The 5 Rules of Motorhome Happiness

Agree with all of them, but as above we are 500 miles from the channel. However, on Sunday we head off and are taking 4 days to get to the tunnel. One day dashes are over for us.
 
I'd say any rules you like as long as you both agree. For instance we quite often do more miles and drive most days but thats what we both like.

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Driving to the channel tunnel seems to be a bugbear with us northerners. It doesn't help when you only have a 2 week holiday window. I look forward to the day we can go to Europe for 2 months and there is no need to travel flat out for 10 hours down to the south coast.
 
Chris Laing said:
Driving to the channel tunnel seems to be a bugbear with us northerners. It doesn't help when you only have a 2 week holiday window. I look forward to the day we can go to Europe for 2 months and there is no need to travel flat out for 10 hours down to the south coast.
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We were the same but now we are retired and have more time have found interests that mean we actually want to get back because we miss the things we do at home!
 
All good points.

I can definitely relate to number 1 though. When I returned from a year off travelling in my old van I asked to go back to work self employed knowing fine well that I would most likely be disappearing again a few months down the line.

The thing is I find it hard to turn down work as I don't know when work may dry up, that and the fact I obviously don't get paid for holidays made me work more and travel in the van much less.

Now I can see a spell at work where there are going to be less jobs in so I went straight online and booked a ferry. Well, 2 ferries to be precise. Well actually 4 ferries if you count the returns.

Get up and go is my motto.
 
Chris Laing said:
Driving to the channel tunnel seems to be a bugbear with us northerners. It doesn't help when you only have a 2 week holiday window. I look forward to the day we can go to Europe for 2 months and there is no need to travel flat out for 10 hours down to the south coast.
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Driving to the tunnel is top of the list of motorhome unhappiness.

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Set up and pack up in max 15mins
Don’t worry too much about the small costs, a few € here and there
Anything can be fixed, don’t sweat it
Avoid too much planning, just get on with it
Don’t stress if you haven’t used the van for a while, use it when you feel like it
 
Rule about never arriving in the dark certainly contravenes any chances of stealth / off grid / wild camping :unsure: :unsure:

Also the one about staying on a site for 2 days etc?
 
Rules generally agreed with the exception of rule 5, if avoidable never drive 2 days in a row.

Limit drive days to absolute max 4hrs (normally 150-200m) and at least 2 nights in any location.

3 nights is good, arrive suss out the area, decide to go east or west or north or south before nights 2 & 3. Can then come back and do the other two directions another time.

Also given we moved from Caravan to MH trips are different. No runabout for trips so tend to pick sites we can walk (with dog). Also take cycles. Can't see the sense in a toad, might as well stick with a caravan but that's our view. Lets not ride in to the sunset arguing about it. MANY reasons for and against either way.
If we were all the same what a sad boring place it would be.
 
Agree with rules but as most of family live over 200 miles away so, many family trips end up being a long drive, can't be helped. Love rule 2, totally enjoy driving the van. Management loves being Co Pilot.

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Jim

Suggestion for a new Rule

Equip the MH for off-grid, then one has the choice of off-grid or campsites.

Should be decided upon before buying as some MHs cannot be off-grid because of payload restrictions.
 
Simple and uncomplicated, all five work for us, but we would break any of them when it suits us... :drinks:

Cheers
Red.
 
My daily driving distances are getting shorter (150 miles max) and whenever possible our rule is "always arrive in time for lunch". Admittedly, we do eat lunch late by UK standards but still very early by Spanish standards. :)

The theory is after lunch you can explore the location.

Where this plan falls over is when it is very hot and travelling in the air conditioned cab during the afternoon is much more attractive than stopping and melting in the afternoon heat. :)

An alternative strategy occurred to me on our recent trip when I noticed how many MHs were leaving aires in the afternoon. This makes sense when it's hot. Explore in the cool of the morning, travel in the afternoon.

The problem is I do enjoy a glass of wine with lunch!
 
Can't open the link, dunno whats up, probably something I'm doing lol.
 
Rule 4 rules out weekend trips for working people.

What's wrong with an evening drive pull up onto a site / wild camp hit the sack and a new view and cooked breakfast awaits!!
 
Have always thought that it was important to be able to move but have often not managed to achieve that due to family pressures.

Packing the van has often begun two to three days in advance, and I have been ready to go at 11am, but the ex and children have had to have their lunch so we didn't move till 3pm or later - it made me feel unwell with stress once when they insisted on having their lunch while I paced the carpark in anticipation to leave, which is related to...

...Rule 2. The van is unwieldy and a bit of a trial when you ask it to go uphill or fit into small spaces, but it is not excessively big and a reversing camera would make a big difference! I am the only one who can drive it so that's fine, but TBH, it needs a lot of concentration as it is wandery and wobbly. I might have to live in it permanently in a while so I had better be ok with it!!

Rules 3, 4 & 5, Absolutely. Anything else would be too stressful
in September 2020, I flew down to see a friend in Malaga and, when returning, had to wait 9am-10pm in Malaga for my flight back. As I lay on Malaga beach at about 5pm, I wondered how far I'd have got back home in the van had I driven. If I had made it to Alicante by the time of my flight, I'd have been doing very, very well and would have been in pieces after such a drive. Flying was definitely easier.
 
Have always thought that it was important to be able to move but have often not managed to achieve that due to family pressures.

Packing the van has often begun two to three days in advance, and I have been ready to go at 11am, but the ex and children have had to have their lunch so we didn't move till 3pm or later - it made me feel unwell with stress once when they insisted on having their lunch while I paced the carpark in anticipation to leave, which is related to...

...Rule 2. The van is unwieldy and a bit of a trial when you ask it to go uphill or fit into small spaces, but it is not excessively big and a reversing camera would make a big difference! I am the only one who can drive it so that's fine, but TBH, it needs a lot of concentration as it is wandery and wobbly. I might have to live in it permanently in a while so I had better be ok with it!!

Rules 3, 4 & 5, Absolutely. Anything else would be too stressful
in September 2020, I flew down to see a friend in Malaga and, when returning, had to wait 9am-10pm in Malaga for my flight back. As I lay on Malaga beach at about 5pm, I wondered how far I'd have got back home in the van had I driven. If I had made it to Alicante by the time of my flight, I'd have been doing very, very well and would have been in pieces after such a drive. Flying was definitely easier.

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