Erie Fred
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I thought vacation was supposed to be relaxing.....a day driving that thing
don't look so inviting.
- Thread starter charlysays
- Start date
don't look so inviting.
Bobtail4x4
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I would happly drive it anywhere, in fact 6 of us took 3 landrovers to the arctic circle 6000 miles the other year.
winchman
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- Merseyside
We have had a Bedford CF and two Talbots one petrol one diesel and a diesel Mazda Bongo
The Bedford seriously thirsty 16mpg and very basic as it was so old. It was £500 out of a scrap yard so who could complain
First Petrol Talbot, you could hear it rust nicely fitted out though.
Second one had it for 5 years only really sold it as each year it was another damp repair, it was a 2.5 Non Turbo diesel 30mph up hill 25 MPG 50 flat out, but it was cheap, had it 5 years and sold it for what I paid as it needed work and I was sick of life in the slow lane holding up traffic on motorways.
Bongo was a fantastic people carrier but too small for camping and no bog etc.
Now bought a modern Hymer its so much better more expensive but if you look after it should get a good chunk of your money back.
The Fiberglass motor homes still suffer with damp etc as they leak around trims, windows etc.
We found the German conversions, Hymer, Hobby etc are less dated and better equipped just generally better designed and built.
If its cheap you want I like the old merc based ones but buy a damp one as they are cheaper and they will all have damp at this age you just usually cant see it as the wall board is plastic coated so only really shows damp when its too late.
Sika 522 and 205 activator will be your best tool!
Magnum motor homes for parts
The Bedford seriously thirsty 16mpg and very basic as it was so old. It was £500 out of a scrap yard so who could complain
First Petrol Talbot, you could hear it rust nicely fitted out though.
Second one had it for 5 years only really sold it as each year it was another damp repair, it was a 2.5 Non Turbo diesel 30mph up hill 25 MPG 50 flat out, but it was cheap, had it 5 years and sold it for what I paid as it needed work and I was sick of life in the slow lane holding up traffic on motorways.
Bongo was a fantastic people carrier but too small for camping and no bog etc.
Now bought a modern Hymer its so much better more expensive but if you look after it should get a good chunk of your money back.
The Fiberglass motor homes still suffer with damp etc as they leak around trims, windows etc.
We found the German conversions, Hymer, Hobby etc are less dated and better equipped just generally better designed and built.
If its cheap you want I like the old merc based ones but buy a damp one as they are cheaper and they will all have damp at this age you just usually cant see it as the wall board is plastic coated so only really shows damp when its too late.
Sika 522 and 205 activator will be your best tool!
Magnum motor homes for parts
badabec
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- Essex UK
One of my customers was seriously into caravans (not a caravan using nomadic traveller). I asked why he didn't have a motorhome instead. The problem he found with a motorhome was nipping to the shops or pub or restaurant. With a caravan you can park it, unhitch, level it then go off in your car to the pub etc. Much easier.
Gragson
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An older friend of mine bought his dream motor home when he retired, can't remember what it was but it was pretty big. Looking around and inside it I loved it.
He came back from a few trips in Devon and Cornwall and admitted he was pretty traumatized, narrow roads and even getting it out of tight pub car parks.
A lot of the nice bits of europe let alone england don't lend themselves to the size of some of them.
Greeves246
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Used to have a 1995 Hymer B544 based on Fiat 2.5 TD. The 5 speed box is unreliable, the fifth gear being an add-on on the end of the box. Under 3.5 ton so ok when I got to 70 , Lot of people have fallen foul of losing C1 entitlement when they have bigger vans. Now have a converted T6 as daily drive.
Watching the other halfs parents spend a lot of money on such things over the years, and owning a cheapo twin axle towing caravan myself I came to a conclusion a long time ago . . . you can pay for a lot of nice, comfortable, well equipped, hotel rooms for the same money 
Which is of course, no help at all for the original question
Which is of course, no help at all for the original question
8ob
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Good point, I am no caravanist or motorhomist myself, thought I would check that out. Seems that a lot of the most popular stops have included height barriers to stop all caravans/motorhomes gaining access to the beach sites. Article went on to say that this was only a small percentage overall and there are still plenty of places with none, weight also comes into play on some, worth checking out before embarking on a long journey.
Motorhome parking in Cornwall
Motorhome Parking in Cornwall where the admin HQ is in the city of Truro and the town with the largest population is St Austell.
www.park-my-motorhome.co.uk
Bob
You struggle to get a traffic / vivaro sized van into a lot of car parks etc due to the height barriers, and as for town centers then forget it. If the height barriers don't get you then the ULEZ will.
Unless you've got some pretty specific requirements for a motorhome (Towing something else with it, only going off grid, etc) then I honestly think that a nice car and caravan combo is the better bet.
Drag your caravan to a nice site, leave it there and use the car to do all the sight seeing, far more civilised and a lot less hassle in my opinion.
Unless you've got some pretty specific requirements for a motorhome (Towing something else with it, only going off grid, etc) then I honestly think that a nice car and caravan combo is the better bet.
Drag your caravan to a nice site, leave it there and use the car to do all the sight seeing, far more civilised and a lot less hassle in my opinion.
Gareth J
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Decide what you want to do and go from there. I say that because size is very limiting.
Spent last Saturday visiting the in-laws on a caravan site down on Roseland. It's a beautiful bit if the country but if you want to go there in a motorhome, you're on a campsite. Which isn't cheap. IMO, you're better off getting a cheap b&b or self catering. Enjoy the marvels of modern plumbing.
Conversely, my wife and I have a camperfied caddy maxi. It looks like a plumbers van and you can park and sleep anywhere flattish. But you can't stand up in it, grim when it's raining, useless with a family.
If you're comitted to campsite camping anyway, a tent or awning is a good way to allow for expansion while keeping size to a minimum.
Spent last Saturday visiting the in-laws on a caravan site down on Roseland. It's a beautiful bit if the country but if you want to go there in a motorhome, you're on a campsite. Which isn't cheap. IMO, you're better off getting a cheap b&b or self catering. Enjoy the marvels of modern plumbing.
Conversely, my wife and I have a camperfied caddy maxi. It looks like a plumbers van and you can park and sleep anywhere flattish. But you can't stand up in it, grim when it's raining, useless with a family.
If you're comitted to campsite camping anyway, a tent or awning is a good way to allow for expansion while keeping size to a minimum.
gaz1
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unless its a standared transit van without the high head room your not getting on either as ive found out over the years
its the same with parking as well with normal vans you can find spaces but if they are lwb or elwb you can get a ticket for parking as well
its the same with parking as well with normal vans you can find spaces but if they are lwb or elwb you can get a ticket for parking as well
Motorhomes are a weird commodity currently. They are the worst of the items you can live in and the best.
I.e try parking one in a supermarket correctly in a bay.
Plus packing up to drive off is a pain.
However they are relatively cheap just now as there is little money in the right hands to buy them. Caravans, I hate towing but you can just leave them on site without packing everything away and you can park the tow vehicle in a bay.
Prices of caravans went high in covid but not so easy to sell now. I have had a fifth wheel (which is the best of both worlds) on ebay for 18 months.
These retail at around 100k. Admittedly with extras like aircon now but if we can't shift this then motorhomes are definately coming down in price.
You do need to be wary as there is a lot of damp problems that are not obvious and hard to spot in older motorhome.
I am guessing the reason why the conversion smaller camper vans hold a premium price is because they don't contain structural wood.
Make sure to buy a moisture meter and learn how to use it.
Bobtail4x4
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5th wheels are not the normal thing in the UK, thats why there is resistance,
This was the very reason we went for a 5th wheel. The slide out makes the living space massive. It tows like a dream so much so I would never buy a touring caravan again.
The reason we went for a static is after using the 5th wheel on static sites we found it suited us to go weekly.
We have had 5 motorhomes over the years and only the Pilote did not suffer with damp.
Loads more around now that they are made in the UK.
Fifth Wheel Company | Experience Unmatched Luxury
Explore Fifth Wheel Co.'s luxury tourers—crafted in Wales for ultimate comfort and innovation. Discover models like Celtic Rambler, Dreamseeker, and INOS.
fifthwheelco.com
They claim it weighs 3000kg with a payload of 1300kg taking it up to 4300kg. What kind of licence do you need to tow that? Or is part of the weight considered to belong to the vehicle taking it under the magic 3500kg?Loads more around now that they are made in the UK.
Fifth Wheel Company | Experience Unmatched Luxury
Explore Fifth Wheel Co.'s luxury tourers—crafted in Wales for ultimate comfort and innovation. Discover models like Celtic Rambler, Dreamseeker, and INOS.
It's towed on a normal towing licence.
It feels more like driving a large sprinter type van . Nothing like a caravan.
Ironically my son could get insured on it before he was 25 but not on a motorhome. We wasted around 15k on a caravan medic course for him because he could not get insured to drive them till he was 21. Then every year they moved the goalposts by a year.
We did learn a lot about damp in caravans etc though.
outofthefire
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I bought a motorhome at the start of the the year. I considered a caravan, but for all the benefits already mentioned, I wanted to be able to wild camp. The cost of vans, campervans and motorhomes isn't the only thing to go up since so have covid site fees have too, and now i'm retired we can just go off when we want being able to wild camp keeps the cost down. I originally started looking at campervans because they're that bit easier to park, but they were either all too cramped or just badly laid out for what we wanted, plus our lass wanted a toilet, something you rarely find in campers. I found a 2010 home built on a renault master it's 6.3m long and 2.3 wide so I can usually get it in a parking space width wise, but it overhangs most. There's a few apps with places you can park for free and facebook group of pubs that allow parking some for a small fee some free so long as you eat in the pub.
