Transition from caravan to motorhome

We had a MH for 6 years and toured all over France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain + UK of course.

However 18mths ago we went back to a caravan, wasn't sure if we would regret it but happy to say we don't.

We like the fact that we can use out of the way sites (quieter/less busy) we can still us the bikes but for pleasure rather than as a necessity. We have the car for further a field day trips and for the heavier shopping.

We did take the MH off site a few times but didn't really want to do that on a regular basis as it felt like we were constantly living 'out of a suitcase' we always stayed on sites as 'Aires' just didn't do it for us. 

Would we go back to a MH  not sure maybe one day but if we did it would be a PVC something around the 6m size

That's just how we feel about having a motor caravan in the UK ,and have since returned to a caravan, it is very noticeable on UK sites if not near easy access to public transport the caravan/motor caravan ratios are by far much higher for caravans despite the growth in motor caravan ownership,

Whilst the growth in motorhome ownership has increased substantially in recent years, when I last looked at the figures, the number of caravans sold was still higher although the gap has narrowed. In our latter years of caravan ownership we noticed that we were always looking for sites near to things we could do without use of the car, perhaps shopping being the exception. We also rarely stayed on sites for more than 4/5 days so the change to a motorhome did not mean we had to change the way we camped. Rarely would we look for an "out of the way" campsites for two reasons. Firstly we like being near to things and we feel going away in the motorhome is about doing things. If we wanted to relax its a lot easier and cheaper to do that at home! If we got to the stage where walking to a village/town or bus stop became a physical difficulty I think we would seriously think about giving up completely! 

David

Just to prove that there are many different ways of using a motorhome, we use ours much the same as when we had a caravan and rarely in the UK due to never wanting to book and not liking the weather.

We stay at some sites for several weeks and often the same ones as when we had the caravan. We don’t use aires and don’t hop around from town to town. The only real difference is that we look for sites close to towns so that we can walk in. We also use local buses on occasions (or ferries on the Italian lakes). If we are staying at one place for a week or two then we will take the motorhome to the local supermarket and top up water on the way back. Grey waste is disposed of in the same way as our continental friends (watering the hedgerows usually), but water/ waste points are often provided on continental pitches.

People like to do different things but we never found excursions by car to towns in Europe to be much fun and would rather do a hotel break for a few days.

So, we don’t use the mobility of a motorhome but love the simplicity. Not typical I guess, but then we only use it around 5 weeks a year; the rest of the time it’s hotels and cruises and it stays parked on our drive depreciating.

I’m liking the sound of 6m PVC option, maybe that is something we should consider for easier access in towns/daytime parking etc. Like I say, will give this MH another try over the coming months then see how we feel. Will be bearing in mind all the different views on here. 

There you go. It fits in a supermarket parking bay with about 0.5m overhang. 

Hi TG

As you know from our meeting at Meathop last November, we're much the same as you, except we had MHs for 19 years.  We don't regret it either, having a car is a bonus at times, although at the moment I think we're still in "MH-mode" to an extent.

There is no right or wrong in either having a MH or caravan, it's about what suits you best and that can change, and does, over time.

We don't take half a day to pack up, in fact, we've said that it doesn't take much longer to get ready than it did with a MH.  We've been in a queue before now at the waste water point, when MHs in front have been emptying and refilling, which can take quite some time!

Swings and roundabouts is what I'd describe it as.

When at Seacroft over the new year the last couple of days as posted elsewhere motor caravans well out numbered  caravans but speaking to several owners in the main meeting point"(dishwash area) all bar one said if there was not the easy access to cromer and /or the  public transport they would not use the site,and would not consider sites that did not have near access to some form of transport or local town/village

That makes sense. Many people might consider that sitting in the vehicle for several hours to arrive at a site that it’s a bit of a busman’s holiday to get in the driving seat again to visit the nearest town.

Which was one of the main reasons that we and others it seems have now reverted to a caravan with its add load capacity and go anytime tow vehicle alongside enabling  nearly any site in area within reach,in the UK where we now in the last years do all our touring