Motorhome for motorsport

[Kickstart]

I am thinking of buying a motorhome to tow my racing car to a few events each year - I have previously rented one - which was woefully underpowered for the job and normally we tow the car with a Range Rover and go to a B & B

I am hoping to get some pointers with the following:
What size engine do I need to comfortably tow a trailer weighing say 900kg with trips to France, Germany etc in mind
There are only 2 of us and we are not looking for luxury just something liveable
Any recommendations on suitable motorhomes with a budget of hopefully £20k or less
Any recommended dealers in the NW

many thanks for any help

Kickstart

[smifffymoto]

I would visit Spinney in Cranage ,I haven't used them but my mum has bought 10 or so motorhomes from them.They always have alot of good quality stock.

[andy97]

Kickstart said:

I am thinking of buying a motorhome to tow my racing car to a few events each year - I have previously rented one - which was woefully underpowered for the job and normally we tow the car with a Range Rover and go to a B & B

I am hoping to get some pointers with the following:
What size engine do I need to comfortably tow a trailer weighing say 900kg with trips to France, Germany etc in mind
There are only 2 of us and we are not looking for luxury just something liveable
Any recommendations on suitable motorhomes with a budget of hopefully £20k or less
Any recommended dealers in the NW

many thanks for any help

Kickstart

The larger the Motorhome then generally, the less power to weight.

I had a Trigano Tribute for a while, basically a Fiat Ducato panel van with a 130 bhp engine and that towed a 1000kg car and 600kg trailer fine.

At race retro last week there was a company called "racevanconversions.co.uk" who were displaying their own conversion that looked pretty good, with a useful storage area for race bits and kit. I think it was available for about £19k.

They were offering various packages depending on budget, with the option to source your own van for them to convert.

[tight fart]

I would be looking at bigger engined motorhomes over 3500kg if your licence allows.
The popular 2.3 Fiats lack the grunt.

[Spuffington]

For that kind of money, I would look at a c. 2001 vintage Hymer if you can. One on a Mercedes chassis (they're rare but worth seeking out). The 2.7l 5-cylinder has grunt and the 4.6t chassis has a 2t towing limit on the manual gearbox (the auto and sprintshift are restricted to 500kg).

Should be able to get one for around 20k, but might be worth stretching a few k more if you can.

[arfur]

Dreams RV Centre usually have some great 27 foot RVs that will tow over 6000kg.

[Kickstart]

Cheers for the replies

Loved the look of the race car van conversion at the show and subject to definitely getting my license back I think that is the way I will go as Mrs K takes the unbending view that a motorhome on the drive is only one step away from getting work tarmacing roads, whereas I could hide the van in the back of the garage.

[R TOY]

Spending a weekend in a tent at Anglesey circuit convinced me a motorhome was essential .

The B&B thing was great but trying to find paddock space next morning after arriving at stupid o'clock was becoming a pain. And its nice to get the car de'trailered and even scrutineered the night before.
And a few beers with your fellow competitors is a good start to the weekend.

We spend ages trawling through the internet, checking the tow capacities etc and the essential rear garage .

The motorhomes with the 'alco' type chassis seemed to have very low tow capacities (legally) although in practise there are plenty towing fairly heavy cars with no problem.

We ended up with a Fiat Ducatto cab/chassis based Swift Suntor 620. Has a 2t+ tow capacity , large rear garage and the 2.3 motor will move us along at 60-70 + quite happily. Struggles on the hills a bit tho'
Front wheel drive not great on grass or steep inclines but not been a serious issue as yet.

I'm only towing a light 650kg Elise with associated stuff and trailer probably aprox 1600-1700kg ish . And had some great holidays in it as well

[nick997]

Worth having a word with Jody on here as NagsHeadWarrior, very friendly and helpful dealer who gives great honest advice. We have a 3.0 litre Ducato from 2010 which has loads of pull. Previously owned a Transit 2.4 which got nicked - Transits are VERY easy to steal it seems and targeted by scumbags. I believe the earlier 2.8 Ducato also pulls well once chipped and probably more on your budget. Avoid Swifts (bessacar and ace too) as they suffered damp floors.