Motorhome fuel
This week has seen another surge in the enthusiasm for electrification of vehicles with the tragic decision by Honda to withdraw from the UK. All of this makes me wonder about the wisdom of investing a huge sum in a diesel driven motorhome. Why do others think is going to happen to diesel driven vehicles?
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Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it
) we're in the same boat as Huskydog. I'm not worrying about it. We've already invested in a motorhome, in fact, have changed a few times in the past, so overall have spent a fair amount on them looking back. It's what we like, we've enjoyed over 18 years of motorhoming, and more than that tenting and caravanning before that.Looking forward to many more years of it, and if we want a change, we will go for it. There are no pockets in shrouds.
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That makes 3 of us. I’ll expire before the supply of diesel does.
At present there is no viable alternative to the diesel powered MH so, if you want one, go for it. The other choice is simply not to buy a MH.
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Heard on TV News today some "Ecology Group" is rabbiting on about NEW BUILD properties being banned from using GAS !! All electric cooking, central heating from the ground heat transfer systems and so on and so forth. I'm just wondering what great Ideas they'll have for Caravans & Motor homes ?? Solar powered drills for tapping into this miracle heat source could make Club Sites a potholers delight ??
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We are just in the process of buying a new one. However, given our age and the cost, it will probably be the only one we ever have. Therefore like others I don't see it as a problem. At worst there may be some restrictions on where we can take it, thinking in terms of towns / cities.
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New diesel cars will not be sold after 2040 according to the Government. No indication what will happen to existing diesel vehicles but from the information we have is that you can carry on using them to a currently undefined time in the future. However this use is likely to be restricted in inner city areas, probably sooner rather than later. Whilst the public have a fair choice of electric or hybrid vehicles at the moment that choice does not exist for vans suitable for conversion to motorhomes so there is a lot of catching up to do. In the scheme of things motorhomes are small fry compared to the vans used by all sorts of businesses so I would have thought any new motorhome purchased now will have a life of at least 20 years if not longer.
I suspect the greater danger for us motorhomers will be where we can use them. As I mentioned above I think we will see and increasing use of LEZ's in and around major towns and cities which will either restrict where we can use them or cost us money to cross through them.
David
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There's a programme on TV tonight about elderly drivers. By 2040, I shall certainly fall into that category, being by then well into my nineties, assuming I haven't already fallen off my perch. I don't think I'll waste my remaining time reading the small print on this issue.
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Some time ago I heard that Cambridge Council was intending to ban all Diesel vehicles from the city centre then the local bus services asked them if they were going to replace the existing 'buses for them !!
Like CY I will be getting ready for the missive from The Monarch by then, so might well have moved the 'van onto axle stands in the garden so I can go outside and pretend, always assuming I can get up that high still
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Whilst the public have a fair choice of electric or hybrid vehicles at the moment that choice does not exist for vans suitable for conversion to motorhomes
Whilst you are correct in that there is little choice, there are already pure electric motorhomes you can buy, one of them was featured in MMM this month...
https://www.hillsideleisure.co.uk/campervan-range/the-dalbury/
https://www.curbed.com/2018/12/14/18141140/electric-rv-for-sale-camper-motorhome-iridium
And a PHEV Transit ripe for conversion coming soon...
https://www.ford.co.uk/future-vehicles/new-transit-custom-phev
Change is coming far faster than a lot of people realise. I drive a pure EV van in work and regard it as "old hat" now....
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At present our motorhome has held it's value reasonably well but we've realised we're probably on a losing wicket with it if we hang on to it. However this is what we've decided to do at present although if there are restrictions on movement, fuel hikes etc we'll have a re-think. It's not so much that we won't be around it will be further restrictions that will probably affect us.
We have an EV car and an old MGB. So we've got a bit of everything but owning the EV has been a good experience. There are some electric campervans out there but they're not our thing, a bit too small and limited. I think they will be popular with some as the prices come down.
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I read that piece about banning gas hobs and boilers in new build housing and immediately wondered to myself where the electricity to run heat pumps and inductions hobs was going to be coming from - and where the attendant polution being shifted around was going.
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So.......gas hobs will be banned. Can anyone who does joined up writing please explain why fracking is still being considered then?🤔
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Not sure about anyone being able to read my joined up writing - often I can't myself. Industry and commerce are much bigger users of gas than householders and will need supplies to continue for them.
So banning gas hobs in homes is just the same as cutting down all the railings during the last war "to make steel to help the war effort". It was something that almost every member of the public could relate to - even though most railings were low grade cast iron and little use to the steelmakers and went to what is now called land-fill.
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"Industry and commerce are much bigger users of gas than householders and will need supplies to continue for them."
What about gas fired electricity generating stations, I wonder?🤔
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I guess that most gas supplies will be funnelled towards electricity production in the near future. That way CO2 capture can be far more effectively managed and centrally controlled.
As far as MH fuel is concerned I'm sure diesel will be available for a few more decades. What is possibly of concern will be the ongoing increase in price of the fuel itself and taxes aimed towards us recreational users. Just a thought!
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Unfortunately the range on both of these vehicles is very limited; practically probably not much more than 100 miles. So the batteries need to double in capacity to be commercially viable and lithium is increasing in price, not decreasing. With incremental improvements we might see a viable electric motorhome in around 5 years would be my guess but who knows?
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Why should the CAMC pay for your fuel? I have to pay for my deisel so im sure you should be paying for your fuel ie electric. Nothing in this life is free someone pays and if people want electric vehicles they should pay for the fuel and not expect others to do so there by subsidising the travelling costs
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You can guarantee that at some point or other, when electric vehicles are a lot more popular, they won’t be just plug in and drive away. I can foresee homeowners having a charging point at home, metered separately at a different rate so that the Government of the day can extract its tax dues accordingly. They are not going to give up the fuel taxes from diesel and petrol that easily. Enjoy the honeymoon period while you can. We probably won’t be able to blame EU either by that time....😂
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I still maintain that anyone buying a current diesel motorhome and is of a certain age will be able to get the number of years they require out of it. Whether it will be worth anything in 15/20 years time is I suppose questionable!
New technology, will of course, develop at a pace. But if we look at the price of current electric vehicles, electric motorhomes will have an additional premium which may make them less attractive. I suppose it will all be relative and it will be down to affordability v need/desire.
David
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You are, of course, correct.
But the situation only exists at the moment because it falls into the "too hard" box to do anything about it without spending a fortune and making unpopular decisions.....
Providing dedicated fast chargers on sites, for a fee, will only result in people discreetly charging EV's on their pitch with a slow charge from the caravan. Even if that is made against the rules, who is going to police those rules, I doubt there is much appetite amongst wardens to be constantly patrolling the site looking for leads from caravans to cars....
The only answer can be metered electric. As said, installing meters costs money, will be unpopular with some and even assuming they are modern remotely read meters adds an extra layer of admin/billing....
As EV's become more prevalent, and that will be very soon, the club faces big capital expenditure and unpopular decisions. Anyway. look on the bright side, it will be something different to talk about on here......
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I doubt there is much appetite amongst wardens to be constantly patrolling the site looking for leads from caravans to cars.
I don't presently see a great problem in the next 5 years. If somebody with a motorhome tows an EV and wishes to charge from caravan I see no difference from present. Presumably they tow because they want to use it during the day. at present a few owners tow a second car and as such will have little impact. I see no great change in the numbers doing so. If considering full EV tow vehicles and motorhomes we are a way down the line.
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"I don't presently see a great problem in the next 5 years."
"we are a way down the line".
I had digressed to talking about EV cars really ET......
Whether we are five years away I don't know. I personally reckon that things will happen quickly now, every advert I see on TV and in the motoring press emphasises an EV. Nobody seems to even bother advertising a non EV or at least PHEV( car) nowadays..........
But even if it is five years before they are a lot more common (and I very much doubt it will be that long), there is the site infrastructure to consider as well as just the metering or cost of electricity being used on site. Once a good number of people start plugging in EV's the site cableing and incoming supply may very well need looking at.
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We've probably got different views of how fast the future will arrive then.....
Have I read somewhere that there a couple of club sites with Fast Chargers, Brighton ??? and I seem to recall seeing one at Black Knowl......??
Might have just been me dreaming........or having a nightmare if you're a petrolhead....!!
But given that CT posts seem to resurrect themselves every few years we will be able to see who was closest to the truth one day.....
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