5th Wheeler Yes or No
My husband and I are considering buying a 9m 5th Wheeler to go travelling in, both in the UK and in Europe.
We have both received conflicting information regarding the availability of campsites for such a vehicle.
The Caravan & Motorhome Club have advised:
"When booking UK Sites, it would mean speaking to the Site Manager directly over the phone to check that they have an available pitch that you will be able to access easily, so you would not be able to book in the normal way.
With regard to overseas travel, the majority of our sites have around a 7.5m restriction. This means anything over this length we again would have to contact the site directly to see if they have availability on a pitch that they can allocate to you with your size of outfit."
They have also advised that we contact other members on this Club Together Forum, to ask for their advice.
Does anyone have a 5th Wheeler that they travel with? Can you advise? If anyone can give any information it would be gratefully received.
We don't want to spend £85,000 on a unit and not be able to camp anywhere.
Comments
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5th Wheelers, whilst having the benefit of more spacious accommodation are big beasts, not only in length but usually in height to. We have seen them on Club sites but not many of them. We have also been on Continental sites where it has been a struggle to get them on some pitches. Not suggesting you give up on the idea but that you will have to accept some limitations and probably a lot more research into suitable sites. One of the issues is having the room to reverse into a pitch if the site roads are a bit tight, especially if there are trees in to way, not usually a problem on Club sites which are altogether more generous. I seem to recall one of the site staff that contributes here has/had one, I am sure he would give "real" experiences rather than observations.
David
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It's not a case of not being able to camp 'anywhere', but at that size it will restrict your options. Many campsites are also down narrow country lanes and you may find access to sites an issue quite apart from the acceptability of a rig that size. I had a look round one up in Scotland a few years back and whilst the space of the unit and availability of a vehicle once you are on site is attractive, my view is that, whilst they seem great in the vast tracts of USA/Canada, I definitely wouldn't want to use one in the UK and probably not even in Europe. Think long and hard about your choice or it could be expensive to find you've made the wrong one.
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One other thing is that the size of unit you need to tow something like that safely won't be a small vehicle and the 'advantage' caravanners have with their 'park anywhere' tow cars might not be there...🛻
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Good Evening
I have quite a bit of experience with fifth wheelers both here and in Spain. Here, I have a 12 meter trailer that I live / work from on site as a site manager. It's totally impractical to think of touring anywhere in Europe with a rig that big, however, the company I used, Cross Country RV www.ccrv.co.uk has a premises in Mildenhall in Suffolk that supplies a more manageable range of trailers (Rockwood and Puma) that have full IVA certification and can be towed with a ford ranger or nissan navarra type pickup. They supply and fit suspension upgrades to the pickup so it can legally tow the trailers supplied. No I'm not on commision just a very happy RV customer. They give advice to any prospective customer and if you think it's for you they will give free training on manoeuvring, hitching etc and driving the rig. Also their aftersales service would put most caravan dealers in this country to shame
So manoeuvrability. Far easier to reverse onto a pitch compared to a twin axle caravan but at 9 meters you will need to speak to any site to be accepted. Being an rv'er I'm happy to accept any fifth wheelers or rv's on my site, it just takes a bit of forward planning.
I know at least 20 people that use their trailers to tour here and abroad it just takes more planning.
When we wintered in Spain I used to help out at a storage yard for all sorts of outfits and move them to and from sites (happy days before virus). Have a look on youtube at monstermooovers (3 O's) and you'll see that with patience you can put a rig in anywhere.
You don't say where you're being quoted £85k for a rig but I'd presume that's for a truck and trailer?
Any more rv questions ask away
JK
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my view …
Very brave idea for Touring use, heaps of troubles, technicalities & expenses await you as discussed. Doubt CMC will be forthright.
Great for huge interior space when Touring in big countries with wide open roads, like USA & Canada, but UK & Europe = it’s a big no to the idea from me.M
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Many continental caravaners tow vans which are shorter than ours, which is 7.25M long. Those shorter lengths are catered for at plenty of sites which we can struggle to access. That’s not universally true, but it is a limitation. We’ve booked the ferry to Bilbao for 2024 and plan to spend a few days there. I’ve just contacted a site there, who have replied that they can’t take caravans or motorhomes which are over 6.5M. We had to resort to turning corners with the van unhitched, using the motor over on two occasions in France this summer. Buying a Motorhome or a twin axle van as alternatives won’t necessarily help. There are, of corse, plenty of sites capable of accommodating large outfits but they may not be located ideally for you.
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