Which washroom

Our Hymer has fixed singles over the rear garage, which can be a huge double the width of the van, although more difficult to use. It is longer than DK’s but only by 34 cm. However of course you don’t get the same amount of free space. The front seats both swivel though and are very comfortable for sitting and we have plenty of room,  for us at least. It is a very personal choice and as others have mentioned worth visiting one of the shows, as well as dealers. We did that for several years before we finally decided on what we wanted. Working on the principle that we had a caravan, so there was no hurry and we could only afford to do it once, so had to get it right. 4 years in we are sure we have.

The model range is a bit confusings. The Autograph range is the more full featured range from Bailey and apart from the 69-2 they are all over 7 metres long. The Alliance range grew out of the Advance range. The Advance was Baileys attempt at introducing a budget range but that gradually morphed into the Alliance which had more bells and whistles. Unfortunately when the pandemic hit and Peugeot base vehicles suffered supply issues the Alliance range was dropped. In its place they introduced the Adamo range based on the Ford which is styled on Continental offerings and is much more expensive. Although in fairness if they reintroduced the Alliance its difficult to imagine that the "new" price won't have gone through the roof? If its of any interest I keep a blog of my motorhome here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/bailey_alliance_662.html It just details the equipment and layout and the things I have done upgrade some of the services in the van.

David

Morning DK,

Thankyou very much for in depth reply very helpful and yes abit of a mine field to follow.

I will have a good look through your link. 👍

Paul.

If you widen your search to continental makes, there are some innovative layouts. A transverse fixed bed usually gives you a large garage area for bikes and the other stuff that we all find indispensable. You can't beat seeing things 'in the flesh' to get a real; idea of them rather than a webpage diagram.

You are very welcome. We did a good bit of research on dealers, and didn’t want anything new, so dodged the likes of Yorkshire Caravans, Wandahome, Lowdhams. 

We found our lovely little monocoque AS Gatcombe from this place….

https://www.used-motorhome.co.uk

We took it for a good test drive, made sure it suited what we needed, size and layout, and it was in fact the only MH we looked at, as we knew it would suit us perfectly for our needs. It was in excellent condition, bathroom hadn’t been used, neither had the oven. Paperwork showed it had spent time in Spain, indeed it had a Spanish fitted alarm system. This was the only component that ever gave us grief, once that was removed it’s been fine. We got a full service, timing belt change, valet and decent warranty, and the dealership owner actually picked my OH up from station when he collected it. The warranty covered both the vehicle and the living area, but we didn’t need it, nothing but that alarm has given us any problems. After eight years, all we do now is have vehicle serviced and MOT done each year. Everything works fine, it’s just general stuff to check like tyres, exhaust, etc… We use a local garage for everything, and they do timing belt when it needs it. My OH is fairly handy with the odd other repair, so it’s been a cheap own for us, very reliable, and we are out every month in it.

Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place if you don’t want new. His partner used to work for AS, so he knows the older stuff inside and out. Ours is a VW by the way, great little tug.

Only other option we have considered in the last eight years is one of the small compact Hymers. It’s a few years ago, and I think the ownership/partnership might have changed, but it did have a much better quality/feel about it than some of the UK and cheaper overseas marques. Mind, that quality was reflected in the price. We hummed and hawed a bit, and decided to stick rather than twist, mainly because our little tourer has all we need, is a perfect size for what we do and how we use it. 

With respect I think the size of the washroom is the least of the problems when choosing a motorhome. 

We could buy one which is small enough and nimble enough to get out of a campsite every day - as some on here do - to get to shops, pubs, seaside, National Trust properties, and all the other places we want to visit-  but for us that sort of vehicle would be impossible to live in and carry all our stuff. We ruled it out.

On the other hand we could buy a bigger one and leave it on site all the time  - as some others on here do. It would be comfortable enough to live in and carry our gear, but we are too old to cycle or walk far so it would mean queuing at bus stops in order to go anywhere, and only going to places where the bus goes  We ruled that out too.

It’s been interesting reading the comments  - but we knew we could never make any sort of motorhome work for us - whatever the size of the washroom.

 

 

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Well, all I can say is, if you  are still fairly mobile and in reasonable health, and can accept a few compromises here and there, don’t need to travel with a great deal of equipment, then it’s perfectly doable. Hundreds of thousands of happy folks are living proof. It’s just making the choice, small and go anywhere, travel light…..or go larger, use a bus pass, ride a bike, or tow a small car.

The key is the ability to compromise. You either do, or you don’t. There are other alternatives of course for a holiday.

There is also of course the option of taking it over there, where there are thousands of Aires to utilise as well as fully equipped sites. There is almost always something suitable where you want to be. Often right in the middle of villages / towns, within walking distance of restaurants etc.