Changed to the dark side
I notice like myself quite a few members have changed from a caravan to a M/H
Was changing to a M/H as good an experience as you thought it would be ,and was there anything that you found a problem ??
For myself , it was well worth the change ,with only a little bit more planning of trips out and parking, also we have found we use it more than the caravan, for day trips out from home (sitting along the coast ,with a cup of tea )
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Those days out in your M/van are even better when its cold n' snowy 'n you are watching the cold world go by while hugging that nice hot mug of your choice & chewing on two toasted Bonios !!
ME ?? I went straight from a 'Canadienne' tent to a Bay window V Dub and never looked back.
OK, OK I use the mirrors, but you know what I mean !
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I'm shocked you call it the 'dark side', Husky.
No regrets whatsoever as, if it wasn't for changing to a MH, we wouldn't be vanning at all. The MH has enabled us to carry on camping for a few more years.
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I'm shocked you call it the 'dark side', Husky.
Sorry !, must still be a bit of caravaner in me
Go to your kennel and stay there until called.
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The best thing is having everything to hand, a day out in the car means searching for food and facilities! Like TW it has kept us vanning too.
I agree, Brue. It doesn't matter if public toilets are locked for the winter, or if cafes are closed as we are self contained. Everything is with us.
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Motorhomes definitely come into their own during the winter months. Our last motorhome enabled us to enjoy vanning right through the year. None of this faffing about winding down steadies ; unhitching ; hitching ; filling rollerballs and emptying wastemasters.---- In the cold weather just drive on to the pitch and put the kettle on the gas. While it's heating, plug in the electric cable to the bollard. Bobs your uncle. Just relax !!
Everything on board for a cozy night. Move on after a night or two and do the touring en-route.
K
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We have only had our M/H since September but already used it tons!
We are 50 years young and the twins are off to uni soon so categorically have said they NEVER want to come away wiht us again...(it does rather remind me of conversations I had with my parents
)We changed from a caravan which I did really love to a MH so that I could scoot off on a Friday after work (finish early) and my hubby could meet me on a site about an hour and a half away - where we live we have quite a few in a radius to choose from.
It has worked like a dream so far. I just couldn't manouevre the caravan - I couldn't hook up confidently enough or get it's legs down, water filled, waste hooked up etc etc without it all feeling "hard work" , plus our drive is unbelievably steep so that
in itself was a nightmare even with a mover.I have not regretted our switch for a minute to the point where we are starting setnences with...."If we were being
really picky what would you want or change?"I absolutely LOVE our MH , every single bit of it - from the easy peasy wind out canopy, to the full double bed - not island, to the elevated view when driving and the other MH's that wave (yes- I'm tha tperson who waves back
) to the drop down tv which
packs away, to the nooks and crannies supplied for every liltte nick nack going, to the automatic step, to the "me" being able to drive it off my drive and be away uber quickly - I'm so easily pleased haha.So, being really picky - I wish I had more sockets - we don't have spark I can ask but that's something I can sort if I get one, I definitely feel colder in the MH - thank you to those who repied re silver Screens - one
is now ordered!and just to end on a positive - I found myself jumping in my car far more often than I should have done when we had the caravan - nip to the shops for the paper, drive to a local restaurant - now, we walk. Oh and what a wonderful green and pleasant land
this is as William Blake once said.Sorry for the long post, I think I am in love...roll on Hawes...
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We have no regrets two years after purchasing our MH, especially as it suits our circumstances perfectly at the moment. We are away not far off similar number of nights, but having to take frequent short breaks instead of half a dozen longer ones. This is
a lot easier in MH, as she is always ready to roll, and we get maximum benefit of our travel days. Can roll up late after having a day out, up and off early on day travelling home with our mobile cafe and sightseeing done in comfort. Given that it was the
first MH we looked at, in fact the only one, we are astonished and grateful that we dropped on the perfect layout, size and other aspects for us and our two dogs. Having said that, we have reverted back to what we call "doing, out and about" touring, rather
than lazy days on site as part of a long holiday. But we still have our caravan as well, hopefully we will get the chance to take some long breaks away as we used to, and leave the van back on some of our favourite sites and use it as a roomier base again.We envisage keeping our current MH a good few years yet, but have the occasional glance at slightly larger, different layouts as well. Will need the room for that Airedale puppy I am longing to own! Small Hymers look nice, few more years to my lump sum though!
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kdee, yes you are officially in love
just wait till you take it over the water....everything is just as nice but just that little bit easier....most of the Continent is really geared up for touring in a MH, especially the purpose built stop overs (aires, stellplatzen, sostas, etc) which just
make it so easy to pull over for the day or night, without having to worry about finding a site....and for peanuts, too..so glad youre enjoying your travels...
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It might just be that they are on limited days away AD, so they can travel further and faster in MH. We certainly find that spending one or two nights in one place then moving on is easier with MH than caravan, so we have tended to move around a lot more,
even in this country.0 -
We made the change 3 years ago and havent regretted it. We go away most weekends in it and have been on a 6 week tour of France in it. We use the motorhome more often as we find it much easier to pack up and go away. Also when on site its good to be able
to empty the waste tank st the MH Service point0 -
After two Motorhomes we bought a caravan.....it lasted 18 months and although we enjoyed our time in it we changed back to a motorhome last year. Even though we can't get away that often we use our Motorhomes far more than we used the caravan. As we both
work it makes it far easier to get away for the weekend or even an odd night in the motorhome, plus we find ourselves using it to stay over for overnighters on friends and relatives driveways.......most of them never even realise he he All year round
easy camping.0 -
I definitely feel colder in the MH - thank you to those who repied re silver Screens - one is now ordered!
As well as silver screens have you tried a small oil filled radiator up at the cab end, our lounge is lovely and warm but the cab end of the van can get quite chilly when its freezing outside. We had a small radiator which we used in the caravan, what a
differance it makes.We've had our M/H for 4 years now and love it, getting frustrated just now as we want to go away but can't due to other commitments
hopefully
soon.0 -
TW, can I come out now , it's dark in my kennel
Let me see......... I'll lend you a torch
Yeah, OK, you can come out. Now you really know what the dark side is.
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We bought ours in March and have done 4000 miles in Europe. Brilliant. Stop, apply handbrake, that's it! We look for sites near shops and/or local transport and don't miss the car at all. We have rediscovered the joys of touring and the open road which we
somehow lost with larger and larger vans and more and more equipment.0 -
I definitely feel colder in the MH - thank you to those who repied re silver Screens - one is now ordered!
As well as silver screens have you tried a small oil filled radiator up at the cab end, our lounge is lovely and warm but the cab end of the van can get quite chilly when its freezing outside. We had a small radiator which we used in the caravan, what a
differance it makes.We've had our M/H for 4 years now and love it, getting frustrated just now as we want to go away but can't due to other commitments
hopefully
soon.Yes I know exactly the ones you mean. Now I've ordered the Silver Sreen I shall see if I'm still cold...if so I'll definitely consider a purchase of one
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the 'de rigeur' Sevel (Fiat/peugeot/Citroen) cabs can be a bit draughty....
a couple of tips...
..turn the heater control to 'recycle' rather than 'fresh air' which will close the vent to the outside...
..the cab doors close onto some open grill vents....these can be covered with Gaffer Tape which seals another cold draught.
we dont have any Fiat doors now so dont get this issue any more
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We've got the Taylormade screen covers that have the extended bib which cover the vents but we still put the contol to recirculate
we've found
having the little radiator on we don't need to leave the blow heating on overnight unless it is sub zero, this helps reduce the dry air that it causes. I have a little hanger thingy that I can put on the radiator for putting water in to help keep the air moist.0 -
Dark side? I'd say I saw the light!
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Like tda we bought on our first look and have never regretted it. Neither of us ever fancied towing.
a couple of tips...
..turn the heater control to 'recycle' rather than 'fresh air' which will close the vent to the outside...
..the cab doors close onto some open grill vents....these can be covered with Gaffer Tape which seals another cold draught.
Interested in cool cab, something we've experienced badly on our last trip. Posted elsewhere that bought secondhand silver screen that wasn't as good quality our first was silver screen got fooled on site . We put heating on recirculate.
We have fiat base where are the open grill vents?
We don't have a socket anywhere near the cab can one be fitted without too much damage? We don't have the skill to diy it any idea of reasonable cost?
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We often ponder the motorhome question.
I like the idea of the quick set-up on site.......but that said, it only takes us about 20 minutes with the caravan. I've seen some motorhomers take that long, with their stop at the water / waste point and then the yellow ramp shuffle.
But then we look at the sort of holidays we have and just wonder how it would work.
Take a week in North Devon.
We visited places every single day.....often covering a good few miles.
Public transport (if it was even available) would have been a logistical nightmare. This would have reduced our scope massively, would have involved hours of standing at bus stops and would have been very expensive.
Driving everywhere in a motorhome would have been a terrible experience. Narrow roads (it was bad enough in the car, sometimes) and limited parking options (finding a space at the side of the road for a car is hard enough and barriers rule out a lot of
town centre car parks).Packing everything away every day would become a real chore.
Less internal space, unless paying out a (large) fortune. Most motorhomes costing about the same as a car and caravan are a little on the small side.
I do feel attracted to motorhomes and the idea of self sufficiency, but just cannot see how it would work for us.
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