advise please, purchasing a motorhome

Judgemental said:
Well...I valued by kids safety to much to have them secured against the back wall of a flimsey coachbuilt :(
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The rear seat belts are full lap / diagonal inertia types built into a very solid steel sub frame, with full height seat rests.
 
ScotJimland said:
3,850 kg MTPLM.. so only if she has a license to drive over 3.5 ton

I also agree with the Judge about the rear belts... ....:eek:
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You could easily have it downrated 3500 to which is what ours is and still gives us 350 kg payload when last weighed on a bridge.
 
Zains Pops said:
The rear seat belts are full lap / diagonal inertia types built into a very solid steel sub frame, with full height seat rests.
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indeed.....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-killed-woman-left-broken-leg-crash-M40.html

while this an extreame example rear shunts tyeh most common crash senario.
camper plodding slowly along the inside lane, HGV driver in a rush and on cruise comes up the rear.....

sort of budget you have far better value in europe with current exchange rate...

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Here's a couple of vans for you - both over budget unfortunately, but older similar models are out there

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*having given it a bit more thought, an Autotrail Scout should be quite easy to find with rear lounge and on budget. Not my cuppa tea, but they are popular !
 
Judgemental said:
think long and hard about the U shaped lounge. the main activity and time spent in a motorhome is sleeping..bed comfort one of the most important issues. making one up every single night, on a sofa? just think about it lol. Also with rear bed/beds layout & front lounge, one can still be in bed and one up front in lounge, cooking, laptop, whatever, without disturbing one and other. Don't know what sort of use you envisage but we spend most our time outside...
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Excellent bit of advice, and why I'm quite happy with my 644 (hymer) :)
 
Thank you all for your advice. I will definitely be back to you again when I find a MH I wish to purchase.
Everyone has such different preferences, I am amazed.
I am also amazed at the choices I have. I had not even thought of the weight, the seat belts, a fixed bed.
My mind is discombobulated.
 
I'll post a few which I think good deals. But not going to bother looking until i know what layout you have decided on.....:)
 
dont forget the autotrail apache 700 and scout modles both have u shaped rear, seperate shower/loo, central dinette with two rear seat belts, some have turnable front seats. Will sleep 6

We regulary take our two grandsons away with us. They bed down on the doulbe dinette whilst we can still sit in the lounge. Never had a problem making up the bed in 6 years

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SC 05 OUT said:
dont forget the autotrail apache 700 and scout modles both have u shaped rear, seperate shower/loo, central dinette with two rear seat belts, some have turnable front seats. Will sleep 6

We regulary take our two grandsons away with us. They bed down on the doulbe dinette whilst we can still sit in the lounge. Never had a problem making up the bed in 6 years
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Thank you I will look them up today.
I am very grateful for your help.
 
Best thing is to go to loads of dealers and look at everything.
Stand in shower, sit on loo make sure you fit. Sit on seats to see if comfy. It takes time and effort, but will open your eyes.
 
Angela Dyer said:
So what MH does have a separate shower and U shaped lounge.
Am I causing myself more complications.
I have downloaded the MH ebook as advised.
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When you say a separate shower what do you actually require?

a. A shower that is in the same compartment as the toilet, but has a sliding or folding door so it is self contained.

b. completely separate shower and toilet compartments, one on each side of the van.

a - is the most common arrangement found in the majority of Motorhomes.
b - unlikely to find this configuration in a van under 7.5m or 3500kg, tends to be found only in big vans.
 
lennyhb said:
When you say a separate shower what do you actually require?

a. A shower that is in the same compartment as the toilet, but has a sliding or folding door so it is self contained.

b. completely separate shower and toilet compartments, one on each side of the van.

a - is the most common arrangement found in the majority of Motorhomes.
b - unlikely to find this configuration in a van under 7.5m or 3500kg, tends to be found only in big vans.
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Hi,yes a is the one. I have seen a couple of U shaped lounges which were lovely. However the shower would have showered the toilet and washbasin as well as myself.
So yes a. is my preference.
 
Angela Dyer said:
Hi,yes a is the one. I have seen a couple of U shaped lounges which were lovely. However the shower would have showered the toilet and washbasin as well as myself.
So yes a. is my preference.
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We have the "a" set up in our current van and find it more convenient than the wet room of our previous van. However, the wet room one did have a curtain which shielded the toilet and washbasin when the shower was used so they didn't get wet.

So many things with van layouts are compromises so keep an open mind as a wet room may not be a deal breaker considering other things.

Jim mentioned making a list earlier. If it will help, ours is available for download Link Removed. It won't match what you want but it may be easier than starting with a blank sheet of paper.
 
Angela Dyer said:
Hi,yes a is the one. I have seen a couple of U shaped lounges which were lovely. However the shower would have showered the toilet and washbasin as well as myself.
So yes a. is my preference.
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You must have looked at fairly short vans they tend to have that arrangement with the dreaded shower curtain that clings to you.

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Angela Dyer said:
Hi,yes a is the one. I have seen a couple of U shaped lounges which were lovely. However the shower would have showered the toilet and washbasin as well as myself.
So yes a. is my preference.
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how do you carry passengers in that style van as most dont have 4 belted seats...
and can you confirm yo want a U shaped lounge as its pointless me trying to find good deals for you in Belgium. where you will get a much more modern van for your budget.

2006 Chaussan approx £21,000!
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pick of the bunch a real quality van. 2007 Terrestra £21000!
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2007 £23000
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Also you need to get out here, do some leg work and learn...

loads more these just a random pick. all these vans would be over £30,000 in the UK
 
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GJH said:
We have the "a" set up in our current van and find it more convenient than the wet room of our previous van. However, the wet room one did have a curtain which shielded the toilet and washbasin when the shower was used so they didn't get wet.

So many things with van layouts are compromises so keep an open mind as a wet room may not be a deal breaker considering other things.

Jim mentioned making a list earlier. If it will help, ours is available for download Link Removed. It won't match what you want but it may be easier than starting with a blank sheet of paper.
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Thank you I have downloaded your list. Wow their is a lot on There.
 
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Judgemental said:
how do you carry passengers in that style van as most dont have 4 belted seats...
and can you confirm yo want a U shaped lounge as its pointless me trying to find good deals for you in Belgium. where you will get twice as good a van (near enough) for your budget.
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Well I must assume that the dinette at the front has belts.
I am looking into the seat belt saga at the moment.
There is a lot for me to take note of. I am a novice and find things mind blowing with the different choices.
However I still like the U idea.
Thank you
 
Judgemental said:
how do you carry passengers in that style van as most dont have 4 belted seats...
and can you confirm yo want a U shaped lounge as its pointless me trying to find good deals for you in Belgium. where you will get a much more modern van for your budget.

2006 Chaussan approx £21,000!
Broken Link Removed

pick of the bunch a real quality van. 2007 Terrestra £21000!
Broken Link Removed

2007 £23000
Broken Link Removed

Also you need to get out here, do some leg work and learn...

loads more these just a random pick. all these vans would be over £30,000 in the UK
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Thank you soon much these are fab. What lovely MH.
What amazing prices too.
I am grateful

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Judgemental said:
how do you carry passengers in that style van as most dont have 4 belted seats...
and can you confirm yo want a U shaped lounge as its pointless me trying to find good deals for you in Belgium. where you will get a much more modern van for your budget.

2006 Chaussan approx £21,000!
Broken Link Removed

pick of the bunch a real quality van. 2007 Terrestra £21000!
Broken Link Removed

2007 £23000
Broken Link Removed

Also you need to get out here, do some leg work and learn...

loads more these just a random pick. all these vans would be over £30,000 in the UK
Click to expand...
These are superb Thank you
 
Hi Angela, our requirements were similar to yours - we've had three different motorhomes over a more than 25 year period..... after all the advice has been given and thought about only you will know what is right for you.

When all the children were home our huge Hymer wonderful but restrictive about where you could go.... now we have a much smaller motorhome which is a nominal 3/4 berth but is ideal for us at present. In two or three who knows?
 
Puddleduck said:
Hi Angela, our requirements were similar to yours - we've had three different motorhomes over a more than 25 year period..... after all the advice has been given and thought about only you will know what is right for you.

When all the children were home our huge Hymer wonderful but restrictive about where you could go.... now we have a much smaller motorhome which is a nominal 3/4 berth but is ideal for us at present. In two or three who knows?
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Yes....it will mostly two of us but on occasions two grandchildren.
 
I may have missed it doing a quick skim read of the thread, so I didn't see if you had C1 licence.

I think as many have said, you are looking at one of the heavier beasts out there.

For us personally, we rented many models, before both my wife and I agreed on a layout. Our experiences may help, however, no two people have the exact same requirements :D

Our first ever motorhome trip was an excursion around Europe in the summer, and we rented a Swift Voyager 695EL. This has a U-Shaped lounge with an overcab bed. For us the overcab bed is essential, our (now 6 year old) daughter snores like you wouldn't believe, so we wanted to be as far away as possible when in the van. Also, she loves Peppa Pig (long story, you'll have to google Peppa Pig Camper Van). We had a couple of niggles with this van, but ultimately we quite liked it. We don't like the stupid curtain that separates the rear at night, it came off the runners every time we used it. We broke and had to pay to repair on of the rear sofas because I forgot to extend the support legs when making the bed! I never got the heating/hot water working correctly, didn't matter which position I put the controls in, the hot water ran out before I finished my shower. There were a few other things, but those leap to mind.

We found in the European summertime, that we were spending all of our time outside, in the camping chairs, enjoying the climate, thus at this point we concluded that the u-shaped lounge was pointless, and that the van was really only somewhere to get your head down for the night. Also, as has been pointed out, it's a bit of a faff to put the bed up and take it down everyday.

Armed with this information, for our next excursion we rented a Swift Voyager 685FB, we figured it had a much bigger bathroom, and a fixed bed at the rear, but still had the overcab. Unfortunately our destination was Wales, and it rained almost solidly for our visit there. Thus we were confined almost completely inside the van in the tiny dinette, the only lounge area in the van. Also the fixed bed was just a little too small, so I didn't fit on the enclosed side, and had to sleep with my feet hanging over the diagonal bit on the aisle side.

After that, we became firmly of the mind that we needed a u-shaped lounge, best of both worlds, somewhere to sit inside, and a big rear bed at night. We also knew that the Voyager was not the van for us. Our next excursion, we needed a larger van, we needed a van with 6 belted seats (more passengers). So we rented a Swift Sundance 630L, I think both myself and my wife fell in love with it. Sure it has niggles like any other, but the rear bed is even bigger than the voyager, the kitchen work surface extends, and it has lots of storage. It is truly gigantic, but we never had issues with that, even crossing the Swiss Alps.

Consequently, we actually bought the van that we rented from the hire company, and have never looked back since. I would recommend renting a couple of different layouts, just to see what suits your circumstances the best.
 
DanielFord said:
I may have missed it doing a quick skim read of the thread, so I didn't see if you had C1 licence.

I think as many have said, you are looking at one of the heavier beasts out there.

For us personally, we rented many models, before both my wife and I agreed on a layout. Our experiences may help, however, no two people have the exact same requirements :D

Our first ever motorhome trip was an excursion around Europe in the summer, and we rented a Swift Voyager 695EL. This has a U-Shaped lounge with an overcab bed. For us the overcab bed is essential, our (now 6 year old) daughter snores like you wouldn't believe, so we wanted to be as far away as possible when in the van. Also, she loves Peppa Pig (long story, you'll have to google Peppa Pig Camper Van). We had a couple of niggles with this van, but ultimately we quite liked it. We don't like the stupid curtain that separates the rear at night, it came off the runners every time we used it. We broke and had to pay to repair on of the rear sofas because I forgot to extend the support legs when making the bed! I never got the heating/hot water working correctly, didn't matter which position I put the controls in, the hot water ran out before I finished my shower. There were a few other things, but those leap to mind.

We found in the European summertime, that we were spending all of our time outside, in the camping chairs, enjoying the climate, thus at this point we concluded that the u-shaped lounge was pointless, and that the van was really only somewhere to get your head down for the night. Also, as has been pointed out, it's a bit of a faff to put the bed up and take it down everyday.

Armed with this information, for our next excursion we rented a Swift Voyager 685FB, we figured it had a much bigger bathroom, and a fixed bed at the rear, but still had the overcab. Unfortunately our destination was Wales, and it rained almost solidly for our visit there. Thus we were confined almost completely inside the van in the tiny dinette, the only lounge area in the van. Also the fixed bed was just a little too small, so I didn't fit on the enclosed side, and had to sleep with my feet hanging over the diagonal bit on the aisle side.

After that, we became firmly of the mind that we needed a u-shaped lounge, best of both worlds, somewhere to sit inside, and a big rear bed at night. We also knew that the Voyager was not the van for us. Our next excursion, we needed a larger van, we needed a van with 6 belted seats (more passengers). So we rented a Swift Sundance 630L, I think both myself and my wife fell in love with it. Sure it has niggles like any other, but the rear bed is even bigger than the voyager, the kitchen work surface extends, and it has lots of storage. It is truly gigantic, but we never had issues with that, even crossing the Swiss Alps.

Consequently, we actually bought the van that we rented from the hire company, and have never looked back since. I would recommend renting a couple of different layouts, just to see what suits your circumstances the best.
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Hi there. I do not want a large motorhome, just big enough for two of us and sometimes two grandchildren.
A U shaped lounge and shower cubicle.
Not much to ask. But I will persevere.
Yours sounds lovely, but too big for me.
Good luck on your many travels

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