Newbie saying hello and asking for advice (1 Viewer)

[DefenderBLACK]

Hi,

Currently own a caravan for over 3 years but now fancy a motorhome, think it would be easier for going off to places, without having to have hassle of towing, manoeuvring, and related hassle. We rushed into buying the caravan and dont want to make same mistake with a big outlay.

Price wise we are looking at a Swift Escape 664 or even 686 - only two adults (46 & 40) and 1 child of 15 and an 18 year old who would come very occasionally. So need 4 belts and 4 berths. Prefer non fixed bed so dont disturb on night time call of nature, but again price dictates.

What sort of mpg should i expect?

Insurance cost roughly?

Running costs re yearly tax, servicing etc?

Would a low line model give better mpg than the high line models?

any other bits of advice welcomed.

Thank you again for any assistance,

Paul

 

[peter H]

Welcome to the fun Paul

:welcomefunster::welcomefunster::welcomefunster:

MPG - well depends on engine size and driving style but 25 - 35 i guess. (for a euro van that is, for an RV double figures are good)

Don't think its that important though as its a leisure vehicle, you use it for holidays, away days, outings etc. You are unlikely to use it to go get a newspaper from the shop down the road, take the kids to school or do the weekly grocery shop.

RFL is about £150 per year, insurance, well again depends on lots of factors, but mine is about £350 per year, but several named drivers etc.

Lowline / hightop - well mpg may well vary, but choice should be drived by your needs for layout and size etc,

Advice - always carry a spare cork screw.

These are my opinions, others may think differently, No doubt they will comment soon.

Peter

 

[Road Burner]

Welcome Paul

Motor homes are great, but you can't so easily pop down to the shops , park in a small car park or visit places of interest. Sometimes miss the caravan as we could leave it on site and tour round in the car. Suppose it depends on how big your motorhome is going to be.

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[Carol]

Hello and welcome to fun, think Peter has covered most of the points pretty accurately. We find our motorhome covers everything we want be it a quick week end away or 4 months on the continent, a little bit of forward planning if you are going into city's and you can find somewhere to park
.
While on site we always carry a couple of bikes on the back and find we see so much of the area we are in exploring on the bikes, lovely to ride along a canal or river bank, so many cycle ways.

Think its all about choice, I would say a comfortable layout of the motorhome will be the most important choice you make.

 

[Geoffers]

Hi,

Currently own a caravan for over 3 years but now fancy a motorhome, think it would be easier for going off to places, without having to have hassle of towing, manoeuvring, and related hassle. We rushed into buying the caravan and dont want to make same mistake with a big outlay.

Price wise we are looking at a Swift Escape 664 or even 686 - only two adults (46 & 40) and 1 child of 15 and an 18 year old who would come very occasionally. So need 4 belts and 4 berths. Prefer non fixed bed so dont disturb on night time call of nature, but again price dictates.

What sort of mpg should i expect?

Insurance cost roughly?

Running costs re yearly tax, servicing etc?

Would a low line model give better mpg than the high line models?

any other bits of advice welcomed.

Thank you again for any assistance,

Paul

Hi and welcome. We have a 664 so here's a few costs,
Road Tax £121.00 (6 months)
Insurance and Breakdown £287.00 (Saga) This is cheap so I would budget a bit more,plus if it's still in warranty you won't require breakdown.
Yearly habitation check £99.00 (CLS) sort of optional but should be done to maintain full warranty
Servicing , Low mileage service £186.00 (ford & Slater) We have onl had one service in 3 years (8k miles) see the Fiat service manual and don't be conned into yearly servicing unless your doing enormous Mileage.
Fuel consumption varies Low profiles are better on fuel due to aerodynamics, if your driving against the wind 26MPG with the wind 36MPG We just done a 400 mile trip to Wales about 50% motoway the rest Welsh A roads and the trip said 31.6, ave speed 41mph.We have checked this properly and 32mpg is about right(more if i am towing, driving slower). hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you need any more detail on the 664. Ours (touch wood) has been trouble free for the 3years we have owned it:thumb:

 

[slobadoberbob]

whatever you budget add a good chunk more

Whatever you have as budget add a good chunk more.

Kitting out is not the same as a caravan. You will find there are some expensive toys you can get on a motor home.

Everything from Solar panels to generators

Air suspension, ... dozens of other bits and bobs that effect the ride are loaded.. cannot chuck it in the back of the tow vehicle.. the motor home is the vehicle... so you need to watch the weights... often there is not a lot available.

While as Carol has said a lot use bikes.. carry 4 for the family and that adds up to a lot of tail end weight... watch the rear of the motor home go down.... can the carrier take the weight on the back of the motor home?

A motor home is great, but being an RV owner I would of course say that is even better... sure need that roof air con in this weather and the 4 kg genny that powers it all... plus that domestic fridge and freezer... but had a European one.. 25 years back.. since then it has been a yank.. more of everything including the amount of gear I take.

If I had to worry about the mpg .. then I doubt I would buy one... by the way an RV over 3.5 tons and under 7.5 tons is £165 per year road tax. (PHGV)... the issue is will you use it and enjoy it.. hope so.

Make no mistake not many motor homes can get in to car parks ... many have problems... so worth considering that if you think you can nip down to the shops.

Different mind set to a caravan.. yes had one.. never again... with a motor home it is a better experience all round. hope you enjoy whatever you buy. But do a lot of research and add a bit to the budget... you are going to need it.


Bob, Sue and Ezzie the St Bernard...... p.s I service my RV every 3 - 5k miles or once a year.. never leave it to build up .. especially in a diesel you need to change things regular... I even change my genny oil every 50 hours to be on the safe side.

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[Kasey]

Lots of good advice given already. I will echo doing a lot of research. We did and ended up with a 5th wheeler. Suited our requirements & may not suit yours, but don't discount them out of hand.

 

[Mags52]

Hi there and welcome!
We changed from a caravan to a motorhome a couple of years ago and we love it. It has changed the way we holiday because we try to avoid taking it off site if we are staying somewhere for a few days, we use our bikes instead. We have a fairly big coach built with an overcab and get 25 - 28 mpg but as we don't use it once on site we actually use less fuel than we did when we were towing. We are also a good bit fitter with more cycling and walking.
Another advantage is that you can use it for days out - we do this a lot. If the sun is shining we throw some food in the fridge and set off. Fantastic.
When we chose our model we spent a long time thinking about storage space and available weight for 'stuff' because we are golfers and needed to carry the gear about. When we were caravanners we could sling loads of stuff in the boot of the car. Even without the golf clubs it's surprising how much kit you carry round so I would advise thinking carefully about that before making your choice.
Enjoy

 

[gypsylady]

There are some nice 4/6 berths that can get into carparks relatively easily.

Watch for the length of the van.

We are a 6 berth, 21ft unit. We use our van for visiting relatives (own beds are great, and just park in their drive) day trips as well as weekends and 6 weeks in Europe.

We are just about the longest we would take into a carpark, and we look for edge bays where we can overhang some vegetation.

Good Luck with the search, BUT dont be tempted by a layout that reflects your caravan layout, we tried that with our first van and found we needed a different type of mindset when transfering to a Motorhome.

June

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[DefenderBLACK]

Thanks for the advice. Will let you know how we get on.

Paul

 

[aba]

you could always try hiring one for a week or so to see if it suits.
ok so hiring may cost anywhere between £300 to £600 but better to spend £600 and decide it is the way for you than £30,000 only to decide its not for you.