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We have done the static caravan thing and moved to the tent, for more freedom.  Now we are thinking of going traverling in europe and would like to buy motor home.  Any advice on size make model and best place to buy would be great, we are a family of five, my husband and i with 3 boys age 10, 11 and 15  and live in cleveland.

Best bet is to go to one of the big shows and have a good look at different layouts.

Or a large dealers, to see which layout might suit you best.

There is some useful info here  http://www.co.uk/vehicles/basics_types.htm

http://www.co.uk/vehicles/interior_layouts.htm

Carole

With your family we can rule out the smaller motorhomes unless you envisage taking a stand alone awning or tent with you. You need SPACE. Plenty of dealers in the area which I'm sure you'll know, Cleveland Motorhomes, Barron's, Robson's of Wolsingham, Tyne Valley Motorhomes. We cruised and viewed at all these places but plumped for Cleveland MH for the best deal, also convenient for any problems, warranty work etc. They all have web sites but nothing beats actually visiting and viewing what's on offer. However if you go here  http://www.explorer-group.co.uk/literature.asp and click on the Motorhomes link you may find something to suit your needs and finances. Prices are included.

Good Luck

Don

Carole, for what it is worth we too want to travel eventually when our circumstances allow.  We toyed with motorhomes then last summer we went to france with our tent.  Lots of people arrived on site in bloomin' massive motorhomes costing thousands and thousands.  Do you know what?  They never moved once they arrived.  Why?  'Cos their motorhomes were soooooooo huge they couldn't manoeuvre them around the towns!  The scenery in the Auvergne was stunning but they couldn't enjoy it at all.  One was advised by a policeman not to take his into Vichy which is a large town.

Several people we spoke to had sold their motorhomes and started all over again with a caravan and car/4 X 4.  Much much more flexible and also economical.

When we go, we will certainly follow suit with an X trail and a Bailey I reckon.

So, for the size of family you have and consequently size of motorhome you require you may well also run into the same problems.  Consider also the seat belt arrangements because I understand that a lot of motorhomes don't have sufficient forward facing seating with belts.

Ali

When we go out, we like having everything we could need with us.  We didn't want the hassles of towing, or having to go back to one spot to pick up a caravan etc, so we opted for a motorhome.  Initially we were going to buy a 7 berth which was 23 ft long.  I know it sounds a lot, but the way we see it is that busses and juggernauts get around towns etc, and they are much longer.  After some serious talking with our kids, the older ones said they really didn't want to be coming away with us, so we opted for a 5 berth in the end, which was 19ft 4in.  The idea was that my two youngest would top and tail up in the over cab.  As it happens, the elder of the two now prefers to sleep in the awning inside a pup tent [Mum....kids of our age don't 'do' sleeping together!!!].  I wish now that we had bought a 6 berth with bunks so they could have had their own beds.  Still, too late now.  Other than that we are really pleased with our van and love parking up on seafronts and having everything we need with us to be able to make a cuppa wherever we want.

Sara

Thank you to everyone for your comments, they have been informative.  Could anyone tell us where are the best shows to visit? 

Carole

Don't forget the payload when buying!!!!!!!! I.e. how much you can carry without it causing u to lose loads of power. Think read somewhen on here that u need at least 500kg of payload - which includes passengers, food, belongings etc, before u buy always ask this as u dont want to be buying such an expensive item and not being able to get all your things in. We have a vw campervan but I do dream about having a MH (love looking round but sometimes it just makes me more depressed knowing that theres no way at the mo that we could have one) but like a MH our Camper gets us to places and its easier to pitch than a tent and so much quicker. For instance, the other weekend we went away. Pulled up and the OH said ill sort out electrics so i said oh ill get drinks in then was gone 10 mins and when i'd returned all sorted and we wer able to enjoy our evening without having to struggle with setting up etc etc. Water in portaloo and fresh water then hook up elecs and get all the things out the back so we can get the bed down - 10 mins and all sorted u cant do better than that. We watched a caravan pull up and an hour later they were still setting up - so glad for the camper!!!!!!!!!! Good look with what u decide to get but take ur time and enjoy each and every MH u see cos ull be surprised at how many different layouts and styles there are.

MH'ing is for life not just for xmas!!!!!!!!

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/shows/default.asp 

All the major shows listed above, The northern show at York is probably nearest to you, but not till september.