Motorhomes & in's & out's but from the owners
Hi, being new member to the large community i dont have a Motorhome as yet, i want to purchase one next year so this is fact finding mission for me and i hope my fellow club members are able to help. Im looking to purchase a 6 berth motorhorhome and currently looking at the swift twin axle as it offers the best inside configuration for us. The market has many others so i would like to know any advise both good an not so good to help me on my journey. Things like, fuel consumption, what you would do differently if you did it again, etc.
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Hi and welcome.
The thing we learnt from our first MH was that big is not good and the smaller the size of the MH that you can comfortably live with, the better. Size matters but in terms of less is more. No doubt if there are 6 of you, though, you won’t have a lot of option on size.
Check there are enough belted passenger seats for the number of people you need to carry and that you have the correct driving licence for the weight of the vehicle you are contemplating. There is much info in the Advice and Training tab at the head of the page.
I can’t really help regarding fuel consumption as our MH is much smaller and lighter and I’m not sure which Fiat engine you're thinking of.
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Certainly agree with TW there. The parking of m/homes of any sort can be real pain. many carparks/supermarkets etc have height or width restrictions which are not conducive to pleasant motoring. I have had the occasional problem and I only have a Van conversion -- a tiddler compared to a 6-berth.
Fuel consumption is likely to be low 20s at best, I think, if you are carrying 6 people & their requirements.
So what would I recommend --> HIRING one of the relevant size but not necessarily the one you want -- it might not be available to hire.
Take it out onto a site with a full load & a notepad -- write down the good bits and bad bits -- then sit down over a cuppa & re-think your plans / wishes then come back and tell us how you got on.
B
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You make some good points there, Brian. Parking can certainly be a nightmare with larger vans as can getting around the lanes of the Westcountry and similar places. That’s what leads people to tow small cars - another hassle to contend with.
Hiring is a good idea. Although it’s not cheap, it’s cheaper than buying the wrong van.
Your mention of 6 people and all their gear made me think of payload which may be tight with all that aboard. I’ve no wish to put the OP off but it sure is a lot to consider.
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😲😲😲
We bought our only motorhome, never camped nor caravanned previously. Almost an impluse buy 😲😲. Day out at a large dealers with friends who had camped and had a small day van. Lots of discussion between us all on layouts on offer. OH pressed the dealer very hard and got £7000 of the already offer price, weren't really serious but we couldn't not in the end.
Any regrets? Possibly engine size but hey ho were on holiday so take our time. Often nave a nose if we're passing, not in our area, dealers but haven't better our layout storage and payload yet 😂😂
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Maybe use google to see if there is a Swift Motorhome Owners club that could help regarding the Swift model you mention.
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Hello Carol. Motorhome Fun is a good forum although for advice, I prefer Motorhome Facts, linked to the Out&About website [Warners Publications] which has plenty of motorhome advice. Use both! I would also buy motorhome magazines. MMM and Practical Motorhome are magazines that cover van tests [bit biased in favour of the manufacturers] and motorhome lifestyle articles. What Motorhome focuses on road tests. There are several good books/booklets on buying/owning your first motorhome.
If you want a six berth, does that mean you want six seatbelts or you just fancy the extra room. Six berth motorhomes, and the Swift twin axles do, require a C1 licence entitlement because by the the time they are loaded up, they weight more than 3,500kg.
Usual advice is to go as big as you need to do what you want to do with your motorhome and as small as you can get away with. A long twin axle model will be like a caravan with an engine on the front and ideal for pitching up for longer periods if you can find sites/places to pitch an 8m+; they are not easy to manoeuvre. A small 6m van is ideal for pitching up for a night or two and then moving on.
Depreciation will be the biggest cost. Fuel consumption will be around 22mpg for the large vans, around 28mpg for those below 7m, and over 30mpg for Panel Van Conversions. Driving style has a big impact.
My advice is not to buy a motorhome! It's like being seduced by a gigolo or lady of the night. It'll give you a great time and many happy memories but it will leave you poor financially!
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You certainly are.
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We made the mistake of buying larger and larger caravans so when we switched to a motorhome we stuck to a moderate size. Having caravanned with a family of young, then older, children and listened to other people with families I have to say that a caravan is a much better option for a family. Others will have different opinions but I could not imagine touring Europe with a family in a large, twin axle, motorhome.
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I agree with 'hitchglitch' touring with a family is IMO better done with a car and caravan.
We had caravans for 30+ years then a MH for 6 years. Now going back to a caravan once again. Loved owning a MH but after 6 years decided that we were missing out on lots of interesting places to visit because we couldn't get parking nearby or there wasn't a campsite that we could cycle from safely nearby.
Don't forget you can take your MH off site to do visits but you have to pack everything away first and if returning to same site leave a sign out to say MH occupied pitch or you stand the chance of someone taking it.
On the continent its slightly easier if you are willing to stop on Aires and supermarket car parks (we are not) parking at most places is better catered for abroad as MH's are the king over there its rare to see height barriers.
MH's are a BIG expense not to use often, can you be sure that you will be able to do so, also will you be able to keep it at home or will it go to storage.
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If you can, our advice is go as small as you are comfortable with, travel as lightly as possible, try and keep it at home and use it on a regular basis.
We use ours most days to travel to and from sites, can set up in 5 minutes, pack away in 15 minutes, have it ready to roll on our drive, and in our first three years, probably averaged a trip out every fortnight. Some health concerns and caring duties have prevented us getting away quite as much recently, but we take the MH out for the day sometimes as well. We haven't been abroad yet, but won't change our out and about habits when we do.
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Carol, We were at Beausoleil in La Palmyre in June. - a site the motorhomers do use because it's central in the village and just a five minute walk to the shops and the market, but it's an old established campsite with well grown trees and with a layout which was never designed for big vehicles.
An Auto Trail Arapaho arrived - twin axle and almost 9 metres long. He needed an eleven point turn to reverse into a pitch, then couldn't get his rooftop satellite dish up through the branches, so moved along the row and started all over again. It looked hard work despite power steering. So horses for courses if you buy a biggie.
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I'd say that if fuel consumption is a consideration, then don't buy a motorhome! They are not made for economic travelling, even less so in the case of a 6 berth twin axle model.
One of the biggest factors to consider is payload; you don't say how many of you will be travelling in/using the MH. When arriving at payloads, manufacturers only take into consideration the driver, and a full water and fuel tank. Therefore, each passenger's weight, as well as all clothes, pots, pans, crockery, maps, books, tables, chairs, food, etc have to be added. If you want to transport 6 people, possibly 2 adults and 4 children (I'm guessing!) I would be very careful in choosing a MH with adequate payload.
Do your research very thoroughly, there are various MH forums, motorhomefun, motorhomefacts and outandaboutlive; a good idea would be to hire one to try it our first as has been suggested.
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Hello, we are on our third van and struck lucky on our first because it was the right layout. This is the most important element and inevitably you will compromise space/berths depending what you want to do - if you have dinettes, you may have to make them into beds. There are vans (Mc Louis I believe) that have fold down bunk beds and you will probably have a pull down/overcab and a make up dinette. Decide what's most important to you and go to a show to see which model has the least compromises. Good luck and remember God has a motorhome, because it's gods way to travel.
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I agree with those above regarding going on holiday with children/teenagers - we caravanned when travelling with ours, staying in one or two sites and using the car for outings. Now we enjoy moving more frequently, visiting places as we go. We've had 3 motorhomes - a entry level one, bigger second one and now have just changed to a smaller one partly in order to park off site more easily, this is particularly relevant in this country (not very m'home friendly imo). Do loads of research and consider all options including what you want to do on holiday and where you want to go. best wishes.
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