Motor-homing a means to an end or a pastime?

Garfields

Garfields

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Do you see motor-homing as your pastime or as a means of facilitating a pastime
We purchased our first van to make life easier to do our hobbies
The van needed to be able to cart about gear and be somewhere warm and dry at the end of the day
Current van has more storage options, bikes etc can be kept inside and it has a fixed bed
Personally I don't really see "motor-homing" as our hobby though we do have the odd nights away somewhere just to chillout
 
Motorhomes are the only real interest I have ever had. I hate all sports and don't drink or smoke. But love working on or reading about motorhomes. It is genuinely the only thing that has ever caught my interest other than my profession.
 
I've posted in the past that I'm not a proper motorhomer!!

For me, it just a box on wheels that gets me & my toys to where I want to be and somewhere to eat & sleep when I'm there

If there is a descent hotel, convenient to where I am, I prefer to stay in it rather than sleep in my box on wheels

Therefore my vote is for "a means of facilitating pastimes" (I've add a plural to your original!)

However, as my van is also my daily drive, I love her dearly🙂
 
Living in my motorhome, as I have done for well over 30 years, means motorhoming is not a hobby or pastime for me.

It is a lifestyle choice, a fantastic lifestyle choice.

When I still worked, it enabled me to take jobs all of the UK and Europe. No matter where I was, I was always at home...

I no longer travel around in it as much as I would like but I still happily live in it.


JJ :cool:

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For me the MH is a major pastime even when not on a trip.

Going on 14 night package holidays meant seeing very little of the destination, and next to nothing in between. Except when looking down at the Alps, which can be spectacular.

I always look forward to the drive, especially from Calais onwards. The journey becomes a big part of the overall experience. So much to see.
 
If you offered me a week in a hotel or worse, a bed and breakfast, I would turn it down. I much prefer our motorhome. It has all my own stuff, my own comfy bed and my own pillow. I love it and it's a pastime and a hobby.
 
When I started motor racing 40 years ago the only facilities in the paddock were scruffy loos and the only thing you get was a polystyrene coffee and a burger so we bought our first motorhome!We had somewhere to shelter when it rained! Could cater for our selves and could arrive the night before ready for scrutineering .That was what first bought one for!Then came weekends away and holidays in this country and abroad.Trips to London to visit the theatre etc.We still enjoy our time in our motorhome and now prefer it to “package”holidays.We are on holiday from the minute we leave home!Of course the virus has decimated our plans for this year but we are hopefully going down to Dorset for a few days in two weeks time and we are still pondering over France end of August.No one knows!,

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Definitely both!

when I was working I would always say that the moment I got behind the wheel I was on my holidays.
Almost any other hobby is facilitated by the motorhome.
 
I bought ours for the dog! It might sound stupid, to non dog owners, but I love my dog like she is my daughter. Our first holiday away from her, I worried that she would be ok. I missed her. She's my buddy, we talk.:smiley: she's a great listener.
When we got home I bought our first van.(y)
Do I prefer to stay in swanky hotels, where I go for a pooh and never see it again! Oh Yes!! but I can't stay in them without my buddy, so I muddle through:winky:
 
jessthedog said:
I bought ours for the dog! It might sound stupid, to non dog owners, but I love my dog like she is my daughter. Our first holiday away from her, I worried that she would be ok. I missed her. She's my buddy, we talk.:smiley: she's a great listener.
When we got home I bought our first van.(y)
Do I prefer to stay in swanky hotels, where I go for a pooh and never see it again! Oh Yes!! but I can't stay in them without my buddy, so I muddle through:winky:
Click to expand...
Same as us. Hires at first then bought one. We have a dog transporter that we sleep and eat in! :LOL:
 
robrace said:
When I started motor racing 40 years ago the only facilities in the paddock were scruffy loos and the only thing you get was a polystyrene coffee and a burger so we bought our first motorhome!We had somewhere to shelter when it rained! Could cater for our selves and could arrive the night before ready for scrutineering .That was what first bought one for!
Click to expand...

Spot on 👍

Motorhoming on it's own was a happy by-product of my racing
 
Garfields said:
Do you see motor-homing as your pastime or as a means of facilitating a pastime
We purchased our first van to make life easier to do our hobbies
The van needed to be able to cart about gear and be somewhere warm and dry at the end of the day
Current van has more storage options, bikes etc can be kept inside and it has a fixed bed
Personally I don't really see "motor-homing" as our hobby though we do have the odd nights away somewhere just to chillout
Click to expand...

can see your point but can’t agree there is a distinction. If you motorhome to pursue something then
motorhoming is part and parcel, so may not be able to have one without the other.

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Both, really. More of a means to an end at the moment, as we are restricted to school holidays, but Tin-camping has been my holiday for many years. As I’ve gained disposable income, I’ve simply added more comfort and convenience to it. I particularly love visiting our far flung relatives without having to stay with them and also being able to take my own pillows. And coffee. And gin. And the dog Etc etc etc.
 
Wellington said:
Both, really. More of a means to an end at the moment, as we are restricted to school holidays, but Tin-camping has been my holiday for many years. As I’ve gained disposable income, I’ve simply added more comfort and convenience to it. I particularly love visiting our far flung relatives without having to stay with them and also being able to take my own pillows. And coffee. And gin. And the dog Etc etc etc.
Click to expand...
I so agree. Except I have now run out of dogs ☹️
Love visiting relatives but sharing Bunk beds with younger grandchildren is no longer an option I relish - lol. My coffee my cups - super stuff - and I can stop over at other places on the way there and back
 
Yes, both for us.

We enjoy adventures travelling in the van. But it also facilitates other interests too.

We sometimes use it to get to other accommodation, especially abroad. Makes long distance continental road journeys a cinch.

And, as others have said, it's nice to have all your own 'stuff'! :giggle:
 
We are in the non flying group. The other half doesn’t like flying so driving is the only option and if you want to travel further a motorhome fits the bill.
 
We bought Motorhome to enable us to travel with our dogs also to pursue our hobbies of bird & wildlife watching and Getting away from UK winters to places a little warmer.
But it’s also a major hobby of mine keeping it up together and working properly, I suppose being retired it keeps me occupied when I don’t have anything else to do.😊👍

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First and foremost we love to travel. Being retired, and on a fixed income, means we have to find ways to see the world on a budget. Eight years ago we began house exchanging ... not to be confused with house-sitting. We have our house listed on an international house exchange website and have done more than 25 house swaps (not to be confused with wife-swapping), in countries ranging from the UK, Canada, Sardinia, Australia and Vietnam. No money changes hands and it's a very cheap way of getting accommodation and usually a car aswell. People in the Northern Hemisphere don't want to come to NZ during our winter, and we certainly don't want to go there in their winter, so most of our exchanges are arranged non-simultaneously. Owning a motorhome has provided us with a second home which we can use while exchangees are living in our house. As an example, in 2019 we did 5 house exchanges in the UK from May-September. The UK exchangees came to our house throughout our summer (approx. November to February) which was the perfect time for us to tour New Zealand in the van. In answer to your question, I'd say motor-homing is both a means to end AND a pastime.
PS - we have often been asked if we would consider doing a motorhome exchange but we always decline. I don't know the reasoning - I just know that I am more precious about my motorhome than my house. "Go figure" as the Americans would say.
 
We use hotels sometimes when visiting, nice big showers, plenty of room, no tuning a tv in , non stop hot water and no toilet to empty. We look and see what they are charging and it can be cheaper or the same price by the time fuel costs, site fees, and public transport costs to travel around are added up.
 

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