New at this motorhome mullarkey....
Hi everyone. Well after two and a half years we have sold the house - a listed thatched cottage so not everyone's cup of tea. Anyway, we are not buying another house but instead we pick up a 2016 Bailey Autograph 745 on 14th August and are going to go full-time touring around this sceptered isle and ROI for the next three years or so until management gets her pension when we might think about settling down. Think we have covered most things but undoubtedly there will be challenges but nevertheless, all/any advice will be greatly appreciated. One thing though, I phoned our local fire brigade and asked about what sort of extinguisher to get. Surprisingly they said don't bother. I know that an extinguisher is primarily to assist escape but my view is that as the 745 is going to be our home for the next three years or so, having the right extinguisher could mean the difference between some damage and total loss. Any thoughts folks??
Kind regards, Paul and Elaine
(growing old - yes, growing up - never!!).
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Good luck on your venture, it is not something I would want to or have ever done so cannot help you much. I can understand the fire service's reaction. I guess they said get out quickly. Motorhomes and caravans burn very very quickly and it may be foolhardy to stop and fight a fire. That said, I have an extinguisher and a fire blanket! I think the former is a dry powder.
I'm guessing there won't be any fulltimers using CT and for the kind of advice and help you want you would be better of posting on one of the forums which hosts a fulltimers section. >This one< is very active.
peedee
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Alternatively J, check out youtube for advice or to follow fulltime vanners👍🏻. A very knowledgeable one is-‘Greg Virgoe’ He is now a full timer who is well respected. Good luck on your new journey😊
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Good luck with your rolling home, nice thing to do. We have met and enjoyed chatting with a few full timers, some with vans, less with MHs. Think the key with MHs is not to let them take roots, but keep them rolling as it’s what they are designed to do, keeps things oiled and working properly.
We have always kept a small fire blanket in our tourers, and a small extinguisher, but getting out is the main thing. Forget your possessions, look after your lives first. Keep clutter to a minimum and don’t block or over lock your ways out. You could always put anything of real value (bits of jewellery, passports etc...) in an easily grabbed tin. Let insurance take care of anything else.
Have a lovely and safe time, our islands are beautiful, lots to see and discover.😁
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My motorhome has an extinguisher on a bracket at the side of the front seat but as I have said on another thread the fire service advice is to just get out, not linger to fight a fire, so I also question what use they are.
Good luck with your grand adventure. The only comment I would make is that you are likely to be taking far more equipment than us occasional campers so watch the payload. You can gain a lot by not carrying more than about 20 litres of water in the fresh tank when you travel; simply top up when you arrive at a site.
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good luck with the adventure....just keep an eye on costs...
are you doing any wild camping or CLs or THS sites?
if not and you're looking to cc or commercial sites then your average price per night will be around £20-£25, £600-£750 a month, not to be sneezed at.
if it were me, I'd be spending at least two of those three years. exploring Europe where you will be warmly welcomed and you will be able to pull in at just about any town/village aire, many for free, along with much beach and mountain wild camping...
if you're going to live in the uk when oh retires, you will be handily placed to 'do the uk' any old time...
whatever you decide, enjoy...
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Might be a good idea to join the Bailey motorhomers facebook group if you haven't already, lots of good advice on the type of MH you have and there is quite a few members who full time.
I agree with BB I would be heading overseas, UK can be done later on.
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Hi everyone, and thank you all so much for all your kind advice. Last few days have been absolutely manic moving out, putting a few treasures into storage and then having to factor in a last minute issues with the MH, many of which we have resolved thanks to help from friends with MH's and the dealer will resolve the others next week. Currently catching our breath and chilling on a delightful site a few minutes walk from our daughter's pub in Herefordshire. After that we plan to stay fairly local and get used to things until kids go back to school when we will meander over to Pembrokeshire to meet up with friends, by which time we should have some sort of itinerary in mind, albeit fairly loose and with a few alternative options as after all, "If you haven't got a back-up plan, you haven't got a plan". We expect to do a mix of CL's, sites, freebies, and wild camping where we can.
Decided to do UK and ROI first as we thought it would be a shame to shuffle off this mortal coil without exploring where we live. Even ROI might have to wait until the B word is sorted. In addition, grandchildren and medical stuff mean that we will be returning to Herefordshire at irregular intervals for perhaps a night or two.
Once again, thanks everso. Stay safe.
Regards, P&E
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I admire what you’re doing. It will give you both adventure and memories to treasure forever, and delay the onset of ‘old fart syndrome’ bought on by being too comfortable and having time on your hands. We only spent about 25% of the year on the road, so I can’t really offer you much advice other than give the byways rather than the highways most of your attention. Enjoy yourselves.
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Ah, yes, grandchildren, we know what you mean!
We retired back in 2007 and have spent 10 years travelling mainly Europe, but also UK. We had 2 grandchildren, now 13 and 9, but not living very close to them, we only saw them every month or so, so being away we just kept in touch via Skype.
Now, however, our wings have been clipped as our daughter, who lives very near us, had her first baby in early 2018 and we volunteered for childminding duties, along with the other grandparents. So since the wee fellow was born we have pretty much been confined to UK as going abroad for short periods is expensive.
Added to that, they moved house when he was only 6 months old, and a lot of stuff needed to be done, so we have been kept busy with their various house projects, still a work in progress.
Not sure that we will get abroad again with the van, Brexit does not help!
Good luck with your travels!
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