Hello all, (1 Viewer)

Johno1

Free Member
May 10, 2010
24
5
North East England,
Funster No
11,524
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
newbie, ex caravaner
First post on any forum so please bear with me. At present my wife and I are regular
caravaners of over 30 years but I have started to hanker after a motorhome the older
I get. Plan is to retire from work in a years time ( God willing) and set up with a new
outfit, knowing nothing about motorhomes I am hoping to be guided/advised from
people with lots of knowledge and experience on this forum, for example I have read
articles here about leaky roofs! is this because owners climb the rear ladder and walk
about up there ? or is it just one of the numerous faults that sicken you to the core
after you have maintained everything meticuously and still get this damage? hope this
is not to much at one time?
Regards Phill.
 
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J

Johno1

Free Member
May 10, 2010
24
5
North East England,
Funster No
11,524
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
newbie, ex caravaner
Thanks JohnCross

Thanks for the quick response, am in and started now and no doubt will take you up on the questions.
Regards Phill

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chatter

Free Member
Aug 3, 2009
3,689
937
cheshire
Funster No
7,812
MH
5th wheel
Exp
10+
Hi and welcome to Fun
Dont worry about questions it has often been said on here that
the only daft/stupid question is the question you didnt ask
 

Onderweg

Funster
Jul 17, 2008
508
240
Vlissingen, Holland
Funster No
3,336
MH
C Class
Exp
As of April 2008
Hi Phil,

Welcome to this forum, hope you will enjoy it.

We are camping ever since we got married, first we started with tents, than switched to a caravan and in 2008 we bought a camper and are very happy with it. Ours is 1991 built and is in top condition (it has to because i have no technical knowledge at all:cry:)

I hope to retire in a years time as well and will enjoy it even more :thumb:

Before we bougth ours we spent a lot of time to define the inner layout. We think that is very important because you are stuck with it :ROFLMAO:
We for instance wanted a fixed bed (hate fixing the bed each day) didnt want a bed above the driver seat (fuel consumption will be higher and i will never climb into it) and so on. We have seen a lot of camper interiors before we made that decision.

Reading that you have a lot of experience with a caravan you will understand what i mean.

Second important thing is to get one which is maintained properly, not only engine wise but all must be in good order. We have had the camper tested by two people, one for the engine and one for the rest.

Hope this helps a little

Paul and Ineke
 

dellwood33

Free Member
Apr 25, 2009
0
877
Newcastle
Funster No
6,426
MH
italian crap
Exp
too long
Hi Phil and welcome to the Funster forum ::bigsmile:
flyingwelcome

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strathspey

Free Member
May 19, 2009
62
4
North Yorkshire
Funster No
6,780
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
4 years
Hello All

At present my wife and I are regular
caravaners of over 30 years but I have started to hanker after a motorhome

Hello Phill,

Welcome to the site. You will find it a great fund of information from friendly, like-minded people.
Like you, we had been caravanners for many years (in fact, our old caravan now resides permanently in Provence), but 6 years ago we decided to become motorhomers and have never regretted the change.
It makes much more sense than investing a lot of money in some holiday property; the total flexibility of motorhoming (particularly in Europe) and the freedome of choice it offers, are big positives.
Be interested to hear what choice you decide on.
 

imprint

Free Member
Jul 14, 2009
1,087
13
Funster No
7,497
Welcome, Phil to the wacky, wise, wonderful world of the Funsters!

Onderweg is absolutely right in his advice, tho we arrived at a different conclusion.

We camped for many many years before the first shoots of maturity arrived. Before actually taking the plunge, we dropped in to Johns Cross, where we've bought camping stuff for years. We've always been pleased with their produce and general style, so we forgive Peter ...(Although we live in Scotland, we have to drive down to Sussex regularly.)

Anyway, we made it clear we were not yet buying, but just asking for advice. They were superb, spending a huge amount of time showing us round, talking us through various layouts. As there are only the two of us, and as we are experienced campers,we didn't need something super big. Fuel consumption is important, which ruled out an overcab Luton layout.

As we were used to making up a bed, there was no trouble in having seats convertible into a bed (very easy in practice). The Senior Partner cooks, and she wanted a rear kitchen, so everything fell into place.

We settled on a a Swift Ace Capri, but, as we said, we were not ready to buy. Then, some months later, Scilla found one on e-bay, same model and year as the one we were shown. She waited till it failed to sell, we then went to see it, and bought it. ( We did go back to JC, but they couldn't match the price.)

Their best advice of all was to get the interior decor right - you can't change that.

One other thing is, from us as newcomers, don't get seduced by extras that you might not want. Bide your time in fitting things you need, once you've done a few trips.

All the best!

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hallii

Free Member
Apr 23, 2010
61
1
Worcestershire
Funster No
11,214
Exp
20 or so
Hello Phil, and welcome.

We did just what you are thinking of.

Retired and bought a motorhome after years of tenting and caravanning.

You will enjoy a motorhome very much. We do.

Just keep looking around until you see something you both like, for some people big is beautiful, but not for me, we are under 6 metres.

Make a list of requirements, would you be happy with a Fiat/Peugeot chassis or is Ford better? (I bought Ford). Fixed bed or make one up, end lounge, side kitchen, end kitchen, low or high profile.... the list goes on and on.

Hallii
 
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Johno1

Free Member
May 10, 2010
24
5
North East England,
Funster No
11,524
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
newbie, ex caravaner
Thanks,

Thanks for the replies, sorry its been a few days, night shifts, which are work and sleep for me. Its obvious from the replies that what I have been considering is common to us all, layouts etc so I will be able to pick some brains on here and I will go to the technical areas for advice on the motor part of it all. cheers

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DBSilverfox

Free Member
May 13, 2010
583
97
Nottingham
Funster No
11,570
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
Since May 2010
A belated welcome from me too. you will get loads of advice here - the biggest problem is trying to keep up with saying thankyou!

David
 

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