Practical mh for Devon and Cornwall?

[RichE1178]

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is a new topic or just a continuation of my last. Apologies if I've inadvertently made a faux pas by posting it as new!

I've talked about how my wife and I are looking at full timing with our 20 month old son and thought a twin/tag axle/8m+ home would be great for the three of us.

Does anyone have much experience of driving these around Devon and Cornwall and could advise on whether they're just too big for getting to many of the campsites (big and small,) down here?

Thanks all

 

[Wabs]

A Noddy car would have difficulty,,

 

[RichE1178]

A Noddy car would have difficulty,,

True, some of the roads are very narrow and best avoided in a car let alone a mh! But does it become impossible do you think?

 

[Eggs]

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is a new topic or just a continuation of my last. Apologies if I've inadvertently made a faux pas by posting it as new!

I've talked about how my wife and I are looking at full timing with our 20 month old son and thought a twin/tag axle/8m+ home would be great for the three of us.

Does anyone have much experience of driving these around Devon and Cornwall and could advise on whether they're just too big for getting to many of the campsites (big and small,) down here?

Thanks all

I'm 8 meters, when I visit a mate in Liskeard I park my van in his yard and thats where it stays until I leave.

It can be done, but not for me.

 

[Wabs]

Mine is nearly 8 mts,,and i REALLY don’t fancy it,,,

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[Wabs]

Maybe try out of season

 

[Otter Spotter]

Mini Countryman estate with air bed will just about fit down some of their roads

 

[Spriddler]

I think you'd need to check with sites in advance. Some won't take tag axle m/hs and you'll need to use taxis, bikes or public transport to visit most of the 'pretty' places on the coast.

 

[RichE1178]

Thanks all. It's dfficult to try to work out the compromise between enough space to live and small enough to move around a bit... Would the three of us living in a smaller mh be more annoying than the reduced mobility of the larger one... Hmm screaming toddler or narrow roads?!

 

[The Old Man]

As a general rule I don't like to take my mere 7.5mts anywhere I don't know or that I've recced by car, but do occassionaly risk it after a drive by on Google Steetmap.

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[RichE1178]

Ps, I don't think we'd attempt cornwall in summer holiday season - I did really mean during the rest of the year, or just outside school holidays

 

[cmcardle75]

TBH, even a small motorhome will struggle with the narrower roads, so you might as well get a bigger one and just be careful where you go. There's plenty of wide roads as well!

Just don't try to get into tiny fishing villages and avoid areas like those east of Helston where it is predominantly single lane roads.

 

[Itsmcb]

I think it depends on your confidence as a driver and what your used to driving. Obviously there are roads that are physically too small for some vehicles but bin lorries and delivery drivers get to all sorts of places that a lot of people wouldn't drive a transit van to.

 

[RM_Marine]

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is a new topic or just a continuation of my last. Apologies if I've inadvertently made a faux pas by posting it as new!

I've talked about how my wife and I are looking at full timing with our 20 month old son and thought a twin/tag axle/8m+ home would be great for the three of us.

Does anyone have much experience of driving these around Devon and Cornwall and could advise on whether they're just too big for getting to many of the campsites (big and small,) down here?

Thanks all

Bob Hope is dead and you wouldn't be far off after the locals got hold of you trying to move a MH that big around there

Bin vans and lorry drivers don't own their vehicles so they don't mind scraping them down hedges and walls

 

[RichE1178]

Bob Hope is dead and you wouldn't be far off after the locals got hold of you trying to move a MH that big around there

Bin vans and lorry drivers don't own their vehicles so they don't mind scraping them down hedges and walls

I can see the sense in this

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[James-Alex]

Thanks all. It's dfficult to try to work out the compromise between enough space to live and small enough to move around a bit... Would the three of us living in a smaller mh be more annoying than the reduced mobility of the larger one... Hmm screaming toddler or narrow roads?!

A vw transporter style and drive away awning would suit u. Try these for awnings

 

[mikebeaches]

I think it depends on your confidence as a driver and what your used to driving. Obviously there are roads that are physically too small for some vehicles but bin lorries and delivery drivers get to all sorts of places that a lot of people wouldn't drive a transit van to.

Obviously, often mentioned about bin lorries and delivery trucks, but if you treat a motorhome the same way as those vehicles it is likely to end up a fairly damaged van - they are mostly not built quite the same.

 

[Itsmcb]

A vw transporter style and drive away awning would suit u. Try these for awnings

I wouldn't want to live full time in a transporter on my own let alone with a wife and child, unless my plan was to become an estranged parent

 

[Waveski]

Just a thought from a regular visitor; a lot of farms in Cornwall are (or were!) dairy farms which were required to have good access for milk tankers. Some of those farms now have sizeable campsites. Also Cornwall does have buses and bus routes. So with a bit of research and planning getting to and from campsites should be ok. Getting around the county to some of the ‘beauty spots’ with a large vehicle is another matter!

 

[Itsmcb]

Personally I would be buying a decent sized vehicle that would be comfortable to live in full time and limit my travel to places I could get to reasonably easily. If you want to visit Cornish villages or similar then park up in your comfortable van nearby and hire a car for a few days.

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[RichE1178]

I wouldn't want to live full time in a transporter on my own let alone with a wife and child, unless my plan was to become an estranged parent

Yes, I think a VW transporter might be a bit on the small side for full-time family of three - but on the plus side, quite good for cornwall roads!

 

[RichE1178]

Just a thought from a regular visitor; a lot of farms in Cornwall are (or were!) dairy farms which were required to have good access for milk tankers. Some of those farms now have sizeable campsites. Also Cornwall does have buses and bus routes. So with a bit of research and planning getting to and from campsites should be ok. Getting around the county to some of the ‘beauty spots’ with a large vehicle is another matter!

Thanks for this - could certainly come in handy. As with everything, planning is key I suppose!

 

[The Old Man]

An additional thought;

How good is your co-pilot and assisting reversing and do you have walkie talkie type radios in case communication is required?

Also what else drives the roads? I sweated over a road that I always avoided, North Devon, one day the main road was closed and this lane was the diversion and only alternative.

I broke camp at 4am so as to feel that I wouldn't anyone coming the other way.

It was dark and raining, on full beam the glare was too great, on dipped I couldn't see any overhanging branches or potrutions from the offside hedges!!!!!!

After five miles of this, just as BP was about to blow, I remembered that the local bus drove this route every 20 minutes during working hours and that it was a double decker bus.

Sigh.......

 

[Bailey 15]

Tbh the roads don’t shrink in summer and expand in winter, they are always difficult to get around in large vehicles
My advice would be get the largest van you can to live in, 7.5/8 Mts and get old tax free car to tow on aframe for getting around

 

[Gellyneck]

I remembered that the local bus drove this route every 20 minutes during working hours and that it was a double decker bus.

When going to Start Bay C&MC site that's why you get the Kingsbridge bus timetable and time your journey to follow it through the lanes \ villages. Everybody stops for the bus!

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[RichE1178]

Tbh the roads don’t shrink in summer and expand in winter, they are always difficult to get around in large vehicles
My advice would be get the largest van you can to live in, 7.5/8 Mts and get old tax free car to tow on aframe for getting around

no, but I was thinking more about there being less traffic in off season, so less chance of being stuck on a narrow road with a stream of cars behind/ in front of you, making it easier to move around

 

[James-Alex]

I wouldn't want to live full time in a transporter on my own let alone with a wife and child, unless my plan was to become an estranged parent

Lovely awning we have bought.... its massive like a huge 5 man tunnel tent

 

[Jo662]

We had two weeks in Cornwall in May and didn't have to many problems . We planned where we wanted to go and made sure the sites we stayed at could accommodate our 8m Motorhome. It's definitely doable but just take care when you are driving and look at your route before you leave to make sure the roads you will be on will be ok.
And we plan to go back In September if we cannot get to France!

 

[Al n Val]

Our son drove his 8.8mtr tag all over Cornwall 2018/19 WITH NO ISSUES as he was being careful, the only time he did get in a scrape was when a carpark attendant asked him to "go over in the corner" and he had to do a 20 point turn to get out again.

Otherwise no issues at all

 

[Eggs]

Lovely awning we have bought.... its massive like a huge 5 man tunnel tent

What's it like in the depth of winter when you're fulltiming in Devon and Cornwall?

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