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....need reassuring I've done the right thing, show me your motorhome adventures please....
Rent it to me in September to get some of your investment back 😉
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/camper-van-hire-companies
I cant think of any downside to a motorhome, North for the winter, South for the summer, Enjoy it.
John we hired one from turtle motorhomes before buying to see if we liked it, its a motorhome rather than camper however but they were really nice to deal with - based in Leyland Lancashire if any use to you.
show me your motorhome adventures
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🙂
We had one for about 6 years. Got if for a seven month surf trip down the Atlantic coast with Mrs OD as a 40th birthday pressie to us both. We lived in it for the full 7 months, got into a real rhythm of living. So chilled, best thing we've done.
Used for lots of shorter domestic and European trips including the 2007 RWC in France.
It was a real happy place for us, to point where just sitting in it brought an air of chilled wellness down on me.
Btw big European cities, tend to well served for campsites at the end of Metro lines for easy city breaks/stop offs on longer trips Madrid, Paris,Lisbon and Bordeaux to name four.
My advice is to go awat just rellllaaaaxxxxxxx.....
What have you got?
😆
Old dog nice words cheers - Swift Sundance 630L - 6 berth. Looking forward to family time.
Bought ours last year and have been all over with it. Chausson Welcome 718EB. This year it will be used even more. Our only regret is that we didn't buy one sooner.
My old man sold up, bought a mid size 4 berth hymer and toured Europe for about 2 years looking for somewhere to buy a new house and settle into retirement, eventually on the south coast of Spain.. He's got some amazing stories and pictures in the process.
one of these? the SIZE of it!!!!!! why not sell your house and move into that? save on council tax.....
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only have a LWB T5, but is enough for me and the GF for several weeks at a time.
We looked at one and the couple did just that whilst they renovated their house.
tbh, it is my plan once i'm in my fifties.... a full-on thing can be had for around 50,000€. that is a shed-load of rent and bills.
It's rubbish, don't do it 🙂
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5345/17676461105_5103c3198f_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5345/17676461105_5103c3198f_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/sW1u3M ]Import 10[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/crewlie/ ]Mark Berry[/url], on Flickr[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/748/21595632859_4a6656e7c0_z.jp g" target="_blank">
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/748/21595632859_4a6656e7c0_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/yUkggz ]Import 10[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/crewlie/ ]Mark Berry[/url], on Flickr[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/510/18748011971_4e07341319_z.jp g" target="_blank">
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/510/18748011971_4e07341319_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/uyGsMH ]Post ride[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/crewlie/ ]Mark Berry[/url], on Flickr
Remember that film Paul?
Well, I don't have a motorhome and I've never managed to pick up a sweary alien while on a road trip.
At least you now have that chance.
They also hold their value a lot better than cars /vans if they are looked after.
@crewlie - great photos, they perfectly capture motorhome/campervan adventures (even if they are 50miles from home)
The important question, how many bikes can you fit in it?
We can get four in the garage in ours if we take the pedals off and put them in alternate front to back. It was one of the main criteria when getting one.
Roller Team 707 since beginning of March, only 2 weekends at home since 😆
Whats the Depreciation on these?
Depreciation is a lot better than cars, to the point my dad bought a new one with a specific spec as he had some specific requirements.
But that's assuming you keep it in A1 condition, if you trash it and don't service it, you'll see bad residuals.
grantway - Member
Whats the Depreciation on these?
Search some sites, eBay etc and you will see how much you have to pay for something 20yrs old 😐
Mine was 6mth old, ex hire and fitted with many extras, the extras you would "want". I "saved" £8k over a new one. Still cost a lot of money but we decided not to build an extension to our house and buy a motorhome instead. Part of the reasoning being that we are nearing retirement and the "beloved" SNP may/are likely to alter/re assess homes for community tax or whatever it will be called, adding an extra room and cost onto our pension may not be a good idea 💡
But that's assuming you keep it in A1 condition, if you trash it and don't service it, you'll see bad residuals.
This...
We traded a caravan with service history etc. It's being advertised as in new, immaculate condition which it is/was. We got the price we wanted for it without haggling, maybe could have got more as they offered it unseen except for some pics!
I've a Chausson Welcome 25, on a smiley Ford Transit, boy do they hold value, old smiley Transit £1k smiley Transit motor home same age £10k!
The one we are getting has bike rack for four on the back and they do seem hold their value pretty well. I guess you don't buy them for economical reasons though as they're so bloody expensive, I'm convincing myself it's an investment in our lifestyle.
Crewlie where are those pictures, particularly the top one, what a place to stay?
Top one is Taynuilt jetty, it was as awesome as it looks.
Second is Pre St Esprit just beneath Arc2000/1950
Bottom one is campsite at Ravenglass.
My mate's picking his brand new Roller Team up today & he's off to Skye next weekend. Git.
You Sir, have chosen wisely. 😀 my flesh is taking on a green tinge.
We're onto our 2nd motorhome now - here it is:
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Been to all sorts of places with ours - all round Scotland, including the Western Isles, Scandinavia (Norway is great via motorhome) much of western Europe including Italy.
Current one has plenty of room for bikes:
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Some pics from the Western Isles trip:
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Never thought about the resale value of it when we bought ours, bit of an impulse buy, and cheaper than hotels for Abigales racing. We toured the Alps last year for four weeks setting of the week after we bought it. Started in France, then to Verbier and finally down through Italy to Finale via Pila. We then had most weekends away biking.
Done Gisburn, Glentress and Grizedale in the last month.
May outings will be Lee Quarry, EWS in Ireland and then the Tweedlove International. Summer will be touring the Alps again with Abigale competing in La Thuile and Les Orres, and then back across for Valburg and Finale EWS.
May need to up the mileage for the insurance.
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I'm tempted and for some reason I think they're cooler than having a caravan but because its also your main form of transport isn't it a pain having to pack everything away every time you want to drive somewhere? Also you're stuck driving a van everywhere. At least with a caravan you can leave it on site and use the car. Are there advantages vs a caravan I'm not seeing?
Love mine,spend most weekends away in it
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There's lots of places where you can stop in a van but not a caravan,Aires in Europe for example.
^^^this, and when you stop you only get out what you need, so getting going again can be very quick. Had a caravan for many years...wouldn't go back. (but you do miss having a car sometimes and having a boot to just chuck stuff into)
Yay - motorhomes!
Ours cost us £15k 7 years ago, and I dont think we'll be that far away getting our money back now.... All over Europe over that time
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We had updated from this - Glad we made the change. More of a being part of the scene thing than actual camping performance.
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Lovin' everyone's pictures - reassurance was a long time ago starting to feel inspired now.
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Leogang
@Tracey - were you on a site near Ingleton a couple of weeks ago?
We saw a Chausson like yours with bikes there.
We were up at Gisburn for the second round of the PMBA a couple of weeks ago. Stayed on the event carpark
Campervans for the win.
Once life on track we plans to get one.
Hired one for honeymoon and drove around Italy, soooo much fun.
[img][url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1568/26439064420_a783de72bb.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1568/26439064420_a783de72bb.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/Ghk7Jh ]More campervan[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/126516346@N08/ ]Phillip Dalton[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[img][url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1496/26107729603_af69c1c33b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1496/26107729603_af69c1c33b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/FM3Wr2 ]Campervan[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/126516346@N08/ ]Phillip Dalton[/url], on Flickr[/img]
We hired a huge one in Australia a few years ago and it was great. 6 berth van for two people was very comfortable !
As for buying one here, I think you need to do some realistic calculations of running costs vs. how often you'll use it. Possibly including parking somewhere, or just allowing for the general hassle of it taking up all your driveway (or maybe just a tiny bit depending on how big your driveway is :wink:). There's several people on my road who have caravans parked on their drive that only get used once a year. Seems daft having money tied up and incurring maintenance costs for so little actual use.
I think I'd need to spend *all* of my annual leave motorhoming to make it even nearly worthwhile. And that would probably stop you ever going beyond Europe.
(nonetheless, I'm still a bit jealous)
Sad, but the bit we really enjoyed is almost every other campervan gives you a wave. Felt like we had lots of friends. Don't know why but it's just ticked us.
What Sundayjumper said. Like many I dream of owning one but they are seldom a rational decision and often become money pits.
If you have loads of cash or you are going to use it lots then they make sense. Otherwise may as well hire.
I would love to own a place in Southern Spain (wouldn't we all) but until I retire it makes far more sense to hire somebody elses. Doesn't stop lots of people buying through.
Best dosh I ever spent in terms of quality time and holidays with the family. My only regret is that I waited too long to buy mine. My oldest lad has only been away in it a couple of times.
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8519/8667115543_5a2cb21f0e_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8519/8667115543_5a2cb21f0e_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/ecTeuB ]040[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/davesport/ ]Davesport62[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8530/8667114389_c3f39ecc9c_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8530/8667114389_c3f39ecc9c_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/ecTe9H ]061[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/davesport/ ]Davesport62[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8545/8668215106_50e42d4635_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8545/8668215106_50e42d4635_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/ecYSmA ]Panorama 2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/davesport/ ]Davesport62[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8320987253_b8f9070b3e_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8320987253_b8f9070b3e_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dFieBt ]019[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/davesport/ ]Davesport62[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8325859586_34fb126d47_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8325859586_34fb126d47_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dFJcZd ]002[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/davesport/ ]Davesport62[/url], on Flickr
Does anyone have a good recommendation for hiring motor homes?
I'm getting my holiday list together here - Davesport where were your pics taken, it looks lovely?
Love Tracey's reg plate!
Always fancied a T5 campervan, but I suddenly have a really strong desire for a big 4 berth with a 4 bike garage....
That's a serious garage at the back of Davesport's.
At least with a caravan you can leave it on site and use the car. Are there advantages vs a caravan I'm not seeing?
I reckon a camper van is better for pure touring - as in, stopping here and there as you drive. When we caravan we stop in a CL somewhere remote for however long, then we drive to wherever we want to go. At Easter we stayed in the New Forest and visited Salisbury, Stonehenge etc - was much easier just to get in the car and drive off.
But then we've got little kids so they need the downtime that's not spend driving and doing stuff. If we didn't have kids, we'd probably have found a site near some biking and still gone out from the 'van.
Campervans have a couple of disadvantages for me. They're hideously expensive for what they are; and they're really very cramped inside compared to caravans. That and the driving away thing.
Possibly easier to store on your drive too, depending on size. But then you have to tax, insure and service it which may be extra money depending on what other vehicles you need.
For decent Camper van hire, Just Go, near Luton are ace, they sell them off cheaply too, fully kitted out with X boxes and all the cutlery etc.
Thanks PePPeR!
GDM4
I'm getting my holiday list together here - Davesport where were your pics taken, it looks lovely?
The first two pics taken on the Ross of Mull. Wild camp with owners permission...£1.00 per night ! Third picture take ISTR on Uist in the outer Hebrides. Fourth picture taken at Kilchoan on Ardnamurchan. And the last one taken at Laggan Wolftrax.
That's a serious garage at the back of Davesport's.
There's a heated double bed above that garage 🙂 It's lovely to come back to after a long day out on the bikes.
Great pics. Great purchase.
Veering slightly ot but how safe are passengers in motorhomes? Currently have a Vw camper and it's been great to us, but with expanding young family it's too small now. how do people travel there young kids in motorhomes safely?
Belted seats and booster/child seats, the days of piling in on the sofa are pretty much over.
Yes but I doubt the body of a camper is that safe. Not much of a roll cage.
The requirement to pack up before you drive off is brought up as an issue for a campervan compared to a caravan but I'm not really sure about that. When we had the caravan we still had to pack the bed up to have the seating and dining area and as I'm not a filthy animal I wash up after meals anyway. There is very little difference in that side of things.
There is less space but that's more apparent on smaller ones. My parents have a big motorhome and whilst there's less space than a big caravan it's not mostly the fact that the cab takes up room and that leaves it easier to drive away.
Practically campers and motorhomes are more flexible for fitting on new driving licenses.
The packing up before moving was never a big deal for us. Basically just do dishes, chuck surfboards inside and unplug the electricity cable if on a site.
The big upside for us was having somewhere to change in out wetsuits, eat lunch, sleep post surf by the beach. Especially for winter sessions. Problem now, in France anyway, is that so many beach parking places have height restrictions so can't get anything taller than a standard van in.
The requirement to pack up before you drive off is brought up as an issue for a campervan
Never been a problem for and can't see why it'd be any different for a caravan. Our motorhome has fixed beds so no need to sort any of that out before driving off. The seating area can be converted into a bed but we've rarely used it as ours has two fixed doubles.
There are toys all over our caravan most of the time...
Motorhome awnings can be taken out and put away in minutes, caravans take forever.
TBH my folks have a caravan that we use but given the choice I'd have a motorhome any day of the week. They are far better in terms of range and going off the beaten track. You can camp anywhere really so long as you're not in the way and you don't need six spaces (yes, really!) just to park the thing at a supermarket (longest 4 berth ever).
Also, you only need to tax it when it's on the road (insurance dependent), if you're lying up for winter why tax?
[img][L= http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq21/SPKDL/Mobile%20Uploads/20151225_115540_zpssvklyrra.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq21/SPKDL/Mobile%20Uploads/20151225_115540_zpssvklyrra.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL][/img]We bought a motor home for our family of six in December. Even though it looks massive from the outside, inside it is pretty cramped compared to our old caravan. Doing anything is a bit like tetris. For us though a camper suits our style of holidays as we tend not to stay anywhere longer than a few days and in summer it's a long trip to Italy, S of France or Croatia where being able to go faster is a real bonus. Travelling in them is more comfortable, too but I do wonder about the safety aspect of the in a crash situation as the rear seats are effectively wooden boards.
Crewlie .. thats a good looking motor there. What model is it?
Nice photos folks, it is making me jealous. I will have to stick to the tent for now.
Motorhome awnings can be taken out and put away in minutes, caravans take forever.
Only the big ones. You get a choice between those, which give huge living space, and the same kind of lightweight mini ones you get with camper vans. You can even get the inflatable ones and simple canopies. We have a full size one and a small porch job, going to make ourselves a canopy too.
But yes, depends on the mechanics of your actual holiday. I'd consider the choice more carefully if it weren't for the incredible cost of camper vans...
This would be our motorhome of choice [url= http://earthcruiser.com/ ]http://earthcruiser.com/[/url]. No limits.
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We've had a classic T2 and found that leaving it anywhere other than a campsite was a really bad idea as it got broken into several times. The Ducato got broken into, bits nicked off it and one determined but failed effort at theft. You can't park the things in many nice places in France. Madame might buy another but I'm not keen.
Madame hated towing the caravan and the gendarmes were asking questions as soon as we stopped but once installed on a campsite it was as good as the campsite (which can be ace or hell on earth). You have the car to go where you want and not worry about it being broken into or being banned where you want to go. I reckon it's a better solution than a motorhome unless you intend to move on regularly.
We currently have a car we can sleep in, several sizes of tent and don't worry about what we spend on hotels, because the depreciation and running costs on a camper van will pay for a lot of nights in hotels, B&Bs, gîtes, Airbnb. When we leave the car nothing is visible. We can park on the sea front in St Jean de Luz (though we norally use the free station car park) and leave the thing in a remote car park all day and expect to find it intact.
I really don't want to spend my holiday in some camper van ghetto between the main road and the railway in the grottiest part of town when I can stay in a monastery, a time warp 50s hotel, a converted church, an old brothel, a fisherman's cottage or some delightful wild campsites you can only reach on foot.
It's something I keep looking into... just cost that stops it really. We may go and look at some van conversions soon though and talk about finance.
I want something bigger, but the other half is less convinced. She always wanted a classic VW though - probably something to do with spending too much time in Cornwall. Fitting the two of us and three small children in a van may be a bit tight though for anything more than a night or two!
Friends with three young kids bought a motorhome and sold it within a year. They replaced with a Westphalia Scudo which they've now had about five years because:
The lady hated driving the motorhome, and they couldn't park in nice places or even in most supermarket car parks. The kids like the Scudo, it's fast on the autoroute and tolls are the same as a car, it's economical, it can be used as a daily driver (two vehicles depreciating not three). The youngest sleeps on a mattress/board across the front seat.
Yeah I suppose mileage varies with awnings, if it wasn't for the weight already being close you the limit I'd see about a van style roll out job. It really does discourage touring though, not as easy to just move on when you have as much faff getting it level, filling tanks, emptying tanks etc.
I clicked this link to mock at all you people.
Now I'm thinking about borrowing my FIL's 'van for adventures
if it wasn't for the weight already being close you the limit I'd see about a van style roll out job.
For which now?
Do it, best thing ever and you would be doing him a favour by giving it a good run 😉
Just back from 3 days away in a Swift Escape 696. 2 adults, 1 child and the faithful compact hound.
I'm not convinced by the whole experience to be honest. All a bit noisy, slow and cramped.
I picked up a mag and must admit an A Class build took my eye (Hymer with v6 Merc diesel, etc) but I doubt even if I had £100k spare I would splash it on one of these.
I can see the allure of parking up on a deserted beach, up a mountain, etc but parking up in a site where folks just seem to push up the sat tv receiver and then proceed to watch the same tv as they do at home is a tad strange.
However my daughter really enjoyed the experience so that is what matters.
Perhaps we need to try it again....
There are plenty of people who sit in both caravans and camper vans watching telly. Doesn't mean you have to though. We draft in caravan club CLs which are up to 5 vans in the middle of nowhere, the next best thing to being on a beach but with somewhat better security.
The Camper Clean toilet cassette auto cleaning machine was great though!
😯
[i]Yes but I doubt the body of a camper is that safe. Not much of a roll cage.[/i]
Perhaps not a roll cage as such, but motorhomes are much stronger than a caravan, and they do not have a habit of snaking down the road before flipping over either! Van conversions are plenty strong enough.
Rear seats in a coachbuilt motorhome are normally with a metre or so of the cab anyway and that has decent enough roll over protection.
The main safety concern in a motorhome is that its a van up front and although they are pretty good with passive safety now (ABS, EBD etc) the active safety (crumple zones, safety cell, airbags, lack of testing) is pretty poor compared to a 5 star NCAP car.
But again, the 5 star NCAP car & caravan is more likely to crash than a motorhome.
Dammit, looks like this thread got another victim. We've just bought one too, Mrs hoppy says we can do a long Alps in it next year.
Sad to see our T5 go but it was getting a little hard work trying to fit all the toys in/on.
The main safety concern in a motorhome is that its a van up front and although they are pretty good with passive safety now (ABS, EBD etc) the active safety (crumple zones, safety cell, airbags, lack of testing) is pretty poor compared to a 5 star NCAP car.
My biggest concern was being rear ended by a car that was force above the bumper and into the van. I imagine the consequences to be horrible as there is nothing to stop it mashing the passengers in the rear.