A week away from picking up our first motorhome!

[stevegreen]

Hi All,

Two weeks ago we put a deposit down on our very first motorhome, a 2004 Hymer B564.

Since we both lost our jobs earlier in the year we have decided that a year out and some European travelling is a good idea. We intend to leave the UK late November and head south for the winter months taking in much of France, Spain and Portugal, probably spending most of our time in France depending on the weather and temperature (that will more than likely be scrubbed and we will end up in Spain though as it seems that it is warmer)

Having never owned a motorhome before we will have a few trips out before hand to get used to the new purchase, particularly to guage battery life (we have a leisure battery and solar panel), see what we actually need to take with us and generally get used to life on the road.

Sorted our insurance out today and as we will be renting out our house we are classed as 'fulltimers' when the house is rented thus virtually doubling our premium

In the meantime we are de-cluttering the house and making our plans which at the moment consist of getting to Calais and turning right We have the France Passion book as well as the All the Aires guides for France, Spain and Portugal so we are kind of organised for that part. I know that we need things like flourescent jackets and a sign on the back of the Hymer indicating a 'long vehicle' (white and red diagonal stripes?) but is there anything else that we need/must have?

Can't wait!!

(sorry for meaningless post, just excited!!!)

 

[bald eagle]

Hi stevegreen and :welcome:

regards
bald eagle

 

[DESCO]

:welcome: Stevegreen to MH Fun

Not a meaningless post, We all know the feeling of collecting your first motorhome, don't forget we have all been there done that, and that feeling never goes it dont matter how many you have had.

Hope all goes well don't be afraid to ask questions there is a lot of knowledge on this forum so make use of it.



Dave:thumb::thumb:

 

[joe50]

Congratulations on your new acquisition and good luck
You have the right spirit in getting off down south to warmer climes

Here is a link to one of the pages at the AA (Automobile Association not the other one )

European Driving : European driving advice from the AA - The AA

It gives some useful hints for driving on the continent. Aimed at general the general motorist but much of the advice is relevant to motorhome drivers too.

Good luck

 

[barryd]

Hi

Your supposed to have spare bulbs, first aid kit and warning triangles. We bought all this for our first 3 month trip to Europe this year as well as the orange jackets and the red and white chevron thing (only needed in Italy I think although hardly anyone in Italy had them on). Doubt very much if you will either need them or be asked to produce them although we did need the spare bulbs, everything else is still under the drivers seat.

As far as battery life is concerned we have one 110AH battery and no solar panels or any other means of charging the battery apart from the engine. In three months we spent 2 nights on a campsite, I think 6 nights on hookup on Aires and the rest either wild camping or on Aires without hook up and never had a problem. We stayed either 1, 2, 3 or 4 nights max in the same place. Driving around charges the battery.

Have a fab time!

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[WillH]

Welcome, and if you have half the fun we have you'll have a great time, just jealous that we can't seem to get away more.

Rgds
Bill

 

[geoff1947]

Acsi

Hi All,

Two weeks ago we put a deposit down on our very first motorhome, a 2004 Hymer B564.

Since we both lost our jobs earlier in the year we have decided that a year out and some European travelling is a good idea. We intend to leave the UK late November and head south for the winter months taking in much of France, Spain and Portugal, probably spending most of our time in France depending on the weather and temperature (that will more than likely be scrubbed and we will end up in Spain though as it seems that it is warmer)

Having never owned a motorhome before we will have a few trips out before hand to get used to the new purchase, particularly to guage battery life (we have a leisure battery and solar panel), see what we actually need to take with us and generally get used to life on the road.

Sorted our insurance out today and as we will be renting out our house we are classed as 'fulltimers' when the house is rented thus virtually doubling our premium

In the meantime we are de-cluttering the house and making our plans which at the moment consist of getting to Calais and turning right We have the France Passion book as well as the All the Aires guides for France, Spain and Portugal so we are kind of organised for that part. I know that we need things like flourescent jackets and a sign on the back of the Hymer indicating a 'long vehicle' (white and red diagonal stripes?) but is there anything else that we need/must have?

Can't wait!!

(sorry for meaningless post, just excited!!!)

Add an ACSI book to your list from Motorhome &amp caravan books, guides and maps, Go Motorhoming Europe, Camperstop Europe, France Passion, campsite guides, full-timing the facts, Aires and stopovers guides will save you money on some sites. Enjoy the experience:thumb:

 

[stevegreen]

and here she is, parked up on the top of Porlock Hill just outside of Minehead.

Baptism of fire navigating the narrow streets but fun and we love it!

I have blogged our first few days here

 

[Cavendish]

Great photo and I enjoyed reading your blog. Happy travels!

 

[Toffs-G]

Hi All,

Two weeks ago we put a deposit down on our very first motorhome, a 2004 Hymer B564.

Since we both lost our jobs earlier in the year we have decided that a year out and some European travelling is a good idea. We intend to leave the UK late November and head south for the winter months taking in much of France, Spain and Portugal, probably spending most of our time in France depending on the weather and temperature (that will more than likely be scrubbed and we will end up in Spain though as it seems that it is warmer)

Having never owned a motorhome before we will have a few trips out before hand to get used to the new purchase, particularly to guage battery life (we have a leisure battery and solar panel), see what we actually need to take with us and generally get used to life on the road.

Sorted our insurance out today and as we will be renting out our house we are classed as 'fulltimers' when the house is rented thus virtually doubling our premium

In the meantime we are de-cluttering the house and making our plans which at the moment consist of getting to Calais and turning right We have the France Passion book as well as the All the Aires guides for France, Spain and Portugal so we are kind of organised for that part. I know that we need things like flourescent jackets and a sign on the back of the Hymer indicating a 'long vehicle' (white and red diagonal stripes?) but is there anything else that we need/must have?

Can't wait!!

(sorry for meaningless post, just excited!!!)

Welcome and good luck sounds like a fantastic way to spend the winter

All the best:thumb::thumb:

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