Too Scared Of Breaking Down!

I was looking on Gumtree earlier noticed a few motorhomes for sale 30k plus.
One mentioned lack of use in reasons to sale.
I think unlike a car it's not easy to push! plus maintenance is not like a car either partly through low utilisation and being a light commercial chassis were many garages are not equipped or knowledgeable to cope.
I believe the influx of new owners will have a telling impact on long term retention, due to a combination of these issues.
There is no magic wand to building confidence,or a base of knowledge other than do it!
It may ultimately not be for you, if stress is the outcome.
Best addressed early rather than wait for a it to overwhelm you.
 
HKF said:
Thank you to everyone who has answered so far. I should've said that I live in France, so the AA isn't an option. We have top level cover with Allianz and they did get us a hotel and a hire car to get home but it's the experiences with the garages that's shaken me.


This is a good point and one I hadn't thought of! Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who's replied. I think I've forgotten the feeling of freedom and fun that I used to have in the MoHo and now just see it as a liability and a source of stress. It's such a shame, as we had dreams of touring Europe. Now, I don't even want to take it off the drive :cry:
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Now if I was younger, I would volunteer to come over a few times a year, just to take your vehicle out for a few days.
My expenses would be very minimal and I would keep the vehicle serviced for you. :giggle:

Sometime it's a bugger frustrating being old! :cry:
 
I once broke down on the N85 just before Grasse. My problem was a failed alternator. I stopped in a small French garage. The owner confirmed that the fault was the alternator. I had full breakdown insurance. The garage owner identified the problem to be failed bearings. He supplied me with Ehu, gave me and my family coffee and refreshments and lent me a car to drive down to Nice. He repaired the alternator the next day and we continued our journey to Italy. We remained friends for years until he died. I went to his funeral. Not all French garages are the same.
 
Look at the cost of breakdown insurance and the cost of recovery if you don't have it. The difference shows how likely it is to actually breakdown
 
If it's a German engine it wont break down......................or so i'm told:oops:

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HKF said:
Unfortunately, there is no national breakdown service in France. We already have the best insurance available with Allianz, which includes breakdown, but it's the garages that cause the problems.....taking forever to do anything and charging storage in the meantime. It's so stressful. In the UK, I was blissfully happy knowing that the AA would be available when I needed them but in France it's a very different story.
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If your retired why cannot you stay in the van whilst they fix it. No rush to get back for Monday morning!
 
Jamesh said:
If your retired why cannot you stay in the van whilst they fix it. No rush to get back for Monday morning!
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We're not retired but work from home....or the van :) So that solution would be totally workable :)
 
HKF said:
I live in France, so the AA isn't an option :( I know things happen and, before these recent breakdowns, it wouldn't have bothered me but it's really knocked my confidence.
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You live in France???
You should have started with this info
I had breakdowns in Spain and in France, never had a problem with MACIF insurance.
What insurance do you have?
 
yodeli said:
You live in France???
You should have started with this info
I had breakdowns in Spain and in France, never had a problem with MACIF insurance.
What insurance do you have?
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Sorry but the flag under my avatar keeps changing from UK to France. It does say my current location is The Charente.
We're with Allianz and have the best they offer.
 
HKF said:
After two recent very bad experiences of breaking down in France in our car, I now find that I'm putting off taking our MoHo out, as I'm too worried about breaking down in it. We bought it last year and have only been out twice in it. Since then, for various reasons, it's sat where it is. I guess I'm hoping to hear that breakdowns are rare or easily fixable but without being mechanically minded I worry that we will, once again, be at the mercy of French garages (who, in our experience, have no hurry in fixing anything and like to charge for storage while waiting for parts!).

Can anyone put my mind at rest before the MoHo goes on the market, please?
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Being in France you could use ADAC.covers everything along with using a French call centre that can manage the whole problem for you.https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/adac-membership-app-in-english.210194/

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HKF said:
Sorry but the flag under my avatar keeps changing from UK to France. It does say my current location is The Charente.
We're with Allianz and have the best they offer.
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If you have the best they offer, why does it not cover the garage storage fees?
 
Richard n Ann said:
I started our van up the other day, first time it's run since November. It stands 5 or 6 months a year usually, don't even run the AC (another myth IMO)
Had it from new in 2014. Everything peugeot still works as new, in fact we still think of it as being new 😁
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I thought you posted on another thread 5 minutes ago that you were fixing the van water heater... does this not count?? :LOL:
 
Reading through it seems that it's HKF's confidence that's the issue and, as long as you take all the advice about good cover and ensuring that the MH is well maintained, it's a matter of getting back on the bike so to speak.
Easy for me to sit here and say but, unless you do start using the vehicle, that confidence will erode further.
Think of what's the worse that can go wrong? It breaks down so- you have cover, you don't need to get back home to work so RELAX, get out there and, the more you use it, the easier it will become.
Once you've taken that first trip the second will be even easier, the third even better than that and off you go.
Good luck and ENJOY the MH don't fear using it.
 
HKF said:
We're not retired but work from home....or the van :) So that solution would be totally workable :)
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Hi,

Have you considered using something like www,starmobileservices.com. I have never used them, but know of one f our club members who signed up with them. Sorry, but I don't know anything about their fees of conditions.

Get the camping car out off the drive and use it. Come and see us, we aren't far away.

John

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On the road again said:
Reading through it seems that it's HKF's confidence that's the issue and, as long as you take all the advice about good cover and ensuring that the MH is well maintained, it's a matter of getting back on the bike so to speak.
Easy for me to sit here and say but, unless you do start using the vehicle, that confidence will erode further.
Think of what's the worse that can go wrong? It breaks down so- you have cover, you don't need to get back home to work so RELAX, get out there and, the more you use it, the easier it will become.
Once you've taken that first trip the second will be even easier, the third even better than that and off you go.
Good luck and ENJOY the MH don't fear using it.
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Thank you so much! You're completely right; it's my confidence that's the issue. It's taken a battering and I'm struggling to overcome it. The MoHo is the elephant in the room. I haven't even set foot in it for months. You're right, though; I need to take that first step. Maybe I'll pop in it tomorrow and have a cuppa. See how I feel. Hopefully, I'll feel like going out in him again instead of keep walking past him pretending he's not there! Thanks!! :)
 
Pilote87 said:
Hi,

Have you considered using something like www,starmobileservices.com. I have never used them, but know of one f our club members who signed up with them. Sorry, but I don't know anything about their fees of conditions.

Get the camping car out off the drive and use it. Come and see us, we aren't far away.

John
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Hmm, www.StarMobileServices.com is all about mobility scooters and I'm not quite there yet!! o_O

That's a very kind offer :)
 
Whatever you do, don’t give-up, Polly. Do some shorter trips to get your confidence back - pop out for a coffee, but in your ‘van; use it like a mobile cafe! It won’t break down, so don’t think that it will. Get out and enjoy the freedom of Motorhoming……..!!(y)(y)
 
Just a thought, if it hasn't been used for months and your able, it might be a good idea to plug it in to a EHU for 24hrs? That if it's possible of course? Good Luck! (y)

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AndyPK said:
Whatever you do, don’t give-up, Polly. Do some shorter trips to get your confidence back - pop out for a coffee, but in your ‘van; use it like a mobile cafe! It won’t break down, so don’t think that it will. Get out and enjoy the freedom of Motorhoming……..!!(y)(y)
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Thank you, Andy. That's a great idea. In fact, before all the unrelated problems we've had, we were planning on visiting our local weighbridge for the first time, to get an idea of what our weight actually is. I think that would be a good place to aim for. There's plenty of room to stop there for a coffee, too. Thanks! :)
 
L' Hobo said:
Just a thought, if it hasn't been used for months and your able, it might be a good idea to plug it in to a EHU for 24hrs? That if it's possible of course? Good Luck! (y)
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Thank you! I'll do that tomorrow :)
 
HKF said:
Thank you so much! You're completely right; it's my confidence that's the issue. It's taken a battering and I'm struggling to overcome it. The MoHo is the elephant in the room. I haven't even set foot in it for months. You're right, though; I need to take that first step. Maybe I'll pop in it tomorrow and have a cuppa. See how I feel. Hopefully, I'll feel like going out in him again instead of keep walking past him pretending he's not there! Thanks!! :)
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I think you're absolutely right here, it's so easy to get out of the routine (eg over Lockdown), and especially with your bad experience with your car breakdowns, it can become a bigger issue.

I agree that getting back into it in small steps is the way to go. As you say, set yourself the goal just to go and have a look inside and have a cup of tea in there. Do that a few times, get it opened up in the sun and give it a good check around, then when you're ready, take it out for a short ride on a nice easy route. If when you're out and about you feel more confident, take it out for longer. Before you know it, you'll be back on the open road and off on your adventures once again! 😊

Good luck!
 
March Hare said:
I think you're absolutely right here, it's so easy to get out of the routine (eg over Lockdown), and especially with your bad experience with your car breakdowns, it can become a bigger issue.

I agree that getting back into it in small steps is the way to go. As you say, set yourself the goal just to go and have a look inside and have a cup of tea in there. Do that a few times, get it opened up in the sun and give it a good check around, then when you're ready, take it out for a short ride on a nice easy route. If when you're out and about you feel more confident, take it out for longer. Before you know it, you'll be back on the open road and off on your adventures once again! 😊

Good luck!
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Thank you so much for your support. We've chatted about this and we're going to put him on charge today, then take him to the local weighbridge tomorrow....something we'd planned on doing before everything started to go wrong. It's not far and we can park up nearby for a cuppa. There's a little bit of me that's actually looking forward to it :) Thank you again x
 
Jamesh said:
If your retired why cannot you stay in the van whilst they fix it. No rush to get back for Monday morning!
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Because the garage may not allow it, when I broke down i asked if i could stay in my van in there yard and they would not allow it. I had to stay in a hotel.
 
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