Motorhome purchase

Motorhomes need to be driven on a regular basis to keep all the oily bits working. For motorhomes, Fiat used to recommend no less than 3,000 miles pa and an annual oil change; the higher the mileage, the better the vans work.

Not using a motorhome when on site is missing one of the joys of a motorhome. Take a day trip out in a motorhome and you have the kitchen, clean toilet, heating, and vistas through large windscreens. It's great to pull over, put the kettle on and get out the cake tin whilst watching the world go by.

Motorhomes are money pits. They need to be used as much as possible otherwise they are an expensive white elephant.

From what KJR62 says, I would recommend sticking with caravanning unless there is an overwhelming reason to change. Having a car and caravan is cheaper than having a car and motorhome, and more flexible.

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Our c/van as were our motor caravans and caravans before them , is in storage and  it is, as all of our LVs,  ready to go apart from clothes and food which with our dog ad her kit  all travell in the "support vehicle"and once at the storage we can be away in less than 10mins 

and when on a pitch at our destination will be (unless we sometimes have the awning on long stays) ready in  about 30mins 

The major issue is the hitch-up at present as we are both now not the fittest. The MH we have chosen after hiring MH is a Bessacar E460 as this has the same layout as our Coachman VIP 460. We are also thinking that in our mid sixties we need to try it now or never will and then regret it. 

Hi Aspenshaw thanks for the reply, I wonder if you will add some more info to the paragraph “motorhomes are a money pit”.

Be aware that one of the biggest mistakes made by people buying their first MH is attempting to replicate the interior of their caravan which results in them buying a MH too big for ease of use.

I've found over the last couple of months that going away in the uk, be it the caravan or MH takes less time than packing for our trips abroad. Less clothes, less food, less first aid kits etc.

However we are not away for 2 months like abroad. I work on the theory that if I've forgotten something in the UK I can usually buy it somewhere. Not always the case abroad.

I agree that a MH needs to be used often, to expensive not to and of course, as has been mentioned they need to be run. 

Our caravan and MH have very similar layouts and at 6.2 and 6.3 very similar lengths.

 

How did you get on with the hired MH?

Touring with one is different in that you are always moving forward, with a caravan you tend to stay for a few days and use the car to explore, more like the spokes of a wheel.

We do take the new MH off site as we have found at 6.3m we can take it almost anywhere.

We tour mainly in Europe with the motorhome but don’t find lack of mobility a problem as we choose sites close to towns or public transport. We often stay for a couple of weeks in one location and only go off-site to do major shops. Fill up with water and discharge waste on the way back to the pitch.

Ditch the Aquaroll, Wastemaster etc., stick a bucket under the waste outlet and dispose in then hedgerows (on almost any site except club sites).

Everybody's different but after 25 years caravanning the motorhome gave us a new lease of life. If we want to explore cities or towns we do short hotel breaks. The motorhome is for countryside and enjoying the immediate environment.

KJR62
I use an Iveco Commercial Van Total Cost of Ownership model -  mainly for fun.

For the first five years of ownership of my new £70k motorhome, the TCO was £42,000. For 2019-24, I expect the TCO to be £37,000. Fixed costs included Depreciation, Insurance, Tax, Tyres, Maintenance and repairs. It does not include fuel. Over 10 years, I expect depreciation will cost me £40,000; £25,500 in the first 5 years and £14,500 in the last five years. The figures do not include fuel. Figures for other people might be lower but I think most of us will find watching paint dry is more enjoyable than watching a motorhome depreciate.

You can check depreciation for a van similar to the one you are interested in by checking second hand values on web sites such as CMC, Out & About Live, and Auto Trader.

Buying second hand reduces the TOC but might not give you the desirable safety devices. They might give you features you don’t want. Each to their own …