To Motorhome or not ?

"i guess what I’m saying is, don’t let the width put you off."

...and its true that you can get used to driving a larger van, but the choices of where you can go ('comfortably') might be restricted, depending on whether ypu want to use the van as daily transport....eg, do you have bikes, or will,be relying in public transport....

however, the weight is a different issue...

this van comes on a 3500kg chassis and has small 315kg spare 'payload' to start with....this doesnt include the passenger (75kg) or any water (93kg) which reduces this to 147kg BEFORE you put anything you wish to carry in the van.

so the van now effectively weighs 3353kg.....empty....

as this van has a large rear overhang, its likely the weight will be split roughly 40/60 front/rear...so this actually gives you a weight of 2011kg the rear axle.....

as the max capacity of this axle is 2000kg, i (and Plod) might see this as a problem....

yes, the overall weight plate can be raised to 3850kg (?), as i believe Apperley, above, may have done but this does not change the axle limits.

if you need to see this illustrated for real, get a salesman to take you to the nearest weighbridge and note the axle weights and the blood draining from his face....

do not believe anything the salesman says about weights, nor accept anything printed in the any glossy brochures, the only true measue (and the one used by VOSA if pulled in) will be a weighbridge...

i dont post this to put you (PJMEG) off motorhoming, but the 3500kg break point is a tricky one to 'manage' even in vans considerably less 'bulky' than the one you mention....

Apperley may have mentioned his weights in the past but i cant remember, perhaps he can reassure you that there isnt an issue. 

obviously Bailey doesnt think there is as they market the even larger/heavier 79 series on the same chassis....which must be close to illegal as it comes out of the factory.

if you have the B+C1 groups on your license and you really must have a large van then i strongly suggest you go for a van on the 'heavy' chassis which will remove most of the issues i have described above.

however, the heavy chassis isnt an option on the Autograph series.

ps.....just to clarify, its not just Bailey that are marketing ever larger, heavier vans on the (inadequate, but 'license friendly') 3500kg 'light' chassis....Swift, and others, are equally guilty....

as mentioned by the OP....its a big commitment to get wrong....

IMHO, as a MH 'novice' you simply must weigh any van you are considering purchasing (they are all different to the brochure/sales patter) an even make an acceptable payload and axle margin a condition of sale if necessary...

caveat emptor, but good luck.

always haply to help if you have any further queries....

I don't think holidaying without the younger member is a reason to change to a motorhome! Two people can enjoy both pursuits and so can a family.

Start from thinking about what you intend to do with your leisure time. Once you are clear in your own mind, you can decide whether caravanning or motorhoming is the best way to achieve this. Reading your opening post, you might have done this already.

We used our caravan for staying a week or so on a site and going out for the day in the car when it suited us. We enjoyed the lifestyle. We use our motorhome for short stays on sites, touring Britain and the continent, for days out such as Country Shows, Truck/Bus shows, air shows, and to pursue our hobbies such as walking. We buy the motorhome to fit what we want to do. We enjoy the lifestyle better because the motorhome gives us more flexibility.

A big difference is that motorhomes need to be used to keep the oily bits working so you shouldn't be putting a motorhome in storage for long periods, such as winter. Motorhomes need to be driven regularly.

I would visit the numerous dedicated motorhome websites and buy a magazine or two. Moving to motorhoming is a big learning curve. BB is spot on about the weight issue. And as you say, it's a big commitment if you get it wrong. If in doubt, don't change.

I agree with B.B’s comments and advice. I have uprated to 3850, the dealer did it for free and all the V5 etc came through with no problems.

When I weighed my unrated MH with most of the kit on board, it weighed near to 3500. That was without the wife, food (yes we always take too much) and clothes, so I would agree the payload is an issue. But that included a spare wheel, tyre and spare wheel carrier which I insisted on. The Baileys now come with a fix and go kit, something I don’t want as my sole emergency plan.

I do try to reduce payload at every opportunity, but then we like our comforts too.

in weighing the van (already now 3500 without much of what has to termed essential....) what was the rear axle loading?

at 3500kg total weight, a 60% rear bias would have it at 2100kg, so 100kg over the limit and no wife, food, clothes on board...

the 'uprated' 3850kg figure 'pretends' to give you another 350kg yet you're quite possibly illegal already...

please come back and reassure me you've weighed each axle and I'm off beam....

Aside from all the weight issues that you may encounter you need to think about how and where you use your van.

We moved almost 6 years ago from a caravan to a MH, we had caravanned for over 30 years, it wasn't easy at first to get your head around the changes of not having a car to jump in to nip to the shops or to go out sight seeing for the day.

We did in the early days tow my small car on an A frame, but that is now not an option in Europe, we still use it in UK because this country isn't as easy to tour with a MH.

We spend 2 x 2 mths a year in France and Spain where having a MH isn't a problem, rarely see a height barrier on car parks, most towns and villages have Aires and campsites are plentiful, roads easy to drive on even in a big vehicle.

We live in Scotland and we own a Bailey 625 SE, not as long as the vehicle you are considering but just as wide. We don't have a problem with the width even on our narrow roads up North, however I do know that the longer Bailey models do suffer from grounding issues with the rear end. Lots of Bailey owners seem to have air suspension fitted to help with this, not sure how that would impact on the weight of the van.

If you are thinking of having a bike rack on the rear of the van I would heed BB's comment on rear axle weight. 

Lots to think about.

1 How do you holiday

2 Where do you holiday

3 If still working how often will you get away

4 Will you have enough weight allowance

5 Where will you keep the MH

6 Do you really need one the size you are considering.

If you are a Facebook user there is a very good group you can join, Bailey Motorhome group, you will get lots of help and advice from owners of the vehicle you are considering, of course some of them might just be a bit biased

Despite comments above, our Motorhome is laid up over winter apart from an occasional run to get the oil moving every 4-6 weeks. We are fair weather campers so most trips are to Europe where we chase the sun if the weather is bad. We go away with it for 7 weeks maximum during the year so it’s a big investment for little return but we are OK with that.

We went for a caravan style layout with two parallel seats which we use as singles. Autosleepers specialise in that type of layout. 6.3 meters long is the smallest AS van where you don’t  have to sleep with your feet on the cab seats and we find the space ample despite previously owning a Bailey Valencia with fixed bed. Our MH has a 500kg payload which allows us to carry 100 litres of water. I would be very cautious of smaller payloads as noted in the various comments above on that topic.

You haven’t said where you intend to travel but this is a significant part of the decision process. Two weeks in wet UK on a Club site = caravan, four weeks around hot Europe living mainly outdoors = small Motorhome. 

"Autosleepers specialise in that type of layout. 6.3 meters long is the smallest AS van where you don’t have to sleep with your feet on the cab seats ..."

You are, of course, referring to coachbuilt vans, HG. Our AS PVC has parralel bunks of ample length in a 5.99m van. 

As does our Bailey 625 SE in a 6.6 m van 

But your Bailey isn't an AutoSleeper