Message Forums

Quote: Originally posted by jennifernn on 28/07/2005

---

Hi Sonesta,  Previous experience of buying 2nd hand vehicles has rather put us off, but I realise we could save a lot that way.

Unfortunately a medical condition means I need help with showering and not all sites have the CC type unisex disabled facilities so we would need a motorhome with a large shower room....something the size of our present end bathroom in the van.  From my research so far it seems that will seriously limit our choice, and push up the price.

But we are still looking,any suggestions welcome. We are also thinking a fixed bed might be a good thing for long-term use.  So many things to consider! 

---

actually a lot of sites have disabled facilities now - obviously some are better than others, on one flash campsite we were on recently the disabled loo/shower would have been good if they bothered to clean out all leaves and rubbish that had obviously accumulated over winter.

ps- if you are thinking of towing a small runabout car, make sure you do it legally, I beleive you need an Aframe.

going back to the vans, I believe the Italian ranges are generally cheaper, but have you thought about getting an LWB hitop converted privately, not sure about options near Glasgow but there are several firms in Northern England.

We bought a trailer to tow behi nd our motorhome especially designed to tow a Smart car. Take a look at their website. http://www.carpages.co.uk/smart/smart-fortwo-09-02-05.asp?switched=on&echo=1022710703

Sonesta

Hi,

I retired early and now live in France (Condom) and I can tell you that the French have a much more realistic approach to most things whereas in the UK there is a culture of 'Rules is rules' however stupid they seem.

The EU has ordered that sites for travellers must be provided. In the UK they take this as a directive to make facilities for 'gypsies' . In France they are not too keen on these amateur car dismantlers and provide sites for motorhomes instead. This complies with the law and the villages get nicer neighbours. If your local council has plans to build a site, campaign for the motorhome version.

If anyone has any questions about France please feel free to ask and if I don't know, I will endevour to find out.

Going back to the original question, in France, why should motorhomes get free parking areas whereas caravans must be on sites. Well is there any actual law that states that carvans cannot be sited in these areas designated for motorhomes? Especially if the tow car was left attached to the caravan.

This year we will be wild camping in the Western Isles and our van (see gallery) will be locked onto the tow car while we are wild camping. Okay, when we reach a caravan park, and they are one or two, we will detach and tour solo. However, as far as I can see, there is no restriction in the Western Isles as to what kind of unit you use, it is only that for the most part and up until now, the majority of wild campers use motorhomes.

With a solar panel and all mod cons, although our van is small, it is completely self contained and an ideal unit for wild camping. If a car can go there so can our van.

We decided to put our tourer on a permanent all-year pitch in the south of France last year for long summer visits (4 months last year).  However this left us with nothing for weekends away in the UK during the rest of the year! 

After months of agonising, we bought a Burstner Marano 595 2-berth motorhome (just 6 mtrs long).  We used to tow the tourer with a Ford Ranger 4 x 4 and found that the Burstner is only marginally longer longer than the 4 x 4 and handles beautifully, so we've really found no problems with taking it into town to the shops, street-level parking or sightseeing outings (however multi-storey or underground car parks are off limits!).  We use a stand-alone porch awning, which takes less than a minute to unclip if you want to drive out somewhere. 

Drove down to France in it this March and it was so easy (and free) just to pull onto a motorway service area for the night.  On the caravan pitch, the Burstner parks cosily across the front and is there for shopping, days out, or maybe the odd weekend on a different site for a bit of a change.

If we had to get rid of one of them, the caravan would go and the motorhome would stay!

However, each to his own! 

Quote: Originally posted by twooks on 26/7/2005

---

                   great in it!

but just think those campers have to pay full price on ferries when hulky great caravans get to go free.

---

Quote: Originally posted by Caroline M on 25/4/2008

---

Blimey where has this come from I posted the original thread nearly 3 years ago!!!

---

and it still excites comment - but it is a good subject!

There are Aires where you can take a Caravan onto and stop the night but they are few and far between. There is a sign that indicates that Caravans are allowed but I'm blowed if I know what it is.

Some one said about the cost of buying a Motorhome: Build your own. I always have. My Beautiful Yellow Transit has just down 200k miles and I paid £1200 for it originally. In that time it has cost me some tyres, oil/fuel/air filters, a set of brake discs/pads & shoes. A centre propshaft bearing and that's about it.

The next major (?) job will be to replace the sliding door catches where they go onto the rails - not big deal