New to this - advice needed please! (1 Viewer)

pinkie

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Apr 23, 2013
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Hi People,

I've been looking at this forum for a while with interest and am now in the fortunate position of being about to inherit some money. ::bigsmile:

As a SAD sufferer I would like to spend winter's abroad rather than in Scotland, and will be travelling with my 11 year old daughter and my labradoodle. My fiancée will fly out and join us from time to time.

I am therefore looking for advice on what motorhome to buy, it needs to be big enough for comfort and I would like to wild camp where possible, but am nervous about driving anything too big! (Only used to a Nissan micra!!)

I would prefer something classic/eyecatching/unusual that will hold it's value.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks! :thumb:
 

camocam1

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Aug 28, 2012
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Firstly welcome, As I'm still a novice (sure others will be along soon to advise further) I would comment as follows
firstly check your licence to see what you can drive weight wise
then decide how much you want to spend
do you want new or secondhand
then decide how many beds you need
then go round as many dealers as you can looking at and sitting in the vans and make a list of those that you find that you are happy with, after that I would re post with the further details and you may get a better response
hope you find what you are looking for
 
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pinkie

pinkie

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Thanks for the tips! :Smile:

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ukbill

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Nov 3, 2011
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you really should visit a show where you can try ever sort of van there is on off
what sort of course needs to be your choosing
we have a fix bed at the rear and ours is 7 meters long which is around the norm i think
we have a lhasapoo who travels with me and like you my missus flys most of the time but anything around a 4 berth is great for 2 people i think a 2 berth is to small but 4 berth is comfortable wild camping shouldnt be a problem with a good leisure battery or 2 of em you will be able to wild camp for days on end and either a genny or solar panels to recharge the batts make wild camping endless all you will need then is water and booze of course
good luck and :welcomefunster:
 

ukbill

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what camocam1 says is right but we was advised to go used instead of new
that way there is no vat and someone else will have sorted out any probs the van may have had kepp the van to 3.5 ton and your licence shouldn't be a problem
 
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pinkie

pinkie

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That's helpful - thanks guys.

Should have said I didn't want new anyway. Useful to know about the weight.

I can't wait.

Last year we went by train from here to Turkey, which was good fun (very expensive though!) but the freedom driving gives you can't be beaten.

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ukbill

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well in a mh it dont have to be expensive so long as ya steer clear of them bloody french tolls :Smile:
 

camocam1

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forgot to say make sure that MH (private or dealer) has full habitation check paperwork and damp check paperwork as lots of older vans have problems with rotten floors which can be expensive !!!!! Also need to consider age of van as many at say 5 years old may be needing timing belt replaced even if low millage plus tyres on HM's probably need replacing about then also due to side wall cracking even if plenty tread on the tyres.
Actually wish someone had told me all this before I bought mine now that I think on it as just replaced timing belt and 4 tyres in the last 2 weeks :Sad:

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ourcampersbeentrashed

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There are lots of motorhome shows coming up so visit and try the layouts out.

We have a lunar roadstar 786 - as far as we are concerned its brilliant especially in horrendous weather. There is enough space to move around without feeling claustrophobic or closed in or in each others pockets.

Its 26ft long with rear bathroom and fixed double bed. It has a full fridge freezer and a full gas cooker and these were a must for us. We didnt want to go shopping every few days.

The lounge layout is quite roomie for a motorhome and also turns into a double bed, with a further double above the cab. We wouldnt go any bigger. Our previous one was 18ft. As we got older, turning the bed back into a table and vice versa during winter months was a real pain.

Our lounge area is two settees left and right on the motorhome, the ones with the settees facing and backing the drivers seat take a lot of room away making it seem much smaller inside.

Beds vary in sizes so do ovens so make sure you test them all out.

Some Fiat Ducato's have a judder when put in reverse gear so test this out too.

I am sure there will be far more experience people on here to give you more advice.

Our leader Jim does a buyers guide, well worth purchasing

Good Luck
 
Apr 13, 2012
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Looked at the Lunar Roadstar ourselves but with facing settees there were seatbelts for only two - driver and front passenger..........
 

ourcampersbeentrashed

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Looked at the Lunar Roadstar ourselves but with facing settees there were seatbelts for only two - driver and front passenger..........

My understanding is vehicles up to & including 2007 do not require seat belts in the habitation area. We checked this out before buying

If Robert had been younger, we would have sat him in the front passenger with a seat belt which you can do with the appropriate booster (dependent on age) and I would have sat in the back.

The following is a response to Can a child sit in the front passenger seat? "If your child is aged under 12 years they must be using an appropriate child restraint, unless they are over 135cm in height. Once a child is taller than 135cm, you may move a child out of the booster seat or booster cushion, regardless of their age, although they must still legally use the adult belt. It is the drivers responsibility to ensure that every passenger under 14 is restrained within the law.

The following is taken from Broken Link Removed

"Regulations formulated in the late 80’s only concerned front seat passengers and not the seats in the habitation part of a motorhome. If your motorhome was built right up to as recent as 2007 there was no legal requirement to have seat-belts fitted in any area outside the cab no matter whether they are forward or side facing. Of course some manufactures did add forward facing seat-belts in the back and its always been the case that if fitted they must be worn. There was talk of a law change due to happen in 2009 to make it illegal to carry persons un-belted but this did not materialise."

It is worth reading the full article.

Additionally dependent on the vehicle rear lap belts and full seat belts can be fitted.

Hope this is helpful

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scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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Hi and welcome..

you mention your 11yo daughter .. what do you plan for her education.. ?

the reason I ask is we were full time with our daughter for three years who was 6 when we started out.. we home educated ..she did well, but fell behind with some of the school curriculum and it has taken her a couple of years to catch up.. she will be 13 this year.

11 is a critical time in her education, are you going to do this or put her into a foreign school?
 
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pinkie

pinkie

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Hi,

Good point.

My daughter is already home-schooled, so that's not going to be a problem.

I consider the travelling to be an education and she is going to be a chef so most important for her is to keep cooking and hopefully learning languages along the way.
 
Apr 13, 2012
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My understanding is vehicles up to & including 2007 do not require seat belts in the habitation area. We checked this out before buying

If Robert had been younger, we would have sat him in the front passenger with a seat belt which you can do with the appropriate booster (dependent on age) and I would have sat in the back.

The following is a response to Can a child sit in the front passenger seat? "If your child is aged under 12 years they must be using an appropriate child restraint, unless they are over 135cm in height. Once a child is taller than 135cm, you may move a child out of the booster seat or booster cushion, regardless of their age, although they must still legally use the adult belt. It is the drivers responsibility to ensure that every passenger under 14 is restrained within the law.

The following is taken from Broken Link Removed

"Regulations formulated in the late 80’s only concerned front seat passengers and not the seats in the habitation part of a motorhome. If your motorhome was built right up to as recent as 2007 there was no legal requirement to have seat-belts fitted in any area outside the cab no matter whether they are forward or side facing. Of course some manufactures did add forward facing seat-belts in the back and its always been the case that if fitted they must be worn. There was talk of a law change due to happen in 2009 to make it illegal to carry persons un-belted but this did not materialise."

It is worth reading the full article.

Additionally dependent on the vehicle rear lap belts and full seat belts can be fitted.

Hope this is helpful


It's a nice van, brilliant
bathroom and lounge area..............if it were just the two of us fine:thumb:

As for seat belts, yes the salesman explained the law to us but carrying passengers (our children, or my wife) without seatbelts was out of the question - for us.

What the law says or allows and commonsense aren't always the same............:Smile:

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Jul 28, 2010
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Hi People,

I've been looking at this forum for a while with interest and am now in the fortunate position of being about to inherit some money. ::bigsmile:

As a SAD sufferer I would like to spend winter's abroad rather than in Scotland, and will be travelling with my 11 year old daughter and my labradoodle. My fiancée will fly out and join us from time to time.

I am therefore looking for advice on what motorhome to buy, it needs to be big enough for comfort and I would like to wild camp where possible, but am nervous about driving anything too big! (Only used to a Nissan micra!!)

I would prefer something classic/eyecatching/unusual that will hold it's value.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks! :thumb:

wild camping is about getting in to nature and not attracting any notice of any one

so a normal standard nothing to in your face would be more suitable for wild camping

I have 27 foot RV with solar panels on the roof and 6 x 120Amp leisure batteries and 2200W 12/240V inverter
5KVA Genny
so wild camping friendly
leave no trace youv been there

i used to wild camp in an 18 foot Mercedes Frankia coach built MH
so size is not every thing

what ever you get enjoy it
 

RogeTeri

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Apr 8, 2012
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February 2013.
Can't add much to the other posts as they are full of good advice. So I will just say welcome and have fun
 

Philiphall

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Welcome and enjoy I doubt your daughters education will suffer at all - all the overseas places you visit will be great education as will the languages she will pick up.

Just watch this lot on here though they entice you in and you meet up at a show and they get you drunk! :ROFLMAO:

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pinkie

pinkie

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Apr 23, 2013
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Welcome and enjoy I doubt your daughters education will suffer at all - all the overseas places you visit will be great education as will the languages she will pick up.

Just watch this lot on here though they entice you in and you meet up at a show and they get you drunk! :ROFLMAO:

Don't worry - I don't need much encouragement!! The cheaper vino across the pond is decidedly appealing! ::bigsmile:
 
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pinkie

pinkie

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Apr 23, 2013
376
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newbie
wild camping is about getting in to nature and not attracting any notice of any one

so a normal standard nothing to in your face would be more suitable for wild camping

I have 27 foot RV with solar panels on the roof and 6 x 120Amp leisure batteries and 2200W 12/240V inverter
5KVA Genny
so wild camping friendly
leave no trace youv been there

i used to wild camp in an 18 foot Mercedes Frankia coach built MH
so size is not every thing

what ever you get enjoy it

Great - really helpful advice - thanks! :thumb:
 

Terry

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Dec 27, 2007
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Hi People,

I've been looking at this forum for a while with interest and am now in the fortunate position of being about to inherit some money. ::bigsmile:

As a SAD sufferer I would like to spend winter's abroad rather than in Scotland, and will be travelling with my 11 year old daughter and my labradoodle. My fiancée will fly out and join us from time to time.

I am therefore looking for advice on what motorhome to buy, it needs to be big enough for comfort and I would like to wild camp where possible, but am nervous about driving anything too big! (Only used to a Nissan micra!!)

I would prefer something classic/eyecatching/unusual that will hold it's value.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks! :thumb:
Hi and welcome :thumb: check out Snowbirds good starter vans :thumb:being running a while now so lots of links/vans will have gone but it will give you ideas on what holds value without spending too much money :winky:::bigsmile:
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terry
 

DesRes

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Hi and welcome,

Loads of sound advice here, don't rush into anything, loads of vans out there, there will be one for you, have fun...:Smile:
 
Aug 30, 2012
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burstnar T640
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2010
Hi ya and welcome
Just to put this in perspective on van size
Elaine my better half had never driven anything larger than a small transit van
She is now driving our 6. 5 meter burstaner no problem on straight roads and motorways and on good roads around town
but she still has a little trouble manoeuvring in tight spaces
Main thing is rear overhang she has trouble judging the tail :Cool:swing
I would recommend a little tutoring from either a professional school some use small trucks or I think some of the dealers can arrange some
Unless you very confident I would not go it alone as repairs can very expensive
Don't let this put you off its easy just a little different
I can't get Elaine out of drivers seat :Eeek:

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