Is length an issue or hinderence?

jaykay

jaykay

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I'm looking at buying a new motorhome in the new year (fingers crossed) and like some pretty big motorhomes around 8.2m.

Is something this length an issue driving around? I'm a confident driver with good senses, but never driven anything of this length.

I dont want to not drive it because its not practical.

Thoughts?
 
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My experience is that length in itself isn't the issue. Longer means taking corners wider and being aware of the behaviour of your back wheels. The issue I think makes driving some motorhomes hard is overhang. That's the tail that whips round and hits something when you aren't watching.. it is one of the reasons we chose a van conversion not a coachbuilt
 
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Plenty have 8m MHs.

But obviously there will be places you can't park and work around this.

You'll pay a bit more for tolls and ferries.
 
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It's not so much the driving as the parking.
I often see motorhomes at our beach or supermarket car park but I've never seen a van there bigger than 6.5 to 7 mts.

Some sites don't allow vans over 8 mts.

However, I think it depends where you are planning on going and how you are going to use your van/beast.
 
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Ours is 7 metres and on many aires on the continent we have used it would not be possible with 8.2

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Am now running at 7.6 metres and have never had a problem even with a trailer. Have owned RVs in the past and never had a problem with size either. There is no substitute for size when long terming.
 
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Make sure you can get it into your property if you intend parking it there.

We have plenty of space on the property but the turn in is narrow and awkward and I think the maximum length that could be turned in would be around 6.5m

It's not the length so much as the turning circle and overhang as already mentioned.
 
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This is our first RV it's 8.5 long and 2.4 wide, left hand drive and I took it for my first drive last week and did no damage! We will pay a bit more on ferries and some places we are too big for but still got enough choice. When we searched we looked at loads and this ticked most of the boxes so the minus' that the extra length gives is a small price to pay

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Hi jaykay

No problem driving around, it is what it is and it will only fit where there is room for it so two parking bays in supermarket car parks and sometimes it can be tight in Aires, height can be more of an issue than length sometimes when there are trees about, we are 3.3 metres tall and 8.5 metres long and although we would not go any bigger we do not regret buying what we have.

image.jpg Short spaces, but still goes in if you try hard enough.
 
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the biggest problem we have had has been grounding the chassis, we are 8m long, but with about 2m behind our twin axle

other than that a little more care when turning sharply, the width is the same, I really cant see much difference going from 6m to 8m, driving wise.....

now the space inside at 8m is what you would miss

what we have been able to do though is reverse up to and over grass verges in car parks, then only taken up a single space
 
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I have never driven a MH longer than 7 metres and in that case it was rear overhang that was the main consideration when turning or when using ramps on ferries.

My friend had a tag axle 9.5 metre long MH and he towed a trailer with a Fiat 500 on it. Yes there were times that he had to unhitched the trailer when turning into some tight gateways but overall, he never had any issues and was certainly never turned away from any site that he visited either here or on the Continent.
 
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9m here and echo previous comments.
You soon get used to it when driving and just have to take care when parking. When we arrive at our destination I usually get out to scout the available pitches to work out which one will be easiest to get in and out of and the best route.
Only once have we had to decide to bail out on a site or aire and that was because of a slope causing the chassis to ground.
 
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We've had several really big RVs up to 11 metres and one at 9 metres and its no problem driving. The problems start when you want to find sites as many now have a 8 or 8.5 metre limit. Also you can encounter problems once you get off main roads which doesn't matter if you likd to plan trips but can limit spontaneous travel.
We are now 7.5 metre and find this spot on, stil big enough to be suitable for long term travel but small enough to access pretty much anywhere.
Size is unbeatable when parked but can be a pain when travelling.
 
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Have to echo all previous comments, we once rented a kontiki with the TAG axle, can't remember exact length, but it was pretty huge. Finding places to stop was the only issue, you very quickly get used to where the back is.
Our current MH is 7.3 with a big overhang, I just have to make sure I don't take out cyclists with it :LOL:
Most of the sites we have stayed at on the continent seem to have 7 metres as the point where they charge extra to stay.
 
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Nope, 32' long and often tow either a car on an "A" frame or a Zodiac RIB on a 27' trailer. Off to tour Scotland next Friday for Christmas and New Year :)
 
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Ours is 7.9mts and over 3mts high. We tow a car occasionally as well and not really encountered problems. There were some roads in Maroc that I wouldn't go down again otherwise relatively straightforward.

What you will find with sub 7 mt vans is better fuel consumption. Longer usually means heavier and a consequence is less mpg.
 
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Hi
Ours is 7.5 never had probs on camps, I know it's not as long as others but it does have a decent overhang I would have a longer MH but the drive would be a bit tight. Pete
 
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Some campsites won't let you in, especially if you are booking ahead, and sometimes its tight manoeuvring round all the little trees and shrubs they like to put in on the club campsites. My RV takes up every inch of two end to end car park spaces, and really you can only park up or leave when the place is almost empty. In Gloucester Docks the other day when I got back I was seriously worried I would not be able to get in the door until the car next to me moved. Though luckily I did just squeeze in as they didn't return till around 9pm o_O

But what you loose on one hand you gain on another and there is plenty of space inside Thebus, especially when his slides are open. It would be great to have something more easy to get into places and spaces, but I have managed to get to a lot more than I thought might be the case.

Check out my blog - we made it over Applecross and up to the tower at Oban as well as round the Shetlands and Outer Hebrides, Snowdon and Anglesey, even a bit of Cornwall and the Lake District, though that was a bit tight in parts!!!!

PS - and its dearer on the ferries
 
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Ours is 8m with a big overhang.

You just need to be careful when making tight turns as someone else has already posted.

I nearly took out an ancient church wall in Spain last year until my wife pointed out the error of my ways.

The shame of it.

I wouldn't be put off. The extra space more than compensates for the minor adjustment needed to your driving.

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We had a 32ft RV and were often towing, so we were 42ft going down the road. Never found the length an issue, it just follows you along and as long as your aware of it there was rarely a problem, though some U turns were fun. We toured extensively in UK and Europe. In the RV if we were going to get into trouble it was the 101 inch width that did that for us.
 
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To say length makes no difference is misleading..

I've driven an 11mt Rv with trailer all over Europe and Morocco.. lived in it for three years

Driving it was rarely an issue..The problems arise when you want to park or find a campsite that : a) allows you and b) you can access.

The longer you are the fewer campsites you can access .. the longer you are the more planning you need to do..

An 11mt RV can't go exploring down sandy lanes.. it can't park in towns or villages unless you find a coachpark or supermarket ..

Accept these limitations then go for it ... but my next van will be a 6mt PVC
 
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The width probably more of a problem. But I can tour and park in hill top Tuscan villages in a PVC...anywhere there's space for a car I can get in. While each to there own it's all about Stress free touring/travelling that's the name of the game for us
 
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Judgemental said:
The width probably more of a problem. But I can tour and park in hill top Tuscan villages in a PVC...anywhere there's space for a car I can get in. While each to there own it's all about Stress free touring/travelling that's the name of the game for us
Click to expand...

A PVC takes some beating for proper touring and exploring.
 
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I think its important to be a confident driver like the OP says he is. Our van is only 7.5 metres with a not too excessive overhang but I still have to be sensible when negotiating narrow lanes or supermarket car parks.

If you are going to use your van a lot I think its more important to have plenty of space inside rather than worry about being able to drive down any tiny road.

As has been said plenty of times - whichever road you want to drive down a bus or dustcart has managed it before.

Paul
 
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