Caravan to Motorhome (1 Viewer)

[M C Smith]

Hi all,
we've just joined as we sold our house 3 weeks ago and have for the forseeable future gone full time touring. We have a large twin axle caravan with slide out, so lots of room. When we bought it nearly 4 years ago we had 4 oldish dogs (sadly all passed on now) so needed the room. At the time we deliberated between caravan or motorhome and eventually went caravan.
Before selling the house we only did small trips with it, to just one site and home again. Since living in it and touring in it we've found it difficult to find sites on short notice and have had to book the sites nearly a month in advance, which is not what we had planned to do, as wanted to be more relaxed and go with the flow. We're not sure if it has alot to do with Covid and more people using sites now?
We planned on doing alot of Europe touring and obviously nothing is 'normal' anymore, so difficult to plan things so far in advance as restrictions change daily.
We are now thinking we need to get a motorhome (and maybe tow car) so we could be more self sufficient and be able to move and stop as we wanted alot easier, with overnight stops etc.
We are used to having room, so want something reasonably big 7.5 - 9m.
So we're busy looking at all makes and models to find the best layout etc for us. Everything seems to be selling fast though!
We'll be having a good look around the forum to get tips and ideas, so we can hopefully make the right choice and learn from other peoples mistakes.
Thanks
Michelle & Ian

 

[phillipsheila]

 

[Lenny HB]

Once you start towing a car it will make finding spots to stop much more difficult and when going to mainland Europe it needs to be on a trailer A frames are a no, no.

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

 

[funflair]

Hi and welcome.

As Lenny suggests a car would/could be a bit of a pain especially on busy aires or stellplatz if you are touring, how about a motorhome with a garage and electric bikes or a scooter.



Martin

 

[M C Smith]

We have ebikes and hubby has motorcycle licence so could consider getting a motorbike to go in a garage.
We did see the Morelo Palace with smart car garage, but can't justify the cost just to have a car

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

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

 

[Snoopy]

Hi and welcome

 

[Hirsch]

.

Good luck with the search. Start with a list of what you want and when you realise you will not get it all, start to jettison the things you can live without.

 

[Jo662]

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

 

[robnchris]

We always giggle a little when we see a Motorhome towing a car, let's be honest why would you.
You may as well save yourself a lot of cash and stick with a caravan.

Whenever we are away if we feel we need a car to drive around in to do some exploring we pick up the phone dial Enterprise (other car rental agencies are available) hey presto they deliver it and when you are finished with it they come an take it away.
No worries towing a car, buying an extra vehicle, paying for the running cost, insurance and depreciation etc etc.

 

[Camdoon]

Time spent considering what you need is important.
Rule 1 as with life should be doing what you want with the van rather than what other people tell you to do or not do. Someone in a converted Bongo has a totally different concept to someone in a car carrying Morello or American RV.

 

[Jim]

Hi Michelle & Ian,

You can tow a small car easily enough and plenty do, but in 30 years of motorhoming we've never bothered. We take the motorhome right to where we want to be and walk or cycle from there. A few times when we have been in places for weeks on end (working on the road) we have hired a car. Caravan converts do miss the car initially, but the benefits of motorhome ownership win out.

Best of luck and don't buy before you've read the Buyers Guide..... Subscribers can download The Motorhome Buyers Guide for Free The Definitive Guide to Buying the Right Motorhome at the Best Price

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

 

[AnnB]

Hello and welcome.

 

[BigDean]

Welcome

We tow a car on some of our trips and find it invaluable. You cannot compare to towing a caravan. Our car hooks up on the a-frame and off again in a couple of minutes.

We haven’t found anywhere I can’t go or stay with our set up. 7.4m van and Aygo.

As Camdoon says, we are all different so prepare for many different views

Good luck in your search.

BigDean

 

[Wendo55]

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

 

[WynandJean]

Hello and welcome from West Midlands.

Wyn

 

[ambulancekidd]

 

[gus-lopez]

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

 

[Vipar]

Greetings peeps welcome from Bexley

 

[Wildweasle]

Hi all,
we've just joined as we sold our house 3 weeks ago and have for the forseeable future gone full time touring. We have a large twin axle caravan with slide out, so lots of room. When we bought it nearly 4 years ago we had 4 oldish dogs (sadly all passed on now) so needed the room. At the time we deliberated between caravan or motorhome and eventually went caravan.
Before selling the house we only did small trips with it, to just one site and home again. Since living in it and touring in it we've found it difficult to find sites on short notice and have had to book the sites nearly a month in advance, which is not what we had planned to do, as wanted to be more relaxed and go with the flow. We're not sure if it has alot to do with Covid and more people using sites now?
We planned on doing alot of Europe touring and obviously nothing is 'normal' anymore, so difficult to plan things so far in advance as restrictions change daily.
We are now thinking we need to get a motorhome (and maybe tow car) so we could be more self sufficient and be able to move and stop as we wanted alot easier, with overnight stops etc.
We are used to having room, so want something reasonably big 7.5 - 9m.
So we're busy looking at all makes and models to find the best layout etc for us. Everything seems to be selling fast though!
We'll be having a good look around the forum to get tips and ideas, so we can hopefully make the right choice and learn from other peoples mistakes.
Thanks
Michelle & Ian

Welcome aboardwell advised

 

[M C Smith]

Thanks for all the welcomes and ideas. Like the hiring a car if really needed idea, never thought of that!
We didn't rush in to buying the caravan, as we didn't want to be changing it 6 months later, so will take our time to find the right MH.

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

 

[peterc10]

I am another one that does not tow a car. For us, the whole point of motorhoming is to move around, rather than "planting" a caravan somewhere for weeks on end and using the towcar to see all the sights. We use a scooter (stored in the motorhome garage), public transport or shank's pony to take short trips to see things around where we are. If there is something interesting that we want to see that we don't want to or can't get there that way, we move the motorhome to get closer. Our shortest move when we have been touring was about 4 miles, from Portimao to Alvor in Portugal.

Much of mainland Europe is motorhome nirvana for us. Never book and always find places to stop. The UK is much more restricted. The problem is that you will only be able to spend 6 months a year there after this year, and not stay more than 3 months in a row.

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

 

[HugoBNB]

Welcome

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

 

[Shrimp]

We have a MoHo and tow a car in UK.
When we go to France we leave car with family as we move every few days we shop then and don't need the car.
A motorbike/scooter is fine when the weather is good but in winter...not much fun!
It's not silly to tow a car with a MoHo (our car is zero tax) specially in UK as campsites are not often within walking distance of supermarkets.
Each to their own !

 

[funflair]

We have ebikes and hubby has motorcycle licence so could consider getting a motorbike to go in a garage.
We did see the Morelo Palace with smart car garage, but can't justify the cost just to have a car

It's not just the cost it makes it a big vehicle with very little payload when the car is installed.

 

[138go]

We’ve recently downsized to 6.4 length, 3,500 weight. We love it, you really don’t need a big motorhome and there are many advantages to having something smaller. The weight takes away the need for a special licence, the length means you can go pretty much anywhere and park. You don’t need a tow car. Recently we stayed on a site in Norfolk. We went out and about every single day. This meant we had everything with us. We would get up and drive down to the beach and park and then put the kettle on and get the bacon sandwiches on. Having our own loo and hand washing facilities, meant we could stay all day.

I think when you change from a caravan to a motorhome you should consider how you can do things differently.

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

 

[Conal]

We have a 7.9m motorhome and have been happy on our travels without a car. However my wife’s recent foot injury whilst on holiday and probably touring Britain until a COVID vaccine is found, we are now considering towing. Possibilities include a scooter but I have a Morris Minor I would like to take with us which I feel would enhance the experience so am now trying to negotiate the complicated world of braked or unbraked micro or small trailer for my 3.7m 750kg car.

 

[Campervan_man]

Burstner Argos
Niesmann Bischoff { flair }
Dethleffs also make large motorhomes.

The bigger vans usually have twin rear axles.
Check your driving licence before you buy as over 3.5T you need a C1 on your licence.

Driving licence categories

Driving licence categories - entitlements on your licence and what vehicles you can drive - cars, motorcycles, mopeds, medium and large lorries, minibuses and buses.

www.gov.uk

 

[Speve]

Hi and welcome.

As Lenny suggests a car would/could be a bit of a pain especially on busy aires or stellplatz if you are touring, how about a motorhome with a garage and electric bikes or a scooter.



Martin

Never had a problem with car and trailer in Spain, Germany,Portugal, Belgium,Holland,Denmark,Sweden or Finland used campsites and aires,stellplatz.

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