Caravan to Motohome
Hi there
Looking for some advice as we are trading in our caravan and want to move to a motorhome. We have a good idea of what we want in terms of storage and room, but just want a bit more insider knowledge on the following:
We have looked at a motorhome which is 5.95m in length and one that is 6.95/8 and just want to understand in the world of motorhomes if that is a big issue re parking, moving around etc. Does it make a big difference. We prefer the slightly longer model as there is a lot of storage which we feel we would need especially having a dog and an older teenager sometimes in tow. What is considered a good practical size range for motorhomes, going to the supermarket/places of interest etc?
Our reason for moving to a motorhome is not to pitch up for a week/two at the same site and stay put, but how easy is it to move around with a motorhome realistically in the size range above. We envisage moving it off pitch for the day sometimes, going to the beach etc, visiting a place of interest and returning for the evening before moving on to the next site. Is this realistic?
If we did want to stay at the same site for a longer period that didn't have public transport for instance, is it the norm to hire a car for a short time?
How easy generally is it to park the above size range of motorhome and what do we need to be aware of?
Any input would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
Comments
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Hi, JD. No doubt opinion will vary but my recommendation is to stay as small as possible for the use you intend to give a MH.
We had a 6.4m coachbuilt van and although not too bad for parking, sight seeing and so on, it had limitations. We hired a car for dealing with the lanes of the Isle of Wight. We then downsized to a 6m panel van and the difference was terrific. The 6m PVC would park in most places - only one bay in a supermarket car park providing the rear could overhang a verge, as opposed to 2 or 4 bays for the coachbuilt. Later, we reduced to 5m PVC and that was as simple to park as a big car.
In your shoes, I’d go for the smaller van but only you can be sure.
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PS. That was the only occasion we hired a car. Once we downsized to the 6m van we always used it to go places and never used public transport or any other form of secondary transport. To go out for the day and have all the comforts of home with you is unbeatable. 👍🏻
Our MO is to move every day or two and do our sight seeing and shopping en route to the next site.
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Fo r the last 23 years I have always got by with motorhomes in excess of 7 meters. I think to gain any advantage you have to go too small but that is just my view. As TW says only you can decide. You might want to think about where and when you want to use your motorhome. I personally would not want to be cooped up in a small van in inclement weather. OK a drive away awning could increase space but do you want to be bothered putting it up every time you stop? If you are proposing to tour more on the Continent I wouldn" t be too concerned about the size of the van unless over 8m. It is considerably easier to park where you want to be over there than in this country but it is getting easier here. My current motorhome is 8m and I toured the Scotish Borders last year for a month without encountering problems. This year, I spent 6 weeks touring on the Continent again without having any parking problems. A way round problems in this country is to tow a small car. It does give you more options. I have such a car but do not always take it. It all depends where we are going and if we intend to stay on site for any length of time.
peedee
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We’ve done that, too. Years ago we had a near 8m MH and towed a car. For us it was a real pain and inhibited the freedom of going off on a whim to tour as it was more suited to staying in one place and tripping around with the car. So, that’s what we did - reverted to a caravan and went on outings in the tow car. Each to their own but it was a huge mistake for us and we learnt from that.
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We did the swap 6 years ago and have a 6.5m coach built , and never had any real problems finding somewhere to park , but we also have a car we tow , but we don’t take it on every trip ,we gives us flexibility, I would go for as large as you can get away with , but only you can decide what you want
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Personally I would have been asking these questions before making the decision to change to a moho….. and I certainly wouldn’t be going to all that expense without hiring one first to see if a moho works for your required use. We are undecided albeit for the type and location of holiday we like, become less convinced as time goes on a moho will suit us. The concern we have in going too small to such as a panel van conversion is loss of space and storage when compared with our current caravan. I suspect we will end up with two caravans. One on a seasonal pitch in the UK and a smaller 2 berth for continental trips.
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We changed from caravan to Motorhome about four years ago. Thought we knew what we wanted, 6.4m coachbuilt. Swapped it two years ago for a 6.4 m pvc. Much better. Because it is narrower it is easier to park, either in car parks or road side. also being narrower it is easier t drive on country roads, or indeed some of our more narrow main roads with lorries hurtling towards us. We wanted two fixed single beds, plenty of kitchen surface for prep (we don’t eat out) and a useable shower. We have all that in our Globecar.
You mention going to the beach for the day. In some areas e.g. where we live, Lincolnshire, many car parks now have height barriers, supposedly to stop overnighting, but of course also stops those day trips.
Height limits can be a real problem. You do need to do a bit more research than you would with a car.
Hiring cars, some do some don’t. We tend to take the van off site for the day if appropriate. We stay at more sites. So just done about eight nights around sw Scotland, stopped at eight sites, mixture of CS, CL, Aire, CCC club sites. We stopped at attractions on our way, did our shopping, on our way. Dont find supermarket parking difficult, except some small car parks.
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Our first MH was 6.6m long but it was a Bailey coach built and they are wide vans. We did however take it to Cornwall and Devon with no issues, we live in Scotland and used it around there again with no issues. Using it as a day van we did a few times.
Our current MH is a PVC, 6.4 M long but so much narrower than the coach built one. That does make the difference, we do use it as a day van and we do take it off site when away.
It does take a bit more planning ahead to make sure there is space for a MH.
I'm not sure I would want to go below 6m and there is only the 2 of us, put a dog and a teenager in the mix then it could get a bit cramped depending on the layout.
We don't use an awning, not even when we caravan. However we do have a bike tent for when we are on site for a few days, handy for the bikes, chairs, bbq etc.
If you can try and hire one in the layout you like to try it out. I've heard it said it takes 3 MHs to get the right one. I think we have managed it in 2 ☺️
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FC, I think JD is on the right track by considering their prospective method of use of a MH and by asking relevant questions here.
You might be surprised at the storage available in MHs, even PVCs with no outside lockers. The roof lockers tend to be deeper and higher than in a caravan and adding shelves in them helps considerably.
Two things that haven't been mentioned are the need for 3 belted travelling seats and adequate payload to cater for 3 people and all the necessary gear. Both of those might limit choice considerably.
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…..others are available😂😂😂
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Jules, Waste a few hundred pounds to hire a motorhome and see if it works for you rather than waste a few thousands to uncover the problems.
You will see from the answers that opinions differ. What one person finds ideal others don’t - though personally I have never been tempted in the slightest by any size of motorhome whatsoever.- they just seem cumbersome, expensive financial millstones to me. And we always wanted to go further than any motorhome could take us.
Enjoy your travels.with whatever suits you best. All good wishes to you.
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Thank you so much everyone. You have really given us something to think about. We will certainly hire one before we make our final decision. We have been torn thinking a PVC would be better for us especially as we love the Lake District and for most of the time it will be just us 2 and the dog. My son is 16 going on 17 and he loves his one man tent and my daughter is 18 going off to uni. We thought when they did come along with us, we could either have a drive away awning for them to stay in or book a pod when possible. At least then we would have the ability to go out and about most places and still have our own facilities. We also like to stay in a hotel for one night sometimes which we have done when we are away with the caravan for a birthday treat etc and that would be easier with a PVC. We currently tow with a VW Transporter. The financial burden of owning a Motorhome is also a huge worry as we know from having the caravan, water ingress, maintenance is also a concern. Think we might keep the caravan rather than trading in (not that they give you a great price anyway) and use the caravan for longer stays while we search for or convert our own PVC. Think that will be money better spent. Thank you again and any further thoughts much appreciated.
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JD - you won’t have a water ingress/damp problem with a PVC but you might with a coachbuilt. You seem to have thought things through well 👍
Mikey - 6 weeks in a PVC with no space issues at all. Our 6m van had more kitchen space than many a caravan. There’s quite a difference between your average pop top VW rock’n’roll bed type of camper and a fully fitted PVC.
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+1 EuroT👍🏻. It makes great sense. Driving on the open road in a big Moho is living the dream, realising you need to visit an area in an emergency with a vehicle that barely fits the narrow roadways can be daunting. It should be the 1st thing folk should do is hire(try before you buy) I’ve driven a pick up & log trailer around rural roads for years but I’d not consider it in towns.
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I suspect the only benefit of the OP hiring a motorhome is if it is very similar to what he intends to purchase. It's not much point hiring a 7.5 metre coachbuilt if the OP wants to buy a PVC. Also distance from home might be an issue if you have to hire a vehicle hundreds of miles away, especially if you want to test it out in an area like the Lake District. I think for a hire test to be worthwhile you have to try and find a hire vehicle as close in size and layout to what you want to buy for it to be useful. Better still try and find a dealer that also hires and are willing to refund the hire cost against the purchase of a new motorhome.
David
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I would suggest going as compact as you can, but still giving yourself what is essential to you as well. You have already told us that you want to tour more, rather than stay a long time on a single site, so think differently to using the caravan, don’t carry as much as it will aid the easy set up/depart each time.
It is different touring in a PVC/MH, and you need to make the most of that difference, but still have the comfort and ease if away for a long time. We have done weeks away in our small 5.5m MH, and use it off site most days, so it is our mobile cafe, loo, weather shelter, rest station, bird hide, beach hut etc…..wherever we go. We don’t rely upon public transport, we don’t hire cars, our bikes go because we love cycling, not to get us from A to B, and above all, we can choose from thousands of different locations to spend a night in because we can get most places easily. We are into year 9 with our MH, the only one we looked at, the only one we fancied. It all depends on exactly how you want to use your choice, and where you want to spend the majority of your time away. We can do here and overseas, having all we need for weeks away.Only you can decide if hiring a MH will be a good idea, but I think you might want to look at a few key issues. Bathroom will be one, size, will you use it, or will you rely upon using sites with facilities? (We have a small bathroom, but the shower is excellent, and it only takes 5 minutes to dry down after use, we don’t spend hours in it per day, so why lug around a big bathroom) Sleeping……can you put up a bed ok, or do you want to have something down permanently? This will greatly affect your choices in terms of size and therefore expense. Do a lot of research around any known issues with designs, you don’t want to be back and forth trying to get problems resolved and their are some serious tales of woe with some MHs, just like caravans.
We have been very lucky with our choice, it suits us down to the ground, it’s easy to use for days out, or long weeks away, and has been very reliable. No longer on sale, so no use telling you what. If we had to choose again? A PVC, around 6 metres, no more, complete with roll out awning, and dual use bike carrier/storage box carrier on rear as we have now.
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We kept our caravan, still got it, it’s an ongoing resto project.
With respect to AD and Mikey, I sort of understand what you are thinking, but I can assure you the reality of owning and using a small MH is one that you can adapt to and get on with well, but it is world’s away from using a largish caravan, and having the warmth, comfort, shelter, cup of tea and above all sheer freedom of stopping where you want, when you want. It works best if you can (and want to) ditch the caravan mentality, and think differently. Trying to replicate what you have/had in a caravan is often the first mistake some folks make, and unless you can (and want) to compromise, then it might not be best choice.
Some of our stopping locations, all legal I might add. Some are sites, some are where we walked, cycled or went swimming, all from comfort and ease of our MH. It’s a different experience with a small MH.🙂
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Our 6m PVC provided this, PD.
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We tour in Europe for up to 8 weeks at a time in a VW campervan, two adults and a dog, mostly fine weather but sometimes not. No drive away awning. Nothing wrong with a 5m van, never felt crowded or that I wanted more space, just brilliant to have the flexibility and freedom. I think it depends on what you're used to and what you want to do when you're away, how much you want to take with you and how you spend your days. We don't watch TV for example so there's never a question of one person wanting to find a space away from the TV.
I think if you'll sometimes be accompanied by teenagers then you need more space inside and also for the packing of tents etc so a bigger van might make sense, or a smaller conversion and keep the caravan for those occasions when the kids want to join you maybe.
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