new to this

[Johnn]

Hi can anyone tell me if planing to use a MH both here and abroard is it best to get right hand or left hand drive also about to buy are first MH and would like to get a hymer 694 second hand could anyone tell me if this is a good choice (?) John

[BGD]

Welcome to the madhouse Johnn!

 

Mine is LHD, although we live in Spain permanently, so it's of course ideal for us here anyway.

I really don't think I'd like to be driving a RHD over here for any length of time.....but I guess a lot will depend for you on:

 

A. What proportion of your travelling time will be dedicated to UK versus continental driving.

 

B. The relative purchase prices of various 2nd hand vans that you may be looking at in the weeks to come.

 

As I understand it, from other threads and other forums, LHD vans are generally a bit cheaper 2nd hand in the UK than RHD drive ones - so a decent saving in the purschase cost may well make up for any inconvenience on UK roads, particualrly if you are going to be spending a lot of your time on continental roads anyway. It's a good price-negotiating point for you at any rate!!

 

Don't forget also to consider real-world fuel economy when considering various vans if you are planning on doing big mileage touring.....you really can get financially slaughtered on running costs if you buy a petrol engined, or an uneconomical deisel engined vehicle.

 

Spares/repairs may also be an issue for you when buying 2nd hand - in our case we deliberately went for a van-derived motorhome rather than an A-class, and it's already proved it's worth as spares for our (old dog of a van) Peugeot J5 based vehicle are plentiful and cheap, and servicing/repairs can be done by almost any garage anywhere in the EU.

 

 

 

There are also several other motorhome forums where you can ask for advice from older hands too, "motorhomefun.co.uk" is one good (and free) site that has started up recently and seems to me to be a good 'un.

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce.

 

 

[Guest caraprof]

Johnn - 2007-09-23 2:09 PM Hi can anyone tell me if planing to use a MH both here and abroard is it best to get right hand or left hand drive also about to buy are first MH and would like to get a hymer 694 second hand could anyone tell me if this is a good choice (?) John

It really doesn't matter too much in my opinion. If you're going to use it abroad most, LHD may be an advantage but if you're using it just as much in the U.K. then whichever set-up you have, it will only be perfect for half of the time.

Presumably you'll be driving with a partner? If you are then it's not going to be difficult if your steering wheel is on the wrong side occasionally for the country in question.

Finally, if you are going to be using it equally here or on the Continent I would forget the LHD/RHD question and simply try to find the best example of the Hymer that you mention and having found it, live with whichever side the steering wheel is on.

[Johnn]

Many thanks for that and its good to talk to orther MH uses and cant wait to meet some of you people out there .

[Rowan Lee]

Ours is LHD, for no particular reason, and so far we have been too busy using it in the UK to get abroad. Two problems: first is overtaking, but there are usually two of us in the van so that's OK. Second is turning left, but again if there are two in the van it's OK. Otherwise, you must remember to aim straight at the junction so you can see to the right, bearing in mind that little so and so's squeeze up the inside if you give them the slightest opportunity and despite the fact that you are indicating to turn left. Once on my own the road layout was such that it forced me to line up at a 45 degree angle and there was no way I could see to the right, even through the side kitchen window. I had to get the guy in the car behind to get out and wave me out. Not good!

 

On the good side, being new to it, we found road positioning easy because we could always see exactly where the nearside kerb or wall was in relation to the van. Then a few professional lessons taught us how to use the mirrors properly. Yes, you would think after 30 years driving we would know how to use mirrors properly, but to have an instructor show you the techniques was such an enlightenment!

 

When we first got the van we thought we had made a terrible mistake. Hated it. To big, everything went wrong (not the van's fault, our ignorance), it was a nightmare. But after the driving instruction and having got over the steep learning curve, we love it. Still learning, of course, four years later .....

 

Good luck, enjoy!