5 Years And Counting!

[Carolinej]

Hello everyone! We are seriously considering getting a motorhome and doing a year or possibly 2, touring around Europe when we retire in about 5 years.

Although we owned a caravan many years ago, I think it will be a steep learning curve to discover what is on offer in the motorhome world.

Looking forward to hearing lots of advice and seeing what you all get up to on your travels ) I'm sure I'll find plenty of help and inspiration here!

 

[WillH]

We too caravanned for years then got the van. My advice for what it's worth is to get the van sooner rather than later and get used to it, it is a bit different to the caravan, far less hassle on arrival/departure for one thing.

 

[WillH]

Oops! Sorry, a big welcome!!!!!

 

[scousebird]

Hello

We caravanned for 20 years and changed to a MH 3 years ago - loving it

 

[Dawn B]

Hi &

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[funflair]

Hi

Welcome.

And as others have suggested "just do it" you never know you might then have to retire even earlier.

 

[Carolinej]

Thanks for the welcome , everyone! (Is there a way of responding to messages separately?)

The plan is to sell up our home a few months before we leave and buy the motorhome then. We'll hopefully be able to get a small place to come back to eventually, too. Seems a bit crazy, but what the heck, you only get one life This is why I want to be fully up to speed when we go looking for one.

I am a bit clueless now, but have plenty of time to prepare

 

[Baycott]

Hello

We caravanned for 20 years and changed to a MH 3 years ago - loving it

Exactly the same for us!!
My advice, for what it's worth, is buy one ASAP and get used to it before your European tour.
Enjoy it whatever you decide
Welcome to the FUN

 

[Carolinej]

My advice, for what it's worth, is buy one ASAP and get used to it before your European tour.

If only we could....sigh. For now, we use static caravans over in France for our holls. Out of season and last minute, they are quite reasonable

I hope I have done the quote thing right

 

[Cat53]

We had planned on doing the same thing, but for various reasons we need to keep a small home too. It's a conclusion we have come to over the last few months. However, house is on the market to downsize and the the plan will come to fruition. So welcome. And enjoy the journey.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Carolinej]

Hello

We caravanned for 20 years and changed to a MH 3 years ago - loving it

What would you say are the biggest benefits of a MH over a caravan? I can imagine a few, but I may not be right!

 

[Carolinej]

We had planned on doing the same thing, but for various reasons we need to keep a small home too. It's a conclusion we have come to over the last few months. However, house is on the market to downsize and the the plan will come to fruition. So welcome. And enjoy the journey.

I hope you manage to sell your home quickly, so that you can get going on your plans The housing market here seems to be finally picking up, so hopefully it is the same in your area

 

[scousebird]

What would you say are the biggest benefits of a MH over a caravan? I can imagine a few, but I may not be right!

We use the MH more than the caravan because it's so easy to just jump in & drive away. We are lucky enough to keep our MH at home so it is mostly packed, apart from fresh food and some clothes, all the time. Also I have to work the occasional Saturday morning (not too many) and we go off for 1 night - we'd never have done that with the caravan, just too much hassle. Also when you arrive on site just switch the fridge on and open the wine! No more legs down, filling barrels etc.

In France there are Aires all over the place for MH use only and these are mainly closer to town/villages than sites so you can walk in. A lot of these are free or just a few euros so very handy.

We are pleased we made the move to the MH and seem to have changed easily.

Also - I am a great believer in live for the day. My mum died 26 years ago, 18 months after my dad retired and they didn't do anything they had planned to do so I would whole heartedly recommend that if you can, don't wait till you retire to enjoy this wonderful way of travelling and living your dream. You never know what's around the corner.

 

[scotzsue]

Welcome. Don't do the fulltiming bit, but bought OUR first motorhome just before we retired (I had been motorhoming on and off since the 80s) Hired a couple of vans 1 coachbuilt one pvc before finally deciding on the one we got. Had it 5+ years, now changed to a garage model so John can take his bike with him.

 

[Momo]

Hi Caroline and welcome to the Fun!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wildman]

Buy ASAP and get used to all of it's idiosyncrasies, upgrading to solar and decent gas management, plus whatever media entertainment you would like (sat ) for Europe plus DVD's etc. Then you will be old hands when ready for the off.