What do I need ?
Hi All
Just purchased our first motorhome, having always been caravaners.
Any suggestions for things we will need, that we didn’t need before ?
Thanks
Comments
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Good to hear you got your MH. What did you get?
You've probably got most things (maybe too much?) but a hose extension for emptying the waste tank when there’s no drive over drain could prove very useful as could a bucket and long handled brush for reaching that dirty fly encrusted windscreen. And an external insulated windscreen cover to prevent condensation 👍🏻
Enjoy your van.
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I seem to recall that’s exactly the layout you were looking for.👍🏻
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Congratulations on your new van. Most of the immediate needs have already been mentioned. Initially it might depend on how long your first trip will be, other than being instructive! As Hja says a watering can is very useful for topping up the water tank, I use a standard 10 litre one from likes of a Garden Centre.
David
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Local transport to get around. Are you goi g to tow a car or will electric bikes suffice?
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About the only things we bought additional to what we already had as caravaners were :-
Silver screen
Watering can
Collapsable bucket
Heavy duty ramps
We already had some food grade hose for filling as we had used service pitches. However one of these avoids having to stand holding the hose while the tank fills.
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It’s personal choice. Some folk swear by them but we’ve never bothered. We lost an offside mirror once to an oncoming van and no amount of protection would have saved it.
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Morning
Here's my take on things. Ramps and external screen covers. After 22 years of motorhoming I've learnt don't buy cheap. I have Milenco quatro ramps and Taylormade screen covers, the longer ones that cover the vent under the windscreen. Had both for 10 years now, still as good as new. I made myself and carry 30 meter and a 10 meter electric leads (the club don't allow joiners) and a length of coax if you're on site with tv hookup.
Not essential if you normally use sites with hook up but a roof top solar panel as big as you can fit / afford and as big a leisure battery as you can fit if you'd like to go off grid.
Be careful with the axle weights if you have a garage, it's always tempting to fill a vacant space!
Try not to "caravan" in your motorhome
JK
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Yes, those lenses on the Ducato/Boxer vans are vulnerable (but cheap to replace) I’m not sure that ours on the Sprinter were as vulnerable or how the OP’s Transit mirrors are designed. There’s always an element of luck involved, good and bad.
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Although a caravanned myself, after the performance of a M/H on the site where we are staying I would recommend a set or two of antislip mats if you are ever thinking of pitching on wet grass.
On leaving this morning the M/H managed to get bogged down, having for some reason stopped after initially moving off from where he was pitch. It took a tractor to extricate them from the site and has left deep gouges where they repeatedly tried to get their unit to move!!
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Exactly the reason we always want a hardstanding pitch. I think in the last 10 years we have only been on a grass pitch twice in the UK, one was on a CL where the owner allowed is to park our front wheels on the car park. Different matter abroad as you rarely find hardstanding pitches and in those circumstances I try and park as close to the site roads as possible. But good suggestion to have anti slip mats which are quite cheap anyway and often if you can get the front wheels moving forward you are OK. Many of the problems I have seen with motorhomes in the wet is because many of them want to park in the furthest corner of a site, not really the best idea?
David
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Thanks JK, got most of that already. I was always careful with payload and axle weights, and spent a while finding the right MH with a sensible payload. Always checked our van, total and axle, on the local weighbridge at the start of each season and will continue this with a MH.
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No unfortunately not. Although it does mean you can keep an eye on how full it is getting. We only tend to travel with Hymers recommended 20 litres, so if only stopping for a night will only top it up until the gauge shows 50. That’s also where the watering can may come in handy. If there is a queue at the MH service point, it is often easier to park up and put in 3 of those.
Personally, as we always stop on sites or Aires where water is available, I don’t see any point in lugging about an additional 80 kilos. The recommended 20 is plenty for use on route and would even serve for a night in an emergency, if filling wasn’t possible.
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Why not? It’s what MHs are meant for - to travel with all services usable. We fill at home before setting off and never drain before moving sites. In fact, that would be a pain as our MH is used every day when on tour.
We only fill with a hose at either a MHSP or ordinary tap and the only time we did differently was at Altnaharra where the SP is inaccessible to MHs.
Everyone has different ways of doing things. Just pick what’s best for you.
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Hope you enjoy your new MH😁 We can recommend Silverscreens/Taylormade screens, great insulators, and help keep excessive heat out in Summer. If your cab are proves a bit cool, a very small portable oil filled radiator will take off the chill in Winter. It’s all we use for overnight, even when it drops very cold. Dunelm, around £20.
Best advice from us? Travel as light but as comfy as you need in terms of things you take with you. It keeps set up/pack away easy and simple, and, if you can, use it to go off sites, rather than like a caravan. With a little bit of research, you can generally find easy parking, and that way you can enjoy your own facilities off site as well, and it won’t restrict your choice of sites as much.
Nellie’s point is good advice. You don’t have to stick to just HS pitches, if you use common sense, and have some decent underwheel mats/ramps to help. But always check your ground before driving on. We probably do 60/40% in favour of grass during Summer, but tend to use either HS or reinforced grass in Winter. We carry track mats, sometimes bridging ramps. All depends if you want to make the effort or stick with HS.
Have a lovely time 👍
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We always travel with about a half full tank and top up when we reach the campsite. I might depend on your payload allowance as every litre of water equals one kilo in weight. Fortunately we have a quite generous allowance in our van.
David
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The best advice by far on this thread is Tinny's comment thus:
Everyone has different ways of doing things. Just pick what’s best for you.
As a motor homer for 36 years, some of the comments I have read above are suggesting ways of working that I would not dream of adopting. But the point is everyone is different and we all find our preferred way of working. The only bottom line essentials I would agree with in order of priority are (specifically for motorhoming as opposed to a caravanning):
Levelling blocks
Hose adaptors/attachments/water filler cap (as shown by SteveL above)
Watering can to keep fresh topped up
I never had mirror protectors (I don't think I knew they existed; never had an issue). I did have wheel covers utilised only between trips to help prevent or delay cracking in the tyre walls. I never had external windscreen covers. The windscreen and cab-side windows are the best source of light and provide the best view of surroundings in the van and I could never understand the idea of covering this up. I know you can remove it in the morning, but very few that I witnessed ever did. However, I know I am in a minority on this judging by my own observations on site.
Therefore, if you follow the majority, you'll want an external screen cover.
Also, I used to travel with whatever fresh water was still in the tank, whether it were full or otherwise.
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If you have cab blinds you won’t need a silver screen. As you have a garage your caravan accessories such as picnic table, chairs etc. will fit so no need to downsize. A food grade filler hose can be handy if you are parked up on a pitch with a tap (quite common in France) or a serviced pitch in the UK. I have a Jerry can style water container (plastic) for topping up the water tank during lengthy stays. Wing mirrors can be extremely costly to replace so protectors may save you. Mirror Guard are good.
Don't buy too much, it’s best to go away on a trip and decide afterwards.
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There seems to be a bit of a difference of view regarding insulated screen covers v cab blinds. I appreciate that it is a personal and if you have screen blinds I would try those first before spending money on an external screen. However whether you might prefer an external cover might well depend where the sleeping accommodation viz a viz the cab area. If you are sleeping near the front of the van then, during the summer, internal blinds can still let in a lot of light. Maybe that is not an issue but for some it will be. Also an insulated screen cover will provide a bit of protection against both hot and cold temperatures. Most insulated screens have a middle section which can be pulled down (Velcro) if you want to see out. Our Taylormade has served us well over the past 10 years from frosty conditions at Chatsworth in December to very hot conditions on a Med campsite in the summer. Not an essential purchase but one that could be useful depending on some of the things I have mentioned.
David
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