Should I buy a Motorhome? (1 Viewer)

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CaravanMan

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I have been a caravanner for 27 years, in that time I have seen plenty of changes. One of the biggest I think is the rise of the motorcaravan. I am caravanless at the moment and considering purchasing a small motorhome. I have seen plenty and once inside they are much like a caravan and I feel quite at home. The biggest problem I have at the moment is the expense, how can they justify the prices? i don't think they can. Well I am here to learn, whether i buy a new caravan or motorcaravan remains to be seen:Smile:
 

angep

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Jul 12, 2008
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Having recently purchased a new motor home having not caravaned for 3 years I have to say we love it. We sold last caravan because we never used it, the motor home we use every weekend and sometimes to eat our tea by the sea mid week too!! For us, as we run our own business and with 2 daughters getting away in the mh is so much easier. Would strongly recommend you hire one first its very different to a caravan holiday.
 

angep

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Jul 12, 2008
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As for the cost it is pricey but cost less than our previous tow vehicle and caravan combo (but only just less!!)

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Wildman

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Hi and welcome to the site, do try chat again, I saw you come in and answered but you left. I am there every evening and some days as well. If unsure how it works I will give instruction after a min or so so don't give up.
A motorhome is easier to use than a caravan, with a caravan you go to a site and set up. with a motorhome you don't need a site, you can stop anywhere within reason, go away for the night, move from place to place, generally roam more, in short campering rather than caravaning gives you more choices, is more flexable and if you wild camp at times, much cheaper. I tried caravaning and only had bad experiences, the vans always seemed so flimsy, site crowded etc. I have been campering for the last 40 years and nevr used a site. For me it has everything going for it. Remember you don't need the latest most expencive all singing all dancing model get one to suit your taste and budget. Good luck, once you have tried it you will not look back. good luck in your search.
 
N

N Luyetund

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If I were thee, I'd go for it!

It's a good time of year to buy, there's still time to get out and enjoy it between now and Spring... Spring being a good time to sell or px if it doesn't suit :winky:
 

geofliz

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Hi Caravanman and welcome to the fun site :thumb: as for your dilema about the motorhome I can say that we caravanned for 28 years bought our motorhome two years ago and have never regretted it. We would not go back. Foreign touring especially is much easier though we always use sites or aires attached to sites. I would say think hard, weigh up the pros and cons remembering that you will probably not have a car with you when away, though we manage with bikes and public transport. If you decide to go for it have a great time wherever you go! ::bigsmile:

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Peter JohnsCross MH

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Hi and welcome to Fun, if your unsure, hire one for a week and if your happy, buy one.

Some dealers will allow most of the hire costs back if you buy from them afterwards, we do.

Good luck:thumb:

Peter
 

Road Runner

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Hi and welcome to Fun, if your unsure, hire one for a week and if your happy, buy one.

Some dealers will allow most of the hire costs back if you buy from them afterwards, we do.

Good luck:thumb:

Peter


I caravanned for years and enjoyed every minute of it.

we moved on and as Peter says hire one although expensive cheaper than hating it if you don't like it.
 
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We changed from a caravan last year, and have no regrets. It is so much easier. When we had the van we would often go out for the day in the car, now we walk, cycle or use the bus. We have even gone out in the M/H so far parking has'nt been a problem despite being 24 foot long, it just needs a bit of thought and be prepared to walk a bit further.
As for the cost you cant take it with you.

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twooks

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Aug 22, 2007
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Hi
I say go for it - not that I'm biased you understand.

It is a very different method of camping tho
Great for a day out, and when on your jollies you have to get into the mindset that sez that the journey is a big part of the holiday, we sometimes have travelled 10 - 20 miles in one day. Find somewhere you like, good market / pub / restaurant / view - stay the night.
It is even better in the European mainland, you can take advantage of their system of stop overs [which we don't have in the UK]
try googling for France Passion Aires Stellplatze

but - there's a lot to be said for try before you buy, so consider renting, and also consider your size requirements, we have a VW T4 now which we use as a 2nd vehicle as well as camper


come on in the water's lovely
 

Beachbum

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Very simple answer to that question. YES. Nothing better, you can't go wrong. Add up the pros and cons and you will have a "yes" at the end.
 

pappajohn

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hi,

if you decide against a m/h then i have a nice coachman amara twin axle caravan for sale....:thumb::Cool:

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Terry

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Hi it all depends on what you want and how much you want to spend.:winky:Advantages are they are cheaper to insure (in most cases)than a caravan / car combo,pull up anywhere without the hassel of putting down cnr steadys etc,you have water onboard,use loo /fridge whilst traveling(passenger):Eeek:-good for drinks etc-
Best bit is depresiation you get back a lot of your outlay when you come to sell,rather than take 2 hits ie car megga, caravan not as bad,both worse than a van.
terry
 

TinaGlenn

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We had a caravan for a couple of years, I hated it, all the time taken to load it up before a trip, the awning taking up most of the floor, having to be so carefull about loading the thing so that it towed properly, stopping at motorway services and having to buy from there even though the caravan contained enough food for a week because the awning stopped any access to anywhere, the hassle of putting everything up on site, knowing you would have to go through it all again to get back home, and then the unloading and emptying....... kind of spoilt it for me :cry:

We changed that for a trailer tent but that was even worse, all the stuff heaped around the kids in the car on long journeys and then more putting up and setting out on sites. We hardly used it.

We brought an old "F" reg motorcaravan for a little under £7k to see how we liked it, and we loved it almost right from the start.
We used it more in the couple of years we had it than we had ever used the caravan and tents combined. Simple days out, going out a bit farther from home just for a day than would normally have been possible, and not worrying about having tired hungry kids, as we would have our dinner, shower the kids and get them changed so that once home all we had to do was put them to bed.
Longer journeys became a pleasure rather than a nightmare. If we were all getting fed up of travelling we could stop and get out somewhere interesting, have a walk about, something to eat, even a sleep before carrying on with the trip. No more "How much further to the next Loo" type worrys either.
Traffic jams no longer meant fed up and hungry/thirsty/cross legged people getting snappy.
Ours has been our escape from the mundane, a spare bedroom, somewhere to hide the kids xmas pressies, and numerous holidays all over the UK and as far afield as Morocco.
We have used it in all months of the year and not just on camp sites, but on rally fields and wild camping places up and down the country.
The ease of moving on, knowing your next stop is as near or far as you want it to be is relaxing, and the freedom to just be able to decide after work or when you get up in the morning just to get up and go is fantastic.
We are on our 3rd motorhome now, having saved up for a newer van once we decided that we liked it, and then as the kids have got older and our needs have changed our latest van. We pxed our first van with hardly any loss of money, when we pxed the 2nd at the same dealership we had only lost £2.5K after 2.5 years and lots of happy miles.

Whatever you decide to do, have many happy times :thumb:
Tina
 

bsb2000

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Apr 24, 2008
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Hi and welcome, having just spent our 97th night away this year our answer would be a resounding YES, GO FOR IT.

Like a lot of motorhomers we also 'tugged' for many years and I have to say there is no way we would go back, you have so much more flexibility with a motorhome over a caravan.

Ian

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johna

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Sep 8, 2008
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Hi Caravan man,
Cost is easy, just add the cost of a caravan onto the base vehicle, or add your car and caravan cost together, you will soon amass £30,000 plus for an average car and caravan. Then I think it all depends what you want to do with it. We caravaned for over 20yrs, and loved it, but I got tired of draging a van every where. We bought a Motorhome as we want to tour Europe, who seem to cater for Motorhomes. One big disadvantage of a Motorhome is, if you are like us, and like to tour about the local area, you are a little bit stuck, hauling a Motorhome about and looking for some where to park it, but you get used to looking for sites with in walking distance of towns, or with bus services near by, we have bought a scooter which sits in the Motorhome garage, not ideal for 2 x 15st people, but handy never the less. We love our Motorhome and I would not go back to a caravan. Our best friends who we go away with a lot have a caravan, which is handy as he has the car for us to sight see, he would never go to a Motorhome, we have many a healthy debate about the pro's and conns of either, but as said it's personel choice. Motorhoming is a way of life, as we are finding out. Hiring one 1st is good advice.
 

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