Small introduction

Hi there.

Moving from caravan to motorhome.

Positives:
1.Not needing to book sites, you can go away with no planning if you happy to stop in laybys and car parks, CM stops etc.
2.You always have everything with you, so if you want to have dinner for example, you just can! If you like somewhere, you can just stay put, should you want to.
3.You can go away with much less cost if you want to (for example we are a family of 4, had 3 weeks this summer in Devon and Cornwall, it cost about £450 in total including diesel) But equally you can go to posh expensive sites and spend loads if you want to.
4.I wont be laughing at you when I overtake you towing your caravan!
5. You can take bikes and other toys like kayaks on the roof rack and tow a trailer should you wish to.

Basically a motorhome gives you freedom and choice and you will find you chill out much more, I begin to relax as soon as I drive out my driveway because as soon as I have left, I am away!

Negatives:

1.You need to pack up a few things before driving away.

I cant think of any other negatives!

Hiya,
I agree with Tom1 on the positives but there are a few more negatives, well expenses shall we say with a moho ...
Unless you are giving up your car and using the moho as your only vehicle ... you will have higher insurance and servicing costs to consider.
Have fun at the NEC, take your camera as we that cannot go do like a picture or two

Hiya,
I agree with Tom1 on the positives but there are a few more negatives, well expenses shall we say with a moho ...
Unless you are giving up your car and using the moho as your only vehicle ... you will have higher insurance and servicing costs to consider.
Have fun at the NEC, take your camera as we that cannot go do like a picture or two

Good point about the running costs, I didn't think of them at all but my motorhome costs me under £500 to tax, insure, mot and service each year, but I would spend that in two weeks on a site, so over the course of the year for me and how I do it, its cheaper than using a caravan.

Good point about the running costs, I didn't think of them at all but my motorhome costs me under £500 to tax, insure, mot and service each year


Heavens Tom1 ... I must move near you for your garage and who do you insure with ... because Service, Tax and insurance for my Duetto costs me over £600 a year ... I am going to try Adrian Flux next year when it's due ... so that may bring it down a bit

Heavens Tom1 ... I must move near you for your garage and who do you insure with ... because Service, Tax and insurance for my Duetto costs me over £600 a year ... I am going to try Adrian Flux next year when it's due ... so that may bring it down a bit

Last years costs were as follows
Insurance £225
Road tax £220
MOT £30
Engine oil and filter £25

So totalling £500.
I service it myself and always change the cambelt and do a full service on purchase, so that costs, but after that I know all is ok, so the costs are minimal from then on for quite a while.

The insurance was with a broker, Motor Home Direct and was around £225 for 3 years in a row.
I fairly recently on renewal changed to Comfort insurance which cost about £300 with a discount for club motorhome membership, but that was because they don't require notice when going abroad and I fitted an A bar on the front, which some insurers didn't like.
As for Adrian flux, in my experience they are not that interested in gaining new business. So I gave up with them.

I service it myself and always change the cambelt and do a full service on purchase, so that costs, but after that I know all is ok, so the costs are minimal from then on for quite a while.


That is where the extra costs come in then, the cost of a full service with MOT this year was high due to the starter motor packing up and replacement of the battery tray and suspension top mount (but I had got the price reduced to cover the welding) Starter was a surprise ... Usually a full service is around £150 + MOT
I am with Lifesure for insurance and it was £205 this year and tax on the Duetto is £235 per year

Welding? Welding!
I spray mine all over underneath, all round the engine bay with wax oil mixed with new engine oil.
That way it never deteriorates or rusts at all.
But i did go through it painting all the metal such as brake pipes, exhaust etc etc when i first bought it before spraying it with oil.
4 years later its the same as it was then underneath and under the bonnet.

Welding? Welding!

.... It's a Transit Tom1 ... need I say more
But I had gone over him well so was aware of what was needed and bartered the price accordingly ... I only got him in May this year ... Had a A/s Executive before but wanted to downsize so got the Duetto ...

... It's a Transit Tom1 ... need I say more

Isnt there a h missing from the name of what it is?

I have heard Ford parts are very expensive these days too, so that adds to your cost.
Mind you not that you can get any Ford parts these days with all the dealers closing down, 5 have closed around me in the last 6 months, now all Ford parts take 3 days to arrive and come from somewhere hours away.

I have just realised that we have been rabbiting away on Gilbs thread, I apologise for Katmax Gilbs, its her fault!

I really am

Thanks for all your comments, spent the whole day yesterday looking at different layouts and manufacturers, I really had bo idea how many dealers/manufacturers there are.
I really like the Bessacarr 494, does anyone have one who could let me know what they think, especially on the storage side.
Thanks again

When we first started looking for a motorhome it was 2 years before we bought and settled on a rear lounge Elldis 180. However what we realised we were buying was a caravan on 4 wheels with limited showering and lots of space to lounge about on sites. As our use increased to travelling abroad on Aires and less on campsites we went for a continental mh to be more independent which was totally different from our original spec. A mh is for mobility and if you just want to visit campsites and stay for a week or two maybe a mh is not for you

Hi, we don't have the 494 but we have the 454, French bed, have been very happy with it, only down side is the crawling over each other in the early hours to make a call of nature. Our storage under the bed was limited but adequate for two weeks in France, but somehow the items you need are always at the back. Depending on year of manufacture the Bessacarr has had a few issues with the panaramic sunroof over the cab, mainly not very secure when driving and a lot of vibration noise, but this has been addressed on newer models. For a few images check out my blog "Motorhomingwithasprocker"
Let me know how you get on at the show.
Chris

thanks for all your replies, we've ordered a new Bessacarr 494.
Rotella, thanks for the heads up on the panoramic roof, hopefully it will be ok, I enjoyed reading your blog, keep it going, it's always nice to see what other people are doing. We started ours in 2002 when we bought our first caravan.
Thanks again everyone.