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 Topic: First tentative thoughts of motorhome
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26/4/2016 at 1:59pm
Location: Shropshire
Outfit: Toyota Granvia (Wellhouse)
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Hi..
We've never had a caravan, we switched to MHs from tents (firstly, an Autosleeper van conversion and then to "coachbuilt" motorhomes) but what I would "suggest" is to not pay too much attention to what some magazine review may(or may not)say...
Instead,poke around as many dealerships, forecourts , motorhome shows etc as you can..even speaking to MH owners that you may meet whilst on 'site.. 
Consider how you'd manage with transport once set up on site?..would you want to keep moving the van?..yes you can use public transport(or bikes?) but those may not always be an option, so would you "miss" having the car?
Also, think how often it would get used?..if you'll be touring at length(maybe the Continent?)then a MH would come into it's own.
They can great for popping away for an impromptu day or two away but if it's a van on the larger side, then that sometimes needs more "planning" than the "Freedom of the open road" magazine hype will have you believe (eg lack of parking, height barriers etc).
If/when you do find a specific make/model you like, research it thoroughly for "issues", it's real payload etc (search the many online forums for feedback).
After only 10ish years (with 3 different MHs), we've now switched back to camping but if we had already owned a caravan, unless I could've seen a clear and real advantage to a MH(long term touring in the pipeline etc), then I think I would've found it hard to justify the switch...
A good many MHs end up as little more than expensive front garden ornaments or glorified picnic vehicles 
(something we were occasionally guilty of with ours  )
Post last edited on 26/04/2016 14:09:09
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26/4/2016 at 4:15pm
Location: Morley
Outfit: Coachman Amara
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Well we,be just gone from a motorhome to a fixed bed caravan, the space and lounging about is great, and no climbing up the ladder to the over cab bed , did go abroad in the motorhome, France , Spain, loved it, but as previously pointed out by pepe63 , we always booked sites with public transport nearby , great for bombing down the motorways and just pulling in if you fancied a brew or saw a car boot etc, the motorhome you want would have a big rear lounge to sprawl out on, low profile for economy and a big fridge for the beer 👍😉
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01/5/2016 at 1:51pm
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Quote: Originally posted by mfdaustrey on 26/4/2016
My wife doesn't tow but would drive a van.
If you are planning to use your MH as your daily drive when away from home on holiday then you won't want a big, long and wide one as they can be a right royal pain to use, they are also quite difficult to drive until your confidence has grown.
As you are tall, then your options are possibly steering you towards a coachbuilt as none of the professional panel vans conversions are done on high roof vans.
Are you any good at DIY, if so why not consider the joys of making your own panel van conversion on a high top panel van?
I had been a caravanner for 30 odd years and started to think about buying a MH, but my gaud I hated every single one that I set eyes on, most especially the professionally executed panel van conversions. So I bit the proverbial bullet, joined a good club where I could pick the brains of time honoured people, bought a basic panel van and converted it myself.
I now drive around in a van that I am incredibly proud of as well as having the knowledge where every single thing is and most importantly of all, it is properly screwed and glued together! It also cost me a mere fraction of any of the vans that I had seen.
It is also an absolute doddle to drive!!
All the best
Phil
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05/5/2016 at 10:45am
Location: Derbyshire
Outfit: ElddisAvante462 Honda CRV SE2.2 i-Dtec
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We too have been looking for a motorhome for future years, as my Husband aproches his 8th decade and is not as fit as he used to be at doing all the setting up and hitching ect that a caravan has. We would like 4 seatbelts, handy for when the Grandchildren want to come with us, but we also like the layout of the side dinette with long bench seat opposite, prefare a side kitchen, and also a full washroom across the back.
We also need good storage which is capable of housing my Mobility travel scooter, but up to now, we have not been able to find all these features in a fairly compact motorhome of less than 6.5 m. In length.
We were looking at the new Swift Rio motorhomes, but we would have to stick with the two side bench layouts and no 4 seatbelts, which is not what we really want, especilly when we will be spending such a large sum of money. The search goes on, but for now, we are still able to enjoy our caravan, and the grandchildren are happy to sleep out in the awning with their Mum and Dad on the occasions they want to come with us for the odd weekend whist we are away.
Julia
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Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
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05/5/2016 at 10:20pm
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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If you are thinking of changing from a car and caravan to a motorhome, make a list of the pros and cons of each. We did this and found that for us a caravan had more pros than a MH. I have back problems, and a MH would be much easier on arrival at a site, but we would then have no transport to look around the area.
Another problem would be what we would use at home for local journeys such as shopping, visiting relatives etc. Clearly that would mean a second vehicle, which would mean two lots of road tax, two MOTs, two lots of vehicle insurance, and two vehicles to service. Could we justify having a vehicle that would only be used on odd occasions but would still need to be kept taxed, MOTd, and insured? The answer was a definite no. Our personal finances just wouldn't support it anyway. However, everybody's circumstances are different.
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07/5/2016 at 4:51am
Location: Dumfries
Outfit: 2022 CoachmanVIP 2022 Pilote P696GJ
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Quote: Originally posted by romany girl on 05/5/2016
We too have been looking for a motorhome for future years, as my Husband aproches his 8th decade and is not as fit as he used to be at doing all the setting up and hitching ect that a caravan has. We would like 4 seatbelts, handy for when the Grandchildren want to come with us, but we also like the layout of the side dinette with long bench seat opposite, prefare a side kitchen, and also a full washroom across the back.
We also need good storage which is capable of housing my Mobility travel scooter, but up to now, we have not been able to find all these features in a fairly compact motorhome of less than 6.5 m. In length.
We were looking at the new Swift Rio motorhomes, but we would have to stick with the two side bench layouts and no 4 seatbelts, which is not what we really want, especilly when we will be spending such a large sum of money. The search goes on, but for now, we are still able to enjoy our caravan, and the grandchildren are happy to sleep out in the awning with their Mum and Dad on the occasions they want to come with us for the odd weekend whist we are away.
Julia
Julia have you considered how you will get about once on site , we thought having a Motorhome would be easier but in reality its not .
I had great ideas that a motorhome would solve all our problem but its has worked out to be an expensive mistake , we even went down the road of towing a small car which is also a pain to hitch up and connect the A frame .
I still have my 14 plate CRV D-tec which is a good job as were looking for a caravan again . Be sure its right for you because we spent 52k on our motorhome setup and its not been a good experience .
We don't do public transport or walking any great distance and cycling on Uk roads is a no no so we need a car or were stuck on site .
Motorhomes are not all there cracked up to be
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07/5/2016 at 10:57am
Location: Derbyshire
Outfit: ElddisAvante462 Honda CRV SE2.2 i-Dtec
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Thankyou all for your advice, for now, we are happy to stay with the car and caravan, but if we really did find it impossible to continue with the set up chores ect, then rather than give up the lifestyle altogether, we maywell convert to using a motorhome for our holiday needs.
Tbh, we basically stick to just a handfull of tried and tested sites, have our own park up beauty spots with amazing views that we like to visit, and l have my mobility scooter for nipping to the shops on whist away to buy whatever supplies we need. We already own a small second car which we inherited from my Dad, when he bought a new automatic, the insurance on the CRV for our youngest daughter was just not ecomomically viable, so no real change there whist we are at home, we can still use the old Yaris as a run-around.
Hopefully, non of this will be relavent for a few years yet, but its nice to have a plan rather than have to give the lifestyle up altogether.
Julia
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Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
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