Transition from caravan to motorhome

You could tow a car, B&B, as I believe Husky does or you could do as we do in making the journey between sites your sightseeing trip. We deliberately bought a small van with this purpose in mind and find we can take the van almost anywhere.

We rarely stay on any site for more than a couple of nights and wend our way around dallying here and there between sites. We no longer need to use motorways and boring main routes to get from A to B but can explore the byways and enjoy the countryside as we go.

Even when staying on a site for a couple of days, we use the MH for tripping around and have not yet had to resort to public transport. We did once hire a car on the IoW when we had a larger MH but had no need to do so with the current van.

You haven't said what size your MH is nor whether you tour solely in the UK. Both these things could impact your usage as could the availability of supplementary transport such as a scooter, electric bikes or a towed car. The latter has always seemed to me to rather defeat the object of a switch from a caravan although it is quite popular, certainly in the UK. The continent is far more 'MH friendly' and, as has already been said, lends itself to a more meandering style of touring. I'm starting my third year with the MH and don't see me changing back to towing, not that I ever found towing any big deal. The simplicity of a MH certainly encourages more frequent use than the palaver of hooking up a caravan and setting up the other end.

We changed last July after losing our two wonderful yorkies. What made us changed, we invested in two electric bikes now the dogs were no longer with us we tried at first to use the van but found it a pain trying to transport the bikes, we also now play at least two golf course when we are away. After 3 months of last year only getting out twice we started to think about changing to a MH. We did the usual thing of checking our local dealerships and decided on the layout that suited us, we purchased a 2015 Autotrail Tribute 625 high level. Since we have owned the MH we have been out ten times more than in the van, we find doing the short breaks less stressful. We can take the bikes on the back and carry two push trolleys and two lightweight golf bags. Admittedly we try and look for sites that are close to a village or town or within riding distance plus a bus route, its surprising how many their are. Up to now after six months of Motorhoming we are finding it far better than having the caravan, it's far less stressful for me, don't get me wrong we had a great time caravaning but now in the twilight of our years its quite delightful to wake up have a look on the web what's available an shoot off for a few days. One thing l wont do is pull a car at the back seems to me it defeats the object, mays as well tow a van

Heethers

the change to a MH os sometimes a tricky one for those who used to caravan, probably having plenty of space and access to a car...

but caravanning can become 'difficult' for some and a self contqined unit might appeal.

getting the size right is key as a single vehicle has to carry all the people and their kit yet provide the same sleeping capacity as the caravan.

..and then there is 'getting about'....which can be tackled in several ways...

small MH/PVC which can be taken out just like a car, but getting used to a different level of space might be an issue.

larger MHs that tow cars are popular but some dont see this as being different to a car/caravan...

choosing sites close to towns or with access to good public transport will help but a key advantage of a MH over a caravan is its self contained nature and its ability to pull in where you want...

not so easy in the uk with its friendly parking rules, but supermarket cqr parks will generally allow you to visit a town 'en route' to the next stop.

also, depending on age/fitness, electric bikes are a great way of poppin into town or heading out into the country for the day.

combining town sites and country CLs could give you a varying tour, helping you get the most out of your new MH.

ps, i dont know if you ever venture abroad, but france (and many other countries) are so much more MH friendly than the UK and the lure of cheaper living, less crowded roads and better weather will convince you that you've done the right thing.

good luck.

yes thats true up to a point, but once youve 'explored' the area in your 'support vehicle' and its time to move on the the next area, you get to the 'packing up the caravan and car' (taking down awnings etc) which is usually one of the main reasons folk move to a MH.

if this was a regular thing (like Alan's unwavering 5 day stops) i can see how this might be a pain.

for 'destination stops' of several weeks, having a car is, for some, a distinct advantage, but if touring at a fairly brisk pace (say, 2/3-5 days) all that setting up and taking down time eats into those few days....

obviously its hourses for courses, but we 'put up with' any perceived hardships of using a MH for the summer in the UK as its vastly outweighed by the ease of touring/parking we get for our two long continental breaks each year. 

Size of the motorhome matters. It sets the parameters for what you can and cannot do but it does not stop you enjoying motorhomes. You just have to adjust. 6.5m is my maximum length because nothing bigger will fit on our drive. Our caravans had to go in storage.

You must have had reasons for changing to a motorhome although it's not unusual to have second thoughts. Think about why you bought a motorhome and what sort of motorhoming did you want?

We swapped from caravanning to motorhome because the dog died and our two children were heartbroken. We bought the motorhome to take the boys on Continental holidays for the next 10 years, something a motorhome did well..

I search the CMC sites with a filter for public transport nearby. Then use Google maps or similar to check how easy it will be to visit places we want. Smart phones are particularly useful for this when on site. Sometimes I look up the public transport from the place I'm visiting and then look up sites on the radiating bus/railway routes.

If there is no suitable public transport, we use the van and go where it can go. If we cannot access the place we want to go, we go somewhere else.

I plan a route for up to three weeks with overnight to three night stops unless there is something specific in the area which requires a longer stay. In the longer stays, we will frequently use the van for days out.

BritStops is popular with motorhomers looking for overnight stay touring.

if this was a regular thing (like Alan's unwavering 5 day stops) i can see how this might be a pain.

I do occasionally have 6 nights if meeting up with friends  and a 15 nighter in December. 

As we don't use an awning it takes no more than 20 mins (much less if its raining ) to dump waste, put aquaroll and wastemaster into caravan, fit mirrors, coil cable,  hitch up and go. Probably 20 mins on arrival depending on water pressure to fill aquaroll. We usually arrive on site 5 or 10 mins past 12. By the time we have booked in, found a pitch, set up, got water put out the things stored and sat down with tables and chairs out, a brew and a freshly made sandwich. It is usually between 12.40 and 12.45'

(Takes nearly as long to pack stuff away before travelling, wipe down hob and kitchen tops, tables etc, give the loo basin a clean as the outside work does. The only thing from the caravan that travels in the car is a few 2 pint milk bottles and a bottle of scotch. If we want to get off quicker we split the chores.)

"Size of the motorhome matters. It sets the parameters for what you can and cannot do but it does not stop you enjoying motorhomes. You just have to adjust. 6.5m is my maximum length because nothing bigger will fit on our drive. Our caravans had to go in storage."

certainly agree with this, we are lucky enough to have a long drive which can accommodate two cars and our MH.

while some will cite the 'downside' of having a van close to home, the advantages outweigh this many times over.

being able to pop into the van piecemeal and add (or remove stuff.. clothes, water, bikes etc) is a boon...eg i couldnt take the bikes to a storage area (car too small) and would have to bring the van back here, waste of time if the route is in the opposite direction...

our pals dont have a drive, just a shared pull in that serves a row of houses, with little chance of bringing the van the mile or so back from their local compound.....so even this short distance sometimes means multiple trips to load/unload.

also, depending on the storage facilities and rules, it may not have ehu, or allow washing etc.....things you take for granted with the van at home.

like Alan, im sure some have packing/unpacking a caravan down to a fine art but ive seen others take best part of a day to get their large awning, mats, windbreaks, dog compounds and the like set up.

similarly, some take their awning down 'the day before' (as it takes so long) and perhaps put it up the day after arrival for a similar reason.

not much point in having an awning thats only used for three days of a five day stay...especially if repeated at the next site.

Hi B&B, we were new to MH world last year, like so many replies, flexibility is key notched up 12 different sites, not including night stops on route, or lunch in the New Forest twice on way home, not looked back, as you have already said stick with it and enjoy ease of use.

agreed, age/fitness/confidence etc all contribute to the decision process.

however, i dont think aires are a 'must do' alternative to sites just because one owns a MH. IMHO they are a choice thats available to those who have MH and can be used (or not) to supplement touring and to find somewhere safe to park overnight at short notice.

i guess we all have our favourite sites and we also like to swim, eat out, stroll the hills and mountains but also enjoy the wonderful countryside on our bikes.

we could just as easily visit those sites with a caravan as we do with a MH.

The difference for us is that during the travelling between sites we are never scratching around for winter stop over....so many posts here are for caravanners having to plan around a limited supply of open sites.

yes, the well trodden routes are known and plenty of great advice to be had here, but if i want to pull over a bit earlier or travel on a bit further there is still plenty of choice. for my first stop in France tomorrow i have 3 aires in mind for roughly where we want to be and will choose one depending on how we feel.

if we want to visit a town/city there will virtually always be handy parking, much of it reserved for MHs.

some MHers use aires almost exclusively, returning to a site to perhaps do a bit of washing or clean the van etc...

the choice is there, mix and match as you like, but IMHO one doesn't preclude the other.

either way, just happy to be put there doing it, whichever mode we choose.

We changed from a caravan to a MH 3.5 years ago and made a conscious decision to not tour like we did with the caravan  but utilise the advantages of a MH.  We rarely stay on site for more than 1 (maybe 2) nights in fact over NY we were on a site for 4 nights and both of us said after 3 days we had itchy feet.

We now do a circular tour where as before like most would centre ourselves somewhere then go out daily to the point of interest/attraction and back to the van, often covering the same roads back and forth rather like a wagon wheel.  We now do a circular tour stopping of at places of interest at the end of each spoke staying overnight or visiting places on route.  We use our bikes to get out and about or walk, stop at supermarkets on the way etc.

The best thing is getting abroad and using the Aire/Stelplatz network where you only need to move a few km each day to see something new and be situated right in the village, at the Chateau or other attraction.  LAst  Autumn in Germany we did the Mosel in Germany and moved perhaps 10-20km each day visiting all the attraction en route or getting out on the bikes each day.  Even in the UK there are lots of places to stay that are not camp sites which you can use, look at search for sites for ideas.

By staying at a site all the time like a caravanner you are not using the MH as it was designed, get a SP, refillable gas and the world is your lobster.