How much does a motor home cost?

[CindyLouWho1]

We are considering moving back to the UK after many years away. One of the things I most want to do is buy a motorhome (big enough for a family of 4) and explore Europe with the kids.

I just want to know if it’s in my price range. Aside from the motorhome itself, what kind of expenses are involved? Will it be prohibitively expensive to fill it up and run it? I imagine we’d only use it for a few weeks every summer. Help me dream!

If you're only going to use it for a few weeks a year, hire one. There are several websites that let you use people's own campervans. Have a look at Quirky Campers.

Vans themselves cost a fortune, even if ancient. Diesel is £2 a litre. Then there's storage if needed, insurance and security (if you have a monitored tracker). Campsites can be quite expensive and locals are getting fed up with the "dirty campers"...

My excursion into owning a caravan cost me about £1k a night in the end. I do actually have a campervan now but it's a daily drive for us and that's the only way it can be remotely justified. People love their vans tho...

I don’t want a campervan, just a motorhome.

I do t know what you think the difference is between a campervan and motorhome?

But yes they are expensive to buy and for a few weeks I would hire - certainly in the first case

A van to sleep 4 starts to get big - harder to manoeuvre and more space to park , motorhome a tend to be a bit wider too

If you plan to stick to England you should be on campsites - so the only benefit of the motorhome is the speed of getting to bed when you arrive

Yescapa for hiring then.

After my excursion into caravans, I'm acutely aware of how flexible the coachbuilt element of a motorhome is and I would not get one on British roads. Plus size is an issue. My sibling has one and they're very conscious of the width.

Have you driven in the UK lately?

Go on Autotrader and select Motorhomes for cost. Have you got deep pockets?

Sounds like you want one regardless but you did ask...

The difference between a campervan and a motorhome is construction.

You can have campervans with all the amenities now.

What is your price range?

I don’t have a price range for the motorhome. I just wanted to know what other expenses I need to consider, like how much you’d spend on fuel or insurance or maintenance or whatever.

We had a motorhome for many years, but in the end it was a very expensive garden gnome! We both come from motorhoming backgrounds, so knew what we were getting in to. However for much of the year it sat unused; the idea was to go away at weekends but my DH's work made that very difficult so we could only use it in the holidays.

Cost wise: In the last year we owned our last van we spent approx £650 on insurance (16 years no claims bonus mirrored), £280 on tax, £40 on MOT, £100 breakdown cover, £40 on gas canisters. We had it from new so there were no real maintenance costs. So any holidays for the year cost us over £1k before we got off the drive. The fuel economy wasn't bad- approx 35 miles/gallon (but at 2015 diesel prices). Campsite costs vary wildly, we mostly stayed at small places were only able to have a few campers, cost approx £15 a night but some of the others cost upwards of £30 a night, plus an added charge for electric and dogs. We also used to book on the Haven touring sites as they were often cheaper than campsites. You also have to be very aware of your vans size/ weight when using toll roads or bridges as they may try to charge you truck rates. Parking can be a problem in some places as the car park spaces aren't big enough for motorhomes or motorhomes are prohibited, there may also be a higher charge for vans. We could park ours on our drive but if you can't you would need to factor in storage costs.

Hope some of that helps, but going through the list reminds me why we sold it and now rent cabins for a week or two instead.

Sorry, should have said it was a 6 birth coachbuilt on a 2 litre diesel cab, 3.5 tonne.

I has to get a new gas bottle when I picked up my van in March, £69 & it's only a diddly one.

There are loads of MH in the UK now. It's changed so much. The above post is spot on.

Rough annual costs:

• Insurance (£300, inc. breakdown cover)


• VED (£280)


• MOT (£55)


• Servicing (£300-500 depending what need doing)


• Repairs and renewals (some included under servicing, but also tyres, etc. We have an older motorhome so saved on purchase price but pay a bit more to keep it running. Several of the habitation bits have been updated or replaced this year)


• Storage fee (£360)


• Fuel


• LPG (we have a large underslung tank rather than gas cylinders)

If you stay on sites in the UK, the pitch price per night can be as low as £15/night but is typically around £30/night. There are sites £60+ in peak season.

We're planning on hitting France and Germany for 4 weeks in the summer, ballpark budget is £250 for AHC (for the dog), £500+ for Le Shuttle, and my guess is c.£1k for fuel.

Look at the vets in Folkestone for the ahc, Abbeywell, they do a cost-effective ahc. Great reputation. 👍

Thanks all, that’s exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

like how much you’d spend on fuel or insurance or maintenance or whatever.

probably ball park figure of £2k a year and add in fuel onto at around 30miles to the gallon - or 7 miles to the litre

that was an older van that did need repairs on occasion, though much was done DIY with body as parts needed repair. It went to Cheltenham for its annual service and MOT

2,555 nights spent in it over 15 years though

If council tax, water, electric and gas come to £2k on a second home without the mortgage etc

It’s not too difficult to wild camp in England. We’ve been successfully doing it years! Never been moved on or had any problems. You just need to know where to look. There are also apps which are quite useful. I wouldn’t stay on a campsite if you paid me, urgh.

We use a microbe/ green fluid in our toilet so it can be emptied in a normal toilet. We’ve never had problems topping up the fresh water tank (it’ll last us 4 days), again you just have to know where to look for taps and have a selection of adaptors to fit any tap. We’ve got a solar panel (a must) which keeps the leisure battery topped up. We had one of the gas bottles replaced with a refillable one, so can top up at garages with LPG. It’s significantly cheaper than the cost of exchanging a gas bottle (also handy for abroad - each country has its own different bottle, so you can’t exchange). I would highly recommend this - it paid for itself pretty quickly. It was either Gas-it or Gas-lo who did it - whichever was cheapest.

As for width/ length a problem - not really. It’s down to the skill of the driver actually. Ours is just over 7 metres long, just over 3 metres high. We’ve never had any issues. We also live up a narrow, steep lane and it’s stored on our drive. If you think that bin lorries have to access most roads you’ll realise it is the skill of the driver that is important. We have a much smaller bin lorry where we live (narrow lanes) and it’s slightly bigger than our van. Roads are well signed with height restrictions.

I’ve nothing to add about costs as someone upthread explained that very well.

That is completely unrealistic if you only plan to use it 2 weeks a year. We get 2 months a year, in total, away in ours (not all in one go as we have to book annual leave/ DS at school). Vehicles - especially heavy ones do not like to be stood for 50 weeks of the year. It’ll cause damage.

It cost us 33k to buy, keeping it on the road (MOT etc) and diesel all add up. We could have some very nice holidays on that money. I’d hate that though. I bloody love having my home on wheels to holiday in. We’re cyclists (MH has a garage) so it is ideal for us. There’s nothing like pulling up in a stunning spot, gorgeous views from every window in peace and tranquility in the comfort of your home on wheels. Then moving on the next day, and the same, and the next day etc. I couldn’t bear being hemmed in on a campsite and being charged 30 quid for the privilege. I have never felt settled or relaxed in a hotel. I couldn’t cope with packing a suitcase!! We literally Chuck everything in the van and don’t worry! Books, games, bikes, toys, stacks of clothes. We don’t mind self catering either.

You also need to consider the cost of buying a MH at the mo. The costs have shot up over the past few years. If you bide your time, I’m sure all the folk that bought them and haven’t got on with them will be selling at some point!

I really want one....