Thinking of going full time in 2019 (1 Viewer)

[Kathy and Jon]

Hi all,
we have never done this before, so we excited, nervy and up and down, yea it will be great...will it be tough....
Maybe we should hire one out for a week or two first...mmmm
Or just do it....

 

[denisejoe]

Definitely worth hiring for a week or two especially as you haven't done it before. Try to hire a motorhome with the layout you think you want to see whether it is actually what you want.

It is often said that it takes 3 attempts to get the right layout and if you're going full time you definitely don't want to make a mistake.

Denise

 

[Dazzlin]

Just do it, or you may always say 'if only'.
It was our first van.
Bought it in july and moved into it full time in the november after just 10 days away in it, but several nights on the drive, and by january we were in Morocco!

Like you we started planning well in advance. That is the key.
We also have an income. That helps!
We watched the budget for the first year, as no one can tell you how much you will spend, and while we spend less than we get in everything is happy.

Just starting our fifth year and no intention of stopping anytime soon.

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[Cat53]

Just do it, or you may always say 'if only'.
It was our first van.
Bought it in july and moved into it full time in the november after just 10 days away in it. But several nights on the drive!
Like you we started planning well in advance. That is the key.
We also have an income. That helps!
We watched the budget for the first year, as no one can tell you how much you will spend, and while we spend less than we get in everything is happy.
Just starting our fifth year and no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Totally agree...just do it.

 

[Garfields]

Make sure it's because you love motorhoming and not because its a way of escaping what you have now.
You really need to hire first to see how you get on and get an idea of the layout that you can live with

 

[Spriddler]

It depends to some degree on your situation.
Are you retired with a pension income?
Can you earn money whilst away from home? (Writing, teaching etc.).
Have you a house to rent out?

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[Gromett]

I am approaching 9 years fulltiming now. Started planning for it in 2005, there was always something that stopped me doing it. One night in March 2009 I decided to just do it. I moved out of my house on May 1st and haven't looked back. Sold the house a year later..

There are literally 1,000's of reason not to do it and you can keep persuading yourself the time is not right. At some point if you want to do it you will need to get off the pot.

No one can advise you fully without knowing your reasons and your current situation along with your goal. But if it is something you really want to do, then just do it. You can work through any of the issues as you go

 

[nicholsong]

Like you we started planning well in advance. That is the key.
We also have an income. That helps!
We watched the budget for the first year, as no one can tell you how much you will spend, and while we spend less than we get in everything is happy.

Just starting our fifth year and no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Kathy and Jon

Hi there.

I have enboldened Cat53's line as I believe it helps minimise the chance of a wrong choice of motorhome, and for full-time you need to be sure you have the right one.

You have a year but it is surprising how long it takes to sift down the vaste choice. I took 2 years to decide what I wanted, partly because I was working and only had limited time to look. I recommend gradually building up your specification in writing for your own tick-list but also to show any dealers so that they know what you are really looking for and are serious - it saves your and their time and disuades them from trying to sell what they have. It also means you can scan the adverts very quickly as you quckly rule out unsuitable ones.

I did the above and bought our Niesmann+Bischoff Arto as my first MH 8 years ago and I am still very happy with it.

I suggest that major considerations for you specification should be

Driving licence - over or under 3.5t

Payload available - don't trust manufacturers or Dealer's figures - they do not reflect MHs as they are kitted out with awnings, second batteries etc. Some MHs have been registered at 3.5t but were constructed for higher weights - need to check with base vehicle manufacturer.

Type of touring you want - always campsites or wild/Aires - makes a difference to how much water you carry and payload requirement(100lt = 100kg)

Possible need for secondary transport - bicycles/scooter their weight and where to carry them - garage/rear bike rack.

Layout - number of beds?, fixed bed?, garage? size of table etc.? If for winter use in cold climes it should have tanks within a double heated floor-space.

Other things like battery capacity, solar panel, awning, bike rack etc. can be sorted can be sorted soted out and added later if costed for, but the items above cannot, or not easily, be changed so must be right from the start.

I may have missed some things but I think I have covered the main ones.

My personal view is that for full-timing the MH needs to be a good quality one and to buy secondhand - good quality lasts, so will still be good secondhand. Not exclusively, but the German build quality is good - expensive new but available at reasonably prices secondhand - I bought a 6 year(now 13 yers) old 'A' Class 7m for Pounds 27.5k privately, and have had only very minor/plastic bits break.

Hope this helps and Good Luck with your search and the Adventure.

P.S. Don't sell the house, unless you have to, rent it - you might want to come back and rent will fund the trip.

Geoff

 

[pawwavingpuppy]

We've tried everything over the years, camping/trailer tents/VW van/caravans.......for the last few years we've had touring caravans, but we were never keen on towing..... and in between all of this, we've been to the Caribbean and America a few times. Our last holiday away in our touring caravan was in July and this is when we decided we'd maybe like a motorhome (we'd talked for years about possible full timing) so we hired an Auto Trail Chieftain in September. Really enjoyed this and we decided that's it - we're going for it!!!!! We decided we've hardly seen anything of this country so that's what we're doing........we looked at lot's of vans (we liked the Chieftan but decided it was just a bit to big for us plus we wasn't that keen on the layout) and ended up with a Rapido Itineo CD720 who we have named Fi Fi.....Our house is sold (to my son & DIL) Lot's of our stuff will be going into storage.

We're off In January and our first stop is Vanbitz to have an alarm fitted. Then we're off into the wild blue yonder, well Cornwall then who knows??? We have a sign hanging in our kitchen

Take the risk or lose the chance.....................................

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[PhilandMena]

Take it easy ! It's not for everyone and very, very easy to make a misjudgement during the first couple of years motorhomes because you are living the dream. My advice would be to get over the initial euphoria your going to go through and by then you will have met many more experienced campers and have a more informed understanding of the pro's and con's. Then make your choice.

 

[Speve]

There has been some great advice given already and as previously said by others make sure you choose the right van for your selves you need to be able to sit in the toilet without banging your knees on the doors or walls and payload is important.
You will be spending a lot of your hard earned so try and get it right first time and remember it’s a much smaller space for you both to live in you sometimes need your own space individually.
Take your time do it right and I am sure you’ll enjoy it good luck with your venture and keep us posted on your progress
Have Avery Happy Christmas.

 

[hilldweller]

Hi all,
we have never done this before, so we excited, nervy and up and down, yea it will be great...will it be tough....

Ah, just like your wedding night.

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