Forgive the newbie questions but can I ask... (1 Viewer)

[Newbie Katie]

hello everyone,

We are considering buying a motorhome (new or nearly new) and are hoping to visit a dealer at the weekend to get a feel for the different types/sizes/layouts.

I have my hgv licence but cannot legally tow (bonkers right!) so we thought a motor home would be a better option (and more fun) than a caravan.

This might be the most daft question ever but when you visit a campsite and then want to travel somewhere close by (not walking
/biking distance) do you drive there in the motor home and then come back to the site or do most people choose sites with amenities/points of interest nearby?

Any advice on anything newbie, potential buyer very welcome!

We are a family of four with two small pooches.

Thanks in advance x

 

[pappajohn]

Buses, bicycles, electric bicycles, mopeds, small motorbikes.
Bikes with dog trailers.
Anythings possible..... And there's nothing stopping you towing a 750kg trailer behind a motorhome using your B entitlement on your licence. . .
Trailer law is complex and really needs studying.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Hi and

It might be worth joining then you can read the dos and donts for buying a Moho.

Regarding visiting places just park close to where you want to visit for a day or so.
Then move on to the next place.

If you want to be based in one place for a week or two and want to visit lots of places, maybe a caravan would suit better?

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[Anthea M]

hello everyone,

We are considering buying a motorhome (new or nearly new) and are hoping to visit a dealer at the weekend to get a feel for the different types/sizes/layouts.

I have my hgv licence but cannot legally tow (bonkers right!) so we thought a motor home would be a better option (and more fun) than a caravan.

This might be the most daft question ever but when you visit a campsite and then want to travel somewhere close by (not walking
/biking distance) do you drive there in the motor home and then come back to the site or do most people choose sites with amenities/points of interest nearby?

Any advice on anything newbie, potential buyer very welcome!

We are a family of four with two small pooches.

Thanks in advance x

Hello and welcome
We have used shanks pony, buses , bikes and taxis when hubbies back was bad .
We try to find sites near to things to see or do pubs and cafes.
We have driven the van if unable to use the other options and planned parking etc.
Don’t worry , enjoy and good luck with the search.
Katie if you join the forum for £15 you can download a book on buying your motorhome with much useful advise.

 

[Spriddler]

......when you visit a campsite and then want to travel somewhere close by (not walking
/biking distance) do you drive there in the motor home and then come back to the site or do most people choose sites with amenities/points of interest nearby?

The pitch is yours for however long you've booked it, so you can come and go as you want.

 

[TheBig1]

Some even hire a car and have it delivered to site or get picked up by the firm.

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[thebriars]

Frankly you are going to be spending a LOT of money on a new(ish) motorhome and there are lot and lots of makes, different vehicle bases and multiple layouts. Its all to easy to buy one that looks great in the showroom and end up trading it in after the first year at a big loss because you don't like the layout or the style of holiday.

The best bet is to hire different ones for a few holidays, and then visit one of the major shows, say at the NEC in November with a better idea of what might suit you. As someone has already said, a caravan might suit your holiday needs better.

 

[Revolvor]

We usually drive off every day, even if staying somewhere for a week.

 

[TheBig1]

Easy enough to drive off site with a smaller motorhome, but bloody hard to find somewhere to park a big family sized motorhome

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[houdini]

Welcome!
Takes a bit of research but we look for camp sites near to places we want to see (abbeys, towns, museums, events etc.) - either in short walking distance or with a bus stop or station very close.

 

[WynandJean]

Hello and welcome from West Midlands.


Wyn

 

[Loveshack]

So: 2 adults, 2 kids and 2 pooches?
Whatever, we are just 2 of us in a bespoke 6M Ducato, reasonably compact.
In our 10th year.
Probably 95% on campsites. If we want to see particular areas en route to our overnight site, then we plan our days driving with that in mind. I don’t often take the van off site, and pick sites with good bus, train or walking options. Maybe less spontaneous than wild campers, but suits us.
Towing doesn’t appeal, but might be better value, particularly if you don’t use much, and if you like to explore areas in detail over a week or so.
Enjoy your search

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[Minxy]

Hi and welcome to the fun house.

Before you go anywhere near a motorhome sit down and decide HOW you will holiday ... will you want to stay in one place for a week or two at a time, or move on every few days? Do you want to have to pack up stuff to be able to move the vehicle if you want to go out or just jump in and head off with the least hassle and have easier parking?

Once you've thought through what you want from a holiday, you may find a caravan might be better and whilst you'd need to take your towing test, if that's the best for your type of holiday it's worth it - this tends to suit those who have younger kids and staying on site more thus letting them run around and play, and also still gives you a vehicle to go around in during the day for when you want to escape.

If you decide you definitely want a motorhome then the best advice I can give is for you to subscribe to the forum and download the motorhome "Buyer's Guide" which will then be free (£7.99 otherwise), it will give you lots and lots of info you never even knew to ask about in the first place and which could save you from making a very costly mistake. Once you've read this it will then give you lots more questions to ask, stuff to clarify etc which we are all more than willing to help you with.

There's a lot to think about when buying a motorhome, and to a lesser extent a caravan, so you really don't want to get it wrong.

 

[funflair]

With an HGV licence you could have a van big enough to have a car in the back or you could have a van small enough to park in a car park, in between you have a stack of other options like pedal bikes, electric bikes, scooter/motorcycle and then of course public transport.

Personally I wouldn't dream of taking our van off site for the day but that was never an option when we decided we wanted something with good interior space and a large garage for our secondary transport, we wanted to cycle for pleasure not just as a means to go out shopping and sightseeing.

Martin

 

[Eyegeedee]

Welcome.
We always plan sites around good walking or cycling routes plus good public transportation. Its also beneficial to leave the motorhome on site, then you can have beer or two when you’re out and about.

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[Reallyretired]

It's very important to consider how you will use any motorhome you get.
I have motorhomed for about 40 years except for a period with a caravan when the kids were small.
However if I was mainly in the UK and stayed on sites a caravan would be a much better alternative. We only tour abroad and move on a lot and for this a motorhome is king.
The next thing to consider is layout and after that worry about whether the payload is adequate

 

[buttons]

Hi and Welcome.....

 

[Welsh girl]

I've always had a biggish motorhome and always left it in site, getting the bus or bikes or not staying long if it an out of the way site. Now i have a smaller pvc i would drive to the nearest town in it. Its a compromise when living in it for weeks at a time but that's what i decided to do.

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[Parrot Face]

A brand new motorhome might cost you 50k upwards to virtually any price. If you've got a decent car with some guts fit a towbar, get a secondhand caravan for about 5 -10k try it for a year, go to the NEC show as someone above suggests. You could then decide what you really like and need flog the caravan for a 1k loss and take it from there. Kids don't always do walking, cycling and buses so the car with the caravan might be better until you are sure of what you want. I get the opinion that an awful lot of Funsters had caravans originally .

 

[Spriddler]

.......you may find a caravan might be better and whilst you'd need to take your towing test,.......

What 'towing test'?
If setting up for a week with two youngsters and a dog I'd go for a caravan with a decent awning/annexe would be my choice, especially on wet days with wet clothing/boots/dog. You will have the car for trips out.
Parking a m/h in towns can be problematic.
A m/h is more practical if moving on every day or two.

 

[Wendo55]

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[Rockcrawler]

Hi and welcome.
We have a 8.6m tag axle and try to go to sites that are not too far from a town or near bus routes. If we have our boxer dog with us then using our bicycles is out of the question.
However having said that we prefer to go to CL sites that are usually out of town in which case we tow a Fiat Panda behind so we can visit places ( and park ) a lot easier.
It maybe worth acquiring your trailer licence to give you more options.

 

[Minxy]

What 'towing test'?

I assume this is the test that you have to take to be able to tow anything behind your vehicle if you passed your test in 1997 when the rules changed and 'grandfather' rights were no longer automatic. As I have had my licence since the 1980s I don't need to worry so haven't looked at the exact requirements.

 

[Spriddler]

I assume this is the test that you have to take to be able to tow anything behind your vehicle if you passed your test in 1997 when the rules changed and 'grandfather' rights were no longer automatic. As I have had my licence since the 1980s I don't need to worry so haven't looked at the exact requirements.

Well there's thing! I didn't know that. Still, it doesn't quite affect me.....

My one and only driving offence - just 6 days before receiving my full licence.......

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[Minxy]

Hate to tell you this ... but your licence expired in 1966!

 

[hilldweller]

This might be the most daft question ever but when you visit a campsite and then want to travel somewhere close by

That is a long way away from daft.

On Tue I went for a decent ride on my motorbike and stopped in a B&B in Aberystwyth. I came home on Wed and said to wife "lovely sea front, in the MH we would never see it".

It's a huge problem.

Some tow a car or bike. I don't want that hassle.

We have e-bikes but they don't get far especially in hilly areas.

France has many aires in towns so you can walk into towns but it feels like your holiday is living in car parks.

It is not easy.

 

[Wellington]

Firstly, you can tow. Well, I can tow. I have a post 1997 licence, and I can legally tow up to 3.5 tonnes (for both the vehicle and whatever you’re towing). This is easily enough for a family saloon and a family caravan. I forget the exact weights, but I had a Skoda Octavia and a four berth van and it was fine.

Secondly, don't buy a new van, at least at first. I was CERTAIN I knew exactly what I wanted from my MH. I’ve caravanned since I was child and I was definite about not wanting a garage and over beds. Now I’m having a garage and a transverse double (admittedly, I’m spending more cash, so I’m looking a different range) and I’m still not buying new, because I might change to twin beds over a garage.

Thirdly (and forgive me if I’ve misconstrued and the four of you refers to the dogs, not children) motorhoming with kids is a lot different to motorhoming with only adults. I’m not saying it’s not viable, just different.

We usually have breakfast and then drive to an activity for the day (if it’s somewhere big with parking) then have an early dinner out arrive late a campsite driving an hour or so each time, and thus break up long journeys. If where we want to go is awkward to get to (I won’t take the MH into towns for example) then we camp near a bus route or use the electric bikes. I may also book a taxi if I might have a drink. If we like a site or it’s facilities, we might stay for a few days. Jenna can’t ride an electric bike, so I have to tow her with mine if we are going far, and also put the dog in a special basket on the back. It’s doable, but it’s all extra faff.

However, this involves an shedload of packing up and setting up. That’s ok with adults, whom you can expect to put things away as they go and to generally tidy up after themselves. However, with kids as you are tidying up they are getting stuff out at the other end of the van. Sometimes it’s like the Forth Bridge! I’ve lost count of the times I’ve put her water bottle in the cab ready to go, and we leave it’s rattling round the back where she’s moved it because she wanted a drink while I was doing the loo or something. And by the time I’ve done all the putting away, she needs feeding and you have to start all over again!

Also, sites with convenient bus routes to towns, are full of motorhomers, who are largely older couples. There are limited other kids for them for play with.

Motorhomes work for us because I plan meticulously, automate everything I can, prefer to avoid the extra work that towing makes, and don’t need a family-sized car. If I had a partner I would caravan, because the setup over and over is so much more of a chore with kids. Ymmv, of course.

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[ambulancekidd]

 

[Cat53]

It depends. We have driven away and returned. We have parked where there are amenities. We have walked to places fairly close by. AND occasionally (for hospital appointments far from home, we have taken both motorhome and car. No way would we try to park a motorhome at a busy city hospital! That would be a nightmare!

 

[rangi]

"Bus at gate" are the magic words in any site description that does it for us.

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