Looking at a motorhome to buy- advice!

[Beansandcheesearegood]

Family of 4 (dc 8 &10) done camping, cottages, caravans abd now looking at second hand campervan/ motorhomes. Bessacar looks good. Any advice? On buying and also touring? We do want to have the freedom not to be on a site....

Only to say - hire one first. Vans are a bundle of conpromises and you need to work out what is important to you.

also re sites - be open to using smaller but fully legal locations - Brit stops and a few others . Depending where you want to go there will be limitations on just parking up anywhere ( with 4 of you, toilet capacity will be an issue quickly ) and you can’t set up an encampment ( you can’t put your table and chairs outside the van ) even if overnight parking is legal

@andtheworldrollson thanks, all good advice. We have borrowed one before.

Do you have one? What's the pros and cons in your opinion?

DH and I bought our first MH 2 years ago after years of tenting and it’s been the best thing we’ve done, but it’s been a learning curve even as seasoned campers.

Check out Motorhome Matt on YouTube, loads of great advice and Wandering Bird, she does more off grid adventures in hers.

There’s so many variables so I would say make a list of features you think you want and then go and view loads of vehicles, even ones out of your price range to get an idea of layouts, sleeping arrangements, living areas, etc.

Remember that you will need 4 legal travelling seats with seatbelts, a lot of vehicles will say 4 berth so sleeps 4 but there’s actually only 2 travelling seats.

Depending on you budget it’s also a huge investment so think about why you want to do it, will you get enough use out of it, where do you want to go, it’s another vehicle that needs maintaining and the costs that come with that. Big thing with MH is damp, so get a proper check done before buying.

Ours is 20 years old but has been very reliable so far, we go to a lot of festivals so it’s more comfortable esp in bad weather but we also stay on sites and we go out all year round, currently I’m sat outside in the sun overlooking an estuary listening to the birds which is what it’s all about for us.

We hired for a couple of years and have just purchased our first MH. It is just for myself and DH, occasional friends and family may come away for weekends, we are retired. Plus we will be taking long trips of up to 2 to 3 months inc mainland Europe so wanted a very reliable decent one. We have bought a Buerstener, 2nd hand, 7k on the clock, 3 year warranty inc roadside recovery. You may be able to get a really good value second hand one, we budgeted for a MH of between 55K to 85k. There are also so many things that can mess up we only considered dealers and not a private sale.

Look at additional costs, we are paying £550 PA for secure storage as it can’t fit on the drive with our car. Our insurance is at £570 PA. Total estimated annual running cost is 22k but that’s a lot of travelling, the ferry to mainland Europe is 1200 off peak. I’m assuming you would be school holidays and the occasional weekend. So whilst we are long term our travel is all off peak. We will be at home over school summer holidays always.

The pros are if needs be you are totally self sufficient the con is that they can be very expensive. We are fitting a gas low system that’s an extra £700 and DH is doing that, to fit they charge £400. Cables, ramps and other MH accessories so far have been £200.

What driving licence do you have? we both have C1 so can both drive ours. If you don’t have C1 category depending on when you took your driving test then 3.5tonnes is your limit. The one we have is just over.

DH is 6ft 2 it actually ruled out a lot of models, I didn’t want one where you had to make the bed up every day either. We also wanted a clear divide between bedroom and sitting area in case either of us wanted an early night or one watch tv, one reading.

After a lot of hiring and looking we had a list of non negotiables, only thing we compromised on was no microwave but that can still be fitted. It has an external BBQ point, Wi-Fi and solar panels, tv arial, awning. These are extras the previous owner has put on. So the options they added cost about 3k.

Thank you- great advice. Dh has C1 on his licence but I don't. Yes it would be weekends and school holidays really, family may use it during term time.
We'll keep searching and watch Matt!

As above really hire a few to work out what's best for you. We have had a few over the years from a £500 Bedford CF, we now have an older Hymer and cant fault it.
I would look at ones with a garage as the amount of stuff 4 people need is shocking, with a garage its so much easier to store.
Ours has solar so we can do off grid no problem, only issue would be toilet capacity, we try to use other toilets, some people carry a spare cassette so they can last longer. Grey water we can carry about 100Litres so not really an issue.
We bought a German made van as we felt the standard of trim and quality was much better than most UK made ones its also winterised so can be used all year round you rarely need to put the heating on. Ours is also standard car licence so the kids can drive if required. One thing we like is a lot of independent pubs will now let you stop overnight for free if you buy food, it's quite a money saver. Remember many sites have a size limit we bought a 6m van as its not C1 and it fits in most places a tradesman's transit would.
Its better if you can buy one with all the bits included, hook up cable gas bottle etc as it soon mounts up.

Have owned moho's for decades, as did both sets of our parents.

It's not cheap, a good vehicle is a significant investment and before you have even gone anywhere there is the upkeep (tax, insurance, MOT, servicing, habitation check, storage etc) which is in addition to your existing vehicles. Also make sure your roadside assistance/recovery covers vehicles that long/weight as many don't.
The more you use it the more cost effective it becomes, we buy a new Moho every few years but the purchase cost is offset by the fact we use it all the time.
Make sure the layout is what you want, any compromise can feel a lot worse when there are four of you trapped inside on a wet night.
Fixed beds have been in vogue for a few years, tried one once and it turned out to be a disaster with all that space wasted during the day, just to save a couple of minutes making a bed up. Sold that Moho quite quickly and went back to what we liked best which is front lounge/dinet and rear U-shaped lounge.
Weight can be an issue, it is all too easy to overload so a trip to the weighbridge is a must and you need to make sure the vehicle is within limits. A heavier vehicle is actually cheaper to tax so if you have a C1, go for it.

As for wild camping, pub-stops etc, these are definitely popular nowadays with some destinations taking measures to prevent it.
My parents (already experienced caravaners) moved across to a MoHo in 1981 and from that day they wild camped and used aires across the UK & Europe (without annoying anyone or leaving a mess) but how they would have coped with how some of these location are now used (post COVID), I have no idea?
Personally, we hate the idea of wild camping and have always paid for sites (mainly CAMC), our point of view is that having paid £100k for a MoHo, why not stay on a well laid out, maintained & safe site?

I am trying to imagine the lifestyle of motorhoming with kids without using campsites. I can see the appeal of staying in a pub carpark and eating a meal there, but not every night as a family (even if you are mega rich surely you want to chill from time to time). And being basically inside the vehicle without going (to play) outside will be stifling.
What are you doing in the days? Long drives? All the more reason to stay somewhere the kids can run around.

I know your post is a few months old but I thought I would share my musings as general food for thought. We have just bought a motorhome and my kids favorite thing is exploring a new campsite. They are way less interested in sitting in restaurants these days too.

I wolus imagine the occasional type stopover s would be more that, with proper campsites in between.

Let me know how you find it op.

We have stayed on farm campsites so basic showers and loos but walks direct from the site in to deep countryside. Inc up a small mountain as only a couple of miles from base of it. One pub car park was about 400 years from the beach and another had a walk across the road as a country pub up to a ruined abbey. I do not want a campsite with stuff like entertainment on. Have stayed on a very small one that had a pool and jacuzzi but it’s was an adult only one.