Advice/tips on owning & driving 8.7m tag axle van
Hello everyone
Im thinking of buying a used 8.7m tag axle Autotrail van. We are planning a year on the road with a big dog so want the extra space.
I've already seen that storage and campsite availability is restricted due to its size but are there any motorhomers out there with similar sized vehicles who can give me some advice or tips on ownership of tag axles/sub-9m vans?
With advance thanks
John
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Just ensure that when booking site, as you have noted, a call to the site as a "reminder?" not many have more than a couple of pitches that will comfortably accommodate the size you may buy,
Are you also going to have another add mode of transport ,if you want to get out and about in the areas you are staying
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Thanks for this JVB66. We are planning to take bicycles for runs into small towns and villages. I’ve been told that size issues for sites aside, the length won’t be more of a factor than a 7.5m van. However I am wary so your and others real life experience is hugely appreciated.
Thanks again
John
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i hope your AT has a garage for the bikes otherwise the van will grow to be nearly 10m which is pretty vast..
we have two electric bikes which store in a 6.4m van with a garage and probably wouldn't consider going much larger, having come down from a 7.5m version of a similar van....
im sure the sites (and CLs) you wish to use will be fine, as long as you check but, either way, its still a fair chunk of van to be moving about.
we have some pretty enormous vans here on the site in Spain but they (mostly) stay put for 3-6mths....if you really are going to be 'touring' the UK for a year, you'll come across some places (Scotland, some of Wales, the West Country, for example) that will be fairly tricky to even get to the site...
i wish you well but large isnt necessarily good in all departmemts of touring.
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Thanks for this Boleroboy.
Yes the AT is a Chieftain and with a huge garage and payload. However since posting my question I've seen that finding somewhere to store it safely before we go is almost impossible and even finding somewhere local to load up before we go may be difficult.
We live in London and single deck buses are c.14m so I thought 8.7m would be OK but I'm beginning to doubt this. I've asked others too and I'm hearing that continental touring is easier (if more expensive) with longer vans.
So maybe my van quest continues... and needs to focus on sub-8m motorhomes.
With thanks and good wishes
John
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touring in a MH often involves compromises as the quest for 'acres of space' usually conflicts with 'drivability/ease of pitching/setting up'.
we keep our van at home on the drive which makes setting up and unloading easy....on the other hand, our pals (a couple of miles away) have a larger 7.7m van but live in a terrace with no dedicated pitside parking, so this means carting 'stuff' to their storage area (ok, not far) in a car which is a right pain..
'comfort' in a van for longer trips is an individual thing....we spend 6 mths a year overseas in our van over two 3 month trips, plus a few odd weeks in the UK in summer...and our van is more than two metres shorter than the AT but we feel we have plenty of space....for a couple of reasons...
1. we generally are in good weather, so spend our relaxing time outside the van....we dont have an awning or other clutter, if its sunny and warm (the majority of our time away) we are outside, if not we sit in the van.
2. our van lounge will seat five at a push but is very comfortable for two... we bought it for us, not for socialising with loads of others..do you really need an 8-seater lounge?
smaller vans can still have large water tanks for self sufficiency, along with multiple leisure batteries and solar panels..
our garage easily swallows the electric bikes and our other touring gear and has storage in the double floor....
im sure 6.4m seems a tiny van against 8.7m but im just illustrating that 'size' is a very personal interpretation.
i also realise that touring the UK rather than on the Continent will place for demand on 'understanding the climate'....sitting inside watching the rain...
and if you do get prolonged periods of bad weather (certainly likely if spending a year in the van in the uk) then getting out and about, even on bikes (which we love) isn't much fun.....
the alternative of taking the Cheiftan out for the day isnt that easy either, so you might look for sites with public transport but that goes against the impromptu feeling of touring...
you could think about something smaller....you could tow a small car, you could spend the crappy UK winter somewhere a lot warmer and just do 6 months in the uk when the weather gives you a bit more freedom to get out...
i wish you luck, seems easy doesnt it....buy a nice van and off we go...
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With your circumstances ,noted via your latest posts , the rise of motor caravans in the uk seem, mostly ,to be used as a towed caravan , we have had many caravans, then In 2000 until 2012 had motor caravans (two), and as our caravans, had to be stored away from home (3 miles),
We have since, returned to towing a caravan, and have not regretted doing so ,,we now again do not have to consider where we can or cannot pitch up in the UK , to be near ease of access to any towns/villages etc, as we have our tow vehicle alongside, available to go where ever when ever we want, as there are just the two of us and our collie , it is our add payload of things that we "need", and we can be in and out of sites and, storage as quick as if not quicker as the "stuff" that goes home is already loaded at home
Just my take on your situation , if you are not touring other the uk , going out of this country where motor caravans have the space to park up off sites then ignore my ramblings
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I think you're wise to reconsider, John. Your circumstances are out of the ordinary and I can understand your desire for space. However, I think the disadvantages of a van that size would outweigh the pros.
Keep searching, you'll get there.
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Thank you all so much. Your experience and wisdom is gold dust!
We prefer a motorhome and the dog doesn't travel well in a car so towing a caravan isn't an option. I am persuaded and now think we need an 8m limit but in light of Boleroboy's comments we will look again at 7.5m too.
The UK climate is our challenge as we can't pack for just one season and we will be packing-up and letting-out the house so we can't come back and re-pack!
So the search continues...
Hearty thanks to one and all. It's hugely appreciated.
John
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Accessible self storage could help with storing your off season gear. 👍
Has your dog travelled in a MH? I don't want to be a scaremonger but ours was far worse in the van than in the car, especially when he got old.
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some good advice above....IMHO unless you go really small (panel van ish) then (true impromptu) motorhoming is (to me anyway) more difficult in the UK and certwinly in a very large van.
12 mths in a MH in the UK would challenge us and we do 50-60% of our lives in our van...
why? because for half that time you'll be 'taking notice' of the (potential) weather......and dont believe all that stuff about 'poor clothing'...
if you had to spend a year in the van then if i were to give you one single piece of advice that would be to spend the winter months somewhere warm where you can spend plenty of time outside, living cheaply in a healthy environment and then come home when the Uk has warmed up a bit and again you'll be able to enjoy the 'best' part of the year it has to offer....
winter in the UK can be fun, especially if you can return home by the fire and forget about it, but when confined to a van I'd rather do it when its more clement.
touring overseas in a MH IS easier in so many respects....
wider, less crowded, better surfaced roads...campsites geared up to accommodate the largest of long term vans.. far cheaper to pitch and to live, far better climate, the Aires network (8000+ stopping places in France alone) providing cheap (many free), safe stopping places that are MH only.
once you've grasped the nettle you'll probably forget to come back home for the 2nd six months.
whats your budget for the van? any preference for the rear bed as in the Cheiftan? would you be happy with a (RHD or even LHD) Continental van?
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I think that you are making far too much of this taking notice of the weather thing, and not having the right clothing. As you know we travel throughout this country all year round and, although we do go home occasionally, the clothes I take with me are virtually the same for every trip. All one needs to do is to select the right area to be in depending on the time of year. We have a friend in a Bimbo sized M/H who travelled round the British coast for well over half a year with her dog, so surely there should not be any problem for the OP in a much larger van doing similar for 12 months;l
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im guessing 'bimbo' means small...?
if so, this is exactly the point....its not that easy to do as you say in a very large van for the reasons mentioned by others above.
...this 'weather thing' hasnt been much fun this winter has it? and its a pain to think of zipping from one end of the UK to the other in December just to find somewhere it isnt raining..
back home, we're out in most conditions but we havent rented out our home and so given up the 'back up' position of hitting the trip on the head and going home...
being on the road continuously for a year is a big undertaking and it wont all be glamorous or plain sailing....especially the first year...
hence my suggestion to break it up into chunks where one can at least avoid the worst conditions.
whatever the OP chooses, i wish him and his partner luck but this might be a great opportunity to 'see a bit more'.....and in sunshine.
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I’m sure he'll choose what's right for him, BB. 👍🏻
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Bimbo... a small VW M/H. Surely having the additional space in a larger M/H allows one to take sufficient "stuff" to journey where ever one wants, especially if you select your sites carefully with respect to bus services and cycle routes. We've had very little problem this winter, having been on the road since 21st Jan, and had we been in a M/H we'd not even bother about the one day that we didn't move because of the wind. We have had surprisingly few days where the rain has stopped us from getting out and about. It just need a bit of planning and understanding of the places that are likely to be the least likely to be affected by the weather.
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"We've had very little problem this winter, having been on the road since 21st Jan".....well, youve fared better than many.
it makes little difference but we've been on the road since the 8th January and, apart from Storm Gloria, have also had little problem with the weather...other than running out of factor 30
as said, it'll be interesting to hear back from the OP as plans for the van and destinations develop.
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Thank you all so much for being so generous with your time and helpful thoughts.
We could do this in a much smaller van but as new travellers we want creature comforts and space. We are looking at Auto-Trail vans and considering the 8.7m Chieftain, the 8m Serrano and the 7.5m Mohawk. The quality of finish, fixtures & fittings in all these make us feel they'd make a good 'home from home'. The issue of van size is we recognise a balance between accessibility and living with a big dog in a motorhome.
The dog is OK on trains and buses (and even cars when she is being cuddled!) so we are as confident as we can be that she will be OK. We did look to hire a van but couldn't hire the van we wanted to buy and so, aware of how ride and space affect us and the dog, it seemed like a wasted exercise. So now we are looking at all 3 vehicles. The chieftain was perfect for size, it felt like a London flat on wheels but your comments about an 8.7m van have somewhat dampened my ardour!
And yes we will try to pack with care but we have created an emergency budget for a winter cottage rental should we meet the limits of our endurance!
And I should say that after this first adventure we are looking to a longer tour of the continent where we would keep in the sunshine throughout the year. We wanted to get ourselves 'shipshape & seaworthy' whilst in the UK and hope that next year Brexit will be settled.
Huge thanks to you all!
John
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