Cliffp
Free Member
I have been a caravanner since 2001. I started with a 2 berth 470 length rear washroom type, then upgraded to a longer fixed dinette model (Bailey Pegasus Milan). I am getting a bit bored with the chore of storing it a few miles away, hitching it, and the constraints of towing it. Caravanning has been a great experience and if I don't find a suitable motorhome to replace it (separate thread to follow), will happily continue caravanning.
My first experience of a motorhome of sorts was in 1976 when my father bought a battered old Transit minibus and carried out a very crude conversion. He built seating around the outside of the back of the van with storage under the seat tops. The space in the middle was for a fixed table. The seats could be used as single beds. The seating cushion at the back by the rear doors could be lifted up to reveal a gas cooker (can't remember how many rings). There wasn't any running water or toilet. He also put up some crude curtains. Even though it was very basic and cheap, it was still great fun.
I bought a motorhome myself back in 1995 - unfortunately this was a very bad experience! It was a Y reg vehicle (1983?) - I think it was based on a Vauxhall van. It had a fibreglass hightop, beds converted from forward facing rear seats (very crude). A basic cooker, fridge and shower room. I don't remember what the toilet was like but it was very basic. I think I paid £3500 for it. The trouble was, before I had used it I discovered that it was absolutely full of rust. It was everywhere - around all of the windows, in all of the sills, just about everywhere except the centre of big panels. I ended up stripping the vehicle, de-rusting it, welding it, painting it etc etc. It probably took me a year and a half of hard work (I didn't do a very neat job so it looked a mess!) to sort the bodywork out. I then needed to address various issues with the mechanics of the vehicle. Also, the motorhome fittings were not really that good so I wanted to replace much of this as well. I suddenly became very depressed with the whole thing, with the work causing me to neglect my marriage (common law only at this point) and the strain took its toll on her as well (she was having to do all of the chores and subsidise me as I was spending all of my money on tools and the van). I ended up selling it at a big loss as a work in progress.
Now I have the money to buy a decent motorhome if I can address all of the issues that make me unsure whether I would enjoy it as much as a caravan. My concerns relate to the practicality of a motorhome as suitable for hill/mountain walking holidays. I will post a thread asking for advice elsewhere on this forum.
My first experience of a motorhome of sorts was in 1976 when my father bought a battered old Transit minibus and carried out a very crude conversion. He built seating around the outside of the back of the van with storage under the seat tops. The space in the middle was for a fixed table. The seats could be used as single beds. The seating cushion at the back by the rear doors could be lifted up to reveal a gas cooker (can't remember how many rings). There wasn't any running water or toilet. He also put up some crude curtains. Even though it was very basic and cheap, it was still great fun.
I bought a motorhome myself back in 1995 - unfortunately this was a very bad experience! It was a Y reg vehicle (1983?) - I think it was based on a Vauxhall van. It had a fibreglass hightop, beds converted from forward facing rear seats (very crude). A basic cooker, fridge and shower room. I don't remember what the toilet was like but it was very basic. I think I paid £3500 for it. The trouble was, before I had used it I discovered that it was absolutely full of rust. It was everywhere - around all of the windows, in all of the sills, just about everywhere except the centre of big panels. I ended up stripping the vehicle, de-rusting it, welding it, painting it etc etc. It probably took me a year and a half of hard work (I didn't do a very neat job so it looked a mess!) to sort the bodywork out. I then needed to address various issues with the mechanics of the vehicle. Also, the motorhome fittings were not really that good so I wanted to replace much of this as well. I suddenly became very depressed with the whole thing, with the work causing me to neglect my marriage (common law only at this point) and the strain took its toll on her as well (she was having to do all of the chores and subsidise me as I was spending all of my money on tools and the van). I ended up selling it at a big loss as a work in progress.
Now I have the money to buy a decent motorhome if I can address all of the issues that make me unsure whether I would enjoy it as much as a caravan. My concerns relate to the practicality of a motorhome as suitable for hill/mountain walking holidays. I will post a thread asking for advice elsewhere on this forum.