What an incredible learning curve!! (1 Viewer)

[Coolbeanz]

Well what an incredible learning curve this last year has been since buying our first motorhome and becoming Funsters. I couldn't get my head round why my hairdryer didn't work off hook up oh:. After discovering what an inverter was I then had the dilemma of pure or modified sine wave . And then there was solar power and refillable gas systems to get my head round . And which was the best discount scheme, ACSI, Camping Cheque, France Passion . One night at Peterborough and our inadequate leisure battery was flat so it was with the help of Jaws that we left the show the proud owners of 2 linked 110ah batteries :thumb:. Then there was the double skillet, remoska or halogen oven to get my head round!! Still haven't solved that one as I want the double skillet but can't get a response from them . I won't even go in to the embarrassment of not being able to get a picture on the tv and then discovering we needed a free view box!! :Blush: This was duly purchased but after way too many hours wasted trying to locate those errant satellites we decided life was too short . And a 3-way fridge, what was all that about? And of course there was the whole wifi/mifi thing and omni-directional wotsits as well as European SIM cards to understand :Confused: What an exciting time we have had. Our first trip, both in the motorhome and abroad was 10 days in Belgium, Luxembourg and France to catch a stage of the Tour of Flanders. It barely scraped above freezing during the days but we loved it and I even achieved my first 100km ride whilst recovering from a chest infection :thumb:. We then spent 2 weeks in France for the Tour de France where we discovered that our poor old motorhome didn't have sufficient engine power to get very high in the Pyrenees riving2: and then we lost power to the rear brakes on the last day :helpsos:. Scary moment when we discovered we weren't covered by our breakdown because we were supposed to tell them if we were going abroad oh:. We spent the weekend in London for Prudential Ride London and the fridge stopped working on 12 volt . We had a weekend away at a CL in Norfolk and I managed to damage the EHU cable trying to dry my hair at the same time the halogen hob was on!!:Blush: We also did 2 shows, Peterborough and Lincoln and met lots of lovely Funsters:coolthumb:. During all of this excitement we had decided to retire early and become fulltimers only to discover that it was longtermers, another phrase I now understand oh:. Hubby persuaded me we should sell the motorhome and upgrade and that was where the fun really began!! We are in the motorhome with the prospective buyers when we discover one of the seats is soaked!! To cut a long and stressful story short we put it in to have a habitation check and the roof resealed only to be told it had damp readings in several areas of between 30% and 90% and couldn't have passed the damp check the year before::Angry: After checking this out we discover it had indeed failed contrary to what our amended document showed!! :Angry::Angry::Angry:Thank god for CAB specialist support and their invaluable advice as we have now been "refunded" by the seller and he is now the proud owner for the second time! It was an excellent start to the new year when the money arrived in our bank yesterday!! :thumb: So here we are with no motorhome after a year of the most incredible highs and lows and the biggest learning curves. I wouldn't change a thing as I am a great believer that things happen for a reason. We are now actively searching for a replacement having narrowed it down to 3 or 4 models that have a big enough garage and the handy thing is I am off sick for 6 weeks so lots of time to research . We couldn't have done it without you guys and the amazing amount of help and information you have given us along the way :thanks::smalllove: I hand my notice in tomorrow and will finish work in March :wooo:. After a sneaky 2 weeks in Goa we will spend April sorting all the final bits before heading off to the tunnel and god knows what adventures await us the other side!!
:thanks: couldn't have done it without you :thanks:

 

[keith]

Well what an incredible learning curve this last year has been since buying our first motorhome and becoming Funsters. I couldn't get my head round why my hairdryer didn't work off hook up oh:. After discovering what an inverter was I then had the dilemma of pure or modified sine wave . And then there was solar power and refillable gas systems to get my head round . And which was the best discount scheme, ACSI, Camping Cheque, France Passion . One night at Peterborough and our inadequate leisure battery was flat so it was with the help of Jaws that we left the show the proud owners of 2 linked 110ah batteries :thumb:. Then there was the double skillet, remoska or halogen oven to get my head round!! Still haven't solved that one as I want the double skillet but can't get a response from them . I won't even go in to the embarrassment of not being able to get a picture on the tv and then discovering we needed a free view box!! :Blush: This was duly purchased but after way too many hours wasted trying to locate those errant satellites we decided life was too short . And a 3-way fridge, what was all that about? And of course there was the whole wifi/mifi thing and omni-directional wotsits as well as European SIM cards to understand :Confused: What an exciting time we have had. Our first trip, both in the motorhome and abroad was 10 days in Belgium, Luxembourg and France to catch a stage of the Tour of Flanders. It barely scraped above freezing during the days but we loved it and I even achieved my first 100km ride whilst recovering from a chest infection :thumb:. We then spent 2 weeks in France for the Tour de France where we discovered that our poor old motorhome didn't have sufficient engine power to get very high in the Pyrenees riving2: and then we lost power to the rear brakes on the last day :helpsos:. Scary moment when we discovered we weren't covered by our breakdown because we were supposed to tell them if we were going abroad oh:. We spent the weekend in London for Prudential Ride London and the fridge stopped working on 12 volt . We had a weekend away at a CL in Norfolk and I managed to damage the EHU cable trying to dry my hair at the same time the halogen hob was on!!:Blush: We also did 2 shows, Peterborough and Lincoln and met lots of lovely Funsters:coolthumb:. During all of this excitement we had decided to retire early and become fulltimers only to discover that it was longtermers, another phrase I now understand oh:. Hubby persuaded me we should sell the motorhome and upgrade and that was where the fun really began!! We are in the motorhome with the prospective buyers when we discover one of the seats is soaked!! To cut a long and stressful story short we put it in to have a habitation check and the roof resealed only to be told it had damp readings in several areas of between 30% and 90% and couldn't have passed the damp check the year before::Angry: After checking this out we discover it had indeed failed contrary to what our amended document showed!! :Angry::Angry::Angry:Thank god for CAB specialist support and their invaluable advice as we have now been "refunded" by the seller and he is now the proud owner for the second time! It was an excellent start to the new year when the money arrived in our bank yesterday!! :thumb: So here we are with no motorhome after a year of the most incredible highs and lows and the biggest learning curves. I wouldn't change a thing as I am a great believer that things happen for a reason. We are now actively searching for a replacement having narrowed it down to 3 or 4 models that have a big enough garage and the handy thing is I am off sick for 6 weeks so lots of time to research . We couldn't have done it without you guys and the amazing amount of help and information you have given us along the way :thanks::smalllove: I hand my notice in tomorrow and will finish work in March :wooo:. After a sneaky 2 weeks in Goa we will spend April sorting all the final bits before heading off to the tunnel and god knows what adventures await us the other side!!
:thanks: couldn't have done it without you :thanks:

Sounds to me like you are an expert on motorhoing now. :thumb:

 

[Coolbeanz]

I certainly feel confident enough to advise the newbies on some things and it makes me chuckle when I see advice being sought and remember feeling the same confusion

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[TheDogMan]

good time to buy, some great bargains about especially if you can stretch to a new 2013, there are some 10k - 20k off list one's available :thumb:

 

[ericonabike]

Congrats, good to see another pedaller on site. You'll know when you feel like an old hand, when you change your MHF status from 'newby'...

 

[Coolbeanz]

Congrats, good to see another pedaller on site. You'll know when you feel like an old hand, when you change your MHF status from 'newby'...

Good point Erica, in light of the experiences we've had I have just removed the word newbie

Our search for a new motorhome is limited by the need for a large garage for our bikes, as a fellow cyclist you will probably understand my frustration when a dealer suggests a bike rack will suffice in their bid to try and persuade you that their motorhome is "the one" oh:

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[Coolbeanz]

Good point Erica, in light of the experiences we've had I have just removed the word newbie

Our search for a new motorhome is limited by the need for a large garage for our bikes, as a fellow cyclist you will probably understand my frustration when a dealer suggests a bike rack will suffice in their bid to try and persuade you that their motorhome is "the one" oh:

Oooops sorry Eric, just spotted that sneaky a on the end of your name, how did that get there, didn't mean to give a sex change