Does size really matter?
We are about to start looking for our first motorhome after always having caravans in the past. We do have bikes so are able to cycle shortish distances from our destination if the roads are suitable)
We do not wish to be in the situation where it never ever leaves the site even if that the obvious method of transportation.
So my question is what is the largest motorhome that members use for occasional ( not daily) transport whilst they are away.
To give you my thoughts, would I be correct in saying that anything much over 7m is just too big?
Comments
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Hi TerryFletch. We have just upgraded to a 7m van with rear garage for the bikes. We are away in Germany at present. It has been fantastic. The important thing for us is the width. Our is 2.25m wide and we have been able to go on some very small roads and
villages with no problems at all. I wouldn't want to go any longer and definitely no wider as we do like to explore. Others of course may say different.0 -
IMHO, if you are thinking about using the van for occasional transport in the uk (narrow roads, tricky parking) i would think about investigating a slimmer type of van....not necessarily as slim as a PVC (panel van conversion) at 2.06m wide, but the latest
type of slim coachbuilts at 2.12m rather than the normal 2.35m of a std width van. be aware that Bailey coachbuilts are even wider at 2.45m, so might be a handful on country roads...as to length....other than for actually parking, i reckon that theres not much difference in driving anything between 6.5m and 7.5m....ours is 7.35m long and 2.27m wide....
we dont tend to use ours much for getting about aswe use electric bikes, something else you might want to consider of you are already cyclists....might increase your acceptable range for exploring....
good luck
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good point, DD, which was also the point i was making in your Fleet thread.....MH ers tend to move on more quickly and, if they want to explore another area, then they move the van to that spot before doing further recces...
still, nice lunch in the Swan today, missed the showers strolling up there....
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We've stayed at Buxton, Ashbourne, Shardlow, Poolsbrook and many other rural Derbyshire sites and we've been able to use our 7metres long MH to visit local places of interest.
Obviously the smaller the vehicle the easier to park but if you prefer a MH with a bit of space inside and facilities on board (it does rain occasionally in the UK and when it does whatever size vehicle you
have it seems to have a much smaller interior in bad weather) I'd suggest you settled on a maximum of 7M.Also, while considering the size, if you venture abroad a MH higher than 3 metres will have to pay more on Continental Toll roads.
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Our MH is 6.4m and we manage to go most places. Shorter would be better for parking and I certainly wouldn't want to go bigger.
Longer MHs will almost certainly be over 3500kg which might be another factor to consider depending on your age.
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Our Autoquest 100 is 5.65mtr long. We find it perfect for the two of us and Alfie (our new dog). It sleeps four and a half, if you count the two seater settee as a bed. It has five seat belts and we take three grandchildren away at a time, when with the
grandchildren then we use an awning, otherwise we just use the wind out when just the two of us. We do use the M'home for travelling off site if no bus stop is in close proximity, as it's a registered disabled vehicle we use the blue badge and park in disabled
bays in all car parks, no we don't park on double yellow, why antagonise people? I find the length ideal and would possibly go up to 6.5mtr if we changed M'homes....
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It all depends on what you want to do with it. Ours is 8.6m long and we like the comfort and room. We wild camp 90% of the time and never have any prolems. We could have got a smaller 6 meter MH and parked in car parks. But I do not really want to park in
car parks I would rather wild camp.Their will always be times when you wish you had gone bigger.
Their will always be times when you wish you had gone smaller.
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I have to say great advice above. It is all about compromising on something. Number of seat belts can be a factor if you have others you want to travel with, even if its a day out, or have a dog or similar that needs securing. We are 21foot and manage very
well with parking we are 10 foot 2 inches so high. So far not enough of an issue to change after 9 years. Think white van man. Street parking isn't an issue but be considerate don't block someones view!!We find we choose sites with good walking and check out public transport, its rather nice catching the bus and having a tour around the villages which you probably wouldn't explore and you can just watch the scenery not the roads! Bus passes are good and
no parking fees. We cycle but so much of uk not overly cycle friendly .0 -
Terry
We have a 7.5 metre Bailey motorhome which has never been taken off site during a stay. We tend to use sites where we can either walk or catch a bus or train from near the site. Like others we tend not to spend a long time on each site , our average is 3/4 days on a site. Even if we had a smaller motorhome I expect our MO would remain the same. If you go for a larger motorhome I suspect you will have to do a bit more research before going away on possible suitable parking. Google Earth/Street View might be an aid to providing that information.
David
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When we had M/vans. it was fine when near towns or transport,but was OH not able to cycle,and more and more restrictions on parking ie height barriers ,we have since returned to c/vans ,as it gives more flexibility we look at towing a car but the c/van gives
more space for given lengths0 -
We have a 6.6m van with bikes its 7m big enough for our needs, small enough to be able to get onto almost all pitches. Some of the sites we've been on abroad you are restricted to a stnd 7m pitch using Acsi discount, so if you are over that you have to
pay extra for a premium pitch. In the UK where its not as motorhome friendly as abroad the bigger it is the more problems you can face, if you are just going to drive to a site and park up no problem but for visiting attractions it can be awkward to say the
least for any M/H not just over 7m0 -
The longer the motorcaravan, the harder it is to get about in the UK whilst anything smaller may be too much of a compromise for some. The longest we've driven in the UK is 6.5m and that was fine almost all the time. This is the limit we are comfortable
with in the UK. Our current van is 6m x 2.35m on a 3m wheelbase and is ideal for the two of us.You can go narrow but my experience, shared by my brother who drives buses in Derbyshire, is narrow but longer is not as easy as short and fat! My brother says a few cm in width is rarely an issue but length makes finding passing places more difficult.
If spending most of the time on the Continent, 7m+ is doable.
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Thanks everyone for your views
It looks like we will have to search out all the 6.5m vans first and see if we can find a suitable one
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Well, at 5 mtrs, I probably have the smallest van of those who have replied. It has the advantage of fitting into a car parking space, although height barriers still pose a problem. It is the same size as our first van, though since then we have owned
a number of coachbuilts, all around 6 mtrs.As mentioned earlier, MH'ers usually move around a lot more and where possible use public transport. Unless you are stopping in isolated locations, there is often a local bus and with the internet, you can check in advance what the service is like.
Being over 60 has the advantage of free bus travel in Scotland, and we make good use of it on our travels.
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one big influencer is whether you want a fixed bed or not, as these will inevitibly rob space.....though often providing large storage spaces underneath.
another alternative is to make up the bed each night, but this may be an issue for you....though you will find the benefit of a larger living area...
a third alternative is to employ a drop down bed....these come in a few forms...over the rear lounge, over the front lounge or (in an A-class Mh) over the cab seats....
we have just had our daughter and husband staying in our van for a couple of nights with us, so OH and I used the drop down bed for the first time....truly lovely, 1.6 m wide, loads of room and a wonderfully comfortable cold foam mattress to sleep on.
to get an idea of how roomy a compact van with a drop down bed can be, take a look at the Hymer website and check out the B544 at just 6.5m....lounge sits eight easily, large kitchen, lovely washroom with big shower, and that drop down bed....
on our list if ever we downsize....
even panel vans with fixed beds can work at 6 or 6.5m....see Adria Twin, or Murvi and IH for large frontlounge versions with make up beds....
i think that Pilote and Rapido are now marketing island bed vans at 6.5m.....
just a few ideas of how diverse and inventive the MH market is today.
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We're small coachbuilt van people, would like a bigger one but I actually miss our previous van conversion that we could get in anywhere and fit in one parking space. I think we've got to the point where we can't be bothered to take the van off site very
much and we pick places to stay that suit us, usually near transport or within walking distance of interesting places. It's a different mind set and we've seen a lot of places on foot that we might easily have driven by en route elsewhere. Probably the best
thing is being able to move on easily, see what you want to see and travel on enjoying the journey too.0 -
We have just moved from a Coachman 565 to a Peugeot Autosleeper XL at 6.4m. Being a van conversion it is narrow at 2.06m wide.
There is some compromise on space inside but still have a seperate shower and toilet.
We've had it a couple of months and think its great, leave home with water tanks full and all you have to do when arriving on site is plug into the mains.
We going round all minor coast roads in the UK as time allows and its size has not been a issue. Off to Scotland in August so bound to find some narrow roads.
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D40D - good luck with your coastal tour. Have you read:
http://franksblog.webnode.com/blog/coast-2007-2010/coast-best-of/
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