Help in changing from caravan to motorhome

No  more  likely  to  be  affected  by  "Swishing"  water  than  by  Fuel  doing  the  same  thing  IMHO !!

depends if it is an under slung tank and if it has been securely attached! I saw one which had worked loose due to the swishing action! Costly business!

And don't forget the push bikes, parking barrier's, mot,cannot see any advantages unless towing a small runabout suits you

the differences have been debated endlessly throughout CT and there is no one right way to enjoy....

for us, we love two main things about a mh over a car/caravan...

firstly, we can tour (in our main area of europe) in a hap hazard 'this looks nice, lets pull in....' manner utilising the aires system if a short stop, or perhaps a site if there turns out to more to explore...not possible with a car/caravan.

secondly, not only do we not need a car (we have a MH and electric bikes.....more than enough for us) we dont actually 'want' a car with us....

we hardly use ours at home, unless we have a long trip....much preferring to ride or walk, wherever possible.

a car would soon turn into the default choice for 'popping to the shops' or 'out for a paper' etc, and we dont want this...

we can see much more of the countryside on bikes, up close with the fields and hedgerows along our journey....

when we are (much) older and 'need' adifferent form of transport then we may look at car and small caravan, small Panel Van Conversion, or even a PVC with tiny eriba-type caravan....

currently, no desire to tow (or tow with) a car....

Yet again on these forums a lighthearted comment is met by sarcasm.

As it happens my motorhome is self levelling and self sufficient on water and power for a good number of days .  Some might say that's 'magic' but personally I wouldn't.

If I was on a club site with EHU of course I'd use it, but there's a big wide world of CL type basic sites where my comments stand.

Is it wise to drive around with fresh or waste water in the tank, the swishing can make the vehicle unstable, also there is chance of overloading the vehicle

DT, do you have a caravan....?

i guess you do as most MHers wouldnt be the slightest bit concerned about water in their fresh tank....thats what its for....

a MH is for pulling in and making a cuppa, washing up, having a shower....whatever.....but without (necessarily) having to run around for water.

our supply lasts around five days, incl showers and washing up.

i have just driven from Cornwall to Exmouth with a full 110 ltr tank.....does it have any effect....no.

at the other end of the scale, put an overcoat or two in the wardrobe of a caravan and folk start getting nervous about the non-existant payload and the pendulum effect....of an overcoat?!

re: overloading.....

our MH is plated at 4.25t. the unladen wt is around 3100kg, MIRO around 3300kg.

thats another tonne of payload even after the MIRO components....

we run (all up, race trim) at around 3600-3700, incl bikes etc...so still another half tonne left....

having the water tank a quarter full or totally full makes no difference.....

We still do both forms of touring, towing a caravan, and taking a MH solo. They are rather different in a few ways, but the end product is very similar, mainly that we get away and enjoy ourselves. If we are looking to stay in one or two places for a long period of time, then I would probably give the edge to our caravan, in terms of a bit more room.(It is only 13 feet, and lacks mod cons of todays vans, being 32 years old. Does have full bathroom and excellent heating though). Our MH is only 5.5 metres, so again compact, but is very easy to park, we have never had any problems getting around. For ease of use, getting away, setting up and packing up, the MH wins hands down. Just so easy. Comfortable, warm and brilliant for touring. No need to consider public transport, walking everywhere or cycling. OP is only looking for something compact, so on that basis, I would say go for it, it is so much easier than caravanning.

Have to agree with BB, we always travel with a full water tank when setting off, makes no difference at all. We had a caravan with an onboard tank, now that was a towing nightmare if we forgot to empty it! Only did it once, pitched and wallowed like a baby hippo!

As our M'home is only 5.65Mar in length and is also a registered disabled vehicle, we can almost park in any car parks disabled slots easily, the only thing stopping us is a height barrier.....

If the OP is still looking for a small M'home then our Autoquest 100 may fit the bill for them...

Edit.... not ours personally it's not for sale 

I know this was a light-hearted joke gone wrong, but I'm feeling alone in that I find the getting onto a pitch and levelling the easy bit.

Its the filling with water, awning, unpacking seats, tables, BBQ that takes the time.  And yes, you might travel with that stuff for overnighters, but not for week-long stays - at some point, MH'ers need to do it too.

I suppose it depends on whether you use your campervan for "park and done" type breaks, or for "caravan-type" stays.

So I can see how there are 2 views.

Personally, I used my MH the same was as everyone uses a caravan.

"Personally, I used my MH the same was as everyone uses a caravan."

...which might be why youve gone to a caravan....better for 'your' type of holidays.....?

on our last long trip (4 month) to the south of france, it took us four weeks to get to what turned out to be our destination..

..although we didn't know this when we left home...

the journey down was a mix of one/two nighters on aires, pulling in where we felt like it, a couple of longer stays (4 days or so) at Annecy and Aix, a bit more bumbling before arriving at La Croix Valmer on the back of a magazine recommendation...

we thought we'd stay a week...it was many times longer...

the return saw more aires, a few sites, then two longer stays (a week each) then on to home...

we dont have an awning, this may be true of those that use more shorter stops....not really worth it effort wise (and personally i dont need one nor want one...) 

this type of stop/start touring is better suited (especially in France/Spain) we think with our MH.....so no plans to change for a good few years yet...

BB, I can imagine when in hotter climes the need for an awning is negated. Those roll out canopys I've seen on MH's provide ample cover/shade. Yup, it makes sense

That's one of the things I am pondering as I do like to sit outside in the awning to eat meals. Whilst a canopy provides shade, it doesn't deflect any breeze and the trouble with that is then your food gets cold very quickly. I know you can get drive-away awnings for MH but any sort of awning does rather seem to negate the benefit of a MH.