Getting our money's worth

[SM2025]

Hi guys,

Loving this forum and the downloadable Buyer's Guide which I've been reading. Super informative.
My question is, we have a budget in mind (30-35k) and was wondering about getting our money's worth. What should we be looking for as added extras instead of having to buy new one's.
We plan on living in our motorhome for 6+ months so any tips would be really appreciated

 

[Geistguy]

Most of my suggestions have already been posted but if you are full timing for six months then any minor niggle with layout will become a major irritation in time. Our biggest mistake in owning 9 motorhomes was a large double bed over a garage, having to climb over your partner for toilet trips is very annoying for you both.

Don't think you need to have every accessory to start, it's so easy to spend money on stuff you will rarely use.

Our best buys? 300ah Fogstar lithium and refillable gas bottle.

Happy motorhoming.

 

[PhilipLh]

As well as a Fire blanket I can highly recommend the Fire safety stick.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Extinguisher-Electrical-Non-pressurised-GUARANTEE/dp/B07RCHSPTS/?tag=mhf04-21

you used to be able to get a discount as a funster if you go direct to their website https://firesafetystick.com/motorhomes-and-fire-safety-stick/

They last a lot longer when activated than a conventional extinguisher (50secs vs about 8 secs), don't make a mess, are non toxic, are smaller and lighter and don't need servicing - last at least 15 years

 

[JulianC]

It's definitely all about the layout. We had 2 caravans, tge our first motorhome that we researched for months. It was wrong which we only discovered after a 16 weeks European tour. It was an Adria Compact with German twin beds. It was too narrow. The fridge was, too small with virtually no freezer. The wardrobes were at tge foot of the beds. Had to sit on the steps to access. And the swing wall shower was too tight. We sold at a big loss and had to part ex for a Chausson 630 with single drop down beds and rear dressing room washroom. SO much happier. What a difference. Very happy now. Don't rush the extras. Work it out as you see how you will travel. Off grid or campsites. Long stays or keep moving.

Best other advice I heard was to sit inside the van you're viewing and visualise a day inside. Tea or coffee in bed? Where to put your mug. A shower. How do you get dressed. Cooking a meal. Eating. Watching TV. Charging all your phones. How will the kids manage. Etc.

But enjoy. It's an exciting journey. We're late 60's and love the life.

 

[Anneg]

We bought a 6 yr old dealers special - the base vehicle but the dealer has added extras like solar, microwave, tank heaters, opening sun roof, fanned roof vent etc - often after a few years the specials are the same price as the base vehicle. Ours is a 4 berth Elddis Autoquest (Chatsworth by Glossop Caravans) 185 with two travel seats under the front bunks and has Whale water and blown air space heating, but we've had other vehicles with Truma Combi blown air and Alde wet heating. Both of those are better than the Whale (which has outside water tank on our MH), with prob the Alde my favourite, but the anti freeze in the system needs to be replaced either every two or five years depending which has been put in the system.

Decide on what sort of beds you want - we have two singles with two bench seats at front. Do you want a centre bed, or a French bed, or are you happy to make the bed up every night (we aren't!). Do you have a dog, how much space do they need?

Travel seats in ours can be taken out (they weigh 25kg each) and we've removed one (there is only ever the two of us travelling) so loads of space under that bunk for storage. It doesn't have a garage though which you may want. We travel light and there is more than enough space for us. You need to view lots on line and in person. Try out the beds - are they long enough for you. Imagine how you will use the space and where you will put stuff, though it's amazing how inventive you can be on space use!

Happy searching!

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[highwood122]

Popular upgrades in no particular order.


Solar.
Lithium leisure batteries.
B2B & shunt To recharge it fast and monitor.
Refillable gas option (no need to have different bottle for different countries)
MIFI.
Inverter for microwave/cookers etc...
SatNav with dimensions (eg Garmin Camper).
Diesel heater to replace air blown heating.
Air suspension - better ride.
Levelling jacks - get level on a slope.

The last two are £1000+ to get afterwards so a bonus if already added.


I always say keep 15% of budget to one side for running repairs and fixes.

had a motorhome 25 years only thing really needed was a garmin camper

 

[starquake]

Travel seats in ours can be taken out (they weigh 25kg each) and we've removed one (there is only ever the two of us travelling) so loads of space under that bunk for storage. It doesn't have a garage though which you may want. We travel light and there is more than enough space for us. You need to view lots on line and in person. Try out the beds - are they long enough for you.

Happy searching!

I think the beds being long enough catches out a LOT of people as they don't lie down in the showroom to check. We almost ended up with a motorhome with a French bed that wasn't long enough for my size (6"2), worth remembering that many of the French bed and PVC type designs we found when stretching out were not long enough (wide enough in PVC's case) to cope with anyone over 6 ft really. (we worked out I would need to overhang on one side of bed considerably, OR be cramped up).

My wife was fine (she's 5 ft), I was not! It was only when we went for our second visist and checked the French bed by lieing on it in our socks we ended up not putting down deposit and walking from the deal (we had the money in pocket for deposit on second visit!).

Even if you look at vans with children's bunks, sometimes some would fit an adult sometimes they are a tiny carvan style 5 ft design.

 

[Hymerboy]

Popular upgrades in no particular order.


Solar.
Lithium leisure batteries.
B2B & shunt To recharge it fast and monitor.
Refillable gas option (no need to have different bottle for different countries)
MIFI.
Inverter for microwave/cookers etc...
SatNav with dimensions (eg Garmin Camper).
Diesel heater to replace air blown heating.
Air suspension - better ride.
Levelling jacks - get level on a slope.

The last two are £1000+ to get afterwards so a bonus if already added.


I always say keep 15% of budget to one side for running repairs and fixes.

Please tell me where I can get Air suspension and self levelling jacks for £1000.00 each.

 

[CAB96]

Please tell me where I can get Air suspension and self levelling jacks for £1000.00 each.

That's what the + is for!!!

 

[Jon Stewart]

I'd also say something that may be controversial -> some of us may prefer the Truma blown air to the alde system (radiators) as the Truma air systems heat up a bit quicker, making a weekend type van for trips away able to be kept warm at all times, ie, you can turn up and have a warm van in around 10 mins, versus sometimes hours in Alde. Alde can be configured to warm on the van's own water system when driving on some more expensive vans too.

If you have it at home, ready to go off weekends, why not plug in to mains, heat up van, cool fridge and top off batteries?

If your alde system is taking hours to heat up, there is something badly wrong.

From cold, ours is wafting warm air in about 10 mins or so. It is faster on gas, and (with the 3010) you can choose to use 1kW mains, 2kW mains, or both of those.

You can allow it to use gas or not, along with the 240v, and if you do, it will supplement the electric heating with gas when the temp difference gets over a certain limit.

If you're going to a storage facility to pick it up for the weekend, just allow it to use gas. Very quick.

Having said that, we have a double floor, and well insulated!

The heat exchanger that takes heat from the engine cooling system is excellent.

Diesel? Yep. Very popular and no doubt very efficient.

We have one of those as well, which is indeed blown air.

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[KiltedCamper]

Hi guys,

Loving this forum and the downloadable Buyer's Guide which I've been reading. Super informative.
My question is, we have a budget in mind (30-35k) and was wondering about getting our money's worth. What should we be looking for as added extras instead of having to buy new one's.
We plan on living in our motorhome for 6+ months so any tips would be really appreciated

Our first motorhome, a 2006 Autocruise Starseeker cost us £25,000. We knew nothing about motorhomes. During the year that we owned it we learned what we did and did not need. When it was written off in a hit and run we had to start again and invested in a 2010 Globecar Campscout PVC at £35,000.

What we learned from owning these two vehicles was that it really doesn't matter what goodies it has. At your price range you are looking at a well used vehicle, probably built somewhere around 2010 that may or may not have been loved/abused. Chances are that after a year you will want something different, so it would be illogical to load it up with goodies that will not pay back on your investment. We didn't change by choice, but when we were forced by circumstances to choose a new vehicle, the only things that mattered enough to choose motorhome A over motorhome B were:

The Starseeker was a coachbuilt motorhome.

1 The crash demonstrated that
a) it had no airbag for the passenger (not deemed necessary in 2006)
b) it folded like a paper bag when hit side on by a mini doing about 40mph. I couldn't get out of the driver's side and my wife had to be rescued from the passenger seat.

2 The sleeping area was great - Long enough for two 1.8 metre long adults to sleep in - BUT on my side nearest the lavatory (prostate and all that) there wasn't enough height for me to sleep on my back with my feet pointing upwards.

Result was that I was determined that the next vehicle was

a) not built from cardboard - I was staggered by its flimsy nature and the way the interior was totally destroyed in a relatively low speed accident. So I was certain that I was only interested in a PVC.
b) fitted with adequate safety features such as proper well anchored seatbelts for all occupants
c) had enough vertical room for my feet!

Differences between MH1 and MH2 were:

MH1 had an oven - that we never used
MH2 has a microwave - that we haven't used yet

MH1 had a very nice quite small shower
MH2 has a totally different shower that is a bit of a faf to set up, but which gives a better shower

That's it!

For your first motorhome I strongly suggest you spend nothing on goodies. They can always be added later, but more probably you will work out what you really do need over your first year of ownership. On a £35,000 motorhome you are really at the bottom end of the price range and I really can't see any benefit in spending your money on goodies when you could use that money to buy a better vehicle instead.

 

[pelican]

Popular upgrades in no particular order.


Solar.
Lithium leisure batteries.
B2B & shunt To recharge it fast and monitor.
Refillable gas option (no need to have different bottle for different countries)
MIFI.
Inverter for microwave/cookers etc...
SatNav with dimensions (eg Garmin Camper).
Diesel heater to replace air blown heating.
Air suspension - better ride.
Levelling jacks - get level on a slope.

The last two are £1000+ to get afterwards so a bonus if already added.


I always say keep 15% of budget to one side for running repairs and fixes.

Interesting looking at this list but none of them are a necessity.
We have owned a standard delivered Auto trail for the past nine years and have only found the need to add leveling blocks a garmin, and a TV.

 

[Tony50]

Hi guys,

Loving this forum and the downloadable Buyer's Guide which I've been reading. Super informative.
My question is, we have a budget in mind (30-35k) and was wondering about getting our money's worth. What should we be looking for as added extras instead of having to buy new one's.
We plan on living in our motorhome for 6+ months so any tips would be really appreciated

Buy a Damp meter ,test before you buy, even if they say they have done a damp test, yes you are being distrusting, but, your money your time, W are looking for a new car, Salesman was the worst pushy but at first we thought but assuming, turned on extreme pressure then a woman done the same, I finished telling them both in no uncertain terms,
"You won't sell me a car , but I might buy one from you" in other we will make our own minds up, I was so peed off after 2 hours looking ,specing , testing we walked out, they lost £35000

 

[nicholsong]

Buy a Damp meter ,test before you buy, even if they say they have done a damp test, yes you are being distrusting, but, your money your time, W are looking for a new car, Salesman was the worst pushy but at first we thought but assuming, turned on extreme pressure then a woman done the same, I finished telling them both in no uncertain terms,
"You won't sell me a car , but I might buy one from you" in other we will make our own minds up, I was so peed off after 2 hours looking ,specing , testing we walked out, they lost £35000

They are not pushing to sell you a car........

..........just to get their commission!

It could be a box of smarties if the commission were the same.