Motorhome full time

[Bella1969]

Hi,

I'm new here and looking to purchase my first motor home following the sale of my house this summer. I have had my trusty T4 for holidaying the last 10yrs and have driven through France and Italy but wondered how those of you have lived and survived on a long term basis? I do have a ton of questions the first most important would be any recommendations and avoids regarding my search for a motorhome? I have looked at so many and the choice is overwhelming. Thank you in advance

 

[pampam]

Yu lucky luckyperson

 

[JMHerts]

This lady is quite nice to talk to, she's full-time in her van and she gives talks at campervan/MH events and is on a podcast with Jits Into the Sunset. Might be worth reaching out to her? She's on social media as well Amazon product ASIN B0B8TV83MY

 

[Bella1969]

This lady is quite nice to talk to, she's full-time in her van and she gives talks at campervan/MH events and is on a podcast with Jits Into the Sunset. Might be worth reaching out to her? She's on social media as well Amazon product ASIN B0B8TV83MY

Thank you so much

 

[Nanniemate]

There is an advice page on here bit I belive to access it you need to.be a paid up member, you only get 5 free posts

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[Bella1969]

There is an advice page on here bit I belive to access it you need to.be a paid up member, you only get 5 free posts

Thank you

 

[StephandJohn]

We got quite overwhelmed with all the choices when we were going full time. For us it came down to size: we wanted to be able to cruise country lanes as well as motorways, be self sufficient so have a useable shower and loo, have somewhere comfortable to lounge about when the weather was bad.
Didn't bother with an awning. Just use the fiamma pull out awning.
Have a proper cooker and also an outside cooker and camp kitchen.
We bought a Swift Firebrand 590, 6.6 metres and lived in it for three years and have had many months away since buying a small house in the UK.
As someone has said. Pay the small joining fee and you'll be able to ask loads of questions while you're deciding what to get.
Most importantly.....have fun and adventures.

 

[Gromett]

I sold my house in 2009. I did fulltime in my van for a very long time. I absolutely loved it. Not a lifestyle for everyone.
I think for the short term say 5-7 years or so being on the move constantly is ok. But after a while, a bit of a base is nice. Even if this is only a bit of land you can safely park on.

 

[Bella1969]

We got quite overwhelmed with all the choices when we were going full time. For us it came down to size: we wanted to be able to cruise country lanes as well as motorways, be self sufficient so have a useable shower and loo, have somewhere comfortable to lounge about when the weather was bad.
Didn't bother with an awning. Just use the fiamma pull out awning.
Have a proper cooker and also an outside cooker and camp kitchen.
We bought a Swift Firebrand 590, 6.6 metres and lived in it for three years and have had many months away since buying a small house in the UK.
As someone has said. Pay the small joining fee and you'll be able to ask loads of questions while you're deciding what to get.
Most importantly.....have fun and adventures.

Thank you, will need a decent size as I have 2 golden retrievers but need to be sensible as i don't want too big but definitely will need an outside civered space for them to be able to relax after long walks, and yes will definitely do the joining fee

 

[Bella1969]

I sold my house in 2009. I did fulltime in my van for a very long time. I absolutely loved it. Not a lifestyle for everyone.
I think for the short term say 5-7 years or so being on the move constantly is ok. But after a while, a bit of a base is nice. Even if this is only a bit of land you can safely park on.

I think the idea of a parcel of land to be able to park is a really good idea, thank you both

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[maz]

Hi and welcome to the Fun from a recent ex-fulltimer.


Are you planning on over-wintering in the UK? If so, a fully winterised van is a must which pretty much means a German or French van. Think carefully about payload - are you planning on taking all your worldly goods with you or will you have use of a storage facility? Do you have C1 on your driving licence? If not, this will limit your choice of van to 3.5 ton unless you take another test.

There are quite a few fulltimers on this forum. Between us we have covered just about all variations on the theme, so ask as many questions as you like.

 

[Fulham Dave]

Hi Bella, welcome to the fun!

We sold our house and went full timing 2.5 years ago, have not regretted it for a second. We have visited 14 countries and travelled over 30,000 miles, even after being locked down during COVID for 9 months

Before selling the house and buying a van, we spent almost a year looking at various vans and drew up a 'had to have' list. So if you can, take as much time as you can. It is hard, but you will get there I am sure.

Some of the things we had on our list:

We needed it to have sufficient payload so we can carry 2 or 3 seasons of clothing / accessories as we can be away for 6 to 9 months as we are not limited to 90 in 180 days.

I am 6'3, so wanted a shower I could stand upright in

We wanted permanent beds that were long enough

We needed the van to be usable in all climate, so went for double flooring.

We wanted to be as self sufficient as possible, so solar, batteries and a large fresh water holding tank were important.

We wanted it large enough so we could have some space each, yet easy to handle and drive.

We needed it to have oven, hob, freezer and fridge.

Also needed a large garage to carry the bicycles, motorbike accessories and all our gear.

We wanted a seating / dining table area.

In the end, after travelling up and down the country visiting loads and loads of dealers and exhibitions, we settled on our van, which we would not change for the world.

Full timing insurance is expensive, £2,500 p.a. for our van. Also, having a contingency pot of money to replace items is important. Pumps, tyres etc. may wear out more quickly and need replacing as you are using them more

Also, a selection of tools, screws, bolts, gaffer tape, cable ties etc may prove invaluable to carry.

Whatever you do, whatever van you choose, we hope you have a fantastic time and enjoy it as much as we do.

If I can help with anything else, please just drop me a message.

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[StephandJohn]

I don't think we've got full winterisation because ours is just a Swift although we have been in snow and minus 5 and its been fine. Did use a lot of electric though and, after a winter in Spain when we discovered you can't get Calor gas we changed to Gaslow ( LPG that you can get in many garages).
You will need carpets in the winter. We'd get solar if we were doing it again.
Don't forget your ACSI cards. They can save you a fortune out of the main seasons if you want to stay on campsites.
Oh dear. Made me nostalgic!