First Motorhome

If you intend being in Europe for weeks, or months, at a time I'd suggest having a refillable Gas system as you're unlikely to be able to replace like-for-like bottles or fill the bottle you have now.

The system may be costly but you can change it from one MH to another if you change vans and even sell the system if you decide to pack up the MH lifestyle – treat it as a long term investment.

We have a two 11kg Gaslow system and despite getting well used (showers, hot water for washing up, brewing tea, running fridge/freezer continuously) it only cost around €20 for a month in France last April – and no EHU fees to pay.

A large Solar panel (biggest that will fit on the roof or you can afford) is essential when away from EHU.

A second leisure battery for the same reason.

With that lot on board you can go wherever you wish and stay virtually anywhere in Europe without having to search for guaranteed hook up sites.

The Aires, France Passion and even Resto Routier are open almost every day of the year and wild camping may not appeal as your first choice but once you're used to Motorhome friendly Continental conditions it's certainly an option.

We don't have air conditioning but I can see the appeal when parked up in hot climates – pretty pricey but it's only money, isn't it?

Hope this helps.

We have fitted our own Gaslow system to our m/h, going away for weeks and months on end  can become quite addictive once sampled 

When we first retired 6 years ago I remember thinking 3 weeks holiday wow! now we won't go away for anything less than 4 weeks if going abroad, the norm is 8 weeks.

Agree with K&M big solar panel, refillable gas and 2 batteries. Total Independence then if you want it. Even if you stay on sites, some of them charge extra for electric hook up (EHU) which can be as much as 6€ per night, it all adds up over the course of a holiday.

Aircon, big issue. They weigh a fair bit, can be noisy, and I believe can use a lot of electric (can they work off 12v?) we have never felt the need for aircon. We just take 2 small fans with us, if its very hot at night time we have one each directed onto us as we sleep. 

If you are travelling early and late seasons you will not normally encounter very high temps. We travel April to end of June, then September to December. We tend to follow the weather, if its cold up north we go south if its too hot south we go north  why not try it first, it can always be added later if you feel the need. We are currently on the south of France not one van on site has aircon fitted.

If you like to watch tv you might want to think of getting a satellite system fitted, an 85cm  or equivalent type system will be needed for most of europe.  

The other things you might want to look into are Acsi discount card, camping cheques, all the aires guide, and french passion sites.

I had Truma Saphir compact fitted to my new van in 2014 and its worth every penny.   Its floor mounted and expels both condensed water and hot air outside.  You can have the unit fitted under a bunk for instance and just use either or all of the three outlet vents to cool your motor-home, or a venting kit fitted similar to the standard hot air outlets seen in vans with the older heating systems.  However, you can't use existing heating tubes as they are not made for cold air and need to have a lining in them.

By design it uses less than 1kw of power and no maintainence is required once fitted.  You can have a 12v to 240 module fitted for use when travelling if you wish, but otherwise it needs 240v to work.   It takes about 20 mins to get the van down in temperature, but like all heating and cooling, you must have windows/doors closed for it to be affective.    also have to make sure your heating controls are off otherwise you'll find your heating coming on to combat the cold air. found this out on the first time I used it.  DOH!

cost around £1200, weighs 20kg, takes up the room of a very large carver box.  Apart from the sound from the air vents its relatively silent. Ours is fitted under our fixed bed.

Firstly, agree that a visit to NEC is worthwhile but more important is to find a good dealer locally who can service both habitation and base vehicle. Use NEC to find the best deal then get your preferred dealer to match it after the show. 

You will have to decide whether you are going to use regular sites or aires. If the latter then refillable gas, solar panels etc. are worth considering but if, like us, you regard most aires as car parks with a tap and avoid like the plague then definitely don't bother. We have been away for 7 weeks this year in France and Italy and have used about 3 kg of gas. Two smaller cylinders are better than one to minimise waste at changeover.  

In France in May/June it was stinking hot and I started to think we should have had aircon fitted but during the day you have to shut all the doors which defeats the object of the outdoor lifestyle. At night we have a decent free standing fan and that works for us. 

One last point; don't spend too much on accessories - tables, chairs etc.- until you have used it a few times. We have ended up selling nearly everything we bought!

agree with what K&M and TG have posted...if youre going to be independent of sites/ehu then get yourself set up and its easy peasy after that.....

part of having a MH over a caravan is the very fact that you can take advantage of the thousands of stopovers throughout europe without the worry/hassle of planning where you 'need to get to' on your trip.

the journey, and its twists and turns, becomes part of the trip, the holiday if you like, to enjoy and savour.....no rushing on to the next campsite as they close the gate at.....xxxxxx

its a shame that Hitch hasnt yet 'clicked' with the aires system as, while some are definitely car parks (though handy car parks) many are lovely quiet stopping places in towns/villages, in market squares, in open countryside, in stately homes and Vinyards, nr beaches, in forests, in fact all over the place......so many different places to rest and enjoy and relax....

id also beg to differ (as nicely as possible) with the gas cylinder position...we have one large (11kg) refillable Gaslow which we feel is better thwn two smaller 6kg ones....

a) it costs far less than two smaller ones

b) as our locker can hold two large ones, it gives us the flexibility to add a 2nd local (say French or Spanish) bottle should refills prove scarce (not happened yet) or cheaper than site metered leccy as mentioned by TG earlier.

as to aircon.....its nice but......it is heavy, costly, needs 240v and the doors/windows closed, so as yet, we havent bothered......despite it being blooming hot here, lol.

good luck with your trips...

I have been very dismissive of aires and BB has been very nice about it. Only 18 months into motorhoming after 30 years with caravans so plenty of time to learn!

I think the message is that we all have different ways of enjoying our hobby but I still suggest that you resist committing too much expenditure until you have used it a few times. It will become obvious what accessories will benefit your lifestyle. 

Aires - the Good, the Bad and the others .......

www.youtube.com/user/keithchesterfield

Interesting comments re aircon.  The motorhome we have chosen comes with it as standard but can be Deleted User for a deduction of £1,000; something to consider as I don't like to think of the weight creeping up.

Q, im not sure if the OP is talking about 'cab/vehicle' aircon or 'habitation' aircon.....

the former you might be able to negotiate a deal on....but is a nice to have (although we rarely use it, even on our continental travels, just occasionally)...

the latter is a separate, roof mounted unit, thats quite expensive and can usually only run from 240v when on site...

now, many swear by these....id have one but OH doesnt like aircon, anywhere....

also of ypu wanted one of these, you'd need to consider where it would fit....

we usually resort to opening windows when driving or sitting ourside (perhaps under a canopy) when its hot...

IMHO, its best use would be at night when its hot/humid which can make it difficult to sleep.

good luck with your deliberations. 

Isn't that strange only £1000 refunded yet if you had one fitted it would cost twice or three times that amount 

We don't have a weight issue with this van just not felt the need for a/c yet, although came close to it back in June this year for a few days.

What van are you going for?