Hi everyone- considering buying a motor home
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There are other types of Aires as well ET and plenty of them. Here’s two.
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There are some lovely Aire type stopovers appearing in Scotland as well Steve. Photo below of one we used back in early June, had fresh water, waste water, CDP dump, foot/cycle paths adjacent, short stroll into village with eateries, farm shop, cafe, pubs, all for £5 per night. This is the kind of place we love to use to supplement our nightly average. We overnighted here on our way out, and then a two night stop on way back home, very nice.
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Yes but it could be said equally that you have to tidy up inside every time you want to leave the site? Perhaps you are the tidiest person but we use our caravan as our house, and will leave things lying around in the caravan where we want them which would be needed to be put away before driving off. Likewise washing up has be done there and then rather than we'll do it all later if you want to move off
We can have our caravan out of storage and off on the road within twenty minutes so not sure where the idea of dissuade one from the spontaneity of a spur of the moment short trip away is actually true, and of course on a club site we can certainly be away in our car faster, or as fast than a MH, especially with EHU, screens, ramps and putting up your maker on the pitch. Also we have the choice of going anywhere and parking anywhere with our car unless it's a smaller MH.
Setting up on site takes about 15 minutes, not much longer I've noticed than a MH with its EHU, ramps, screens, and certainly your filling and emptying of water and waste takes far longer at each time, as we use SP it's a one off thing.
Of course having an awning will take longer but that's the same for a MH as well.
I'm not saying for one moment one is better than another, it's all balances and checks and what suits one won't suit another which is what people are telling the OP.
Likewise I've not found setting up tedious in any way ever, it's all part of the fun.
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The number of stops folk might take on any trip could be inversely proportional to the difficulty of the pitching operation.
If stopping just requires 'parking' on a spot and applying the handbrake, it's not really an inconvenience. If that stop also puts you right into the heart of where you want to be, perhaps a town or city, then a win win.
that town might only hold interest for a day...a stroll, some sightseeing, a drink, a meal, whatever..followed by an overnight in the van and then off somewhere else. Often, these might be the 'grim' places mentioned by ET, but if they just serve a specific purpose, I have no qualms about using them for a night at a time.
visiting a number of places in this way feels no more difficult than doing that in the car, with the added benefit that we don't have to back for a caravan😉
some stops, as TDA and SteveL have shown, can be pretty as well as functional. We've overnighted in many a lovely spot, miles from anywhere but breaking a long journey.
however, none of the above precludes us from also enjoying longer stops at countryside sites as in ETs picture, nor really long breaks at full fat destination sites, which we do each winter.
the MH makes all of these forms of vanning simple and straightforward. What we don't do is choose a site somewhere when we really want to visit somewhere else, just because we 'have a car'. If we want a few days in A and want to visit B (which is miles away), we would probably include B as part of the trip...
As above, just a different way of doing things...some stops for convenience, some for visiting, some for feet up for a while.
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Everyone has their own way, our bedding, toiletries and everything needed for any length of break is always there, even a few tins and spare clothes for the first night. Packing clothes doesn't take long even for a few weeks away.
There's been a few times in the past when we've come home from work and decided there and then to book a site and off we go. I would miss that capability if I did things like you but as I said no right or wrong way, it what suits a person better.
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We still actually own both. A caravan and a MH. We did use the caravan one or two times after we bought MH, but it quickly became apparent to us, just how much easier it was to keep MH ready to roll, and simply hop in and go. There are one or two places in UK we would prefer to use caravan, and if we decided to stay in one place for a long time, say a couple of weeks plus, then the van and tow car would be better for daily living. But for sheer ease of getting away for shorter breaks, as we have to do at the moment, it’s the MH every time. There are less cheap stopovers for caravans as well, you tend to have to use a site of some kind.
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Setting up on site takes about 15 minutes, not much longer I've noticed than a MH with its EHU, ramps, screens, and certainly your filling and emptying of water and waste takes far longer at each time, as we use SP it's a one off thing.
I do find setting up easier with the MH than the caravan, although I never thought of that as a chore. However the time will depend to some extent how long we are stopping. If only a night we will put up with more of a slope and only use the inside blinds. The big benefit is when we arrive when it is raining, a few times on our last tour of Scotland. We always travel with some water, the gas has crash protection so is already on and will run everything while we have lunch and wait for the rain to go off.
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The main reason we have now bought a PVC, I think I have explained before we tow a small trailer that carries most of what had to be offoaded and loaded at each stop,where as now I can use out of the trailer if and when needed,
I certainly would not buy anything larger as we now have our car sorted and use the PVC as our everyday vehicle so the car will probably be sold, the caravan has already been sold at £a much better price than we were offered 2years? ago
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The OP asked
“I’m interested in finding out the reality of owning and getting best use out of a motor home.”
By recounting our preferences and experiences of using them we are hopefully helping him with the reality as we see it. Clearly they are going to be personal views, it would be difficult for them to be anything else.
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But why? Do you feel it would get damp in some way if you left it in or to dissuade would be thieves?
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Yes there's no way of getting round the rain when you're setting up with a caravan
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Wise advice from Another David.
We were set on a MH and decided to hire one of the same make and approximate size (7m) that we intended to buy for a week in south of France.
Advantages of a MH: very slightly quicker to pack up and setup; slightly easier to manoeuvre in supermarket car parks (necessary to stock up with food and fuel before an overnight stop); use of the France Passion stopovers which are great fun and not available to caravans (although the German equivalent do allow caravans on most stopovers); and use of the Aires in France.
Disadvantages: loss of the car for transport in the local area (towing a car increases costs), electric bikes can be an option but may impact payload, buses weren't an option in France because there weren't any + its very difficult to establish if a campsite is on a bus route); noise compared to a caravan; internal space and a cramped living area if you have fixed single beds; payload, your options are limited for 7m premium MH with a reasonable payload for long European trips (we wanted our children to be able to drive the MH so that they could enjoy low cost holidays); purchase cost.
After 18 month research pointed us in the direction of a MH. 7 days living with a MH was enough for us to decide to buy a caravan. I still miss the idea of off grid stays in France Passion sites (but would probably miss the EHU to power our air conditioning in the summer).
Its a compromise but both a caravan, MH or campervan open up a world of opportunities to explore new places....just differently! Worth checking out Andrew Ditton's vlog on YouTube. Good Luck!
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DD makes the point of UK versus Europe in the decision process. It is definitely more marginal where the UK is concerned and probably, on balance, is better suited to a caravan. For Europe a motorhome is a no-brainer.
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We were camper-vanners first when starting our touring days, so we rapidly discovered just how easy it is to tour in a camper or small MH, right back from the 1980’s. It’s still very easy in the UK, but outfit size is the key, more so nowadays. We thoroughly enjoyed our twenty odd years towing a caravan as well, but get the outfit size right, mix up your sites, a tiny bit of research and it’s still possible to tour in a MH, on a whim in the UK. But fixed beds, a full size bathroom, house sized fridge freezer etc (all very nice) won’t mean a small MH in most cases, nor an economic to run one. A compromise might be required, or stick to towing for UK based tours.
Outfit size is the key factor.
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Lots of good points, especially the 'size' thing which is certainly an important factor....and the 'where' will also influence this re the driving/parking element but also how much time you actually need to spend inside the van.
Being outside for the vast majority of the time, especially with a canopy for the shade and the odd warm shower will put less emphasis on interior space. Most folk will just end up sleeping there as 'socialising' is usually outside.
to that end, continental vans will often give over much attention to the large, comfortable beds....do you need an 6/8 seater lounge (and have to make the bed up each night) if you're always sitting outside?
the propensity do drop down beds recently has allowed designers to double up an area's functionality. Rear lounges have beds that glide down from the roof, complete with bedding and pillows in place, avoiding the usual cushion shuffling routine. Similarly, front lounges are regularly seen with beds above, providing either the main double or and extra single, depending on size of van.
even the 'bugbear' of MH, that cab area that takes up loads of space, is prey for the drop down bed revolution. A class vans have supported large transverse versions for decades but now huge longitudinal doubles cover the dash area when on site and become the main bed. Stick the lounge at the rear and you have as much space now as a caravan of equivalent length. Use the raised double floor to add height and there's room for a bike garage, something no caravan could ever achieve.
verstility is the name of the game, with even panel vans getting in on the drop down act...front, rear all so clever these days.
one financial point struck me...those moving from car/caravan to a new MH will have to consider how much of their outfit will be sold in order to finance the MH.
plump for just the caravan and, depending on size/year etc, may not make much of a dent in the MH price. Also, this will leave you with a 'tow' sized car which may not be the most appropriate, going forward, if you won't be towing...
sell the car and the caravan to balance the books and this will leave you 'sans voiture' which, depending how 'drivable' the new MH is, might leave you looking for a smaller car?
Plenty to consider.
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Just wonder what people know about the motorhome depot in Mansfield. Considering using them for selling a motorhome. anyone any experience wit them?
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I’ve no direct experience but have not heard anything bad about them and have seen them mentioned on forums several times. I believe they act as brokers selling MHs on behalf of private sellers which seems to be what you hope to do.
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Thanks Tim. I guess what I am after is knowing how trustworthy they are
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That’s all I know but no bad news is good.
Have you done an internet search, particularly one looking for court judgements?
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