Usage (1 Viewer)

Lisa

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20th Sept 2014
Hi all,

Apart from the cost, our main concerns about purchasing a MH is whether we will get enough use out of it, so my question is…

When you first thought about purchasing your MH's, what sort of usage did you think you were going to get out of it and has it met or exceeded your expectations?

Thanks :Smile:
 

maz

Jan 26, 2011
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Bought one 3 years ago with the aim of using it full-time - and that's exactly what I've been doing ever since. ::bigsmile:

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Aug 7, 2013
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I'm a newbie bought our first motorhome 7months ago and love it
we have used ours more than expected had it 10 months and done over 10,000 miles including two trips to france also cornwall north wales west wales and:thumb: devon
 
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Lisa

Lisa

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20th Sept 2014
Bought one 3 years ago with the aim of using it full-time - and that's exactly what I've been doing ever since. ::bigsmile:

Wow, that's pretty hardcore :roflmto:

For ourselves, it will only be used for holidays but I do envy your lifestyle. It must be wonderful to just jump in the driving seat and "live" somewhere else!
 
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maz

Jan 26, 2011
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Wow, that's pretty hardcore :roflmto:

For ourselves, it will only be used for holidays but I do envy your lifestyle. It must be wonderful to just jump in the driving seat and "live" somewhere else!

Most of the time it's fine but you do meet a few odd weirdos on the way - not all of them Funsters! :roflmto:

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Lisa

Lisa

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20th Sept 2014
Welcome :welcomefunster:
We have used ours more than we expected to :Smile:

we have used ours more than expected had it 10 months and done over 10,000 miles including two trips to france also cornwall north wales west wales and:thumb: devon

Thanks! That's reassuring to hear :Smile: When we first thought about purchasing, we had it in our heads that it would be for the UK only but I'm really liking the sound of a trip to France. (hiring at present)
 
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DBK

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For ourselves, it will only be used for holidays...
There is a cost factor to consider. For example, if you only used it 3 weeks a year each week could easily cost you a thousand pounds, taking into account insurance, tax, servicing and depreciation. The latter of course is a movable feast depending on the age of the vehicle and price paid. However, for a thousand pounds a week you could have a nice fly/drive holiday somewhere nice.

My guesstimate would be if you can't get away for a total of at least 6 weeks a year then owning a MH could be an expensive luxury.
 
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Apr 12, 2012
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I originally just bought MoHo for MG Car Club weekends(7 or 8 per year) plus the occassional Grand Prix.

That's when I was younger, freeer, and singler. Now I still do all that and also now we are a family have family holidays in MoHo, and just the quick overnighter getaway when we have a spare weekend.

So I guess I have exceeded what I'd originally intended ::bigsmile:


PS. I am also somewhat envious of the full-timers on here. All 3 of us (well certainly me and the 8-year old) would love to live in the motorhome!

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WynandJean

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Mar 23, 2010
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Once you start doing the continental trips I bet you will really get the benefit and I bet you'll want to go again and again. It's so much more free and easy across the chanel where motorhomes are welcomed rather than the 'no motorhomes' and 'no overnighting' signs that are so frequently found in the UK, so touring from place to place is easier. Having said that we have used ours plenty at home as well. Not only for a week away but also it has been useful for the occasional day out, taking with you your own toilet , dining room, kitchen etc.
On one occasion I did a hot air balloon flight. The day before I was advised to be there at 6.00am! It was a 1 to 2 hour drive away! So, simple solution. Went in motorhome, slept overnight, woke up and had breakfast and ready to go. Also meant Jean had use of kettle, tv, etc.while I was up, up and away instead of having to sit in an empty field for much of the day. You don't always forsee how useful they can be. :thumb:

Wyn


 
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Chris

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May 5, 2010
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I addition to holidays ( Easter, Summer , half terms etc) we usually use ours every other weekend throughout the year. Sometimes we won't use it for a month but that's rare.

I think it's about the use that we expected. We used to own holiday homes on the coast which we used about the same so we knew what we were expecting. With council tax and utilities on a second house though a motorhome works out a lot cheaper in the long run.

Well, that's what I keep telling myself anyway::bigsmile:
 
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WynandJean

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I think part of the unique nature of owning a motorhome is the ability to wake up in a morning and say, "are we doing anything today?" and if the answer is "no" then we can just jump in and head off somewhere, and stay away as long as we want. Can't beat it. Never stands for long between trips.

Wyn.

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Lisa

Lisa

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20th Sept 2014
I think part of the unique nature of owning a motorhome is the ability to wake up in a morning and say, "are we doing anything today?" and if the answer is "no" then we can just jump in and head off somewhere, and stay away as long as we want. Can't beat it. Never stands for long between trips.

Wyn.

I think that is what is so appealing to us. We can only organise breaks/holidays last minute and then we are limited for availability and places suitable for dogs. Having our own vehicle would give us more freedom.

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful :Smile:
 
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ourcampersbeentrashed

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Apr 19, 2008
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We bought a motorhome mainly so the dog could holiday with us - we wouldnt put her in kennels.

We saved a fortune compared to school holidays in statics and travelling abroad and as our son was young we ended up having far more holidays than we did before we had the motorhome.

We would jump in it on a friday evening and end up wherever we ended up during term time coming home on the sunday and spend most of the school holidays in the motorhome somewhere

Usage - really that is up to you.
 
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s7ev0

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May 31, 2010
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Well we only wanted to hire a VW campervan to go to the Latitude festival, but one thing led to another and we found ourselves browsing ebay - and the next thing we knew we were the proud owners of a LHD motorhome with 150k on the clock! It's not the way I'd recommend doing it, but we were lucky and it took us not just to that festival but to parts of the UK we'd never been before, acted as our "base camp" when attending the local carnival and days at the seaside, and took our family of five around France.

After touring France we ended up publishing our version of France Passion, and trading at motorhome shows all over the country, so we certainly get the use out of our van (on our third one now, and saw that first great old 1992 Dethleffs Globetrotter on ebay again recently, so hopefully someone else is enjoying it).

So, I guess the point is, you never know what might happen...

Steve :Smile:
 
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Allanm

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Jun 30, 2013
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We bought ours last June and have clocked up 7000 miles, mostly in France because we lived 40 minutes from The Tunnel.
Our intention was to sell the house and buy one in France, which is what we have done. It was easy to tour areas until we found somewhere we liked, then arrange house viewings and have holidays at the same time.
We will be refurbing the French house and plan to let it out for a year or two and live in the van touring Europe and beyond.
Allan

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Wombles

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Only done one trip so far but 3 more planned in the next few months so will use it much more than when we had a caravan as so much easier to use & less set up time so great especially for weekends/short breaks which were just too much hassle before. Best thing is that staying just a night or two rather than a week at a site gives much more freedom, choice & is easier to book last minute. If you are on a budget save money when stopping for travel breaks & make your own drinks & snacks rather than pay motorway service prices:thumb:. Own loo on board can be handy too especially if you drink as many cups of tea as us!
 
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cruiser

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I did not think when we got ours.we would make so many friends.in so many countrys.and now at funsters meets.:ROFLMAO:
 
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Minxy

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Aug 22, 2007
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Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Hi all,

Apart from the cost, our main concerns about purchasing a MH is whether we will get enough use out of it, so my question is…

When you first thought about purchasing your MH's, what sort of usage did you think you were going to get out of it and has it met or exceeded your expectations?

Thanks :Smile:

How much YOU will use it isn't something we can say so before you take the plunge and buy one why not sit down with a calendar and work out realistically how much you would be able to use it due to other commitments and restrictions (work, family etc) - don't forget to think about maintenance on your home, decorating etc as this will obviously eat into your 'escape time'! Once you've done this you can then look at the financial side and whether it really makes sense or not - as well as the cost of the MH itself you'll also need to take into account the cost of insurance, servicing, fuel/travel, recovery, campsites etc plus a contingency for repairs ... think of it as if you were advising someone else to try to take out the 'emotional' pull of wanting one and hopefully you'll come up with a 'real' answer as to what it means for you. :Smile:

We got into motorhoming simply because we used to have a microcar (Bond Mk G estate) and due to us having 5 dogs we were restricted to going away to rallies two/three times a year (static not hurtling round a track! :RollEyes: ) as we had to arrange a 'sleep-over' dog sitter each time - we did take a couple of dogs with us usually but they had to sleep in the car as we stopped in B&Bs which wasn't ideal. We felt we were missing a lot of the fun on the campsites (if you'd ever been to a microcar rally you'd know what I mean!:roflmto:) and, as we towed the Bond a caravan wasn't an option, so we searched around for a small cheap camper - it took some time but we finally found one. This went on for a few years by which time we still had 4 dogs ... but then it all changed within the space of just 15 days! :Eeek:

On Easter Tuesday we had to take one of our elderly dogs to the vets and have her put to sleep as she had emphysema, extremely sad but not totally unexpected, but then just 15 days later our other elderly dog who was prone to strokes, and was best buddies with the one we'd had put down, had a stroke whilst we were at work, exacerbated due to her missing her friend, and whist she was still aware we were there and could move, she couldn't see and was so frantic that the vet had to sedate her and we couldn't bring her round as she just kept getting frantic again - it was a sure thing that eventually she'd just have a massive stroke and that would be it, so we had to have her put down too. This then left us with 2 dogs and, whilst I would not have wished it to have happened as it did, it meant that we were no longer restricted to having to get a dog sitter every time we wanted to go away and therefore we could go for longer than a weekend. This totally changed our focus and we therefore decided to change the ambulance we'd converted to a MH for a 'real' coachbuilt one and started to have 'proper' holidays for once ... the first time in about 15 years!!! :whatthe: Since then we've gradually done more holidays in our MHs but not as much as we'd have liked really - probably a maximum of 5 weeks during the summer and 2 weeks at Christmas/New Year, and some weekends too, but with both of us working we couldn't do more.

This went on for a good few years then just over 2 years ago I took severance from work (hubby had already taken severance 2 years previously) - it was a bit of a gamble, a reduced income for 2 years then none at all for another 7 years (when hubby can draw his reduced work pension), but it was what we wanted to do and had planned and saved for during the preceding 10+ years - so we were 'free' from the restriction of only having so many weeks' time off each year. The first year (2012) we did 5 weeks in France, then a couple of weeks down south/Isle of Wight, and a few MH shows ... last year we did nearly 7 weeks in France/Germany (too long!) and 4 weeks in Ireland (just right) and some MH shows. I'd have preferred to do more but circumstances (and weather!) dictated otherwise last year. This year we've got one holiday planned abroad for just over 5 weeks and other than that it's whatever we feel like. :thumb:

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Sep 4, 2011
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We've had a motorhome for three years now and as I only get four weeks annual leave a year I would say no we are not using it as much as we should:Sad: But with the four weeks and all the weekends we have managed to tour England, Scotland (Orkneys), Wales and that place they call Newcastle:ROFLMAO: We still have the motorhome bug and are loving every minute it:thumb:

Rob&Jane:Cool:
 
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Aug 4, 2013
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We are MH newbys who camped and caravanned until our business interests stopped us, we are both pretty much retired now tho we look after our baby Grandson 3 days a week, we bought our MH end aug last year after our hols, we have had 26 nights away to date over winter when it has been lovely and peaceful 53 more planned before it is a year old so thats 79 this year ....... Not bad really! We have also had a couple of days out in it!

Still getting to grips with what we need to take on each trip and the home becomes more like an expedition base as time goes on.

Off to Scotland on our first Kayaking trip this weekend I think the thing for us is that life seems to be starting not winding down ...... Just love it and you really can tailor what you do to what you like doing.....we don't feel processed any more!


Liberated! ::bigsmile:
 
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Nov 30, 2009
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Since 2009 with motorhomes several caravans then tents before that.
We use ours every other weekend. More sometimes. Like last month , we went away every weekend . Which included one Thursday , fri, sat, sun, mon , long one !
Then of course we have the odd weeks holiday here and there.
We've not gone abroad yet. Much to everyone's surprise were Waiting to do that till we have more than just the 2 weeks we can take off work. Got to leave something's to do when we retire.:thumb:

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mick noe

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Don't use ours half as much as we would like but could not imagine life without it. Two trips to france planned this year several weekend away and use as a day van on Sundays most of the year just to get away from it all:thumb:
 
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daisy mae

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Mar 12, 2013
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I`m a newbie, now 1 year
Mine is my everyday vehicle so is usedmostdays, only bought this one last October, I haven`t slept in her yet, that will be altered in the next month, plenty of days out, where facilities came in handy, I love it because being higher up than a car it suits me better, in a car it is too painful for me due to it being low, it is cheaper insurance than my Volvo Estate was, tax a lot cheaper too and definitely a lot more economical on fuel, so I feel that I am quid's in.I can visit family and friends and stay over if too far to get back the same day, with my dog I prefer my own facilities.so all in all I would recommend it, price doesn`t always come into it , if it something that you want to do, go for it, as someone said, don`t regret the things you have done, regret the things thatyou haven`t, I don`t know what the future holds as many of us don`t, if I didn`t do it now, it may be too late. At least I will not be sitting in a chair and muttering to myself " if only I had."
 
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Vlad The Impaler

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Since 2012 but longer in my dreams
There is a cost factor to consider. For example, if you only used it 3 weeks a year each week could easily cost you a thousand pounds, taking into account insurance, tax, servicing and depreciation. The latter of course is a movable feast depending on the age of the vehicle and price paid. However, for a thousand pounds a week you could have a nice fly/drive holiday somewhere nice.

My guesstimate would be if you can't get away for a total of at least 6 weeks a year then owning a MH could be an expensive luxury.

Not so!
On my last jaunt to France we were there just short of three weeks,my total spends including ferry,diesel,site fees and spends was less than £1500 quid.
We ended up at a site on the med and kids had the best holiday ever.
Before the van a fortnight abroad was costing us around £3500 ,so even if we just used it for 4 weeks we'd be saving a fortune.::bigsmile:
By using it a lot more I soon hope to be minted:winky:.



Vlad

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durhamahoy

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Jun 11, 2012
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We've had a motorhome for three years now and as I only get four weeks annual leave a year I would say no we are not using it as much as we should:Sad: But with the four weeks and all the weekends we have managed to tour England, Scotland (Orkneys), Wales and that place they call Newcastle:ROFLMAO: We still have the motorhome bug and are loving every minute it:thumb:

Rob&Jane:Cool:

Under Lyme or Upon Tyne? :ROFLMAO:
 
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Feb 24, 2013
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not long enough
I am hopefully very close to full retirement, then things will change, I think, and reading these replies confirms my thoughts that you need to be retired to get best use and therefore benefit of owning a MH

Or if not retired you need to work at getting away, I have been disappointed that we have not used ours as much as we could have, but we have used MH much more than we did our caravan
 
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Jun 16, 2013
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We are hoping to use our motorhome, when we get it next week, a lot more than our caravan. We have used our caravan for about 3 x 1 week holidays plus weekends every year, but not as many weekends as we envisaged. We thought that we would be away every other weekend but it was a bit of a faff getting it ready etc. OH does not like towing so only go about 2 hours max. That means we have done the surrounding counties to death. So booked several weekends away already and May half term booked. I will not be using much in August this year as we are off to Florida. I know it sounds spoilt but i didn't know we were getting a motorhome when we booked the holiday and i think i would rather stay and play with my new toy :Blush: We could have gone to Europe or toured Scotland. Well we will next year. ::bigsmile:
 
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