Dear all,
We're planning to trade in the caravan for a motorhome now that the kiddies are older. The main advantages as I see it are that it's much easier to get ready for quick getaways, touring is easier and we're more likely to use it in winter. I've been following advice that suggests it's best to get the smallest MH we can bear to live in and we'll aim to hire something as close as possible to what we might buy, but may well not be identical. Anyway, I'm after advice, especially from any ex-caravanners who have lived through the transition having learnt a thing or two.
Our budget is up to 30k for a second hand MH, but there is flex - just don't want to spend more than that first time round, if possible.
Here's where my thinking is now:
We're planning to trade in the caravan for a motorhome now that the kiddies are older. The main advantages as I see it are that it's much easier to get ready for quick getaways, touring is easier and we're more likely to use it in winter. I've been following advice that suggests it's best to get the smallest MH we can bear to live in and we'll aim to hire something as close as possible to what we might buy, but may well not be identical. Anyway, I'm after advice, especially from any ex-caravanners who have lived through the transition having learnt a thing or two.
Our budget is up to 30k for a second hand MH, but there is flex - just don't want to spend more than that first time round, if possible.
Here's where my thinking is now:
- Favouring a Luton style for the handy bed cum storage area over the cab
- I'd like the space of a six berth with end lounge reminiscent of the lounging glory we have in the caravan, but these vans are very long and can't help thinking that's got to limit versatility when it comes to going places and finding somewhere to park. I'm fine with the driving, having towed for years - but arriving somewhere and not being able to park seems problematic when the point of the change is greater flexibility of use.
- I'm therefore looking at four/five berths with a long side settee facing a dinette, with kitchen/bathroom in rear. Here's where the peculiarities of our family come in:
- my 16 year old daughter has high functioning autism and likes her own space sometimes, so I'm ideally looking for a Luton high enough that she can sit up in, with her laptop on her lap, while we watch tv etc in main lounge. Fortunately we're all absurdly short and we did see one such Luton on a visit to a nearby dealer, but not in the right layout.
- When travelling, she also objects to sitting right next to her 19 year older brother (yes, we can't rely on him not wanting to free-load holidays from us forever, even though he's now at university). So we're looking at a dinette that must have seat belts both sides so that they can sit opposite each other.
- I've also seen some very compact 4 berths where there's a travel seat either side of a central aisle (so no cheek-by-jowel travelling to please my daughter) that convert to settees when not traveling. I really like the idea of these as we then get a really good lounging area and, although we like to be very active during the day, we love to slob in the evening in front of the tv, when optimum lounging/viewing facilities are high on my list of priorities.
- But here's where I find it hard to tell which compromise will be most palatable - the lack of cupboards/storage/ separate sitting areas that inevitably accompanies a smaller van versus the limitations associated with a longer van when it comes to nipping into town for a curry/supermarket shop or accessing a parking space on a day out. This leads us to other thoughts:
- would one of those large storage boxes on the back of a smaller van be a good solution for longer getaway storage issues? I'd want to take bikes too - am I being optimistic about how much we could lash on the back/roof...?
- Conversely, for U.K. Holidays, it's not a ridiculous proposition that we'd take a car too and drive in convoy, so a bigger MH could happily be left on site. Or have people done this and found it more of a chore than they expected?
- For European holidays, it sounds like there's a world of opportunity not open to caravanners that I don't really know about - any advice on how far a longer van is less problematic when going places abroad, because of this? There's much talk of Aires and other MH facilities abounding abroad - this is all uncharted territory for us caravanners.
- Type of holidays/breaks we favour: we go to the Lakes and Snowdonia a lot for the walking. Also like the Peaks, coast and would probably do more city breaks than we do now. As for Europe, we're likely to go anywhere/everywhere - outdoor activities, walking, cycling, kayaking - that sort of thing, seeing nature/wildlife hotspots and pandering to kiddie whims which revolve around roller coasters, trains/heritage railways and wildlife parks. We're likely to stay on campsites for the most part because my daughter doesn't like to be parted from reliable wifi. But like the idea of more flexibility of other stopover options en route to places - she can make do without wifi for a night or two...
- I suppose the fundamental question: for the type of thing we want to do and the type of family we have (accepting we might eventually get the MH to ourselves most of the time), do you think we're better off with a MH in the 6m-6.5m range with associated space problems; or something in the 7-7.5m range with associated manoevrability problems? I'm just not sure if that extra meter or so makes a big difference to usability/manoevrability.
- Finally, I've also noticed payloads quoted are wildly fluctuating but the larger the MH, the smaller the payload seems to be, at times. Why is that? Is it because larger MHs are on the same chassis, so part of your payload has been gobbled up by MH weight? And do people really insist on taking a MH to a local weighbridge before buying to check this out, as recommended in the buying guide I've purchased? I'm just wondering what kind of reaction I might get to such a suggestion from a dealer/private seller (as for the latter, I'd only buy with an indie vehicle/hab check anyway - as we've done in the past with caravans)?