If you could tell a newbie to motorhomes one thing. What would it be.

MichelleRyall said:
Buy a printed map book. A godsend when the mobile data or sat nag fails.
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Buy second-hand and a make/model that's a good seller. Once you have one you'll quickly find out what works for you and what doesn't so it's likely that you won't keep it long.
 
Back in 1988 On a Friday, Lyn (my wife) and I were diving from Brixham Breakwater beach, it was bloody freezing and as we were changing we looked on jealously at a couple sat reading their papers enjoying a cup of tea in their camper!

"We should get one of those, imagine after a dive, dump the gear, a nice hot shower, a cup of hot chocolate, a piece of cake, then once we're nice and warm, sort out the gear, as opposed to trying to change and sort the dive gear from the back of a Maestro! AND we could take the kids away(JimJams Simon-Alan Kerr & AshVanbitz were four, five & six) I was 27

Saturday morning, Daltons Weekly Autotrader (only available in Torbay in those days) and a copy of MMM we're off van hunting

Sunday evening, realising that the £5K we thought we would need to spend wasn't enough

Wednesday night pee'd off! The "low" mileage van we'd driven miles after school to look at, was low mileage as it had been live in, presumably by pigs that kept chickens as pets!

Saturday morning at Lee Mill Caravans (now Marquis) meeting a very fresh faced Nick Saunders (Who went on to buys Martins of Exeter) and we fell in love with a brand new shiny Autohomes Highlander at virtually three times our initial budget!

Collected the Highwayman following Friday and Friday night saw the five of us (Nick wasn't born then) in Bournemouth for the weekend!

Two weeks later we were driving through France on our way to Italy for a Month initial "tour"

What do you mean M-J "Don’t rush in to a purchase and do your research." :rofl:

On a very serious note, we came back from our European tour absolutely loving the lifestyle, the kids loved the freedom travelling in the camper gave them rather being stuck in the back of a car (before the Dementors start their finger wagging there were no seatbelts in the back then) wild camping was encouraged, campsites were empty of Yurts, Bell tents, Lodge's, Eurocamp tent villages and twats generally

However, we had realised that we really needed to change the motorhome!

We'd bought a Highwayman, which had a rear door, a stable door which we thought was romantically Gypsy'ish (Gypsy's were Gypsy's back in 1988) but the first thing that the boys said on our very first campsite "All the other kids have bikes, can we bring out bikes next time"

We'd managed to buy a motorhome that couldn't have a bike rack (well not without loads of faffing about)

So we bought a Swift Kon Tiki the second of our 16 motorhomes since!
 
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Dont let your heart rule your head!
Shiny bling does not a good motorhome make.

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Go to the motorhome show at the NEC or similar before you buy anything. We did and "tried" several units for size, layout and comfort. We eventually hit on "the one" because it just felt right. never regretted it.
 
Throw out that paper thin mattress and get one with two (or three) layer memory foam. Your motorhome is your route to relaxation. But only if you can get a good nights sleep without waking up, creaking, like you spent the night on a billiard table.

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Jim said:
You can tell them lots of things, but just one thing per post. I'll start.

Try and make your first night's camping either at the dealers (if they can accommodate you) or very close to them. You are bound to find things that don't work or you've forgotten how they work. Being there to ask them questions the next day is much better than being 50 miles away at home.
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Don’t empty your toilet anywhere except a purpose built disposal facility and don’t park at the front for the best view ( you can see over the top ). And, if you have lots of traffic behind you, pull in asap and let them go.
Yes I know, that’s 3, sorry.
Mitch.
 
Take a course on 12 volt electrickery

And join Motorhomefun.
 
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Don't forget the tin opener and wine bottle opener.:giggle::giggle:

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wp1234 said:
What happened ?
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Don’t Breakdown in the Outer Hebrides

So looks like our 3 week trip around Scotland and the Outer Hebrides is coming to an end after 10 glorious days of sunshine on Skye and the Islands. Currently in a lay-by near the Eriskay Ferry as the Fiat automatic gearbox has decided there are no gears available. AA trying to assist but...
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Make a "Before you drive away" list which details all the essential things to do before .......driving away....
Things like Close the rooflight, disconnect shore supply, check under van for chairs/tables etc.
Keep the list on the steering wheel.

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DON'T DO IT you cannot cure the illness once its contracted :eek::eek:
 
tonyidle said:
Buy second-hand and a make/model that's a good seller. Once you have one you'll quickly find out what works for you and what doesn't so it's likely that you won't keep it long.
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As long as you do your homework don’t be afraid to buy new.

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