New member. Any advice please

Xhriss

Xhriss

Free Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2021
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Location
South East, UK
Funster No
84,383
MH
Contemplating hiring
Exp
I'm a newbie
Hi,
First time post (please be gentle). It looks like next year will again be a staycation hence I'm contemplating hiring a MH (Sunlight T64, 4 berth) for 10 days May '22. This will be my first time in a MH.
Can anyone offer advice regarding booking campsites?
For example do owners just turn up at a site (24hrs) and ask for a site, or I assume its preferable to ring in advance to reserve a site.
Do owners generally plan and book sites weeks in advance?

I have downloaded the "Search for Sites" app. Do others recommend the app?

As mentioned this will be my first MH for us both, if anyone has any advice it will be much appreciated.
 
We always book in advance in uk. We are CAMC members and use their 5 van CLs a lot. Contact by phone or email.
I would suggest booking ahead at least for your first couple of sites, to get hang of things.
Availability of pitches varies hugely. Big tourist areas, weekends, bank holidays, school holidays all increase demand. This year has been more difficult than normal to find pitches.
 
Welcome from Cheshire east 🥳...we are also new and have joined the Caravan and Motorhome Club. So far, not been able to book on any of their clubsites but will get into the habit of booking well in advance. Search for sites is awesome especially for France. Enjoy!!
 
:hiya:
As others have said, in the UK it is generally advisable to book in advance. How far in advance really depends on popularity and location. Search for sites is great as a starting point but not always up to date. I use it all the time. Some of the main club sites you can book as a non member.
Often there is last minute availability on the day if you ring up but you do need to ring in advance even if it is a pub stop. You cannot just turn up at any time of day and most sites will close reception by 8pm.
Ringing around takes a fair chunk of time and can be stressful just when you are trying to enjoy your first time away so I would advise planning in advance and booking.
Don’t try and go too far in your 10 days or else your lovely holiday days will be filled with the strss of driving a large vehicle around the narrow and crowded UK roads.

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We've found the club sites really busy this year. If the website shows no availability (especially the CMC sites) you can try to phone the site direct as there are sometimes late cancellations that don't get into the main system.

The five van CL / CS network is amazing but best to phone and book (you need to be a member of the CMC or CCC for their certified spots) and you might also want to look at BritStops.

We use a mix of club sites (expensive, rules but have all the facilities plus you know the standard to expect). CL / CS 5 van sites (vary a lot in price, facilities), commercial sites, BritStops, and even wild spots.


We tend to pick an area we want to explore and book the first couple of nights well in advance. Once we are in the area we rarely go more than 40 miles a day in the van and I like to have 2 or 3 nights as a minimum in each location so we have a full day or two to visit locally.

I like to cycle old railway tracks and we'll probably do more of that in the future - plus we also have kayaks :)
 
10 days should be long enough to get a good feel for motorhoming, as has been said, don't try and travel too much, you don't want to spend too much time setting up and then repacking for each move.
Folk on sites are very friendly, if you ask for help you'll definitely get it.
On arrival just accept that folk will be watching you park (we're all a tad nosey and like to see other people's setup).
You'll probably find you take way too much stuff - but still forget the essentials key items (bottle opener, loo roll, matches etc).
Get out and walk about on whichever sites you chose, introduce yourself to folk you like the look of and mention you're new to the MH world and you'll be offered lots of advice, shown some gadgets that people find really useful (and some that they say they bought but never use).
My best bit of advice is to write a list to remind yourself of all the things you must do before driving off - Close the rooflight, take in the shore power cable, remove levelling chocks, open the blind on the side window so the driver can see hard left at junctions etc.
Most of all, take your time and enjoy the freedom.
 
What a great load of advice and I think all of it is very useful

or you could

Drive to the end of your road ask the 3 year old which way north, south ,east or west he will pick a word even he he does not know why

and go for it

Don't leave your drain tap open for your water
Don't forget the matches and then when you get home home realise the gas hob has an igniter
Don't leave your front door not just unlocked but wide open when going away for over 2 weeks.

Do remember your sense of humour and most Funsters are really friendly and helpful

HAVE FUN

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Good luck, is that hired from Ricky, at Wild Horizons?
As said, best book in advance, work out an itinerary giving yourself at least a couple of days at each site.
Plan for bad weather activities, and hope for good weather.
Mike.
 
Whilst I use C&MC & C&CC sites I also use a lot of independent sites. Logging on to Pitchup.Com allows you to set your parameters i.e. when and where you want to go, what facilities you require (toilets, showers, electric etc) and will only show you sites that are available on the dates you have requested and more often than not allows you to book through the website directly with the campsite (it can also be used for overseas) it gives lots of info on the site including reviews. UKCampsites.com does pretty much the same thing. Enjoy the outing.
 
Hi and welcome 😀, as all have commented above great advise :clap: as usual.
We are members of both clubs, each one suits what we require, when we get holiday allowance🤞take your time, research your area, then like me just ask on the forum which is the best? Closest? Suitable ect?
Always get a good response and valuable information on here, good luck...most of all Enjoy
 
cant advise on sites but weve never booked one and weve always found somewhere what i will advise is when you hire the van do a 360 video of it all in and out there are some hirers who make there money on damage
 
Why is abroad off the menu nextyear? Perfectly safe and accessible now. We have been for the past two summers. Ok abit of a faff with paperwork but no reason not to go imo.

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w2f


Best advice I can give you for now is….
Pay your £20 subscription to access a wealth of info and knowledge from all these knowledgable people on here, there’s always someone who knows how to solve problems and loads of people to give you advice.
It’s just possible it may get you out of a scrape and it will be the best £20 you will spend👍
 
WESTY66 said:
w2f


Best advice I can give you for now is….
Pay your £20 subscription to access a wealth of info and knowledge from all these knowledgable people on here, there’s always someone who knows how to solve problems and loads of people to give you advice.
It’s just possible it may get you out of a scrape and it will be the best £20 you will spend👍
Click to expand...
I can second this!!Better than Google for advice any day!!
 
Xhriss said:
Hi,
First time post (please be gentle). It looks like next year will again be a staycation hence I'm contemplating hiring a MH (Sunlight T64, 4 berth) for 10 days May '22. This will be my first time in a MH.
Can anyone offer advice regarding booking campsites?
For example do owners just turn up at a site (24hrs) and ask for a site, or I assume its preferable to ring in advance to reserve a site.
Do owners generally plan and book sites weeks in advance?

I have downloaded the "Search for Sites" app. Do others recommend the app?

As mentioned this will be my first MH for us both, if anyone has any advice it will be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
If in the UK then booking is a must in our option, especially if going during popular times, and a novice. Workout where you want to be when, get those booked after research then fill in the gaps with stuff between. The apps work well abroad, less so in the uk for us. Being a member on her allows you to use the “search” facility, and what I always find good to do is to do a “search” on here when looking in an area, or for the campsite name before booking to get some honest advice, info, and opinion
 
:welcomesign:

Most important for us when we started out in our MH for the first time...
  • Research the place(s) you want to visit and the routes there
  • Research your MH and have a look through any manuals if they are available
  • Listen, write down or even video the hand-over when you pick up your hire
  • Make or find online, a list of things to do when parking up and when leaving
  • Book early and go for a site with full facilities. Try a night with no EHU whilst there
  • Bring your favourite tipple
  • Sign up to Motorhome Fun and ask all the questions you need, whenever you need
Happy camping(y):cool:

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Pitchup is a good site.Joining the 2 big clubs can be expensive for your first trip.As you hiring everything you need should be included.I pick sites close to public transport as I like to pitch up and not use MH for day tripsas parking can be a problem due to either height barriers or simply signs on posts saying MH not wanted here.
Suggest you say where you want to go and this site will recommend sites
 
Andacami said:
:welcomesign:

Most important for us when we started out in our MH for the first time...
  • Research the place(s) you want to visit and the routes there
  • Research your MH and have a look through any manuals if they are available
  • Listen, write down or even video the hand-over when you pick up your hire
  • Make or find online, a list of things to do when parking up and when leaving
  • Book early and go for a site with full facilities. Try a night with no EHU whilst there
  • Bring your favourite tipple
  • Sign up to Motorhome Fun and ask all the questions you need, whenever you need
Happy camping(y):cool:
Click to expand...
You forgot the bottle opener/corkscrew!
 
Thank you all for some great advice.
It sounds like pre booking a site is near essential and also not travel too far between camps.
I will take a note of the other useful tips.
Thanks
 
Make sure you have a note of the overall height, width and length. Tuck this behind the visor.
Remember to add the extra width of the mirrors, if you scrape these the hire company will want £££
 

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