Melbourne Calling (1 Viewer)

[MelbourneTeam]

A warm welcome to all on this Forum!


I need some HELP! and some good advice!

Here's the story so far -

We're tired of our work-home-work-home life here in Melbourne (Australia) so we just decided (2 days ago) to pack up at the end of this year, fly over to London, get ourselves into a motorhome and tour around Europe for, ahem, a year. :Cool:

As you might expect we're VERY excited about this. But we're TOTAL motorhome novices oh: and we want to do this right.

We'll be three (2 adults and our 2yo son).

To begin with - We are looking to buy a new (or relatively new) motorhome.

- Is it possible for us to do that from the UK? We're both Australian citizens, I'm a Greek citizen also.

- What type of motorhome should we be looking at? Considering we have a 2 year old? Are they all compatible with child seats? Has anyone here had any experience travelling around with a 2yo on a european-wide trip?

- In terms of motorhome features - what things are important? Essential?


Any advice would be excellent!!
Thanks!

 

[Theonlysue]

The Melbourne Team

Hi there,
I have friends from the Gold Coast who came over last year ans are touring Europe at the moment.
I sent them the Uk ebay link, and they saw a Hymer caravan, and a Kia Sorento, which is a good tow car, which I got checked out and they purchased last September.

I am expecting them back Sept this year, when they will stay in the UK for a couple of months before heading home.

The advantage with a caravan is that you would still have a car to go out and about when you have camped up. The other option may be to buy a small hightop which can tow a caravan, so if you wanted to go off for a few days and leave your caravan behind, that would be an option.

If you private message me, I can send you their facebook link, and perhaps you can chat direct.

Good luck, Sue

 

[tony_g]

Hi and welcome to Fun. We have been motorhoming for 2 years now having tried it out in an ancient rented hi-top in Tasmania. Apart from our own MH at home in the UK we have now had trips in WA and NZ. Which gets me round to my suggestion for you. Why don't you dip your toes in the water by hiring/buying in Oz and giving it a go for a while? That way you can try the lifestyle, make your layout mistakes and refine your plan in a more familiar environment. Then when you come to Europe you'll be old hands.
Best wishes for a great adventure.

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[motorhomelover]

Hi and welcome to Fun. We have been motorhoming for 2 years now having tried it out in an ancient rented hi-top in Tasmania. Apart from our own MH at home in the UK we have now had trips in WA and NZ. Which gets me round to my suggestion for you. Why don't you dip your toes in the water by hiring/buying in Oz and giving it a go for a while? That way you can try the lifestyle, make your layout mistakes and refine your plan in a more familiar environment. Then when you come to Europe you'll be old hands.
Best wishes for a great adventure.

good advice

good luck with your plans :thumb:

 

[Wildman]

Hi and welcome to the forum. a number of people have done this so the answers are out there. Biggest problem I seem to remember is getting insurance with out being a UK resident. 2nd problem is health insurance which in the UK at least is dependant on being resident. Now on to the vehicle. all vans will be suitable for a 2 year old, but a 3 year old will require more space to move around in. There are 4 routes to go down,
1) Caravan handy to have a car as well but cannot park off site in Europe so site fees to consider.
2) 5th wheel gives loads more space but otherwise same as caravan
3) American RV, depending on your driving licence entitlements. Huge amount of space, built in generator large fridge freezer, air conditioning etc. But only 6-12mpg maybe more with an LPG conversion. so if you intend moving only infrequently maybe you could live with the low mpg figures, might have probles parking on the free aires though.
4) Standard Euro vansize to suit your needs but no slideouts, 25ish MPG average some a lot better, depends on your driving and weight involved. plenty of free parking in Europe. Cheap enough to run and if under 3500kgs then no special licence requirements, some fulltimers tow a small car, others a trailer with car on (much more acceptable in more countries these days, others make do with a scooter or pushbikes and tow a small trailer for extra storage. So how you plan to live/travel will have a bearing on what you settle for and it goes without saying if the bulk of your time will be spent over the ogin then a LHD will suit your needs better. good luck and keep us informed.

 

[pappajohn]

you will need a UK postal address for vehicle registration and insurance purposes.

it doesn't have to be your address....use a friend or family members address.

not sure how it works, time wise, for your Australian drivers licence though.

and to be honest....none are fully compatible with child seats.......the base cushions are the wrong shape/angle and you cant pull the seat down tight at the correct angle.

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[Organplayer]

organplayer

Used to be a person arriving in UK was authorised to drive on his/her foreign driving licence for a period of up to 12 months or to the expiry date if that was sooner, providing said licence covered the vehicle groups of the vehicle/vehicles being driven. Of course things may have changed more recently.

 

[Reallyretired]

If you're buying with a view to resale in a couple of years don't buy new, you will lose far more on it. There is also the question of reliability as most faults tend to show in the first year, so for a vehicle that isn't going to let you down on your tour, I would recommend one that is 1-2 years old.:thumb:

 

[Terry]

Hi and welcome :thumb:Start looking now on ebay.co.uk to get a feel for uk prices on vans :thumb:At the end of the year it is a very quiet time for selling vans so you should get a bargain :thumb:It is not unusual to find van upto 5/6 yrs old with under 20k miles Any van over a year or two will have had all faults sorted and give you little or no problems ( new vans seem to have problems built into them that take first owners a few months to get fixed )I think a 5 to 6 berth 2 to 5 yrs old van would be ideal giving you room and storage you are going to need.If you buy at the right price after a year you should not loose a lot,you could even show a profit :thumb:
I am afraid you will soon loose your free posts and have to pay a tenner to keep posting but believe me it will be the best tenner you will spend :thumb: and then you will be able to ask as many questions as you what and no doubt get all the good advice you will need
terry
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Campers-C...pt=1&_udlo=&_sop=&_mPrRngCbx=1&_nkw=Motorhome