Very New Member

[Lee_374558823]

Hi

im a very new member, based in Surrey. My wife and i are thinking about buying a 2nd hand motor home with a budget of up £25,but then agin we could be swayed into buying a caravan,just need to know the pros and cons of both.

Dont have a clue what to buy or where from,never done this before so will need lots of help and advice,hope thats ok? We just think that the time is right to explore the uk ,and have got fed up staying in hotles all the time. Do like the freedom that a motor home/ caravan brings.Will be asking lots of questions in the coming weeks, and spending many hours reading this forum too lol.

Really please i found this web site,and thanks in advance.

Lee + Nikki

 

[thursdays child]

Welcome to you both.We had the same choices to make when we returned to the touring lifestyle. The reason we went for a caravan was the very limited parking for a motorhome that was of an acceptable size and spec and this would mean towing a eurobox behind for trips out and about.I like to be able to set up the van and just leave it and come back without setting up again.We are retired and only have one vehicle now that is used for everything.The final decision is purely a matter of personal preference as there are different criteria for all of us.Have a good look around the dealers and read lots of forum posts.Which ever way you go it is an exciting time of discovery!!Good luck and above all make it enjoyable whilst you decide.

Thursdays Child

 

[anotherDavid]

Hi

If you have not towed before it can be very tempting to go for a motorhome but in my opinion there are only a couple of advantages to them, i.e travel can be a little easier and faster,ferries will be a bit cheaper and if you want to spend your holidays on car parks, France has a lot of "Aires" for their use. On the downside you will not have any convenient transport for sightseeing, shopping etc and most end up with bikes or even towing a car (thus losing most of the benefits). The large ones can be awkward to pitch particularly on slopes and very often have to just make do with the places that are actually accessible. Security is also an issue if you leave the van on a car park (assuming there are no height barriers) all your possesioins are there for the taking. Finally 25K will not buy very much compared with a van even if you have to upgrade your car.

regards

Dave

 

[Pat_374304630]

Greetings Lee,

I'm biased, so go for a caravan.

 

[jacquie1]

Hi Lee

We have a caravan and our friends have a motorhome, the main difference is that once we have set up if we want to go anywhere we just get in the car and go, if they want to go they have to unhitch the awning and drive the motorhome around which isnt always easy in small villages etc

Jacquie

 

[andyp1]

Hi Lee ,

We had a caravan , then tried a motorhome and now back to a caravan.

I think it depends largely on the style of holiday you are looking for. If I was going to tour continually( one or two days then move on ) I would use a motorhome. For anything else it has to be a caravan.

The main advantage of the caravan is that you have your car to get you around when you get there - we used to hire a car when we had the motorhome - that gets expensive.

Andy

 

[RayS]

Hi lee and welcome to the forum. The caravan v. motorhome debate will run for ever, and at the end of the day it's all down to you.

I'm a devoted trailer man - since 1967 - but have good friends who have motor vans.

The big problem with trailer vans used to be reversing and parking up. This has been effectively solved by the motor mover. If you follow the accepted norms for weight ratio, loading etc (notice I do not say Law, although this applies sometimes) the only thing you have to get used to is towing and going the wide way round roundabouts etc. This means your usual familiar car can be used since you will probably only tow a few times a year.

With a motor home, you still have a length (and height) problem and will have an expensive vehicle sitting on the drive for probably more than half the year which is not really cut out to go down to the local supermarket when you have forgotten a bottle of milk.

You will also not have transport on site unless you go the motor home plus towed car route, which is fine if you are spending most of the year away, but not otherwise. Also if you do leave site, you will find it very difficult to get most MVs into public carparks etc. However - the sales of MVs are increasing each year so perhaps I'm totally wrong.

The compromise - a small MV or camper - is fine if you are young and active and not too bothered about creature comforts, but it is really camping not caravanning.

I have every confidence that the above will cause a torrent of (friendly) abuse to descend on me, and yes I'm set in my ways, and yes I've considered the alternatives, but can't even see a MV which I can contemplate through the lanes of deepest Somerset.

Stay with the forum whichever way you decide to go - you could of course hire both a caravan and then a motor van for a short period and see which you prefer before laying out the hard earned.

 

[Gafferbill]

Lee.....if you can find a good motorhome for