Newbie looking for guidance! (1 Viewer)

[Kryten]

Hi there peeps! :thumb:

I'm looking to get myself a motorhome in the near future but would appreciate some help and guidance before I spend my hard-earned cash.

I have my heart set on a coachbuilt motorhome with a bed above the cab. This is the one I would probably sleep in and leave setup for doing so.

I am on my own with no kids or partner, so space isn't an issue but I intend to use my motorhome all year round and need advice mainly on the general running of it. I would like to run my laptop when out and about as well as a small tv. How long will leisure batteries last before needing to hookup?

I would ideally like to have a microwave in my motorhome too. If I did, will I need to be hooked up or have the engine running or will leisure batteries be ok to use for a day or two? Also, how do the leisure batteries get charged? By an alternator when I'm driving, when hooked up or both?

I'm wondering if there are any particular motorhome makes/models or even specific retailers out there that anyone would recommend? It would also be great if anyone knew of a company that would allow you to use a motorhome for a few days to try it out and see if it's actually right for you before buying it.

I have probably got loads more questions, so brace yourselves! :Blush:

Cheers!

 

[Mel]

Welcome to the Fun

The best thing you could do is join pay £10
You can then pist more than 5 times.
You will get a lot of help on this forum.

Mel

 

[womblevra]

Leisure batteries charge on hook up and whilst driving.
Solar panels can keep them topped up too
Microwaves eat electricity and generally need an inverter.
There are one or two dealers do try before you buy.
Look at as many motorhomes as possible before spending
(Most people don`t get it right first time).
Go to as many Motorhome shows as you can as you can look at a huge array in one place and maybe grab a bargain
Subscribe and seek as much advise as you can.
Most of all be patient

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[Kryten]

Welcome to the Fun

The best thing you could do is join pay £10
You can then pist more than 5 times.
You will get a lot of help on this forum.

Mel

I can then do what more than 5 times!!??

 

[womblevra]

I can then do what more than 5 times!!??

Post questions and comments on forum

 

[Kryten]

Leisure batteries charge on hook up and whilst driving.
Solar panels can keep them topped up too
Microwaves eat electricity and generally need an inverter.
There are one or two dealers do try before you buy.
Look at as many motorhomes as possible before spending
(Most people don`t get it right first time).
Go to as many Motorhome shows as you can as you can look at a huge array in one place and maybe grab a bargain
Subscribe and seek as much advise as you can.
Most of all be patient

Thanks for the heads up mate. I will have to purchase one on finance or with the aid of a bank loan so I can't just rush out and get one now even if I wanted to.

Erm, what's this about paying £10 anyway?

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[Mel]

O just seen what I typed
Sorry about that.
You have now posted twice after you have posted 5 times you will become a read only member.
If you join and pay £10 per year you can post as much as you like.

This realy is a great site for information.
There are some very helpfull people on here.

Hope this helps

Mel

 

[womblevra]

As a non subscriber to The Fun Community you are limited to 5 posts on the forum and are restricted on the full benefits the site offers. pay £10 and you get unlimited access for a year.

On the subject of electricity in the motorhome.
Even on hook up you have a finite supply and have to be cautious whilst using it.
If you have your microwave going you may not be able to use the electric kettle at the same time. You have to calculate how much ampage you are using at ant one time and deduct it from the ampage you have available.
Sounds complicated but really isn`t

 

[yodeli]

10 £ for the subscription, you then are a FUNster! and not just a "read only funster" who can only ...........
...
...
...
...
Read of course !
and not answer!

You can have full access to all the forums and see what kind of mad people you're going to meet at rallies!:thumb:

Meanwhile...

Welcome to the Fun site!


Amicalement

Frankie

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[yodeli]

As a non subscriber to The Fun Community you are limited to 5 posts on the forum and are restricted on the full benefits the site offers. pay £10 and you get unlimited access for a year.

On the subject of electricity in the motorhome.
Even on hook up you have a finite supply and have to be cautious whilst using it.
If you have your microwave going you may not be able to use the electric kettle at the same time. You have to calculate how much ampage you are using at ant one time and deduct it from the ampage you have available.
Sounds complicated but really isn`t

Whoops you beat me to it

 

[Kryten]

Ah, ok. Thanks for the replies so far. :thumb:

I will try and subscribe now then...

 

[Kryten]

Ok. I have just paid for a subscription. You talked me into it! :shout:

Ah, hello yodeli. I didn't see your reply. You must have commented at exactly the same time as I made my last comment! :Blush: Anyway, thanks. :thumb:

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[womblevra]

Ok. I have just paid for a subscription. You talked me into it! :shout:

Ah, hello yodeli. I didn't see your reply. You must have commented at exactly the same time as I made my last comment! :Blush: Anyway, thanks. :thumb:

Welcome to the madhouse

 

[Allanm]

Best thing for you to do ( after paying your £10 subscription of course) is to go and look at a few dealers sites and spend a few hours looking at, sitting in and generally spending time in a motorhome, imagining what it would be like to live in.
Have a good read through the forum, many people have asked questions like yours and have been comprehensively answered.
Anyway, sit down and have a good think about the sort of van you want and how you are going to use it. Get yourself a list of things you need, want or don't want and can do without. Look at different layouts. If you are on your own, thats easy, what if you want to take someone else along in the future?
You say you want to use it all year round. In this country or abroad? Driving up the Alps / Highlands of Scotland in midwinter or just staying around Warwickshire. If its the Alps, then you need to look at a van that is fully winterised, (so the water doesn't freeze and you stay warm) Many European models are built to stand very cold weather.
Do you need a microwave? You really need to be on mains if you use it. We have one in our van. We bought the van in June last year, we used the microwave for the first time 3 days ago while the van was on the drive, to cook baked beans. We could have used a saucepan!

Good luck with your search. Loads of very knowledgeable friendly people here.

Allan

 

[Kryten]

Good luck with your search. Loads of very knowledgeable friendly people here.

Thanks for that Alan...and everybody else!

Yeah, I will indeed try and gather as much info as I can before buying. Like you point out, I do want to get the right one for me and hopefully it will be the right one to last a long time as well. I guess I'm going to have to buy from a dealer who does finance unless I apply to my bank and can get a loan off them. We'll see. First off, I need to find a motorhome that I would like as well as be able to use.

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[icantremember]

Welcome to the Fun

The best thing you could do is join pay £10
You can then [HI]pist[/HI] more than 5 times.
You will get a lot of help on this forum.

Mel

Will be a proper Funster then Mel

 

[Larby]

Welcome to the site that makes GOOGLE look 2nd rate.
Everyone here offers help and advice, you ask, you get tailored replies.

By the way, most on here are quite mad, but friendly

 

[pappajohn]

Thanks for that Alan...and everybody else!

Yeah, I will indeed try and gather as much info as I can before buying. Like you point out, I do want to get the right one for me and hopefully it will be the right one to last a long time as well. I guess I'm going to have to buy from a dealer who does finance unless I apply to my bank and can get a loan off them. We'll see. First off, I need to find a motorhome that I would like as well as be able to use.

beware....if using a finance house for goods over £24000 a different set of rules to the normal HP rules apply.

If you want to repay early it can be very expensive as you are only entitled to a discount of 2% of the outstanding balance.
HP and bank loan early repayment discounts are on a sliding scale depending how long the loan has remaining.

I speak from previous bitter experience.

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[pappajohn]

Welcome to the site that makes GOOGLE look 2nd rate.
Everyone here offers help and advice, you ask, you get tailored replies.

By the way, most on here are quite mad, but friendly

and unlike many other forums you will generally get a reply in minutes instead of the usual days, or even weeks.

 

[Kryten]

Welcome to the site that makes GOOGLE look 2nd rate.
Everyone here offers help and advice, you ask, you get tailored replies.

By the way, most on here are quite mad, but friendly

Thanks mate, and I guess we're all mad in our own way! :shout:

 

[Kryten]

and unlike many other forums you will generally get a reply in minutes instead of the usual days, or even weeks.

I see. Sounds good to me! And thanks for the heads up on the finance. :thumb:

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[Larby]

Thanks mate, and I guess we're all mad in our own way! :shout:

This place can be a font of learning, especially if advice on alcohol is required :thumb:

Bet you can't ask ANY QUESTION about anything without getting an answer. Go on, try it.........................

 

[Mastercamper]

This place can be a font of learning, especially if advice on alcohol is required :thumb:

[HI]
Bet you can't ask ANY QUESTION about anything without getting an answer. Go on, try it.........................[/HI]

[HI]

[/HI]

What`s a baby rabbit called? :Confused:

 

[DBK]

Welcome to the site that makes GOOGLE look 2nd rate.
Everyone here offers help and advice...

And some of the advice is actually useful and relevant to the question!
I asked a question about headlight bulbs and got a comprehensive answer complete with pictures. Better than a Haynes manual.

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[DBK]

What`s a baby rabbit called?

A starter? (In a French restaurant)

 

[Kryten]

This place can be a font of learning, especially if advice on alcohol is required :thumb:

That certainly won't be necessary!

 

[Kryten]

A starter? (In a French restaurant)

lol

Nice one!

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[Armytwowheels]

[HI]

[/HI]

What`s a baby rabbit called? :Confused:

Kittens!

Ops, almost forgot - Welcome Kryten.

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

beware....if using a finance house for goods over £24000 a different set of rules to the normal HP rules apply.

If you want to repay early it can be very expensive as you are only entitled to a discount of 2% of the outstanding balance.
HP and bank loan early repayment discounts are on a sliding scale depending how long the loan has remaining.

I speak from previous bitter experience.

That rule no longer applies to HP agreements, different set of rules now which are far fairer to borrower. The Rule of 74 no longer applies either

Peter

 

[Kryten]

Kittens!

Ops, almost forgot - Welcome Kryten.

Kittens?? Oh, and thanks!

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