Hi, complete newbie, looking at buying first Motorhome..

S

samanthajane

Joined
Apr 21, 2024
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Funster No
102,564
MH
Don’t own one yet
Hi,
My name is Samantha (Sam) and my husband and I live on the South Coast. He is a lorry driver and loves driving, which is great for me, as I don’t…😁
He now works 3 days a week, and me, not at all, so we have time to travel a bit more..there have been major health problems so ‘life is too short’ has really started to resonate!

We are looking at buying a Coachman Travelmaster 565 at our local dealer…we have never owned an MH before, but loved our air tent, before it became too difficult…I have MS and my husband has a few things that made lifting a problem, so into a canal boat we went to see if that was easier…which it was, and it wasn’t?! I loved caravanning as a child so we think an MH is an even better idea.

We had been looking into various makes and models for about the last year, we liked the Dethleffs, but fell in love with the Coachman 565 almost immediately…just not the price at the time. Unfortunate and sad occurrences now mean that we have funds for the 565, but I am scared that it will not live up to the hype, and we will have spent my inheritance on a very large, beautiful white elephant, so I was hoping to get some owner feedback please. I realise there will probably be some things that may not be perfect for us, but overall are people finding their experience to be a positive one?

Thank you.
Sam
 
Hello and Welcome to the forum.

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There is a very useful (especially if you're new to MH's) buyer's guide available to forum subscribers, I would strongly suggest paying the £20 subscription fee to gain access to it.

Cheers
Red.
 
samanthajane said:
Hi Red,
Thanks, my husband had literally just said we should subscribe…so I shall do that now! 😁
Click to expand...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk

The Motorhome Buyers Guide

This book will save you money, probably a lot of money. It will show you, step step by step, how choose the right motorhome and then show you how you can easily negotiate the very best price. This book is FREE to subscribers. Download it by...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Cheers
Red.
 
I am positive that you won’t regret the lifestyle choice, especially if you can travel to the continent (living on south coast makes it easy) as well as UK trips. There are quite a few members on here who are skilled at examining adverts so, if you wish, you could post a link to the MH in question to see what comments come up.
 
Hi & welcome to the forum:hi:.

I didn't know Coachman made mhs, I used to have a Coachman caravan which I loved.

I've just read the review of the van & it sounds very nice, it's quite big at over 8m & I'd suggest maybe hiring a mh to see if you both enjoy the lifestyle? It's a lot of money to commit. As Annie has said, it's so much easier if you can travel abroad.

Good luck & have fun!
 
Another vote for hiring before you buy but remember that layouts can make a huge difference to your enjoyment. What suits one couple will be anathema to another.

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It's good that your husband is a truck driver. He will be able to handle a large Moho a lot easier than those of us who never drove anything bigger than a small van. I daren't try and tackle anything bigger than my 6 metre unit.
 
Welcome, if it is the Coachman I've found by google...at £125k, I'd seriously look at renting as mentioned above, for a few long weekends/midweeks first and ensure that you get the right layout/van for you. Finding out that the one you buy isn't quite right could be a very costly mistake.
 
Hello and welcome +1 to renting first. Try a smaller van , size isn't every thing, but layout is. Most smaller vans can be uplated to above 3500Kg giving a decent payload which is also critical. As the O/H has an Hgv licence it's no problem in your case and the road fund drops to £165.00 per annum.
Ask questions on here, but use the search facility first, as a newb it's unlikely you'll raise a question that's not been asked before.
Mike.
 
Welcome.
Bear in mind the travelling involved when you have to take it back to the supplying dealer for warranty fixes.
This by our Leader Jim is an excellent guide:

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

The Motorhome Buyers Guide

This book will save you money, probably a lot of money. It will show you, step step by step, how choose the right motorhome and then show you how you can easily negotiate the very best price. This book is FREE to subscribers. Download it by...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk
 
Thank you to everyone who posted, with your welcomes and good advice…I get the feeling I am going to love it here, so thank you! 🥰
Sam
x

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
samanthajane said:
Hi,
My name is Samantha (Sam) and my husband and I live on the South Coast. He is a lorry driver and loves driving, which is great for me, as I don’t…😁
He now works 3 days a week, and me, not at all, so we have time to travel a bit more..there have been major health problems so ‘life is too short’ has really started to resonate!

We are looking at buying a Coachman Travelmaster 565 at our local dealer…we have never owned an MH before, but loved our air tent, before it became too difficult…I have MS and my husband has a few things that made lifting a problem, so into a canal boat we went to see if that was easier…which it was, and it wasn’t?! I loved caravanning as a child so we think an MH is an even better idea.

We had been looking into various makes and models for about the last year, we liked the Dethleffs, but fell in love with the Coachman 565 almost immediately…just not the price at the time. Unfortunate and sad occurrences now mean that we have funds for the 565, but I am scared that it will not live up to the hype, and we will have spent my inheritance on a very large, beautiful white elephant, so I was hoping to get some owner feedback please. I realise there will probably be some things that may not be perfect for us, but overall are people finding their experience to be a positive one?

Thank you.
Sam
Click to expand...
Welcome to the best place for new and experienced motorhomers. You raise a massive number of questions that only time and experience can answer. I agree with many of the suggestions above about trying before buying. The polished sales pitches will lure you into a lifestyle that they say will provide answers to all your dreams. Don't part with your cash until you are absolutely convinced that you will love the lifestyle and the people you will meet along the way. This can only come from experience and trying it out in "anger". In my 10 years of motorhoming, I have experienced the extremes of good and bad stays all over the UK and Europe. I would say the most important attribute you need to have is an open mind. Expect the bad to moderate, but delight in the excellent when you find it. I continue to delight in the knowledge that wherever I am, I adapt , and I am keeping myself fit doing it at the age of 71.
 
STOP, STOP, STOP

Pause and rake a breath PLEASE!!

It's a massive investment, especially buying brand new as your first motorhome. Very few (if any) have loved their first motorhome (if bought brand new), so much that they still have it ....

If you have the patience, look at sites like Goboony where you can hire privately owned motorhomes at at a very reasonable price, and try before you buy. Just because you can afford a brand new motorhome doesn't mean you should if it's your first venture .....

Depending on where you are on the South Coast, I would be tempted to visit Simon Select - a well trusted member of MHF. Try and visit a few dealers and shows so you can look at different layouts and decide what is a must have, what it would be nice to have and what would not work for you in terms of layout.
For us we had to have a permanently fixed bed, so we didn't have to make a bed up out of cushions, we wanted to be able to get out of bed without climbing over the other person and without using ladders (weve ended up with single beds, which we would never have gone for initially). A large fridge/freezer and a minimum of 4 seat belts so we can take the grandchildren away were also MUST haves. In addition we wanted a bed for them that also didn't have to be made up every night by rearranging cushions, so we also have a drop down electric bed, but have realised that cabbunk beds would have more than sufficed instead!
Most Funsters would tell you it's all about the layout and not the toys, most of the toys or improvements can be added, but you can't change the layout without considerable cost. So get that right and your half way there.
Then, when you've found one that works for you, take a breath again ...... Pause and ponder, buying brand new for your first is a massive and potentially costly toe dipping exercise, older motorhomes perhaps two or three years old will hold their value or close to it for a year or two, giving you the chance to see if motorhoming is really for you, whereas you could lose a fair chunk on a brand new one in a year ..... It's taken us four motorhomes (in four years!) to find our happy place, if we had bought new each time I dread to think how much we might have lost, whereas we could recoup most of what we have spent should we decide to sell, other than the money I've spent on 'toys', they don't add value but might make ours a more attractive buy than a similar motorhome without them.
 
samanthajane said:
but I am scared that it will not live up to the hype,
Click to expand...
Hmm. I appreciate that you've been tenting but if your perception of motorhoming is from T.V. progs, YouTube and magazines I suggest you definitely hire first to experience the reality which may be very different. It doesn't suit everyone.
I'm near Newhaven port and for 20+ years I've motorhomed only abroad. Far more relaxed with better, clearer roads and loads of places to overnight without booking ahead (except last two weeks of July and August when choice may be limited due to school hols).
Tip:
If you use the DFDS Newhaven - Dieppe crossing and one of you is over 60 or registered disabled the motorhome and both of you get 20% discount off the published fares on their website.

DFDS OAP discount.JPG
 

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