Motorhomes - worth the investment for two adults in their 50s?

[NCTDN]

Please help if you have one with the pros and cons.
so we had caravans all the way through our collagen growing up. Had amazing holidays all over Europe in them and sold our last one when children were starting a levels.
since then we’ve travelled and stayed in hotels and apartments in varying places round Europe.
we’re debating a motorhome now but they’re a lot of money. Ferry crossings are significantly more than they used to be as are fees on a campsite. Obviously atm fuel is ridiculously high prices but hope that’s only temporary.
We’d be looking at spending around 60k. If we spent less I know it wouldn’t get used as much as I wouldn’t feel like there was any luxury (and I know they go waaay higher in than that).
But that’s a lot of flights and apartments.
I suggested hiring one for a week to try it but even that would be around £1000 so more than accommodation in a hotel.
Has anyone been in our situation?

We bought our brand new one for £60k this year. Its certainly possible.

We have an Aire!

after travelling round Scotland for a couple of weeks last year, and staying at a couple of Aires, we realised we could do that, got home and set one up!

you’re right though, there isn’t a huge network of us on SearchForSites, some areas have more than others.

Like us, our visitors like having somewhere to stopover without having to stay (and pay steeply) at an all-singing all-dancing campsite with facilities they don’t need or want.

I think it massively depends. (for reference, also retired) We have seriously considered it (had a VW campervan, eventually sold due to under-use and maintenance costs, also wasn't that comfortable if you compare it with a hotel the VW was "posh camping"). The cost of buying is high, the cost of maintaining is also quite high. If you can use it as a "second vehicle" on occasions, then maybe. If you have pets, that is a plus point too. If you love festivals, another plus point. But unless you are happy with "that sort of holiday" for a lot of the time in the year, then you struggle to make the maths work. £60k "not spent" buys a lot of holidays for quite a few years. Good luck in whatever you decide xx

I'm solo I just fly.

Camper vans are a load of faff, and expense.

I loved our motorhome. We went all over the U.K. France and Spain in it. I loved having my own comfortable bed, my own pillows and bedding.

When we bought our first motorhome, we didn’t really know what we wanted. We made a mistake by not prioritising comfortable beds. The next one we bought had two double beds in it, so we had one each. The beds were very comfortable. Having a bed each during the hot summers in France and Spain was a real luxury.

My dad had an old motorhome that slept 6, he had it for 15 years. He kept a note in a book of where and when he’d used it.

he even parked it on my drive for two nights at Xmas and didn’t have to worry about getting home after a drink.

he’d take it to France, Spain and Portugal in the winter. There is an entire community of people and they’d all get together in places to have dinner at the same time, play cards etc

he spent 9 months one year in EU, he totalled 7 years in the motorhome out of 15

he took my children away for 2 weeks at a time, it was woven into their lives growing up. They’d fligh out to Portugal to stay with him, in the van

he did go to Germany and Netherlands, but it was the warmth of Spain and Portugal he wanted in the winter

im in France now and if you think fuel is ridiculous in uk it’s more expensive in France 2.20 a litre. You can’t stay in eu for more than 90 days in 180. It’s all more expensive and complicated, for that reason I’m not going down that road. I travel by car and book places instead. I’ll go away for 2 months but it’s cheaper for me to pay £1500 in Airbnb fees than fund a motorhome, campsite fees, fuel, ferry crossing

@suburberphobehave you ever owned one?

I'd love love one.
Unfortunately my DH wouldn't.
We are currently at our place in Spain, he said that our flat is enough and he's probably correct.
I drove over last week with the dog, I took 2 days driving down from santander to seville area. Me and doggo had to stay in a pretty poor hotel.
I woke up during the night and thought I really wish I was in a camper or motorhome.
OTOH, it's haven't checked my lottery ticket yet

That depends on how long you expect to have it surely, and how often you expect to use it within the time you have it? We are looking to get one when 50, with the intention that we’ll get 20 years use out of it. So at £60K that is £3k a year, plus obviously the running costs. How much will a holiday abroad might cost in 5, 10, 15, 20 years? A hell of a lot more than £3k I would think.

I am genuinely curious what brand new Moho is available for £60k as to my knowledge, you are in camper territory?

My neighbours bought one about 10 years ago and can remember him telling us it cost £55,000 .
They've hardly used it maybe a week a year plus a couple of weekends where they stay local ish . It seems a waste .
Could you look around and maybe buy one second hand but has had very little use ?

We bought one last year. Like you we had several caravans when the children were growing up so were familiar with that style holiday.
Our priority was as small as we could with a proper onboard loo, and 2 long bench seats for chilling out during the day.
Pros- compared to a caravan the set up is so easy and super quick. We’re all set up within 10 minutes of arriving at destination. And can drive off within 10 minutes too.
This means we stay somewhere for a night or two and then travel on to the next stop. Unlike caravan holidays where we would set up and then base ourselves there for a week. Now it’s just the two of us we really enjoy that flexibility and means we get to see and do much more each trip.
It also alters how we use it, eg, this weekend we’re meeting friends for a meal in a town c. an hour away. There’s a campsite nearby so we’re staying there overnight rather than driving home. Means we can have a couple of drinks without worrying, and then do a bit of exploring the next morning. Turns a night out into a weekend mini break.
Cons - it can be noisy/rattling if you haven’t packed properly. That was a steep learning curve the first couple of times we used it. We’ve quickly learned the culprit items and now it’s much less of an issue.
Parking - even a small MH is big. Ours goes over 2 spaces in a regular car park, but we either park in suitable car parks, (most attractions have suitable parking), or park at the far end and just accept we will need to buy 2 tickets.

There's a few on this list, including ours (trying not to be outing 😀) we got a little off list price and a few extras for buying at the NEC, but they are out there!

I know two friends who have a motorhome, one is currently in Europe travelling around for 6 weeks and the dog is with them, another friend has one, she upgraded last year and seems to get quite a bit of use out of it, she's really taken to it, something I wasn't sure she would.

I do know of another couple where money is no object and they have a really luxurious one, it was mega bucks but they do get a lot of use from it.

I'm not keen on driving these days so although it sounds great, I know I would be too nervous to drive something like a motorhome.

Quite an eye opener that there are a few genuinely under £60k (I see some creep into the £60k+ bracket) and with the article dated 1st Dec 2025, I wonder if there have been price increases since then?🤔
As with anything which is at the bottom end of the price-range, there could well be "extras" which while not strictly necessary, make perfect sense but add to the cost.

Agree that there are always deals to be had at the shows (it is when we usually order ours) and likewise at the end of the season, dealers will always do deals on existing stock so they can get ready for the new MY models.
If a MoHo comes along at the right price AND is the correct layout AND has all the equipment you need.... great.👍

I have access to different size campers/motorhomes that I can borrow whenever I want.

The campers/motorhomes I’ve found to be a mix depending on what I’m doing.

They don’t work if you’re staying at a site for a few days as you have to pack it up every time you want to go out. Ok if you’re able to walk/cycle places, but that’s not always the case.

We (DH and I + dog) did the NC500 in a small camper last year, moving from site to site each day and it was fine. Same with a trip round Cornwall the year before, however, there are so many people trying to get huge motorhomes round the narrow roads and they’re just not suitable.

When I’ve borrowed a bigger motorhome, I just found them a pain in the arse - lovely to have showers/toilets on board, but they’re too big, difficult to find parking and too restrictive. I’m not into wild camping so happy to stay on sites with toilets, showers and hook up - plus I don’t want to piss the locals off.

We’re heading to the Dolomites this year and have decided to take our tent instead of a camper - as it’s just easier. We’ve got an air tent that goes up in about 10 minutes

Our one list price was under 60, even with extras - awning, extra battery, cab blinds and drivers pack, it came in at £100 over £60k.

It came with solar as standard, so we can be off grid with ease.

When we looked at campers, most of them were 65-70 plus.

60k is definitely at the budget end 😱 and in an ideal world we would have liked to spend more, but we were maxed out as we were. But we are happy with the one we have and it seems quite a popular budget choice.

OP wants to spend "around £60k" so may even be able to stretch into the 60s, so a bit more choice available if so.

We have had motorhomes, campervan and a caravan and there are pros and cons to both the motorhome was great spacious easy to drive but once on site that’s where it stayed as most places you want to go to you cannot park and the faff of packing up and moving it each day stopped the enjoyment. We did get electric bikes but then got a Labrador who just couldn’t get the hang of sitting on the crossbar. We then got a campervan but it was just to small. In the end we kept the campervan and towed a huge double axle caravan with it was the best of both worlds a day van for trips and the caravan set up on site when we got back.