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 Topic: Motorhome Advice - Please Help?
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Message posted by Dave1113/1/2022 at 1:10pm
Outfit: Swift 645 Elegance - Range Rover Sport Location: Sussex
Joined: 11/7/2005
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Dave11
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We have had twin axle caravans for many years since our children were young enough to come away with us and are looking at either replacing our current Swift 645 Elegance at the show in February for a new caravan or making the move to a Motorhome?
My wife and I have been talking for many years of changing to a motorhome when we retired and now we have both officially hit retirement age are wondering if now is the time?
We are both semi retired now in that we can go away as often as we like now, whenever we like and for how long we like ands wanted to mix our breaks with more touring and stopping for around 1-3 nights at each place , then moving on .
However, that is not exclusive and will still mix with our usual type holidays where we will do a week or 10 days on a site if we want to explore the area or just relax.
Here comes the dilemma, for the change to a motorhome, the only way I would want to, is by maintaining full flexibility by towing a small car liken a Fiat 595 behind the motorhome to use when we have longer stays on a site in the UK so we can get around and explore for those longer same stay site breaks.
We go to Europe a lot with our caravan , but would not bother taking a car as I know A frames are frowned upon in most of mainland Europe and I don’t want to bother with a trailer and storing it.
This is where i can see more of a ‘touring aspect’ fore the shorter stays and moving on , taking e-bikes and using an Uber or taxi if too far intro the local town to walk, in UK or Europe.
A few people i have spoken to are saying if your going to tow stay with a caravan, however i was looking for the flexibility of a motorhome when the car is not required and yet take a car when it is , giving the best of both worlds.
I would have the full lightweight braked A frame conversion fitted to the car and it would be used as the daily run around at home for shopping etc.
I keep my caravan at home and because of the length of the van and turning into I the drive , I have to have an AWD mover fitted and disconnect the van across mine and our neighbours driveway which is a negative for the caravan and hassle , where with a motorhome , I would disconnect the car in a nearby lay-by just before home for the wife to drive back.
We would probably go for a van 7mtrs+ as we have really got used to the space for just the two of us and would probably opt for an end lounge layout to give similar seat layout to the caravan.
We are in a dilemma as we would like to have the motorhome with the ability to tow a car when needed, but the few motor-homers we have spoken to (that don't tow a car) have been putting us off from making the change, saying we wont want to tow a car, yet I see them often on our travels?
Are there any motorhomers out there on the forum that tow with the conversion and can give me pros and cons and their experience of towing a car, also would they still motorhome if they didn't have that option?
Thanks for any help, we have to make a decision before the NEC as it will be time to change our car too and I may not need a heavyweight 4WD?
Post last edited on 13/01/2022 13:20:03
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Message posted by Fiona W via mobile 13/1/2022 at 4:16pm
Outfit: Autosleepers: Clubman > Nuevo. Location: Ayrshire
Joined: 10/4/2007
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Fiona W
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I’m of the “tow a caravan” cohort, having seen the length of MH plus car on our rural roads and the faff of getting the set-up fitted onto a standard pitch.
That aside, can I suggest you cost the set-up. A new MH that suits you might cost £80K new - just for checking different layouts & prices, look at the Autosleeper range online. Add insurance for it, servicing etc. Add cost of tow car - and will this be your usual car at home? or will you need a second car that takes rubbish to the tip or grandchildren on day trips?
We tour in our MH or stay 7-10 days. It doesn’t take long to put stuff away & unhook the EHU for a day trip. If you’re wedded to having an awning, that does add a chunk of time (plus weight / volume). Yes, parking a big MH in a town is a pain, you’ll also need to pay for 2 parking spaces at 7m; so we use P&R if possible. We use the bus system a lot, but our passes cover the whole of Scotland.
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2022 - 3 sites, 8 nights / 2021 - 11 sites, 29 nights / 2020 - 4 sites, 20 nights / 2019 - 13 sites, 35 nights / 2018 - 20 sites, 33 nights / 2017 - 10 sites, 22 nights / 2016 - 19 sites, 33 nights / 2015 - 15 sites, 27 nights.
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Message posted by MrWez13/1/2022 at 5:56pm
Outfit: Bailey Autograph 79-4i MH Location: Wessex
Joined: 11/7/2015
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MrWez
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I can't answer the question on towing, we went for a motorhome because I hate towing, it's not that I can't tow, I was taught to tow whilst I was in the military, I used to instruct towing and I'm quite good at it, I just really don't like it.
We tour in our motorhome, the longest we'd stay anywhere is three nights, we provision and sightsee on the move and make good use of public transport, bikes or shank's pony to explore. Caravanning on the other hand I'd suggest, generally lends itself to setting up in one place as a base and using the car to get your provisions and go sightseeing. I don't think you get the best from a motorhome by using it in the same manner as a caravan (which was what we did when we first had a motorhome because the kids were coming with us, they weren't too happy at moving on all the time), we're certainly enjoying our motorhome now it's just us and we can move on regularly like we do now.
A couple of friends of mine have bought motorhomes at the show, they got great deals but the dealers were hundreds of miles away from where they lived so collecting the motorhome from the dealer, taking it to and fro for warranty fixits were major expeditions. On the other hand we've always bought locally (we're on our 5th motorhome), but we're fortunate in having a great choice of dealers within a 25 mile radius of where we live, it does mean that taking the motorhome back to the dealer is not the faff it could be.
I would recommend hiring a motorhome and doing a tour with it, see how you get on with it before you decide. I'd also look at as many layouts as you can before you decide (which is one area where the shows are useful - so many options to look at in one place). Practical Motorhome often has a section at the back of the magazine which lists all of the different types of motorhome and layout, it may be worth a look, it may give you some ideas and help you make a short list of motorhomes you want to look at.
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