Caroline Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Further to our research on buying a Motor home, we are going to our first Exhibition on Saturday at Shepton Mallet. An ideal time to see a large range of Motorhomes. We know the questions to ask when buying a caravan but what would you suggest we ask about the motorhomes we will be seeing? What are you personal vital questions? Hands will be firmly in pockets and credit cards left at home......! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Hi Caroline, Always ask the salesman to demonstrate setting up the beds. If the vehicle you are looking at is not a large coachbuilt (eg a panel van conversion), make sure he is inside with all doors closed - as you would be if it was raining! Regards Cattwg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Personally I would not rely on a dealer or salesman to answer any questions adequately. It really is a mater of doing your homework and finding what's best for your needs.... Buy in haste repent at leisure*-) a good place to start is with a van with a GRP shell as opposed to an aluminum one. GRP tougher and more damage resistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Not so much ask Caroline but make sure that you look and double look . I made a big mistake and bought and I did not realise little things like studying the cupboards and after we bought realised I couldnt even get a bottle of HP stood up in them . Think when you have found the one you like that you think will suit your lifestyle Tear it apart ....not literally sit in it and imagine everything cooking space cupboards shower toilet . I know the men like a poweful engine but on the inside you have to live with it . I guess I,m trying to say take your time research and research again . Good luck . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 It seems you may be contemplating something largish, probably an A class, with which you wish to tow a car on a trailer. You want to tour far and wide across Europe, and also to take your van to the USA. You have caravanned, but not motorhomed. It seems to me, on those counts, that a left hand drive vehicle would probably be best, probably towing a left hand drive car. I'm not familiar with the Shepton show, but wouldn't expect there to be very rich pickings in LHD A Class vans.By (apparently) opting for a largish van you'll restrict yourselves, largely, to travelling on main roads and motorways. You'll drive the van to a site of some description, jump in your Smarty, and buzz around the area sight seeing. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but this seems like reversed caravanning to me, and not necessarily the way to get the best from a motorhome. I.e. big van tows small car, rather than largish car tows big van. If I'm right (health warning as above!) I do think this may be a mistake, and may lead to disappointment.I'd therefore suggest you should try driving and using a motorhome for a while, ideally hiring one for a week or two, to see how it compares to a trailer caravan in practice, and how you get on with it, before you buy or even finalise your choices.I'm inclined to agree with Eddie and Michele, it is not all that "safe" to put your faith in what the salesmen say. They often don't motorhome themselves, have a hazy grasp of how a van would be used, aren't that technically genned up, and work on commission. Not all, of course, but the only way you can detect bulls**t is through your own level of knowledge - and that is where the research comes in. You are better off reading the magazines, getting a copy of Go Motorhoming Europe and reading that, and then accumulating and studying as many brochures, and especially their technical supplements, as you can stomach.What I think you might find particularly useful, in view of your apparent need to tow, is to be sure your shortlisted vans have an adequate Gross Train Weight to tow your chosen car and trailer, that the vans have a realistic payload (but check very carefully how it is calculated) and that your driving licenses are suitable for you to drive the resulting vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Brian Yep I think you have assessed our plans fairly accurately including the USA bit (are you a mind reader or do we know you). We do like to explore and hense the reason for the tow plus it is easier to get around in a small car than in the monster we drive, a motorhome appears to be safer to drive than Car and Van, but i guess there will be some comments on that. We like the fact that it is easier to stop for a short while with water and waste on board, so going further is a bit easier. Can you buy LHD in this country, i must admit i had thought about that. Again i guess there are 4's and againsts. (!) I really apreciate all your thougths the more information i can gather the better as like you say this is an expensive buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Blimey! how does he do that! lol Perhaps a crystal ball..........:D Caroline, yes you can buy LHD in this country but better to identify van you want here and purchase from Belgium or Germany and save approx 25/30% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Caroline - 2008-01-10 12:58 PM Brian Yep I think you have assessed our plans fairly accurately including the USA bit (are you a mind reader or do we know you). We do like to explore and hense the reason for the tow plus it is easier to get around in a small car than in the monster we drive, a motorhome appears to be safer to drive than Car and Van, but i guess there will be some comments on that. We like the fact that it is easier to stop for a short while with water and waste on board, so going further is a bit easier. Can you buy LHD in this country, i must admit i had thought about that. Again i guess there are 4's and againsts. (!) I really apreciate all your thougths the more information i can gather the better as like you say this is an expensive buy. Not really so difficult, I just searched all your posts to date, read them, and proceeded accordingly!However, what I'm trying to say is that I think you're transposing your caravaning experience to motorhoming without modification. That, I think, is leading you to reason as you do, but in truth I think you need to start with a clean sheet. Forget car/caravan practice, and look afresh at motorhomes, because they give their best when used in a different way.Generally, you tow a caravan to its destination, then tour around in the car. The motorhome, I would say, works best when the touring is done as the trip progresses. Instead of stopping here or there until an area is exhausted, and then driving for a day to the next honeypot, one tends to drive for a few hours (sometimes very few), pull into the location to be visited, look around it, and then move on briefly for the overnight halt, and so on. This approach breaks long journeys down into several short ones, builds in the meal and exercise stops, provides added interest as you travel, and allows for visits to shops etc as you go. I wouldn't be dogmatic about this, and I know many others do just blast from A to B and then stop but, for me, they rather miss out on the greatest advantage of a motorhome. That advantage, in my opinion, is its autonomy. You travel with water, sanitation, drainage, electricity and gas. You occasionally need to take on, or drop off, some of the above, but most of the time you do not. Your van is usable wherever you are, so wherever you are is where you use it. The key, inevitably my opinion again, is to seek out a van that won't, because of its size, exclude you from the sorts of places you think you'd like to visit, while providing enough space inside for how you want to live. If you get that balance right you should be able to dump the tow car and still visit everything you want to see. It is a difficult compromise to hit, and few people agree where the balance lies. However, once you work it all out, and assuming you get it right for you, the world is your oyster. All I would add is not to expect to hit pay-dirt with your first van, and so leave headroom in your financial plans for at least one change. Look at the dealerships, and ponder why there are so many relatively new vans for sale. Mostly, these are other people's mistakes!Re LHD no, not so many to choose from in UK, though they do exist, but, as Eddie says, importing will generally show significant savings over the cost of the same make/model in UK. LHD does sell for less that RHD in the UK, but my impression is that the overall loss in value, year on year, for a LHD van bought new in France/Germany and sold/traded secondhand in UK, is less than the loss on the same van in RHD form bought new in UK and sold/traded second hand in UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Buy an A5 Note book. Read the hints and tips on any / all Motor home furums you can find. At the front of the book put things you want / like / wish for. Turn book over and at the back ( now being the new front ) put all the things you hate/ do not want and definate no-no's. Fill up each end of the book as you read articles and or tour around. Querky way to do it, but it works when checking off "the Choice" you have made. Rgds No such thing as the perfect M/home just the best fit ! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I think Brian has hit on the important difference between towing and motorhoming. For the caravanner, as for many other kinds of holidaymaker, you think of the place you sleep as the place you "spend your holiday," and the places you go during the daytime are "visits" or "excursions" or "daytrips" from there. For the motorhomer, you "spend your holiday" in a region, or even a country, and the various places you sleep are just that - somewhere to spend the night, in between all the things you saw/did, places you went, during the day. These may be campsites, "aires" with some facilities, or just safe overnight parking places, but "at the end of the day" that's when you use them! So what kind of holidays do you enjoy? If the "towcar" idea means you really prefer basing yourself somewhere for a while and raiding the surrounding area, you might be better off going back to towing a caravan - why carry two engines around the country/world when you only use one at a time? But if the more "nomadic" style is what you're looking for now, then Brian's advice to look for a van in which you can visit all those places you want to see might be best for you, even if that means some compromises on space inside. Whatever you decide, enjoy yourselves! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 With a motorhome if stopping in an particular area for a while a little more forward planning is required. Best to select a site within walking/cycling distance of a town/village with decent transport links. you can always hire a car and use taxi's as well - far less expensive then towing and less grief. Motorhoming requires a change of mindset and Brian's tip's are spot on..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 I think that it is best to be able to have your cake and eat it, it has been interesting reading your comments and has given us subjects to debate in our quest. I can see the reasoning in not towing but as the Motorhome will be my transport i would rather have a very small economical car for round town and non optional taxi service. As we will spoil our selves and have a Motor home and Car we might as well make sure that it can be towed for those trips were we might stay longer at a destination. Thanks for all your comments much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddie Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 You might still read this before going to the show as our Adriatik 660sp is up for sale and we are going to the show today. It is a 2006, LHD with towhitch, 6 berth, loads of extra's and immaculate vehicle,etc.. £32.500 ONO as a January offer !! If interested please ring me on my mobile 07885 788 322 and we can meet up. Kind regards Maddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Le Thou Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Hi Caroline Not wanting to go too far off topic but we use a Smart car on a trailer which we always take,and its superb, ok it does slow you down a tad and the mpg drops ever so slightly but on the plus side it hasn,t restricted the size of motorhome we own because of the fact that we would need transport once we arrived on site. It is a personal choice as always and there are people out there who prefer smaller van type conversions as opposed to MH / trailer/car bit its whatever floats your boat. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 So Caroline, what vans have you on your short list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.