Motor-home hire for the first time!

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

My wife and I were thinking of hiring a motor-home for 4-5 days and then going on a little UK adventure. There are 4 of us in total. Kids aged 14 and 17 yrs.

So never having done this before, I have a few questions:

1. Where is the best place to hire from? I'm guessing as local to me right?
2. Should I spend time to plot a course and then go for it?
3. Where are the best locations to stop at for the night? I'm guessing some sort of caravan park type thing, what are the costs?
4. Other considerations I need to think of?

Help is greatly appreciated.
IceBoy

Edited by IceBoy on Monday 27th July 17:06

[GSalt]

1. Wherever you can find one

You'll be lucky to find a motorhome available to hire this year, so you may have to take what you can find where you find it.

[Shaw Tarse]

Maybe https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=... can help?

[stevemcs]

We hired from Maze last year for the Moto GP, remember the size of them and that you don't really get much space inside them. If it rains you are stuck inside and there isn't much room.

Most seem to come with some form of membership to a Caravan club that offer discounts.

I would plan ahead as you will not be able to rock up at a camp site with no previous booking this time of year.

[GlenMH]

Shaw Tarse said:

Maybe https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=... can help?

You called?
Ta for the recommend.
As others have said, hire companies are flat out at the moment and planning your sites are key as lots are closed or only operating at reduced capacity. Take a look at www.motorhomeholidaycompany.com and you can see the type of thing that is available.

[Jasper3.0]

IceBoy said:

Hi All,

My wife and I were thinking of hiring a motor-home for 4-5 days and then going on a little UK adventure. There are 4 of us in total. Kids aged 14 and 17 yrs.

So never having done this before, I have a few questions:

1. Where is the best place to hire from? I'm guessing as local to me right?
2. Should I spend time to plot a course and then go for it?
3. Where are the best locations to stop at for the night? I'm guessing some sort of caravan park type thing, what are the costs?
4. Other considerations I need to think of?

Help is greatly appreciated.
IceBoy

Edited by IceBoy on Monday 27th July 17:06

1. Cheap price. Run rapidly in the other direction
2. Read the small print. Some contracts even from reputable firms have dangerous clauses in them I.e. making you liable for loss of hire income
3. If considering a CDW read the small print. A colleague of mine was delighted when he took a wing mirror off his hire van as he had signed up for CDW. He was less delighted when he received the £600 bill for the mirror. Guess what. Anything you would break on a Motorhome was not covered.

[IceBoy]

Thanks all,

Lots to look in to!

IceBoy

[CTO]

Do due diligence on the hire company

We were delighted to hire one for Glastonbury. Then received an email saying the company had gone into liquidation and couldn't return deposits. Did some googling and found the company had a long history of doing similar and then retrading under a slightly different name ......

Our CC company reimbursed us, but plenty of people didn't fare so well.

Many threads on Efestivals naming the company. In the Glastonbury forum

Pm me if you like, and I will furnish you with the relevant links and link to their media feature on "rip off britain". As said, they have many guises and names.

Cheers

CTO

[Turn7]

Do motorhomes not utilise awnings like Caravans then ?

[i4got]

GlenMH said:

You called?
Ta for the recommend.
As others have said, hire companies are flat out at the moment and planning your sites are key as lots are closed or only operating at reduced capacity. Take a look at www.motorhomeholidaycompany.com and you can see the type of thing that is available.

When i choose the View Our Membership Plans button on the home page...


I get the error...

The page you are looking for is no longer here, or never existed in the first place (bummer). You can try searching for what you are looking for using the form below. If that still doesn't provide the results you are looking for, you can always start over from the home page.[url]

[GlenMH]

i4got said:

I get the error...

Thanks for that - it is much appreciated. Now sorted.

I do suggest you try the style of holiday first - you may love it (I do!) but you may find that motorhoming doesn't work for you so, as others have said, renting one for a trip is the best way to get started.

Unlike the bloke I met at an event last year who had just spent 58k on a brand new RollerTeam, was taking delivery the following week and had never stayed in one or driven one AND he had bought a layout that was probably not going to work for him and his young family. It may have been a very expensive mistake.

[velocemitch]

Turn7 said:

Do motorhomes not utilise awnings like Caravans then ?

Yes... kind of, but they use a design which either pulls out from the side like a simple canopy, or they free stand so they can stay on site when you move the MH to go somewhere.

Not quite sure why it’s relevant to the thread though.

[Turn7]

velocemitch said:

Turn7 said:

Do motorhomes not utilise awnings like Caravans then ?

Yes... kind of, but they use a design which either pulls out from the side like a simple canopy, or they free stand so they can stay on site when you move the MH to go somewhere.

Not quite sure why it’s relevant to the thread though.

Someone mentioned space inside being quite small.....

[velocemitch]

Turn7 said:

velocemitch said:

Turn7 said:

Do motorhomes not utilise awnings like Caravans then ?

Yes... kind of, but they use a design which either pulls out from the side like a simple canopy, or they free stand so they can stay on site when you move the MH to go somewhere.

Not quite sure why it’s relevant to the thread though.

Someone mentioned space inside being quite small.....

It’s all relative, the space inside a MH is slightly less than a Caravan of the same length, due to the cab etc.
My observations are most MH don’t use Awnings, but most small campers like the T5 etc seem to do. Many seem to have an Awning/tent set up twice the size of the van often linked up to a mate. Makes the site look like a refugee camp at times!

[oblio]

OP...

The chances are you would be staying on campsites if its your first outing. Campsites can range in price depending on the season. If you are thinking of going in the school holidays and if you can get in anywhere, be prepared to pay £30-40 per night I would guess at this time of year.

If so just do some research on the sites regarding being near a bus stop/places to walk to/a pub/a shop etc. It would save you having to drive and manoeuvre a large vehicle into a town or city.

One thing you could consider is hiring one with a bike rack on the back if you all like cycling...but check it can take 4 (or however many) bikes.

Another thing to look for is the wind out canopy or awning mentioned in this thread. It's worth having one even if hiring for a matter of days given the vagaries of the British weather.

Oh and make sure to take a portable BBQ with you as there is nothing quite like sitting out having an evening BBQ with a cold beer or two when you are away (rain permitting )

[GlenMH]

oblio said:

If so just do some research on the sites regarding being near a bus stop/places to walk to/a pub/a shop etc. It would save you having to drive and manoeuvre a large vehicle into a town or city.

Tesco click&collect is a wonderful thing...

[stevemcs]

This is what we hired last year. It was ok but I would chose a different layout next time.

[chopper602]

The best motorhome is your second one, as you'll often get the wrong layout for your first.

(My first is spot on, 'cos I spent far too long looking for what I wanted!)

[A205GTI]

if you are renting one, pitchup.com is a good place to be able to book sites in advance.

[Little Pete]

stevemcs said:

This is what we hired last year. It was ok but I would chose a different layout next time.

What was wrong with it Steve?