomes depreciate far more slowly than cars, especially after the first couple of years.

 

Mel E

====

 

 

[Guest starspirit]

Motorhomes do depreciate at a lower percentage rate than cars but, as they start from a much higher figure than your average car, the amount of cash they can lose in a short period is truly horrifying if you are not careful with getting your buying selection right for both layout and price.

[Vixters other half]

Big Brian is LHD and so is Bridget - I have no issues driving them and in some ways I get on better with LHD in the UK. There seems to be a variety of opinions here and my advise as before is, try before you buy both in the UK and on the Continent. You would want a weeks hire at least to get used to both driving and motorhoming - you might not like it - inlikely I know, but still a possibility.

The other point to consider is, will both of you be driving? If so you should both try it behind the wheel.

 

Rgds

VoH

[Brian Kirby]

I agree with all that has been said above.  We have LHD 'van and RHD car.  I have always lived in UK, but have driven in both Europe and UK over the past 40 years.  I don't generally find adjusting to driving on the right requires any thought, just roll off the ferry and away.  LHD can take a while to adjust to, but I found the Fiat handbrake being on the (familiar) left when the gearchange was on the (unfamiliar) right caused more problem than anything else.  Every time I put the handbrake on at a junction, I tried to engage gear with the door handle!  Took three days to shake that off.  However, after a bit of familiarisation you should find it all becomes routine.

What I would say is that if you really intend splitting your time between Europe and UK about 50/50, discounting the prices of RHD vans, you may find RHD driving easier overall.  Our traffic densities are among the highest in Europe, so I'd be a bit inclined to suit the vehicle to UK traffic conditions for that reason.  However, on price, I'd say buy LHD in Europe and, if you think you'll spend more than 50% of your time across the ditch, it's a bit of a no brainer!

[Ivys]

I'm very happy with our LHD (especially in Europe). I believe it is easier to drive a LHD in UK than a RHD in Europe.

 

One point I want to make is that if you "test" a LHD remember that it takes about two hours just to get used to LHD. As someone suggested, try it out for a week or so. Best is to try it out in UK and Europe.

 

Roger

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Having confidently driven many thousands of miles in Continental Europe in RHD vehicles (including a motorcaravan) I thought it would be child's play to convert to LHD when I collected my Hobby motorhome from a German dealer in July 2005. Well it wasn't and, truth to tell, some 10,000 km later I've still no instinctive feel for where the edges of the Hobby are. I'm not saying I can't drive the thing safely and competently, just that I have to engage more of the calculation side of my brain to do so compared with piloting my RHD car (in the UK or Europe).

 

Prospective buyers of motorhomes know full well (or they darn well ought to!) that second-hand LHD vehicles being sold in the UK will have been originally purchased 'on the cheap' and that the asking-prices should, consequently, be lower than equivalent RHD models. Personally, I found no difficulty obtaining insurance cover for the Hobby and no additional premium was asked for LHD.

 

I bought a LHD motorhome because I knew that almost all its usage would be outside the UK and because it was the cheap option. If I were 50:50 full-timing I'd still buy LHD for cheapness sake. However, from my own experience (and from the comments of some other respondents), the conversion-to-LHD learning curve may well be steep and a significant amount of practice may be needed to gain similar familiarity to driving RHD.

 

(For motorhome novices I suggest that the "Go Motorhoming" and "The Motorcaravan Manual" books (see www.VicariousBooks.co.uk) would be good investments.)

[grocer jack]

Thanks for the responses. Like everything in life, there is no easy answer to the question! I used to ask my dad anything I wanted to know and he always seemed to have an answer, but he's gone to the great motohome in the sky so I guess I'll have to grow up and make my own decision. Surely there should, by now, be a government minister who could tell me what to do, after all they liketo interfere every other activity. Whoopps! getting a little bit political there! ;-)

[Randonneur]

We have a RHD Discovery and a LHD Fiesta both old vehicles and the only problem I have found is in the Fiesta, even after 9 years of owning, I still go for the seatbelt to the wrong side. I drove the Fiesta in the UK for 2 years before bringing it back to France permanently. We now hav e a LHD motorhome and again no problems, as with any vehicle you just have to keep your wits about you as the saying goes.

 

By the way, our neighbour moved from the UK to here with a RHD Laika with the habitation door on the continental side and there isn't a problem at all.

 

Sylvia

[Guest peter]

My van is LHD and I just get in it and go, no problem. It just becomes instinctive. I find it easier to drive in the U.K as well, as it's easier to see the edge of the road when going down narrow lanes Etc. Only problem is roundabouts, where you have to pull up at the right angle to see oncoming traffic. It's also advantageous to have blind spot mirrors for pulling out to overtake. I'm also fitting a rear view camera which will help as well. It's well worth the money you save on purchase. If you want a LHD buy it abroad as it will be cheaper, so if you then trade it in here you wont lose as much. I would certainly have another left hooker.

[Guest bil h]

And..........I would always go RHD. Find it so much easier.

[Brian Kirby]

grocer jack - 2007-03-14 5:03 PM Thanks for the responses. Like everything in life, there is no easy answer to the question! I used to ask my dad anything I wanted to know and he always seemed to have an answer, but he's gone to the great motohome in the sky so I guess I'll have to grow up and make my own decision. Surely there should, by now, be a government minister who could tell me what to do, after all they liketo interfere every other activity. Whoopps! getting a little bit political there! ;-)

Robert

As you can see above, the real answer is to experiment.  If you haven't driven a motorhome sized vehicle before, that alone can take a bit of getting used to, especially the height.  If you haven't driven much outside UK before, that too, can take a while to adjust to.  If you've never driven lhd before, well, that can also take a while to get used to. 

So, if you get my drift, driving a left hand drive for the first time, in a motorhome for the first time, abroad for the first time, just might not be the best place to start!

On the other hand, if you've crossed at least one of those bridges before, and were comfortable, I don't think you'll have too much difficulty adapting to the missing ones.  You'll just need to set yourself manageable steps.  Maybe hire a rhd van to get used to the size before embarking in a lhd van, and driving either for a while in UK before trying Europe.

The really overriding advantage of lhd is financial, if you import from Europe.  Driving lhd in Europe is easier once you get used to being on the right of the road, but it isn't that much easier, and for much of the time it really makes little to no difference which side the steering wheel is.