Motorhome purchase
Hi We are looking to move from a tourer to a motorhome, while I am not disabled mobility can be an issue as I cannot walk long distances. All the sites that we would wish to book need to be close to a bus route or relatively short walk to town etc as we do not wish to move the motorhome once sited. Can you offer any advice wether to swap or stay with tourer. Thanks
Comments
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Stay with the tourer.
If you’re not going to move a MH off site, I can’t see the point of making the expensive change.
But, if you’re prepared to buy a small (5 to 6m) MH and use it for travelling to see the sights, it could make your life easier. Part of the joy of a MH is tripping around with all your facilities on board.
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I think we would need to know a little more for the reasons for changing? We changed 7 years ago from a caravan to a motorhome and we are now on our second one. We tend not to stay in one place for more than 4/5 days sometimes less. We are heading towards out middle seventies and mobility is starting to take its toll but we manage pretty well in finding sites near to towns/villages or near to public transport. It just takes a bit more research beforehand. Depending on the size of motorhome you buy the smaller it is gives you more freedom to get out and about. We certainly don't miss what we perceived as a lot of fuss and bother getting a caravan ready for the off and setting up on site. Obviously if you stay somewhere for two weeks that perceived bother makes less of an impact.
David
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Stay with the tourer unless you get a motor caravan small enough to be comfortable with finding what it seems is less and less parking,
we have had two motor caravans a PVC and a coachbiult ,but have not regretted going back to towing ,
we now have a vehicle alongside that can go almost anywhere and do not as in the past when getting less mobile, sites as you are wanting to find, close to bus routes and or civilisation
ps remember the space you have now and the size of motor caravan to get the same
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We changed to a MH in March 2019 after 15 years with a caravan. So far we have not regretted the change. We are still reasonably mobile but even if this is an issue there are plenty of sites close to public transport and villages. The big plus for us is the ease of moving on and set up, so where as with a caravan we would spend a week on a site, now we move every 2 / 4 days. Shopping can be done on route at a convenient supermarket. Abroad it is even more versatile, if you are prepared to use Aires there is normally something close or even right in the centre of what you want to visit.
The other big plus, for me at least, it is so much nicer to drive than our XTrail towing a Bailey Cadiz. Particularly abroad we can travel much greater distances without feeling drained at the end of it.
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Looks like you've already made up your mind, then. 🤷♂️
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I hope it all goes well. Just be prepared for it to take a while to get used to the change. You may take to it like a duck to water or you may have a few doubts but often the more you get used to it the more it confirms your original reasons for changing. Sensible choice of size, there is often a temptation to go too large with a first motorhome which does tend to limit the options.
David
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Rent one that size for a month, tour around and see how you get on.
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It seems your mind is already made up? good luck
keep your aquaroll and wastemaster to save moving when on sites or get a couple of watering cans to keep water topped up
Show OH where waste outlet is to save a lot of "dancing" to line up with drains as she can possibly? help
ps you will need two leveling ramps
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My view is if you have mobility issues then a caravan is the better choice unless you go to a small van like TW suggested.
We don't have mobility issues but after 6 years of owning a 6.6m coach-built motorhome we moved back to a caravan as we felt we were missing out on sightseeing especially in the UK.
We have recently bought a PVC 6.3m, we have used it for the last few months in Scotland for short trips away and we are confident that we can take it anywhere without the problems we had with the coachbulit.
A motorhome is good if your problem is managing the water barrels are becoming an issue or that the hitching up is a problem. However if general walking is the issue a motorhome the size you are thinking off will not help as you can't take it everywhere you want to go.
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Motorhomes need to be driven on a regular basis to keep all the oily bits working. For motorhomes, Fiat used to recommend no less than 3,000 miles pa and an annual oil change; the higher the mileage, the better the vans work.
Not using a motorhome when on site is missing one of the joys of a motorhome. Take a day trip out in a motorhome and you have the kitchen, clean toilet, heating, and vistas through large windscreens. It's great to pull over, put the kettle on and get out the cake tin whilst watching the world go by.
Motorhomes are money pits. They need to be used as much as possible otherwise they are an expensive white elephant.
From what KJR62 says, I would recommend sticking with caravanning unless there is an overwhelming reason to change. Having a car and caravan is cheaper than having a car and motorhome, and more flexible.
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Our c/van as were our motor caravans and caravans before them , is in storage and it is, as all of our LVs, ready to go apart from clothes and food which with our dog ad her kit all travell in the "support vehicle"and once at the storage we can be away in less than 10mins
and when on a pitch at our destination will be (unless we sometimes have the awning on long stays) ready in about 30mins
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The major issue is the hitch-up at present as we are both now not the fittest. The MH we have chosen after hiring MH is a Bessacar E460 as this has the same layout as our Coachman VIP 460. We are also thinking that in our mid sixties we need to try it now or never will and then regret it.
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Be aware that one of the biggest mistakes made by people buying their first MH is attempting to replicate the interior of their caravan which results in them buying a MH too big for ease of use.
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I've found over the last couple of months that going away in the uk, be it the caravan or MH takes less time than packing for our trips abroad. Less clothes, less food, less first aid kits etc.
However we are not away for 2 months like abroad. I work on the theory that if I've forgotten something in the UK I can usually buy it somewhere. Not always the case abroad.
I agree that a MH needs to be used often, to expensive not to and of course, as has been mentioned they need to be run.
Our caravan and MH have very similar layouts and at 6.2 and 6.3 very similar lengths.
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How did you get on with the hired MH?
Touring with one is different in that you are always moving forward, with a caravan you tend to stay for a few days and use the car to explore, more like the spokes of a wheel.
We do take the new MH off site as we have found at 6.3m we can take it almost anywhere.
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We tour mainly in Europe with the motorhome but don’t find lack of mobility a problem as we choose sites close to towns or public transport. We often stay for a couple of weeks in one location and only go off-site to do major shops. Fill up with water and discharge waste on the way back to the pitch.
Ditch the Aquaroll, Wastemaster etc., stick a bucket under the waste outlet and dispose in then hedgerows (on almost any site except club sites).
Everybody's different but after 25 years caravanning the motorhome gave us a new lease of life. If we want to explore cities or towns we do short hotel breaks. The motorhome is for countryside and enjoying the immediate environment.0 -
KJR62
I use an Iveco Commercial Van Total Cost of Ownership model - mainly for fun.
For the first five years of ownership of my new £70k motorhome, the TCO was £42,000. For 2019-24, I expect the TCO to be £37,000. Fixed costs included Depreciation, Insurance, Tax, Tyres, Maintenance and repairs. It does not include fuel. Over 10 years, I expect depreciation will cost me £40,000; £25,500 in the first 5 years and £14,500 in the last five years. The figures do not include fuel. Figures for other people might be lower but I think most of us will find watching paint dry is more enjoyable than watching a motorhome depreciate.You can check depreciation for a van similar to the one you are interested in by checking second hand values on web sites such as CMC, Out & About Live, and Auto Trader.
Buying second hand reduces the TOC but might not give you the desirable safety devices. They might give you features you don’t want. Each to their own …0 -
I ran a pipe to the hedge on my last CL last week. I omitted however to turn the drain handle to "empty" and brought about 90L of grey waste home.
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We don’t have food or fat in the waste as, yes, it could create smells and attract flies. Agree also that in hot weather it may not be appropriate but generally the sites we use have generous hedgerows and grey waste disposal is not a problem. Sometimes we are close to a drain and will empty there. A pipe to the hedge is a good solution but we don’t carry those sorts of attachments.
Motorhomes have great waste storage tanks but they don’t tell you about the smells if you don’t empty them regularly.
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