Motorhome prepping

[PreppingPingu]

Following on from my walking prepping thread, where in the summer we went to the lake district and did a lot of walking: at the start of this October, my hubby and myself hired a motorhome for a long weekend. In a couple of years time we are looking to move areas and to downsize our home and release some equity. The plan is to buy a second hand motor home so we are free to travel the uk for our holidays and camp with a little more comfort than a tent. (Done a fair bit of tent camping already.) As I have said before, while not looking to bug out as its just not practical in this country, I really do relish the idea of being free to jump in a vehicle that you can call your home if push ever comes to shove. Ok so my car which is an estate has lots of room and you have space to sleep in it if needed but its not the same as a camper van or a motor home. I like the idea of having a vehicle that I have lots of things stored permanently in, ready to go at the drop of a hat. Also it will double as a spare bedroom at home if we have friends/family come to stay!

Well after a fab few days where we went from the New Forest, to west Dorset to Exmoor, not only has it cemented the view that owning a vehicle like this is a good idea, but we had great fun. Next year we are going to hire a smaller VW California Camper van for comparison. Ok so you need a portaloo/porta potty in one of those but that's not a problem and the water storage in a camper van is rather different to that of the large tanks on-board a motorhome but it will be good for comparison. A smaller vehicle is easier to manoeuvre and to take places in towns/country lanes but the larger motorhome is practical for living in for a longer period of time. Obviously the idea of owning one is for pleasure first and for an extra prep as a secondary thing.

Any of you own/used a motor home or a smaller camper van size vehicle? I found practical things like the MPG were amazing, and the amount of water storage was impressive. Oh yes, and staying in one is a lot warmer than a tent!!!!!

[Deeps]

Like you we 'aspire' to a motorhome' its a few years and a few quid away still and we'll need to wait until we've paid off mortgages but someday....

Sounds like you've had a ball though.

[Arwen Thebard]

Been a life long caravaner myself and never ventured into motorhomes, until recently as Ive heard a couple of people thinking along the same lines as yourself.

Its the "standing idle" costs that put me off, servicing, repairs, MOT, road tax, insurance etc, all on top of my car costs.

Like your idea of having a self contained anexe for guests though, that could be vaulable.

Can I ask what it cost you to hire?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Make sure the chassis is solid

Due to the use pattern rust eats the undersides like a drunk lunches on a kabab

Decent cavity wax / underseal is a must eg dintrol or bilt hammer UB old waxoil just bids the issue


Make sure it's secure in terms of keys / immobilisers be it electronically or mechanical


Due to age / use pattern / over building ensure cam belt / tyres are in good condition belts perish more with lack of use than a daily driver tyres develop flat spots with standing weeks on end

Grease up handbrake mechanisms regularly



Starter batteries don't last long unless on trickle charge


If looking to buy. Check V5 is listed as a camper van and not a panel Van (makes insuring it easier)

And the humble mot database

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

Often points out problems to look for....

Take this shed:


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... radius=100

[peejay]

As another caravan user, they're a great alternative to a motorhome where you can get the same (or better) facilities for much less cost. They also leave your car free to travel locally without the restrictions a larger motorhome would have.

Downside in comparison though is that at least in a motorhome you can literally park up almost anywhere & kip/eat etc. which isn't quite so easy in a caravan.

Each most definitely has its pros/cons, just depends which of each work best/least well for you.

Other uses of either include things like having work done at home - at some point we're replacing our kitchen/bathroom & whilst the work is going on we'll just stop locally in the caravan for a few days with no issues whatsoever...

[Deeps]

As another caravan user, they're a great alternative to a motorhome where you can get the same (or better) facilities for much less cost. They also leave your car free to travel locally without the restrictions a larger motorhome would have.

Downside in comparison though is that at least in a motorhome you can literally park up almost anywhere & kip/eat etc. which isn't quite so easy in a caravan.

Each most definitely has its pros/cons, just depends which of each work best/least well for you.

Other uses of either include things like having work done at home - at some point we're replacing our kitchen/bathroom & whilst the work is going on we'll just stop locally in the caravan for a few days with no issues whatsoever...

We're considering getting a caravan in the shorter term, my problem is a princess who won't want anything too tatty, probably have to leave the caravan for a few years too.

[korolev]

I had one for a year but hardly used it; it needed a bit of work doing and I was always spending time fixing things rather than going out in it. I paid around £3000 for it and what I leaned is you need to spend a bit more for something decent.
I'm thinking of buying a much better one when I retire in a couple of years.

There's loads of good info about Talbots (and campers in general) on https://talbotoc.com/

[peejay]

We started 3.5yrs ago with a relatively cheap little van to see if we liked it, turned out we loved it & in 6 months we decided to upgrade & ended up buying a new one!

Been using it regularly now for 3 years & comfort-wise it really is home from home. On our last trip out we'd pitched up & after a couple of hours it was getting stupidly hot inside, radiators hopping off the walls. When I looked at the heating control panel I spotted it'd been set to 30deg C! (had reached 25 by this time) I then realised it was the first time out since it was serviced a couple of weeks earlier so I guess they crank it up to test the heating properly!

Prep-wise I now keep a few changes of clothes in there and am currently deciding what to keep in a box of food permanently left in there so we can literally leave the house with only what we're wearing but still have enough essentials (including a hot shower etc.!) to last us a few days whilst we work out whatever emergency has just hit us.

[PreppingPingu]

Can I ask what it cost you to hire?

It wasn't cheap considering it was off season but money worth spending if you are thinking about a big outlay in the future from a try before you buy perspective. It was £375 for the 4 days from a small family run company local to us. They only run 3 motor homes but keep them new and updated. That money included the garaging of our car while we were away. They asked for an additional £1,000 damage waiver. Not a copy of the credit card but actual cleared funds. This was repaid with in the week after we returned the vehicle but we still had to find the £1k in the first place which came as a shook to me but hubby said that is quite normal these days when hiring costly vehicles as you can easily give a fraudulent credit card and address.

Prep-wise I now keep a few changes of clothes in there and am currently deciding what to keep in a box of food permanently left in there so we can literally leave the house with only what we're wearing but still have enough essentials (including a hot shower etc.!) to last us a few days whilst we work out whatever emergency has just hit us.

Yes this is one of the really appealing idea of owning a motor home/camper van to us. We like the fact that it's an additional storage of ready to go and ready to use items as well as doubling as a guest bedroom when parked at home.

[TopSod]

There’s a group on Facebook called small vehicle campers (or something similar). Some great ideas on there for turning small vans (Berlingo, Connect etc) or estate cars into campers.
I’ve 2 small vans at the moment, a Caddy and a Connect. Seriously considering turning the Connect into a camper. You can buy a kit for £800 to fit yourself if you’re not great with the tools to make one, and it includes a rock and roll bed and all the storage. I’ve always romanced the idea of a camper but as mentioned earlier, it’s the costs while it’s just sitting doing nothing.


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