New members, talk to us - PLEASE!

[TonyJones]

Hi George, welcome (to both of you).
I'm afraid the payload question is a bit " how long is a piece of string!" One person's "adequate" is another's "plenty," and yet another's "can't possibly manage with THAT!" My best advice would be to go for the highest payload you can, (which means only have extras fitted which you know you'll need), and watch what you put in.
There's no maximum length, as long as the max weight is 3500 or less your car licence is fine - but of course, the bigger the van the more it weighs by itself, AND the more tempting to overload!

 

[adenjack]

Hello
Been ages trying to work out how to post!!! shows you the level of my competence...
We are a retired couple who don't want to pop off wishing we'd tried a motor home....

Started looking and hoping to buy older motor home end of the year...
trying to imagine my self using an over head bed... bit elderly to be scrambling about and falling out of bed!... so what should we be looking at?
reading many forums to get an idea of what might suit ...
any thoughts or info would be appreciated... do want a reasonable loo / shower ... thank you.

 

[TonyJones]

Hi "adenjack," welcome!
We had the same issue about high level beds this last time, and went for what's called a "French bed," (even in England!), which means a fixed, bed-height bed in one rear corner, usually with the loo/washroom next to it.
Plenty of reasonably compact motorhomes, of all ages, offer that - ours is a 2005 Burstner.

 

[adenjack]

I shall look out that one... thank you.. Adrienne

 

[chirene]

Know how you feel! We have an over cab bed , and now use it for storage. A rear bed , thought kept made up, may still be an issue, for one of you , getting up in the night!, so don't be afraid to try out , when looking .
we are coming to the end of our time of using van, but have had 10 good years of holidays in ours.! Now in our eighties, with health issues, have to think about , staying in UK for future holidays, but there are a lot of places (especially up the midlands and north, we have yet to see!
Don't be afraid to look at private sales, there are a lot of people like us, who have to part with our pride an joys, due to age

 

[adenjack]

Thank you for your thoughts ...probably much the same as we have had...
I thought we could well use the "top" bed for storage... but seems a waste of space...
Also older... looking for some interesting fun in case ill health takes hold... so still looking and saving like mad...

 

[lotzie]

Hi , I'm looking at buying a used motorhome and would appreciate any advice . I have a autotrail Cherokee in mind, I like the layout and it's not too big for a first. It does have habitation certificates.

 

[TonyJones]

Hi Lotzie, welcome.
I've no personal exp of the Cherokee, but Auto Trails always seem well thought out and well put together.
What sort of age is it? And is it a private sale, or with a dealer?

 

[lotzie]

Hi Tony, I like the front lounge as it takes advantage of the drivers bit . It is 17 years old and only had two owners, they are selling as their age and Ill health, so giving up.

 

[LizziePope]

Hi there lotzie – welcome to the Practical Motorhome forum!

 

[katetreharne]

Hello!

My husband and I are motorhome 'virgins' but have just bought the Hymer B544 1988 model - it's a good motorhome; a bit dated yes, but all in all, a good runner and the kids love her (named her Big Bertha )

As it's 30 odd years old, we're looking into revamping the insides by painting cupboards and giving her a new ceiling. We are on the hunt for a new external door though (we have a stable type at the moment but wondered if we could upgrade to one that has a bin/ storage on the inside panel that newer models seem to have!?). I've looked on ebay and a few other sites but cannot seem to find any - does anyone have any ideas? We are based in Caerleon, South Wales.

Thanks

 

[LizziePope]

Hi – and welcome to motorcaravanning and to the Practical Motorhome forum.

 

[Ian-n-Jane]

Hello, We have just bought our first Motorhome after many years of caravan and boat ownership.

Lets hope we enjoy it just as much.

 

[LizziePope]

Hello! Thanks for posting to introduce yourself and welcome to the Practical Motorhome forum.

 

[flynn2017]

Afternoon all, just joined this site. Have been looking to purchase a motor home for a few years now, but with the arrival of a new Golden retriever pup in October the the time has finally come so as we can have plenty of great holidays with no worry's about taking him with us, unlike our last dogs. Have not chosen a motor home yet so any suggestions are welcome. we were thinking about a 4 berth at the least.Look forward to hearing from you all.

Dave, Pat and (Flynn)

 

[LizziePope]

Hello, welcome to the forum and thank you for posting!

 

[Moomins]

Hello from us to you!
So we have taken the plunge and bought a Motorhome! We have already started exploring our immediate surroundings and are loving it. Slight hiccup the other day when we put the wrong fuel in - rookie error!
Anna & David

 

[TonyJones]

Oh dear - hope you managed to get it drained etc before you drove off?
You'll make other mistakes in future, but I'm willing to bet you'll never make THAT one again!
Welcome to the Forum, and to motorhoming.

 

[Badge]

B) Hi all. New member from Derbyshire. Got Chausson 514 called Mabel. Parking problems so created a web site. www.park-my-motorhome.co.uk. Send me your parking spots over the UK so I can add them.

 

[LizziePope]

Thanks for introducing yourself and welcome!

 

[TonyJones]

Hi Badge, and welcome.
Thanks for the work you're doing - you might like to contact fellow-member Graham who's been doing something along the same lines for a while, at motorhomeparking.co.uk
Maybe there's scope for some co-operation?

 

[jeffandsue]

Hello
we are Jeff and sue,we are looking for our first motor home,after extensive research we have decided to buy a swift bolero as its layout and spec provide us with all of our needs,
Really looking forward to new year when we should have our dream motor home and spend many happy hours in it.

 

[TonyJones]

Welcome, both of you. Looking forward to hearing more from you!

 

[LizziePope]

Welcome to the forum, Jeff and Sue!

 

[soobut]

Hi. After owning and using caravans for some 30+ years, I and my (soon to be retired) husband have recently traded it in for a 6 year old Carioca 694 motorhome. We have already had a couple of weekends away at nearby Clumber Park and Leamington Spa to visit a new grandson. Already booked a C&C Club trip to Holland for Easter next year. Looking forward to exploring more of the UK with our new toy, oh and our two dogs!