Hoping to purchase a motorhome and need advice.

We have a Bailey Alliance 66-2 which is a two berth model with a rear washroom. It has a decent sized kitchen. We downsized from a previous Bailey motorhome, Approach 740. The 66-2 is a handy size as its not too big and it suits us. Can't comment on the makes you mention as I have no experience of them. 

David

I can’t help with those brands either. Ours is an AutoSleeper panel van conversion and 6m long.

My mantra is always to go for the smallest van you feel you can comfortably live in so that you can travel and park without too much trouble.

I think we need a bit more info to help further. Such as the type of layout you prefer and whether you want to limit yourself to 3500kg to avoid the need for obtaining the D1 licence at 70.

At the end of the day, we're all different and it comes down to personal preferences and what's important to you when you make that final choice.

Oh, and buying close to home makes things much simpler when you need to return to the dealer for warranty work.

Sorry, I made a typo there and meant the C1 licence for over 3500kg at 70.

Do a lot of research, don’t be drawn in by the dealers, and once you have made your choice, brand new or second hand, inspect every single inch, inside every cupboard, drawer, etc.........

Think about how you want to use it. Small but comfortable is best for touring and using off site. If you prefer to drive, pitch up and explore on foot, bike or public transport, then size is less of an issue. 

Lots of options on layouts and beds. It’s what suits you best.

We have a small monocoque Autosleeper. Getting on a bit now, but utterly reliable, damp free and suits us down to the ground. If we had to replace? Other than Autosleeper nothing British, we would look at a Hymer possibly.

Very good point about buying as local as possible.

My Autocruise Jazz { no longer available   } is a tiny 5 metre 41 centimetre and is just about the smallest I would contemplate should I be thinking of changing ( I'm Not !! )

But I would think you could work out the lay out that YOU prefer and then hire one of the same layout ( not necessarily the makes you are considering !) purely to see if you both can tolerate four weeks at 75* or more  as well as the month of solid rain that would naturally follow !

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I had an Elddis built Marquis Majestic 125 for three years having changed it for an A Class Carthago a couple of months ago. I found the Majestic 125 a good layout at 6 metres with a spacious low height garage that took two folding E bikes.

I did have a damp bit of floor replaced under warranty last year but I suspect that was due to the fridge condenser overflow. I subsequently resolved that by routing the drip pipe through the floor and bypassing the reservoir.

Fuel economy wasn't too bad, the 150BHP Euro 5 engine returning just over 32mpg over the course of ownership.

CuppaT - Sorry can’t help with the makes mentioned but for info. most brands/makes have owner’s groups where you could maybe also read or ask questions specific to the model(s) you are interested in. 

 Whether you buy new or used if at all possible buy local as it helps not to have to drive long distances to sort out any problems.  If used try and ensure all paperwork (habitation, damp test, vehicle etc) are in order.  Good luck  and enjoy the hire and do be prepared for all the rattles/noise by packing with t.towels etc.  

Having caravaned, motorised and otherwise, I'd agree that as small as feasible is best. Then the question of beds- we've gone back to singles which are converted using the bench seats. Both comfortable and space saving in our conversion. 

As David says, if on a seasonal pitch or staying long periods (21 nights max of course on CAMC sites) then a caravan may possibly be best for many.

But we like our touring style. Going for a motorhome then bicycles, electric bikes, scooters and motorbikes can all be easily transported relatively easily. Even towing a small car is seen as a viable option for many. But as we all agree, it's horses for courses. There is no one right answer. Life is always a compromise in my experience.

Wow, thank you so much for all this advice. What a helpful group of people you are. There are some great points here and we will continue our research.

Although we’ve thought about a caravan and the extra space, my hubby really doesn’t want to tow and we like walking so are hoping to do that or cycle rather than use a car. 

As for layout, the swift we are hiring has a drop down bed as I don’t think I want one of these so I thought it would enable us to try it out. Some of the smaller Motorhomes mean making the bed up everyday but there are a few we’ve seen that have a fixed bed which we like. I also like the end lounge options but not sure if they are as comfortable to sleep on as a proper mattress. We didn’t realise how many different options there were until we started looking. 

We are hoping to use it for weekends away and eventually to tour parts of France where we used to hire static caravans when the children were small. We would look into a proper awning when we do that, to give us more space.

thanks again everyone. 

 

Cuppa T