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Mar 12, 2012
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Hello everyone. We joined the forum a couple of weeks ago and have been reading and digesting as much as possible. We are life-time (virtually) caravanners, but soon to be virgin motorhomers. Thank you to everyone who takes the trouble to post on here, the information is invaluable. :thumb:

We have paid a deposit on our new to us 4 year old motorhome and are counting down the days until we take ownership around the 23rd of this month. Is it just me or is this process as fraught as buying a house?:whatthe:

We have already booked a couple of ferry crossings for June and end of August, so can't wait to get going! Don't know where to yet, but that's the point isn't it. :Smile:

Will no doubt be asking lots of questions as we try and learn the ropes.

Hazel.
 

DESCO

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For a start welcome to MH Fun.

Don't forget what you have learnt caravanning, it's a good start, and has taken you years to build up. Motorhoming is similar and a lot will be handy.

Any questions ask away you have a wealth of hard won experience on this forum, and people willing to help.

Best of luck in your new venture.
 

JOHNSTEY

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Our fourth glorious year!
Hi and Welcome.Enjoy your new motorhome:thumb:
John and Carole
 

hilldweller

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Is it just me or is this process as fraught as buying a house?:whatthe:
Hazel.

You are indeed buying a house - with wheels.

But I don't think there is any significant difference to a caravan so no problems for you.

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alfandM

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Thank you everyone for your kind welcome. :Smile:

Hazel.
last but not least, Welcome from us up in SWEDEN, enjoy your motor home travels, MHing is roughly the same as caravaning only it as a engine in it, and your more quickly mobile, if your travels at any time up here in scandinavia and we can give any adviice just drop us a post!!!, again Welcome to FUN Enjoy!:thumb:Alf&M.
 

stcyr

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Welcome Hazel & John!


:france:




Peter & Caroline
 
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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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You are indeed buying a house - with wheels.

But I don't think there is any significant difference to a caravan so no problems for you.

Well that's we thought, but it's surprising how much difference there is. The caravan was relatively straightforward to our eyes - you choose your site, get set up and that's that. The systems are fairly straightforward. But when you want to move around more and be self-sufficient, then the systems seem to get more complex - solar panels, inverters etc. It does seem like a lot to get your head around, but we are learning!

Hazel.

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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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last but not least, Welcome from us up in SWEDEN, enjoy your motor home travels, MHing is roughly the same as caravaning only it as a engine in it, and your more quickly mobile, if your travels at any time up here in scandinavia and we can give any adviice just drop us a post!!!, again Welcome to FUN Enjoy!:thumb:Alf&M.

Thank you alfandM! We will indeed be travelling around Scandinavia, but probably not for a couple of years yet. It is at the top of our list of places to explore. But we will wait until we can travel for longer periods and really get to know a place. The most we can be away for at the moment is 2 weeks - not long enough really, but we may well be dropping you a line when the time comes. :Smile:

Hazel.
 
Sep 4, 2011
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:welcome:and congratulations on your new van, picking it up on

ST.GEORGES DAY:beer:

Rob & Jane
 
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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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:welcome:and congratulations on your new van, picking it up on

ST.GEORGES DAY:beer:

Rob & Jane

Well spotted, we're so wound up about getting everything in place, insurance, storage etc., we hadn't even noticed! Makes a change for us, as we normally seem to make any major purchases on the 13th! We bought our house on the 13th and we live at no. 13! Good job we're not supersticious!

Hazel.

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Welcome

We're coming to Lincolnshire soon for the first time - I hope it's nice! :thumb:

Catherine
 
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hazelandjohn
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We're coming to Lincolnshire soon for the first time - I hope it's nice! :thumb:

Catherine

Hello Catherine,
Probably not the best person to ask, lol! We live in South Lincs just north of Peterborough on the border with Cambridgeshire. So our local stomping ground tends to be Stamford, Rutland, Cambridge and the North Norfolk Coast. I’ve only been to Lincoln itself a couple of times, but it has an impressive cathedral and is well worth a visit. On the coast there are the seaside towns like Skegness – ideal for families, but we enjoy hill walking, so escape to the Lakes, Wales and Scotland whenever we can! It’s very flat here on the edge of the Fens, but it has its own charm – big skies, mainly!
Hope you enjoy your visit. :Smile:
Hazel.
 

hilldweller

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You are indeed buying a house - with wheels.

But I don't think there is any significant difference to a caravan so no problems for you.

Actually, there is.......

For any given length there is much more space in a caravan, no engine, no cab.

I've pondered this long and hard. You get so much accommodation for so little in a caravan, are they the better solution ? The answer is in how long you stop. If you want to burn the miles obviously a MH wins but if you want to wander and chill out a week at a time ( called "holiday" ) then a caravan gives you more room and transport. I've often said to myself, "all I've done is drive". When we did Morocco I drove something like 15 of the 40 days. Was that a holiday, no, it was an adventure and I needed a holiday afterwards.

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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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If When we did Morocco I drove something like 15 of the 40 days. Was that a holiday, no, it was an adventure and I needed a holiday afterwards.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean! The reason we sold our caravan and bought a motorhome, was so we could have more of an adventure. We are explorers by nature and when 'on holiday' in the caravan, we were still driving every day - just not able to sit around doing nothing for long. We used a lot of fuel doing this as we were always driving around in a four wheel drive vehicle.

The way we see it, with a motorhome at least you have the choice whether to roam from place to place, a night here, a night there but with a caravan, it is much more difficult to stop, so going on to a site is the only real option.

I must admit, that we expect to use the motorhome in Europe more than the UK, but with the realtively cheap price of ferry crossings at the moment this doesn't seem like an unreasonable proposition. To use in the UK, we probably see ourselves towing a small car in the long run, but with the added advantage of having a small economical car to run around in rather than a thirsty 4x4.

So its horses for courses, as they say - we've thought about it for long enough and the only way to find out is to try it.

Hazel,
 

alfandM

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you are right, as we say you only get out of life what you put in, and it is horses for coarses, some like MHing rather than towing a caravan, your be surprised how many iv'e met on our travels who can't reverse even a caravan, so yes it is horses for coarses, like us you seem to like the great out doors, thats why we moved up here to scandinavia, plus its a great place to be on ya own when wild camping! so enjoy your life in your new adventures and one of these days we might meet up. Cheers Alf:thumb:
 

hilldweller

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So its horses for courses, as they say - we've thought about it for long enough and the only way to find out is to try it.
Hazel,

Perhaps you'll post your findings after a few trips, it would be good to hear the view of a tugger.

As to towing a car with a MH, especially on an A-Frame, how absurd is that ? Two vehicles wearing out.

I know nothing about caravans but from what I've seen you don't have to have a gaz-guzzling 4x4 to tow one. I suspect your 4x4 will seem quite economical compared to the MH ( unless you had a V8 Jeep ) you can expect around 25mpg.

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WynandJean

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You have probably already realised this but the big difference you'll find once you've crossed the chanel is the availability of 'Aires', these are stopovers which can be found in abundance (most towns and villages have one). They are much more suited to seeing what is there locally over a day or two then moving on. You do not (indeed cannot) book them. Just turn up and if full or you don't fancy it you just go to the next. Many of them are in lovely locations and there will be facilities for emptying and refilling, some also have electricity. Just be sure that they are motorhome aires - for 'Campingcars' not the motorway aires.

As I said many are in lovely locations and are provided by the locals to encourage motorhome tourists to visit their towns (contrast that with this country). They are usually just a few Euros a night and many are free to use. We even stayed on one last year that was free, including free electric! alongside a lovely pool teeming with fish. It was really nice.

I'm rambling....time to go.

Enjoy your new toy, you'll always get answers to your queries on here, they're a helpful bunch.

Wyn
 
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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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Perhaps you'll post your findings after a few trips, it would be good to hear the view of a tugger.

As to towing a car with a MH, especially on an A-Frame, how absurd is that ? Two vehicles wearing out.

I know nothing about caravans but from what I've seen you don't have to have a gaz-guzzling 4x4 to tow one. I suspect your 4x4 will seem quite economical compared to the MH ( unless you had a V8 Jeep ) you can expect around 25mpg.

We expect to get about the same economy from our motorhome as our 4x4 towing the van. It isn't really about saving money on fuel but about a different way of travelling. But if like we used to do, you site a caravan for a week or more then you do soon guzzle the fuel running around in a 4x4. My point was that at least with a motorhome you have the option of towing a small car on a trailer and can have a sited holiday if that's what you feel like doing. With a caravan, it is much more difficult to stay a night here or there and explore, so a motorhome is more versatile, especially if like us you intend making use of the Aires in France, for example. It certainly isn't a cheaper option! We have no illusions on that front. If you want cheap, then buy a caravan.

Towing a caravan isn't for everyone either. We've had a few scares when the van has nearly got away from us. It doesn't take much to unbalance even with careful loading. An uneven road surface, or a lorry passing too closely can give you quite a scare. You will also find that other road users are less than helpful when they see a caravan, especially trying to join motorways or turning out of junctions.

As I said earlier, it is about a different experience. If we don't enjoy motorhoming then we would certainly look at buying a carvan again. If you never try, you will never know.

Hazel.
 
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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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You have probably already realised this but the big difference you'll find once you've crossed the chanel is the availability of 'Aires', these are stopovers which can be found in abundance (most towns and villages have one).

Thank you Wyn, yes this is one of the main reasons we are trying motorhoming. We have caravanned all our lives and have had some lovely holidays with our children especially in europe. But it always involved going at peak times with a dash to our location for our two weeks away, staying over on motorway aires (I know a big no, no, but we did this for years and lived to tell the tale along with thousands of others!).

We would just love to be able to cross the Channel and roam without too much pre-planning. We don't have to go away at busy times now and are looking forward to the not too distance future when we can stay as long as we like and get to see all those places which might not warrant a weeks stay, but are worth having a look at - something we could never be bothered to do with the caravan - it just seemed like too much hassle!

Hazel.

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slobadoberbob

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hi and welcome .. my two penny worth

Hi and welcome... been following the post... my two penny worth.

I have owned a caravan in the past and hauled it with an American Day van.. bags of power and never knew it was there.. but.....

Always a but...........

I hated the caravan.. loved my day van..... so turn the clock back a bit I started with a european motorhome ..a Glendale on a merc chassis... I progressed to an American A class .. other than a small break to try the caravan (a good quality one - Buccaneer 2 berth with a large rear bathroom). I went back to the yanks... Have had all types, A, C and now a B class... (see the red link below ... let it load) at 23'9" my Winnebago Aspect is not a large RV by any imagination... But when you have a motor home regardless if it be a european or a yank going in to town is another story.. height barriers become a problem .. most caravan owners never face that issue with the car they use (I did with the day van as it was tall..so I had the T shirt)....

So you get a motor home... then it is a trailer for the car... just like us... we started out at 23'9" now we are 45' long.. OK we pull a normal 4 door car..a Hyundai Matrix) .. it makes life easy in some ways, especially at shows.. but not on a camp site... But in europe it is OK.... much better than the UK.

But as some will say... (me included) watch out for the A frames .. illegal in Spain and a lot of other countries... try backing one of them..... at least with a caravan or a fully braked 4 wheel trailer you can shunt it about as you want.

But life is different in a motor home... for me much better... The car on the trailer is great.. as a disabled camper I get to go into towns with the car and can use the wheelchair or scooter.

Hope you make it to one of the shows.. funny enough Peterborough is a few weeks away.

Bob, Sue and Ezzie the St Bernard.
 
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hazelandjohn
Mar 12, 2012
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Thanks Bob, Sue and Ezzie the St Bernard! As you say, there are problems with both motorhomes and carvans. We used to tow with landrover and would often find ourselves unable to get under height barriers, especially in many town carparks! I know height is a problem, a much more obvious one with a motorhome, but I would have thought that length was ultimately the biggest drawback.


We haved looked at all shapes and sizes of motorhome. Have seriously considered van conversions and have looked at RVs. In the end we decided that even a van conversion was long enough to cause a headache in many carparks, so was the trade-off of size against comfort worth it? And to be honest, one of the main problems I had with the caravan, was lack of a good supportive seat. Hence the attraction of an A-Class type vehicle with good swivel seats.


There is no perfect solution, I think. It's always going to be a compromise. Towing a small car on a trailer is one way around the mobility problem, and a route we may go down - like you say, too many problems with A-frames potentially, so won't go down that route.


Don't know whether we've made the right choice yet, only time will tell, but we've made it based on our own experience and needs.

Hazel.
 

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