What Motorhome / Camper
Discussion
Partner and I are considering a motorhome/camper.
Looking for tips and experience.
Context. Both early 40's and work part time, have an 8 year old. We can both work from home so any longer trip away one of us could work whilst the other drives.
For short trips be great to just pick up the lad from school on a Friday and pick somewhere random for the weekend. Summer holidays because of our ability to work from home we could easily do 2+ weeks abroad so France etc appeals. I'd probably also use it a few times a year to go to the football and mountains on my own, partner might go away with her friends now and again too,
Partner is in a band so potentially would use it a few times a year to camp at gig venue. With this in mind it would be handy if there was a rear compartment like you'd get in a race van to store the speakers etc rather than in the living area. With that in mind it shouldn't be so big that it would be a pain to manoeuvre in a rural pub car park.
Because of the above we lean more towards a motorhome than a camper as we both like a bit of room and comfort and the ability to work on the move would be a bonus.
Budget in the low £20's unless something absolutely perfect, and the bonus that it would hold it's value. Have seen some decent looking low mileage motorhomes from about 2009-2012 occasionally 2016. I'd rather one that looks fairly modern inside and out. Seem to get more for your money than a converted camper that seems to be trendier right now.
Be grateful for advice on what to look out for and potential options. We'll likely hire one for a week first to see if it really is for us. But we've recently opted to go part time to have more time as a family and do fun things so this would tick the box for us,
Looking for tips and experience.
Context. Both early 40's and work part time, have an 8 year old. We can both work from home so any longer trip away one of us could work whilst the other drives.
For short trips be great to just pick up the lad from school on a Friday and pick somewhere random for the weekend. Summer holidays because of our ability to work from home we could easily do 2+ weeks abroad so France etc appeals. I'd probably also use it a few times a year to go to the football and mountains on my own, partner might go away with her friends now and again too,
Partner is in a band so potentially would use it a few times a year to camp at gig venue. With this in mind it would be handy if there was a rear compartment like you'd get in a race van to store the speakers etc rather than in the living area. With that in mind it shouldn't be so big that it would be a pain to manoeuvre in a rural pub car park.
Because of the above we lean more towards a motorhome than a camper as we both like a bit of room and comfort and the ability to work on the move would be a bonus.
Budget in the low £20's unless something absolutely perfect, and the bonus that it would hold it's value. Have seen some decent looking low mileage motorhomes from about 2009-2012 occasionally 2016. I'd rather one that looks fairly modern inside and out. Seem to get more for your money than a converted camper that seems to be trendier right now.
Be grateful for advice on what to look out for and potential options. We'll likely hire one for a week first to see if it really is for us. But we've recently opted to go part time to have more time as a family and do fun things so this would tick the box for us,
You’re not getting much for 20k. Never underestimate having a toilet and somewhere to wash. I’d rule out any small van - transit custom size, the smallest you would want to be is either ducatto lwb high roof van or buy a crew cab van and a caravan. While you might have to tow - caravans have more space than a camper and you have something to use when you get to site.
Seeing plenty of motorhomes in the low 20's might be 2009/10 but low mileage i.e. 50k.
Showers and toilet inside, which is why we're leaning towards them rather than camper conversions.
Just wondering if there is something to look out for with the 15ish year old low mileage motorhomes. Vs dropping another 10-15k on a 9-10 year old one.
Even the larger Converted campers look more like a place to sleep than a place where you can sit up of an evening and play cards and watch TV etc
Showers and toilet inside, which is why we're leaning towards them rather than camper conversions.
Just wondering if there is something to look out for with the 15ish year old low mileage motorhomes. Vs dropping another 10-15k on a 9-10 year old one.
Even the larger Converted campers look more like a place to sleep than a place where you can sit up of an evening and play cards and watch TV etc
NuckyThompson said:
Seeing plenty of motorhomes in the low 20's might be 2009/10 but low mileage i.e. 50k.
Showers and toilet inside, which is why we're leaning towards them rather than camper conversions.
Just wondering if there is something to look out for with the 15ish year old low mileage motorhomes. Vs dropping another 10-15k on a 9-10 year old one.
Even the larger Converted campers look more like a place to sleep than a place where you can sit up of an evening and play cards and watch TV etc
Damp, lack of service history for both vehicle and habitation, rust, if it’s a Transit or Ducatto, usually in places where it’s not cheap to weld. Check tyres, they stand around a lot, rear brakes are forever sticking, the Fiats also struggle on emissions.Showers and toilet inside, which is why we're leaning towards them rather than camper conversions.
Just wondering if there is something to look out for with the 15ish year old low mileage motorhomes. Vs dropping another 10-15k on a 9-10 year old one.
Even the larger Converted campers look more like a place to sleep than a place where you can sit up of an evening and play cards and watch TV etc
You need to rent one for a weekend and find a dealer that allows you to nosy round all sorts of designs and layouts. It's the best thing I did before buying. It meant we knew what we liked, what we wanted, what our priorities were.
After that we went hunting for what we wanted.
But, I'll echo some thoughts above. There's some absolute howlers out there - shonky home builds, leaking damp motorhomes, not serviced mechanically, rusty to f*CK, ancient tyres and clocked wagons. I cannot believe what some folk pay... Buyer beware.
I ended up spending +50% on what I started off with as a budget when I found a classic two owner, immaculate, FSH, fully habitation serviced, immaculate VW Bilbo's high top LWB...
After that we went hunting for what we wanted.
But, I'll echo some thoughts above. There's some absolute howlers out there - shonky home builds, leaking damp motorhomes, not serviced mechanically, rusty to f*CK, ancient tyres and clocked wagons. I cannot believe what some folk pay... Buyer beware.
I ended up spending +50% on what I started off with as a budget when I found a classic two owner, immaculate, FSH, fully habitation serviced, immaculate VW Bilbo's high top LWB...
Avoid a Transporter / Transit / Boxer - they won't give you the space you need.
Wait a month or 2 as prices are still high due to the time of year.
For your budget I'd be looking at getting finance on top of the £20k and buying something as new as possible. If finance is available and affordable that is.
Fixed toilet is a great shout.
When you say work when driving what do you mean? Sounds fairly unlikely to be happening.
Why would you go to France for a few weeks and work? It's a holiday.
Head to caravan and motorhome show in October, whilst its all out of budget you'll get ideas on layouts and types of van that work for you.
We sold our T5 for a Weinsberg on a Ducato chassis. It's ex Indie campers and works well for us, 2 adults and a 7yr old. I'd say its a perfect size for you too. Indie sell and of season stock off but they will be double your budget.
If price is key then maybe go Transporter type with pop top and get a small trailer for the music equipment / camping gear.
Wait a month or 2 as prices are still high due to the time of year.
For your budget I'd be looking at getting finance on top of the £20k and buying something as new as possible. If finance is available and affordable that is.
Fixed toilet is a great shout.
When you say work when driving what do you mean? Sounds fairly unlikely to be happening.
Why would you go to France for a few weeks and work? It's a holiday.
Head to caravan and motorhome show in October, whilst its all out of budget you'll get ideas on layouts and types of van that work for you.
We sold our T5 for a Weinsberg on a Ducato chassis. It's ex Indie campers and works well for us, 2 adults and a 7yr old. I'd say its a perfect size for you too. Indie sell and of season stock off but they will be double your budget.
If price is key then maybe go Transporter type with pop top and get a small trailer for the music equipment / camping gear.
POIDH said:
You need to rent one for a weekend and find a dealer that allows you to nosy round all sorts of designs and layouts. It's the best thing I did before buying. It meant we knew what we liked, what we wanted, what our priorities were.
This all day every day.Concentrate on what works & what doesn't rather than trying to rent a perfect one for you.
Friends of ours have gone through 5 in 3 years due to not truly thinking things through.
Look at some, look at some more, and then look at some more again.
If you live anywhere near Skipton, there is "Northern Motorhome Buyer" on the Grassington road, they typically have lots in/around your budget.
MOMACC said:
If price is key then maybe go Transporter type with pop top and get a small trailer for the music equipment / camping gear.
LWB high top of Transporter / Custom / Traffic (et al) offers a huge amount more space than SWB and dafty pop tops.Also, what space do we NEED varies so much by people and character. I am comfortable with packing cubes, a few curver boxes and baskets. I do not take loads of clothes, I do not have a hair dryer, a fancy olive oil, 8 pairs of shoes, and am happy to genuinely 'camp' rather than replace self catering experience. I have a small set of chairs and table - but they are half the size of many table and chairs I see many others lug around.
I have watched a family member FILL a T6 SWb for a weekend away - and I pitched up with two Ikea bags full of clothes, shoes and some fresh food in my LWB T5....they spent hours moving s
t around, I flung my stuff in fridge and one bag in a cupboard and pu the kettle on...I also do not have a dog and kids ;-)
POIDH said:
You need to rent one for a weekend and find a dealer that allows you to nosy round all sorts of designs and layouts. It's the best thing I did before buying....
Indeed. Also, there's things like the NEC show in October that's cheap (and free parking) to look around a huge number of new vans to see what sort of layouts there are.Thanks guys, we're in no rush so we're going to do some shopping around and testing.
We've actually swung back to a Sprinter type conversion which would do for a weekend rather than weeks of travel. Not sure we want it to fully replace our sunny holidays abroad. So will have it as an addition to.
I like camping and climbing mountains so a few days of comfort type van is fine. Same if we can do a weekend as a family or the missus wants to take it to gigs.
We've actually swung back to a Sprinter type conversion which would do for a weekend rather than weeks of travel. Not sure we want it to fully replace our sunny holidays abroad. So will have it as an addition to.
I like camping and climbing mountains so a few days of comfort type van is fine. Same if we can do a weekend as a family or the missus wants to take it to gigs.
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