Taken the plunge

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Mitchyd

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Jan 4, 2020
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Burstner Solano T725
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Well we have taken the plunge and put a deposit down on our first motorhome and joined the group but we are both very appreciative weather we are doing the right think or not.
Having been caravaning for 26 years I am a bit worried about the lack of freedom having a car brings so my question is did other people have the same concerns as we are having??
 
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:hiya:
you are doing the right thing!
There is far more freedom to move around and stop in lovely places (especially over the channel) than there is with a caravan.
We’ve had both and would never go back !
 
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:welcome4:
 
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Welcome, You will probably find you will adapt to motorhome travel, just remember that you do not need to take loads of kit with you makes it easier to pack away to leave your site. We have canvas boxes from Original Factory shop which we just through things in to hold steady when we move.
 
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Caravans are useful if you want to drive somewhere and stay there for a couple of weeks while you drive out to look at the sights. A motorhome is for touring around and stopping close to each site for a day or two. We have been known to drive 4 miles between stops
 
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I have never owned a caravan so I am unable to comment but I doubt you will regret your decision having read lots of posts from previous caravan owners. Definitely over the Channel is THE place to drive.
A warm :welcomesign: to the club also.
 
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Mitchyd said:
I am a bit worried about the lack of freedom having a car brings
Click to expand...

It is a very real problem. Only rarely are campsites near where "the action" is. We solved it by using electric bikes, though it's only a partial solution depending on how far away "the action" is and the terrain. Last year is Germany I was really pissed off by a FUNster who carried a motorbike and every day enjoyed riding a wide radius in the sunshine whereas I was limited to a few miles which did not reach the nearest supermarket.

Some people tow a car or a bike.
 
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animated welcome group purple.gif


We carry a scooter on the back of ours.
 
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You will see more and visit places out of the way of urban world. Grab a couple of bikes and enjoy the freedom.
 
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Depends what you want to do we like to go birdwatching and wild life spotting so we tow a car on a trailer it gives us so much more flexibility and range. There are Those that would say why don’t you tow a caravan? Well my answer to that is we can have the best of both as we can leave the car at home and just use the van if we want, you can’t do that with a caravan.?
 
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Try and get away from the mindset that a mh is a self propelled caravan. Of course you can use them in the same way but then you are missing the point.

Welcome to the forum.

Jon
 
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We wondered that! I guess it depends how mobile you are. I find I walk much further when we’re away in the van ... usually 10km a day ... and we’ve started taking bikes too. I rather like the fact our trips are more active. It balances the extra calories ...
You will enjoy the lack of set up time. Park and put the kettle on ... seemed to take an age in the caravan! And we usually only stay one or two nights ... you might find that rather than take the car to somewhere 5 or 10 miles away you stay there instead because it’s so easy.
 
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The simple answer to the OP's question is YES but we argued that as we travelled with the caravan to cycle rather than drive to sightsee we would be OK doing the same with a motorhome, and it has been fine but we also carry a scooter as well now for jaunts further afield.

Martin
 
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Thanks for your reply everyone, one thing we do enjoy is visiting national trust properties and the such so has anyone had problems parking at these locations? I know that some are have only small car parks but in general I'm talking about
 
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Mitchyd said:
Thanks for your reply everyone, one thing we do enjoy is visiting national trust properties and the such so has anyone had problems parking at these locations? I know that some are have only small car parks but in general I'm talking about
Click to expand...
I make great use of google earth on phone or tablet. If the NT property is one of the smaller ones eg Agatha Christie house in Devon, I will always “finger walk” from the road to the carpark using street view on google earth. If there looks to be difficulties parking I will ring up and ask. This applies to other visitor attractions too. Most recently I rang Waddingtons Brewery in Devizes before our visit and they said “no problem just park straight on in against the big roller shutters”. As long as you ask in advance you will most often get a positive response.
It can be a good idea to visit very popular places later in the day and then you can often use the coach parking once they are leaving.
 
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I am sure that a member here has developed a website giving information on the suitability of motorhome access to NT sites. Can anybody remember who?

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We had our first 2 week holiday in ours, last year in France, we're a family of 4. A motorhome holiday is not the same as a caravan holiday. And if you're not going to tour or have multi-stop holidays, you might be best with a caravan.

Pros:
  • Driving distance. I never really liked tugging, it was a means to an end.
  • Set up. Our caravan used to take an hour or more to unpack, put up the awning and set everything up. It's great just pulling on the handbrake and swivelling the seats.
  • Arriving in bad weather. Setting up a caravan when it's peeing down isn't much fun, neither is packing up.
  • Touring. Easy to move on after a day or 2.
  • Self contained. We have on-board water, waste, LPG, toilet, etc. We also have good 12v systems and don't really need a hook-up.
  • Continental aires. Free accommodation, available exclusively to motorhomes, if that's your cup of tea.
  • Driving is more fun.
  • Manoeuvring. We've ended up in difficult spots with both caravans and the motorhome, manoeuvring the van (reversing or 3-point turns) is far easier.
  • Spontaneity. Easy to decide to go away, just jump in and go.
Cons (our experience with our van):
  • Less storage space, although this can be a good thing as you pack more precisely. We had a estate car with roof-box, and we filled the space up inside the caravan and unpacked when we arrived!
  • Less space for us, we travel as a family of 4. Our bed arrangements are a bit tight, and the kids travel seats are a bit small.
  • Might not be able to just 'nip to the shops', so we try to be more organised with food shopping.
  • Country lanes, after you've arrived. With our caravan, we'd breath a sigh of relief when we were all set up, then use our car (for 2 weeks?).
  • Expense. Purchase cost, depreciation, tax and insurance.

We try to plan any visits to places to be en-route, so that we don't try to visit places once we've set up on site. Likewise shopping, and we always prep the water, waste and toilet as we leave the last site. That way, we're good on the road and we don't have to move once parked.

Our kids are getting older, and I think with just the 2 of us, the balance would be far more in favour of the motorhome.
 
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Welcome to FUN

I was unsure how we would cope with the change from tugger. We have travelled with a scooter but get much more out of the cycles and public transport.
 
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Nostrovia said:
We had our first 2 week holiday in ours, last year in France, we're a family of 4. A motorhome holiday is not the same as a caravan holiday. And if you're not going to tour or have multi-stop holidays, you might be best with a caravan.

Pros:
  • Driving distance. I never really liked tugging, it was a means to an end.
  • Set up. Our caravan used to take an hour or more to unpack, put up the awning and set everything up. It's great just pulling on the handbrake and swivelling the seats.
  • Arriving in bad weather. Setting up a caravan when it's peeing down isn't much fun, neither is packing up.
  • Touring. Easy to move on after a day or 2.
  • Self contained. We have on-board water, waste, LPG, toilet, etc. We also have good 12v systems and don't really need a hook-up.
  • Continental aires. Free accommodation, available exclusively to motorhomes, if that's your cup of tea.
  • Driving is more fun.
  • Manoeuvring. We've ended up in difficult spots with both caravans and the motorhome, manoeuvring the van (reversing or 3-point turns) is far easier.
  • Spontaneity. Easy to decide to go away, just jump in and go.
Cons (our experience with our van):
  • Less storage space, although this can be a good thing as you pack more precisely. We had a estate car with roof-box, and we filled the space up inside the caravan and unpacked when we arrived!
  • Less space for us, we travel as a family of 4. Our bed arrangements are a bit tight, and the kids travel seats are a bit small.
  • Might not be able to just 'nip to the shops', so we try to be more organised with food shopping.
  • Country lanes, after you've arrived. With our caravan, we'd breath a sigh of relief when we were all set up, then use our car (for 2 weeks?).
  • Expense. Purchase cost, depreciation, tax and insurance.

We try to plan any visits to places to be en-route, so that we don't try to visit places once we've set up on site. Likewise shopping, and we always prep the water, waste and toilet as we leave the last site. That way, we're good on the road and we don't have to move once parked.

Our kids are getting older, and I think with just the 2 of us, the balance would be far more in favour of the motorhome.
Click to expand...
I agree with most of that, and especially the last bit. We had a caravan when the kids were younger and they loved staying in the same place for two weeks in France and making friends and playing with all the other kids on the site. We used to spend half our time trying to find them for meals once they were older.

We did not get the motorhome until well after they both fled the nest. And now we just go for a journey somewhere. When we are going over to the continent we never book anything except the crossing out. After that we decide where to go based upon the weather forecast and a whim. And we rarely stay more than 2 or 3 days in one place.

Last spring we were aiming to drive through France in 2 or 3 days to get to Spain and Portugal. But we realised that the weather was better in France than Spain so we ended up taking 2 weeks to get through France. And that included staying 4 nights in one place because it was so nice.

Not sure we would have got away with that sort of trip if we had two teens with us.

Edit: the one con with caravanning you forget to mention was the obligatory putting up the awning argument. Fun to watch from afar nowadays. By the time it is sorted we are often on our third drink.
 
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Before I switched to a motorhome I bought an ebike to see how practical that was. It allegedly had a range of "up to 80 miles". My test run was from Brecon cmc site to Talybont reservoir. it was 33 miles and 2500 foot total climb and when I got back the battery was still half full. I was converted!!! It had solved the anxiety problem of being stranded on site.
Also there are often good local buses services that can get you around.
HTH
 
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Well some very comprehensive answers there thanks very much and I agree with most of it and we are looking forward (I think) to our new adventure but I just cant shake these butterflies lol and I know that I have to stop thinking like a caravanner but it's quite hard, last night I went though my usual way we book our holidays doing temporary holiday sites with the c&c club but instead of looking for a rally and then days out I tried to find our days out then look for camping in that area??? I'm try honest, and we haven't even bought it yet. Once again thanks

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peterc10 said:
I am sure that a member here has developed a website giving information on the suitability of motorhome access to NT sites. Can anybody remember who?
Click to expand...
ceejayt have produced the website:
www.annie-and-chris.com

Non Sequitur Ramblings RV & Motorhome

Travel, Motorhome and RV interest site
www.annie-and-chris.com www.annie-and-chris.com
I keep it bookmarked and found it very useful, its a great resource to have access to (y)
 
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Mitchyd said:
Thanks for your reply everyone, one thing we do enjoy is visiting national trust properties and the such so has anyone had problems parking at these locations? I know that some are have only small car parks but in general I'm talking about
Click to expand...
We ve yet to find one we couldnt get in somewhere 7.5 metre A class, but once or twice we ve been in with the coaches. We have also had the odd overnight by asking nicely ( I send Sue in)
 
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I amin similar boat but in my case old age and associated ailments mean the list of setting up and packing up is just too much and need option for journey breaks sort of ad hoc. My problem is deciding which is layout etc is better for me personally as am a total dud at anything mechanical.
 
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