Transition from caravan to motorhome

We previously had a 7.5 metre motorhome which was not only long but quite wide. Six years later we decided to downsize a bit. We looked very carefully at PVC's for the very reasons that have been mentioned. In the end we decided that we preferred the room in a smaller (6.6 metre) coachbuilt. Its small enough to get into most supermarkets and we have even taken it out to a country house once and will do so again. To keep swapping things can become an expensive business so I would encourage you to persevere with what you have and carefully evaluate where the problems are. It may be that a 6 metre PVC would be the ideal vehicle for you but I think I would want to convince myself that motorhoming is what you want to do in the longer term.

David

unless car parks are very busy, you will be able to park your 6.5m AT at the rear somewhere, taking two spaces if necessary.

folk in cars wont walk an extra few yards and generally park as close as possible to the entrance, so you will usually be fine 'out of the way'.

BTW, i hope those cars who park next to TW's van are careful with their shopping trollies and adjacent car doors

We have not had any problems yet using Supermarkets for restocking. Although there are a few that, knowing them, I would avoid. However, on a tour you are often going in blind. Some have been tight but we have always managed to get parked. Our MH is 6.94. We looked at the 6.5 version of our model, but I just could not get the drivers seat back far enough to be comfortable. It was obviously designed for someone with a shorter leg length than myself. We did consider 6 m PCV's but decided that for us they were a step too far.

When we were at Southport over Christmas I avoided the Tesco Superstore at Formby two days before Christmas and that's with an X-Trail not a motorvan

“BTW, i hope those cars who park next to TW's van are careful with their shopping trollies and adjacent car doors”

That’s the chance we all take, BB, but the advantage of the sliding hab door is that we can always get back in no matter how close someone parks. 

Fortunately we now mainly holiday at less busy times of the year. I imagine for those with MH's at  peak time holiday destinations it could well be challenging. We took ours out for a run a week and a half before Christmas and the Sainsburys we called into was rather tight, 😂 even then.

Think we must be extraordinarily lucky with our parking. We go all over into towns and cities in ours. The only blip we have ever had is in Lichfield, where we fell about laughing realising the car park we had chosen was a multi storey! We didn’t panic, there was another one less than 200 metres away. 

What about the rest of the days at the site

That's why I park my ML at the far side of the car park from the store & might park on the white line to my nearside to make it a space that is less than desirable for others  ..... Big cars are nice to drive but can be a PITA to park.

If motorhoming in the UK, the size is a significant factor given that a lot of our roads appear to be based on mediaeval cart tracks which, at times, haven't been widened to accommodate modern vehicles. If touring is predominately abroad, then it becomes much less of an issue.  The weather is another aspect, as the UK often entails a fair bit of time inside and caravans can, therefore, be less claustrophobic.

The suitability is probably weighted towards caravans in the UK and motorhomes abroad.