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Hi, and a warm welcome to the forum. The market works in mysterious ways. I do not have a clue as to how secondhand (or new vehicles) are priced so highly. If I say just keep looking for a 'layout' that suits your needs and that of the number of people that you will have aboard in a 4 berth 'van.ie...4 people = 4 travel seats, complete with 4 three point seatbelts. It is a must. Think of storage for clothing, bedding,pots and pans, food etc. Does it have a 3 way 'fridge, i.e 12volt for use when driving along, Gas for when not on hookup, 240 volt for when on hookup. The next most important thing...and sellers will assume that you know this ( or will not bother if you do not) Are you legally able to drive the weight of vehicle that has stolen your heart. Check the classes on your driving licence. Will it get on your drive/in your garage. Try to buy as close to your home as is possible,even new vans have little niggles that will take an age to sort if 100 miles or more from home. You are doing a sensible thing asking on here, we are nosey lot, and are mostly helpful about anything you care to ask. Also, hireing the one you are about to is a great idea. Better to find out if you like the whole experience first. I would suggest you buy a few magazines on Motorhomes, that way you can see more of what is on offer to suit your needs. Plus if you add your location to your profile, I am sure that many people will have loads of magazines that they usually bung in the bin that it may be possible to let you have if local to them. I certainly do have anyway. Good luck with your new experience, so hope you like it, and that you will be soon a member of the 'waving' fraternity!

There are about half a dozen layouts for MH interiors, which you'll see at any show (The Birmingham one is huge) or decent retailer. We opted not to have the fixed bed type as it doesn't double up for anything else during the day, when it becomes wasted space, so it will be interesting to hear how you get on with the island bed. It's also why we opted for a van with storage cupboards over the cab rather than a bed.  Each layout suits someone, but what steered our choice was the size of windows / amount of light coming in, as some MHs can feel quite claustrophobic and hemmed in.

We have one dog, she sleeps in the passenger foot well, her food goes in a readily accessed cupboard. Just one word of caution - make sure your two dogs are secure when you drive, as they'll have access to the front (which they don't have in a car) and may get under your feet. We had to barricade the gap between the front seats for our first dog, and the current one travels on a lead attached to a handle at the rear of the cab.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

Are you back from that week away in the hired palace yet? 

Thinking of the dogs now...Fiona is so right about secure travel for them also. Never leave anything/one/dog/cat or whatever loose in a van. They become missiles in an accident. Best to get your pets a travel harness and secure them ( and you) in the event of sudden/hard/emergency breaking. Even microwave ovens have a warning on them to remove glass turntable plate before setting off.  Hope you are still enjoying or have thoroughly enjoyed your time away...