UK Built Motorhomes

Some great posts here thank you all.  Lots to consider.  

Some good advice Catherine. If you like space, and want a MH similar in size to your van, it could bring a whole load of issues, as big MHs tend to be more "park up and walk/cycle/bus/hire car" in use over here. Which for us personally defeats the object of having one, because our fun comes from taking our MH out and using it as a mobile cafe, lounge, bird hide, beach hut, bike station, etc......

It does require a lot of thought. They need to be used regularly as well, keep the mechanics, engine sweet, even if it is just a day out somewhere. Weeks, months of being laid up doesn't suit them. They still suffer from many of the issues that caravans do in terms of build quality, depending on what you buy. Matching a layout that suits, to build quality that you can trust is possibly the biggest conundrum in touring at the moment!

We have solved it for us, but down a route not many would consider, that of buying something older of quality, without some of the gadgets and bling of the more modern stuff. Luckily for us, prices are holding up very well, and we seem to be part of a quirky little group of happy motorhomers with few build quality issues. I hope you make the right choice for yourselves.

Since we changed to a M/H  2 years ago, we "holiday" in a completely different way ,we used to tow to one site a then go out from there ,but now we use 2 or3 different sites for the same "holiday" and see more of the country , we all do things differently and only you will know when you see the right van 

Catherine

We came to motorhome ownership from a similar route that you are coming from. Whilst we didn't have a twin axle caravan ours was over 7 mts long and I preferred to tow with a 4x4. We were getting to the stage that our tow car needed to be changed and I was rather shocked that to get what I wanted was going to cost in excess of £30000. We had been thinking of a motorhome for some years and that was the spur to change. Like you we wanted to replicate what we had in the caravan in a motorhome which resulted in us buying a Bailey 740 SE Approach. We have had it for the last five years and have been very pleased with it. 

As others have said you really need to think about what you want from motorhoming as it is different from caravanning. If you go for a larger motorhome it could restrict you in terms of getting out and about. On the plus side there are many,many sites that are within easy distance, by foot, by bike or public transport so you have no need to worry about getting around  assuming you are both reasonably fit.

As to whether you buy UK made or  Continental is entirely up to you but like you we rather favour The UK design as it suits our use more. We like everything at low level.  So many Continental designs have high beds either over a garage or via drop down beds. These do no appeal in the least to us and I do have, at our age, serious doubts about the safety of such designs. Younger more active people may well be able to manage. As someone suggested up thread I would also suggest you get to the NEC where you can see all the models in one place/

David

I don’t normally look at MH reviews, but in a club review to get a score that low must mean the wheels must have fallen off.  

Imagine my surprise when I check the part of the article titled Build quality, there is no mention of any problems.  The only slight negatives mentioned that I can see, are the height of the vechicle, and the lack of a window in the door.  Both of which are design charactistics not related to build quality.

I wonder if the original review had to be edited for reasons of space or perhaps the rest of the review is continued on p125?

I have never had a Continental built van, its never been a practical proposition for us. The two caravans and two motorhomes we have owned have been British built and we have been happy with them all. Yes there have been a few teething problems with the motorhomes but once sorted they have, and are fine vans.

peedee

I found all this interesting as we have sold our caravan and are planning on a motorhome.  We are restricted by our essential which is a proper automatic; i.e. a Mercedes Sprinter.  We have looked at all the non UK designs and excluded them from our list as they have a fixed seating/dining area which seems a waste of space to us.  We far prefer parallel lounge seating which converts simply to a double bed.  The conclusion, for us, is an Auto-Sleeper Stanton.

Yes I found the 70% figure perplexing in some walks of life 70% is OK e.g. a maths exam but if a pharmacist was dispensing 3 out of 10 prescriptions incorrectly they would soon be in trouble. 

Without an indication of the scoring method the figure is meaningless except perhaps to use to compare the score against the scores of other vehicles. However if I was marking this exam paper I think I would be saying "must try harder" and my feeling is that caravans and motorhomes compare unfavourably for built quality with even the most modest of cars. 

You have forgotten to mention drop down beds. In our view the perfect solution. We have a 6m motorhome, the whole of which is available to us during the day. At night, press a button and the bed drops down from the ceiling, already made up. 

Im a fan, too....we have one in the front of our van...

funnily enough, only this afternoon i was reading a review of the Burstner 640 with longitudinal drop down....a great all rounder..