After 30+ years if caravanning we are thinking of MAYBE changing to a motorhome. To check this idea out a little we are hiring a 2025 n Roller Team 740 TLine (7.43m long x 2.35 m wide x 2.95m high and spending a week at the C&C site in Keswick.
I have towed a variety of caravans, including our largest our current Buccaneer Commodore towing with a VW Touareg all over the UK and Continental Europ. However, I must confess I am a little nervous at this first experience of motorhome driving. We are picking up the Roller Team 740T motorhome from Unleashed motorhomes in Northwich TOMORROW and driving up the M6 to the Lakes.
When I was a teacher I occasionally drove a minibus but have not done that in the last 20 years or so.
I have watched a number of videos on motorhome driving but I would be VERY grateful for any advice that any of you "seasoned motorhomers" can offer.
Thanks in anticipation.
Tim
I forgot to mention that the motorhome is an automatic.
As part of preparation of getting a van, which is a MWB VW Crafter, I took a 2h lesson with a local training provider for HGV drivers, in one of their smaller vans similar in size to my van.
It definitely helped to instil confidence in me prior to taking delivery of my van, money well-spent I would say.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Just take it easy, no rush, if everyone else wants to pass, let them. Go at you speed where you feel comfortable.
I used to let Mr George do all the driving, but as I was also insured on it, if ever he couldn't drive for some reason I would have to whether I wanted to or not.
So, every now and then I do a stint on the motorways, at first it will feel like a mighty bus and you will be forever looking in your mirrors (no bad thing) but after a while it will feel fine. On site, just make sure you have someone to watch your corners and don't forget to fill up with water at the MSP before setting up on pitch (unless you've gone for a fully serviced one)
I used to drive a minibus at work and your MH is much longer than ours: my chief advice is to double check after overtaking a lorry on the M-way or a parked car in a village, don’t come back in too soon.
And as others have said, allow overtaking: once we have more than 2-3 cars behind us, or just 1 vehicle on a tricky road, we pull into a lay-by or farm entrance to let them by.
Finally, if you’re reversing, it’s wise to have someone at the back checking & visible in your wing mirror. You’ll have a reversing camera but it won’t show if your grey water drain is about to hit a kerb or (as I saw once on site) you’re about to hit an overhanging branch.
I hope you enjoy your trip; “try before you buy” is always a good idea.
Personally I wouldn't want to spend a week on a site with a motorhome. You have lost the advantage of having a car to nip to the shops or just to go off exploring. Unless you are on a site with good public transport close by, you would have to stow everything away safely in the motorhome just to go to the shops if there were none nearby.
However, for touring, stopping a night here and two nights there I doubt you could beat a motorhome. We did it in a campervan when we were very much younger but wouldn't want to go that route now we are in our 70s. Too much faffing about making seats into beds and no onboard toilet. That wouldn't be a problem in a motorhome though.
As for driving it, you'd soon get used to it. But being a former coach driver I suppose I would say that.
Beware of the overhang at the back and take corners a little wider.
Make yourself familiar with the dimensions and keep an eye out for overhanging branches when you're driving and overhanging roofs when you're parking or filling the van up with water etc - we nearly came a cropper at the service point on one site because of an overhanging roof next to the grey waste, just stopped in time as the reversing sensor was beeping but the camera showed room to spare
Don't let anyone rush you, and take it slowly if necessary.
Double check your route on Google maps (street view) so there are no surprises and don't trust your satnav.
It's amazing how easy they are to drive, you naturally adapt to the size and you get a great view
We hired one a couple of years ago to see if we liked the lifestyle and came straight home and bought one and head off in it at every opportunity, even just for the night at the weekend.
Enjoy!
Thanks for all the helpful advice. We arrived safely at Keswick CCC site 4 days ago. We're enjoying our break and have been out walking and on bus and Derwentwater Launch. Thanks again
We try to spend all our post-Brexit allowance of 2x90 days/yr on the continent. Outfit is 7.75m Bessacarr with 4m trailer for motorbikes, awning & associated clobber, etc.
One of our most useful purchases has been a €15 pair of walkie-talkies.
These have proven absolutely invaluable and have saved us thousands of pounds in potential bodywork repair bills when reversing (especially reversing the trailer!), negotiating tight campsites, overhanging buildings/rockfaces/trees, etc.
Getting a mite hard of hearing as I get older, and even with the windows down I simply can't hear Mrs Navigator over the engine noise.
Those piddly little cheap R/Ts have paid for themselves a thousand times over!
Take your time.
Acceleration will be pedestrian, unless you really enjoy thousands of revs.
Braking will take more time and hence distance.
Your mirrors will be your friends - use them, they are usually large.
Think of it as similar to the minibus, but without the constant yakking of students.
If in doubt when manoeuvring, stop, get out and look; get your co-pilot to help.
After a while you will wonder what you were worried about.
Most of all, enjoy!!!
We enjoyed our week at the Keswick CCC site. The MH meant that we were able to move a couple of times to get a pitch with a distant view of Derwent Water - it would not have been so easy with our caravan.
I found driving the MH okay and put into practice all the advice regarding mirrors, length, etc. Obviously many years of caravan towing advice helped me with being aware of overtaking and maneouvring distances.
I found the MH rather a rough, unrefined and rattley ride compared to our VW Touareg. I think this was made worse by the fact that the hirers had already filled the fresh water tank when we picked up the MH. My driving experience improved after I mastered the cruise control buttons. I'm afraid I've been rather spoilt by, an missed, all the technogical goodies of the Touareg, Assisted cruise control, lane assist, etc, etc.
We had not bought our week's food before our journey to Keswick and planned to buy this on arrival. This proved to be a problem with finding a supermarket with space to park the MH. We tried Booths in Keswick but having parked over 2 spaces we notice that the signage said taking up 2 spaces was not allowed. We travelled on to Cockermouth Lidl but there was no double spaces available. We finally managed to park over 3 spaces at Cockermouth Aldi. After that outing we did not take the MH offsite again until we left. Fortunately Keswick has very good bus services from the bus station just around the corner from the campsite. We, also, took the launch on Derwent Water. We had some lovely walks from the campsite, buses and launch.
The MH fixed bed was VERY comfortable, even more comfortable than the bed in our Buccaneer Commodore. We found the lounge and kitchen areas VERY cramped. The fridge was good but we missed not having a microwave. The kitchen worktop/sinktop/hob was VERY small.
The reason for us hiring the MH was 2 fold:
(1) To check out if a MH would be a suitable replacement for our caravan. We tend to think NO as we tend to stay on sites in Europe and the UK and take trips out in the car. We, also, found the MH living space very cramped. In addition finding parking spaces was a BIG problem.
(2) To see if taking a 2 month holiday-of-a-lifetime to New Zealand and hiring a MH was a feasible option for us. We are still weighing up the pros and cons of this not least because of the increasing infirmities of old age mean the clock is ticking!!
Certainly the MH hire helped us to identify what sort of MH we would want to hire if we managed that trip. We would probably go for a MH with bed that dropped down from the ceiling, to a low level, rather than a fixed bed thus giving us more daytime living space. My dodgy knee means and frequent night-time loo visits mean that a bed reached by a ladder is not a feasible option for me.
Thanks again for everyone who took the trouble to advise us.
I can thoroughly recommend a trip to New Zealand and hiring a motorhome. We did that just before the covid problem. Thank goodness we did go then.
Knowing how busy it gets in peak season, we travelled late September and returned early December, meaning we were there during spring. Yes, it was quite wet some days, but that way you see the waterfalls at their best.
I planned and booked everything independently, so had the choice of which airline/hotels/MH hire company we used. On that latter topic, beware the giant hire companies, we selected a much smaller company and experienced a much more personal service from the owners themselves. Also download Rankers Camping app. an excellent list of all campsites, including the free ones.
If you do decide to go,I am quite happy to enlarge on facilities we used.
I went down the custom-conversion route as I could not find a van that suited my needs and wants, and one of the needs was a drop-down bed so that I did not have to make up the bed every night and morning, plus a decent living area.
I am very happy with my van as I designed her myself.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
A few words about motorhomes in Europe vs UK. In the UK, you have to either stop on sites, which are almost invariably miles from anything, including in some cases bus stops to civilisation, or possibly on something like BritStops in pub car parks and the like.
Europe is full of Aires de Camping, or Stellplatz, which is basically motorhome only parking, some with hook up, often with fresh water, grey water and black water disposal, some free, some up to 15 or so Euros. We have used these extensively in France and most are provided by the local council and are usually adjacent to the town, so you can spend your money with them. Others are in attraction car parks, eg, Mont ST Michel, Chambord, etc. (Never, ever stop overnight at an Aire de Service, unless you enjoy lorries coming and going at all hours and the possibility of theft.)
Motorhoming in Europe is a dream, all we ever book is the Channel Crossing, then we wander, even in July and August.
Whatever you do enjoy your travels.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Advice to a Motorhome newbie
via mobile 21/4/2025 at 10:12pm
