Remember the moment (1 Viewer)

[Big bus man]

When we were tuggers we were eager to know how the other half rolled so we hired a motorhome from Just Go Motorhomes. One wet October day we visited the Heights of Abraham in Derby, an interesting day in the three caves, at closing time the crowds descended via the chairlift and on to their vehicles. All trying to leave at the same time the queues were long and slow moving so we decided to light the gas and get the kettle on. Still raining outside but warm and cosy inside half hour later we made our way back to site.
It was being able to experience something as simple as that which put dreams of one day owning our own motorhome, now we live the dream


What prompted you to buy a motorhome?

 

[Munchie]

We were camping in a 6 man tent at St Austel.
Stephs cousin visited us for a week in his motorhome!
Then I got the age old female war cry!!!


"I WANT ONE"

The rest as they say "is history"!!!

 

[Larrynwin]

We had a boat for many years, but always the same stretch of water and uk weather.
In 2004 we had a 3week holiday in a hired RV in the USA , that was it, on our return sold the boat and bought our first of three RVs.
Now downsized to a Hymer.
Have since had further RV hols over the water, fabulous

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[Chipster]

Wanted one for ages. Hired one. Loved it then bought one!! Was gonna be a retirement thing but decided do it now while we still get about OK.

 

[Stroppy Bird]

What prompted you to buy a motorhome?

Spending a night in -15 degree France in a roof tent on top of a Discovery.

In the morning we couldn't get the cover back on the roof tent as I had folded it under the tent base and it was frozen in this shape. An hour and a half later after much swearing we finally got it zipped back in place and decided that if we were going to carry on with off-season camping trips we really ought to look into getting a camper van.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

We did Glastonbury in a tent, both said never again, hired a MH for Beautiful Days a couple of months later, then bought our first one a little while after that.

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[mitzimad]

festival in shropshire got drowned putting the tent up sunburnt the next day and drowned putting it down was damp all weekend and decided camping was getting to hard

 

[Baycott]

We were tuggers for 20 years but found that our needs were changing. Instead of being "planted" in the same place for 1,2 or 3 weeks we wanted to tour more. This was proving a pain in the butt with the caravan so decided to give a motorhome a try. Best decision we ever made. Should have done it years ago.

 

[wasp]

We went from tents to caravans, to camper vans, then campervans and caravan, then VW camper
then motorhome and now C class RV

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[parknride]

Usual progression, started with the carefree camping tent holidays in France, bought our own tent, Les took his dad to NEC to buy a moho for his retirement and came back with a caravan us! £4k ex demo, no hot water, and a floor pump for the water. Then a bigger van, then a smaller van, then first moho, rest is history.

 

[Badknee]

We were tuggers for 20 years but found that our needs were changing. Instead of being "planted" in the same place for 1,2 or 3 weeks we wanted to tour more. This was proving a pain in the butt with the caravan so decided to give a motorhome a try. Best decision we ever made. Should have done it years ago.

Exactly what we did and the same reasons, planted on a beach when the kids were younger, fly away holidays when they got older, now just the two of us we want to tour and it's hard as a tugger.

 

[Rob and Val]

When we are away from home we always like to explore. Before we got our motorhome we would drive by car to an area and then stay in a hotel or B&B. Then every day we would travel out to an attraction or location and then travel all the way back to our accommodation. It seemed ridiculous to keep going out from A to B and back to A and the next day driving from A to C and back to A etc etc. We realised that if we had a motorhome we could explore as much as we wanted without having to return to the same base.

Well, that was the idea anyway. As it turns out, we now travel a great deal further and explore places we would never have dreamed of going to previously. This year we've been to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. Also this year we've driven 500 miles to the West Highlands of Scotland plus visited various places in the UK.

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[lorger]

we had a caravan and loved it, always talked about getting a MH sometime in the future. Then we went to Southport for 10 days an done a few hundred miles driving to visit somewhere then having to drive back again at night and it rained all the time. Once home we decided to go for a MH so we could spend a couple of days somewhere then move on so actually doing less driving. That was 8 years ago and will be on our third one next month.

 

[Eddystone]

We were going to trade the caravan in when buying the moho but the trade in was ridiculously low so we kept it. After all, we didn't know if we would like motorhoming after 30yrs with a caravan.
We still have the caravan, 10yrs on, and have used it every year when we have taken our grand-children for summer hols. It's a lot easier to take a car to the beach or visitor attraction and then come back to more space in the awning on the site.
Brian

 

[makems]

I spent a significant part of my working life on airplanes or in airport lounges. I Visited so many wonderful places but frequently only saw the inside of airports, taxis, hotels and meeting rooms. Whenever it was possible I would take my wife and organise it so could have a weekend or more away combined with a business trip.
However we always wanted to see more than just city centres and tourist attractions.
We long had a dream of taking our car across to Scandinavia, across into Russia, down through Eastern Europe to the Black Sea then across to Greece and back up through Western Europe staying in hotels and B&Bs.
Then we thought about it more and decided a MH was a far better idea et voila! The day after I retired we went looking for Our first van and two days later we owned one. Never looked back since and now on our third van.
We love it and although we haven't been to Scandinavia, Russia or any of Eastern Europe (yet) we have seen quite a lot of Western Europe and Morocco.
Love it, love it, love it!

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[makems]

Oh and Gwen does ALL of the driving because my eyesight is very poor.

 

[Jaws]

No real idea how we started.. Was sitting talking one day and thought we would have a go at caravaning
Tow car and snail duly bought ( cheap ! ) and we went away for a long weekend with friends
That was the only time it was used..
Decided we liked the idea but not really the average snail puller as an awful lot seemed snooty and a bit up their own importance.

Tow car and snail sold for a small profit the next week and the first van ( a total pile of poo that never actually left Thetford while we had it ) was on the drive within a week..
Realised quickly it was indeed a bit of a heap so that was sold back on ( again a small profit made ) and our first 'proper' van was in place the following week !
That was a 1987 ( I think ) 6 berth Hobby that took us all over Europe.
Never really looked back since then

 

[Teuchter]

Last year after 30 plus years tugging SWMBO demanded a MoHo!!

Life goes on!!

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[jockaneezer]

We tugged for 15 years and everytime we went anywhere, Val would say "this towing lark's rubbish, we should get a motorhome" She eventually wore me down and she was right

 

[DanielFord]

Our story is pretty similar to the OP. We were scratching our heads for holiday ideas, both my wife and I had become totally cheesed off with airports and all the security checks, then all the hanging around do nothing in the airport!
Also we had a little daughter to consider, at the time she was only 3, not much fun for her in the airport. Strangely it was our daughter who gave us the idea! Whilst she was sat watching Peppa Pig, the episode where they go on holiday in a camper van came on. She sat transfixed by it, and when it finished, she announced to me and my wife "I would like to go on holiday in a camper van!"
It was that light bulb moment, so we researched the costs of renting one, and came up with a spectacular holiday plan! Our first destination was the Barcelona GP, bizarrely it was the year that Maldonado won! From there we pootled around Europe, making stops in various countries on our way back to England.
Well that was it, we were hooked, and every holiday after that, we rented a motorhome, and off we went.
Anyway, last year, we had a little windfall, and the first thing my wife suggested we buy was a motorhome. So we did!

 

[Detnor]

Back in the 1980's I moved jobs onto a cruise liner with a car deck. We carried passengers and vehicles, during the summer it was mainly to Alaska with RV's. At first, it was just a headache, I'd never worked anything with vehicles, but soon I found that the RV owners were fascinating. They would spend hours discussing topics like waste water, emptying toilets, extras they had fitted, all sound familiar. I ended up thinking this would suit me, anything to get away from cruising. I was hooked, bought a van conversion then a Kon Tiki in 1990 and still enjoying it.

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[keith]

So in answer to the OP original question ..... we all did the same.

It must be something in the genes.

 

[Big bus man]

Some interesting replies, seems not all have made the motorhome route via the usual tent/caravan path, how some have preferred tugging until they were tempted to try a motorhome but it is clear that nobody feels they have made the wrong decision moving up also many of you made the move much earlier than retirement.

 

[Jabberwocky]

We had been talking about it for years but with the money from the sale of our house sat in the bank we finally got one after lugging all our stuff from the car park to the camping area at the Isle of Wight festival, and after about a mile of much sweating and swearing we looked at each other and decided never to camp under canvas ever again.

Next year will be so much more civilised at IOW and Glastonbury

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