Help in changing from caravan to motorhome
Comments
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perhaps Jake doesnt use 'storage'....we dont.
van is a lot easier to get away in than our pals who have to drain and refill every trip in case of frost at 'storage'....we dont..
unless there is a chance of prolonged frost, we dont drain down, were usually back in the van in a few days anyway.
moving from site to site, all we 'really' need to do is drive onto the pitch and pull up the handbrake.
pitch generally level, fresh water already (still) in the tank, waste capacity is large, too.....gas safe means it doesnt have to be turned off, solar and refillable gas means no 'need' to plug in....
of course, we do 'do' some of these things, bit jakes post was to highlight how much easier it can be of you want it to be....
eg, filling a large water tank with a hose, takes an awful lot less effort than trooping backwards and forwards with an aquaroll and removing/refitting hose/pump.....
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And don't forget the push bikes, parking barrier's, mot,cannot see any advantages unless towing a small runabout suits you
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Each to their own, some love caravans and some love motorhomes. We have a 6 metre pvc and use it every day. We don't have a car, we're retired and don't need two vehicles. But before we retired i had a car and we had a sub 6 metre motorhome that my husband
drove to work.we don't take pushbikes and just take a bit more care about where we can park. The mot is just the same as having your car mot'd. Very rarely have to use our levellers.
its great on a day out to get the table out and put the kettle on. Also to have your toilet with you!!!!!
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perhaps Jake doesnt use 'storage'....we dont.
van is a lot easier to get away in than our pals who have to drain and refill every trip in case of frost at 'storage'....we dont..
unless there is a chance of prolonged frost, we dont drain down, were usually back in the van in a few days anyway.
moving from site to site, all we 'really' need to do is drive onto the pitch and pull up the handbrake.
pitch generally level, fresh water already (still) in the tank, waste capacity is large, too.....gas safe means it doesnt have to be turned off, solar and refillable gas means no 'need' to plug in....
of course, we do 'do' some of these things, bit jakes post was to highlight how much easier it can be of you want it to be....
eg, filling a large water tank with a hose, takes an awful lot less effort than trooping backwards and forwards with an aquaroll and removing/refitting hose/pump.....
Write your comments here...BB you missing the point even in storage in summer no need to drain but even in your wonderful world you still have to take clothes etc in/out to wash, food out of fridge (unless you leave it on 24*7 at home), bedding to change
etc so it does not matter where you keep the van however that is easier to do at home. Similarly you have to fill and empty the water at some point so it's not much different to a caravan except you can arrive full but that means emptying the waste and filling
fresh when you leave site just like erm caravans do!l0 -
Our motorcaravan stays packed with at least two instant meals onboard. Can be away at the 'drop of a hat' and love the freedom and the spontaneity this form of our hobby provides and believe me we have spent many an excellent impromptu weekend/holiday away.
Oft times the open road and the unknown has been the making of our experiences.0 -
Have had motorhomes and now have a caravan , and enjoy both ,i think you could be more spontaneous with motorhome , but with caravan it doesnt matter if you run out of milk cos you can jump in car and get some , i love doin both if i was wealthy id have
one of each lol
mrs bc0 -
If...as Kipling said.
If the two of us were young enough to cycle, electrically or otherwise, if we were both fit enough to walk into town from way away instead of parking a car centrally in multi storeys, if we simply stayed in this country and used our bus passes, and if I was willing load and tow a car on a trailer for travelling Europe, then a motorhome might suit us very well.
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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
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Our water tanks are at the lowest point of gravity, so wether the tanks are full or a quarter full handling isn't affected. Just the same as a half full fuel tank doesn't affect handling as ABM points out...
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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!
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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....
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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.....
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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.0 -
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!0 -
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
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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.
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"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...
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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
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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.0 -
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
your right, rocky.....
to supplement this post and to give CY a little more insight, its possible to add lightweight side panel(s) and even front (for a full enclosure) to a MH wind out canopy, with a single side panel being fixable at either end of the canopy to best act as a wind sheild.
ive been in Tammygirl/Diverphil and Deleted User User's versions of these lightweight 'rooms' and they are very effective without the weight (and lone traveller trickery) of a full awning.
CY, something like this is worth a look....an example is called windblockers from lillywhite leisure.....
disclaimer....please realise that this post is offered merely as advice as to what is in the marketplace and what 'could' be done and in no way reflects my view on what others 'should' be doing....
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the previous owners of my M/H left the sides and front for the Fiamma canopy, i have put this up on my drive to try it out , but its seems a lot of faffing about (IMO), so i will leave it at home,
sounds like you have the Fiamma Privacy Room which has 'plastic' side pieces which are a bit heavier and tend be used as a slightly more permanent structure....(we inherited one, like you, in our first van and i found it too much of a faff, sold it for a fortune on ebay!).....the lillypad ones are much lighter and easier to put up and take down yet are very effective as wind blockers.
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BB I think you meant Lillypad Leisure as Lillywhite make female sanitary products-CY would attract some strange looks with the latter's products dangling from his awning.
haha.....true.....ypure right of course....lillypad...
lillywhite also (used to) make/market sporting goods
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On a serious point;if you have an Omnistor 6002 range awning and you purchase the post 2014 side panels with the new G2 pole fittings you may find that the elliptically profiled support poles foul the canvas and rub holes in the awning.A new fabric is £375
to replace.Thule/Omnistor have acknowledged that the OE support brackets which they fitted to their awnings have insufficient drop to accomodate their redesigned G range poles.It cost me the above amount to find this out and although I got my money back
for the side sheets,I had to bear the cost of the new canvas.I have Lillypad side sheets now which fit without damaging the awning-unlike Thule/Omnistor's original equipment post their 2014 redesign.Celine Parret's email's about all of this are held on file
by me in case they attempt to deny this.Caveat emptor.0 -
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
your right, rocky.....
to supplement this post and to give CY a little more insight, its possible to add lightweight side panel(s) and even front (for a full enclosure) to a MH wind out canopy, with a single side panel being fixable at either end of the canopy to best act as a
wind sheild.ive been in Tammygirl/Diverphil and Deleted User User's versions of these lightweight 'rooms' and they are very effective without the weight (and lone traveller trickery) of a full awning.
CY, something like this is worth a look....an example is called windblockers from lillywhite leisure.....
disclaimer....please realise that this post is offered merely as advice as to what is in the marketplace and what 'could' be done and in no way reflects my view on what others 'should' be doing....
Nice wording to avoid the wannabe mod.....
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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
your right, rocky.....
to supplement this post and to give CY a little more insight, its possible to add lightweight side panel(s) and even front (for a full enclosure) to a MH wind out canopy, with a single side panel being fixable at either end of the canopy to best act as a wind sheild.
ive been in Tammygirl/Diverphil and Deleted User User's versions of these lightweight 'rooms' and they are very effective without the weight (and lone traveller trickery) of a full awning.
CY, something like this is worth a look....an example is called windblockers from lillywhite leisure.....
disclaimer....please realise that this post is offered merely as advice as to what is in the marketplace and what 'could' be done and in no way reflects my view on what others 'should' be doing....
Nice wording to avoid the wannabe mod.....
that's Lilypad Leisure, I do believe!
just to avoid an confusion
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Micky, thanks for the link...
however, no confusion....im definitely trying to avoid the WM (wannabee mod)
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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!
I think that you will find that the water tank on a motohome is not designed to be driven filled
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