Hi everyone- considering buying a motor home

We gave serious thoughts about getting another motor caravan we had a pvc and then a coachbiult in 2004 through to 2014 when we found parking was getting more difficult for coachbiubilt motor caravans unless the site had public transport close or a town close

So we went back to tugging ,we have this year purchased an Old Autosleeper  Sybol PVC  fir various reasons but would not buy anything larger as we can still use it as a daily runaround as well so there is no restriction to the sites we use as parking is not a problem

Two friends of ours have coachbiults motor caravans one tows a car ,but both on swing the space we have are considering downsizing to PVCs

Larger motor caravans are fine if you have alternative transport in the UK or are going over the channel as it is much easier to use them over there

 

 

You can get round this problem if you really feel you need a car by towing a snall one, at least in the UK. On the Continent we find the need for a car totally unnecessary it being much easier to park to visit places. Many do tow cars including myself and it gives you the best of both worlds, use it like a caravan or tour like CY says. This year I have managed perfectly well without towing a car while touring the Scotish Borders and visiting the Isle of Wight. Bus passes means it cost nothing to use public transport and I find it more relaxing to do so.

I switched from a caravan to a motorhome over twenty years ago and don't regret doing so.

peedee

One point to remember re towing a car...

in the uk an A-frame is allowed which means you only have to store a MH and a small car on a pitch, which does leave the same amount of space there as for a car and caravan.

however, in (the majority of) Europe, A frames are not allowed and you would need a trailer, which considerably adds to the amount of faff on a site re unloading and loading.

also, the trailer has to be on the pitch alongside the car and the MH, which leads to not a lot of outside space for folk. Becomes even more trick if you like to deploy an awning or other outside 'kit'.

we do see long term eras in Spain with trailers and the site 'might' be able to provide parking for the trailer away from the pitch, but by no means guaranteed everywhere.

just another element to consider as part of the whole.

id say our van, at 6.4m by a slim 2.12m is a really good balance size wise, even for the uk. The slim width makes driving easy (and parking at NT or other places of interest) but there's enough space to be comfortable in the van of the weather isn't so good. We also have a large garage for all our kit, although apart from ebikes, we travel pretty light.

speaking of weight, what licence do you have...large MHs may well not have sufficient payload if running at 3500kg...anything over this requires different licence group. Age and health may also influence your options in this area.

In short, what people are suggesting is that big is not necessarily best by any means.

We changed from caravan to motorhome 4/5 years ago.  Firstly an Autosleeper Broadway, coach built.  6.4m long. We found some difficulties with that and have swapped to a PVC, again 6.4m long. Some of the difficulties related to driving and parking, some were the internal arrangements. The PVC is much better, because it is narrower.  We wanted that length so we could have fixed single beds (didnt want to be climbing over each other in the night). There is lots of space under the seats accessed from the reardoors which enables easy storage for our folding mobility scooters. We also needed useable shower/toilet facilities. Nothing like as grand as our last 2 berth caravan, but how much time do you spend in the bathroom? There will be compromise somewhere.  We use lots of CLs and dont use site facilities even when available. We also cook (correction, I cook!) we dont often go out for meals, so food prep space was needed. We did think long and hard about not having the oven & grill we had always had.  But we virtually never used the oven, and grill for toast only. So with the two burner hob and the remoska we have no problems at all.

Overall we are pleased we swapped from a caravan.  The biggest down side is parking, but 80/90% of the time we have been ok.  With a narrowish van you can park in kerbside parking, and you get good at reversing into parking bays so that your rear end overhangs a grass verge etc. Also our van will fit widthwide in between most carpark markings, although you may need to use side sliding door to get out.  

You have to plan a bit more where you are going and what route you are taking, not just getting from home to site, or site to site but going out for the day.  My OH tends to grab an OS map and "wander".  If he is map reading, I will be driving and I will find myself going down narrow roads, or suddenly coming across a road with a width restriction.  He gets very frustrated, because obviously we could do these outings in a car without much thought.

If all your holidays are of the sort where you go to one site, stay there for a week or so and go home again, I am not sure a motorhome is worth it. Depends how you feel about towing, hitching, unhitching. There is a different mindset with a motorhome that you have to grow into after a caravan.  EG earlier this year we went to Pembrokeshire, from here in Lincs. Night one, a CL in Gloucestershire (would have done that in a caravan) Night 2 a one night CL stop near Laugharne (home of Dylan Thomas)  in Camarthanshire. We were able to arrive in the afternoon, then the following morning drive to Laugharne, park, look round and then go off to our next stop.  We wouldnt have done that in the caravan.  We then spent 6 nights in Pembrokeshire on two CLs which minimised the travelling around.  With the caravan we would probably have stayed on one site because the distances are not that great.

 

My advice is go as small and compact as you comfortably can for long periods. If you are fit and healthy, this could include something with a quick fold out bed, or a drop down bed, so that it is easy to switch from day to night mode. Single long bed quality bench seats would be ideal if you prefer. A decent bit of storage, either inside, or as a separate container demountable if not required from a rear rack gives plenty of scope for carrying more items, but travelling light is a bonus. (We switch between bikes and a Fiamma storage box depending upon what we choose to do when away) This has given us eight years of easy UK motorhome usage, where we don’t need to consider public transport, towing a car, hiring a car or cycling /walking everywhere. With a tiny bit of research we have been able to park our MH in most cities, towns and villages with ease, always having our mobile cafe, loo and comfort close by at most times.

If you think you might be touring primarily overseas, then you could probably embrace something a little larger. Go too big in UK and you will be looking at Club Sites, bus timetables, and walking in the rain. 

Best use of a motorhome is to actually use those four wheels, embracing all the wonderful scenery and sights in the comfort, warmth and safety of your own truly mobile holiday home. Good luck with your research👍😁

We're probably the opposite with the way use our M/H as we don't want to drive around too much so choose places which are good for local visits on foot or local transport. Surprising what you see on local walks it's a nice way to enjoy different parts of the UK. However if you have limited mobility it's also a good way to see things too, so there are plenty of options.

I also think they are great for travel abroad, there's easy access to many free and very cheap stops in good places.

Peter

This is a perennial question asked on forums, if only there was a simple answer

We can all give our personal stories of how we got into motorhoming and we all do it differently. It might seem a strange starting point but it might depend on how fit you both are. By this I mean can you cycle, be it pedal or electric? Can you walk reasonably long distances to get to where you want to be or will you be dependant on public transport or parking near to where you want to be? 

Then there is the issue of size which has been well covered by other posts. One possible issue with someone changing from a caravan to a motorhome is that they might want to duplicate the space they have in a caravan in whatever motorhome they buy which almost certainly will lead them to a larger motorhome than perhaps they need. As mentioned by others the more compact the motorhome the easier it will be to have the choice of where you take it. If the intention is the leave it on site and use other means to get around size is not so important providing you select your routes carefully. 

We are now on our second motorhome which is smaller than the original but still quite spacious. Because we like to use our own facilities we went for one with a rear bathroom. Having towed for 30 years before owning a motorhome I still think that driving a motorhome is far less stressful than towing a caravan with far fewer setting off and setting up checks. We now look for sites that are either within reasonably short walking distance of where we want to be or there are regular bus services within easy reach. We are both in our mid seventies and my mobility issues are not improving so we tend to stay in places where the above applies. 

Best, if you can, is to get to one of the NEC shows where you can see a massive range of motorhomes of all shapes and sizes to inform (or confuse) your choice! Invest in a few copies of MMM (Motorhome Monthly Magazine) which always covers a wide range of topics as well as travel articles.

David

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One of the reasons we switched to a MH was to get away from towing, I really enjoyed the caravanning bit, just not so much the towing. Therefore when we switched I had no intention of towing a car, be it A frame or trailer and we were fully aware we would be adopting a different touring style. After much research we went for a 6.94 long Hymer with single fixed beds above a large rear storage area. These are easy to get into as we age, due to the steps ( which house storage) between them. The size was big enough to give us internal space, while still being manageable. Inside space I feel is more important in this country with its more variable weather, particularly if touring out of season.

I really enjoy our journeys between sites now, we are usually able to stop if we see something of interest, where as with the caravan we had to drive on by. Our Tours here or in France are about 6 weeks and include about 15 / 19 sites or Aires, stopping for 1 / 4 nights. Although we occasionally take the MH off site, (on our last tour of Scotland once to visit the castle of Mey,) generally it stays put. Food shopping is done on route at handy  supermarkets and we favour sites with public transport and / or local safe walks from the site. This does rule a few out, which exit onto a main road with no pavement or adjacent track. It also requires a bit more planning to check those things, if intending to stop for more than a night.

After almost four years of having a Motorhome and using it for hundreds of site nights, we still really enjoy it. There is no way I would want to return to towing. I just wish we had gone for one earlier, instead of switching to a bigger caravan.