Upgrading your motorhome / camper van

There may come a time when you decide to upgrade your ‘van’ to a different, usually newer, model. When doing so there are several things to consider.

 

Our strategy with our first motorhome was to go for a relatively cheap, and quite old, model to assess what we thought of the motorhome concept in general – and also to evaluate what works for us. People use motorhomes in different ways so the layout of the habitation area has to suit.

Preparing for winter

As the nights draw in and temperatures plummet all but the most hardy of us will be abandoning the open road until the spring. So, if you are unable to store your motorhome inside a garage or similar, now is the time to take some precautions that will help your motorhome come through unscathed.

Personally, I make sure I still drive around in mine occasionally right through the winter months, just to keep things ticking over, combined with some other measures. These are over and above those precautions you would take with any vehicle, such as using anti-freeze in the cooling system and screen wash, squirting a bit of oil into locks etc.

What will suit your needs?

It may be an obvious point but the first decision is whether a motorhome or camper van is the right choice for you. It's a big investment so it's important to get it right. For example, would a caravan be a better option? Or if you don't think you'll get away very often perhaps you could spend the money you would have invested in a motorhome on rented cottages or hotels.

Stanstead Hall, Suffolk

Stanstead Hall, near the village of Hitcham in Suffolk, is a beautifully maintained yet informally arranged site for adults only. As the site’s website explains, there are no rigidly defined pitches; you turn up and pick a spot – and there are a number of electric points scatted around so there is plenty of choice.

A central block houses a toilet, shower, wash up area and chemical toilet disposal point. The latter is eco-friendly and the owners supply a suitable chemical, with a request for a voluntary donation of 20p.

Greenacres Farm

Greenacres Farm in Chappel, near Colchester in Essex is a small site with friendly and helpful owners. It is a Caravan Club Certificated Location, which means you have to be Caravan Club member to stay there.

The first thing to say is that it’s a nice, quiet site (depending on your neighbours in the field, of course). There a small field with just 5 grass pitches for Caravan Club members and the pitches are well spaced out (all with electric).

Motorhomes and the law 2 - overnight stays off-site

The situation regarding staying overnight anywhere other than a camp site is a bit vague and there are many opinions. The information here is based on the majority view of a number of sources but shouldn’t be considered as a defence in law if you get into trouble.

Motorhomes and the law 1 - driving licences

There are a number of legal issues that you need to be aware of that relate to motorhomes in the UK. This first ‘motorhomes and the law’ post looks at driving licences.

The information in this post has been taken from the official UK government site, as well as other sources.

The UK driving licence has several categories relating to the types of vehicles that can be driven. The categories you are allowed to drive are shown on your licence.

Where to go?

Choosing a campsite is obviously a very personal thing and some of it is obvious, such as which country and what part of that country. However, there are a number of other things to consider – and now that most sites have at least some presence on the internet checking out the details is pretty easy (albeit somewhat time-consuming).

Spread out with awnings

In an earlier post I observed that one way to get extra space was to attach an awning to the side of the van.

There are several approaches to this and that is a wide range of awnings available. In fact, if you search on the Internet to for ‘motorhome awning’ or ‘caravan awning’ you will see there is massive choice of styles, ranging from a simple sun canopy to a large add-on tent.

What sort of motorhome will suit you?

Once you’ve decided that a motorhome is the best option for you (see What will suit your needs?) the next big decision is what sort? Motorhomes come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and prices so this is going to be very personal decision based on a number of criteria.

I suggest that some of the main criteria are as follows (not necessarily in this order). I covered each in a separate post with links below, so feel free to flit around.

What can you afford?

How many people – or pets - will it need to accommodate?

What sort of facilities does it need to contain?

Where are you going to keep it?

What size will be you be comfortable driving?

Where will you keep it?

Before deciding what sort of motorhome you’re going for you need to be clear where you are going to keep it. Leaving it on the road is inadvisable; partly because of the risk of it being hit by a passing vehicle (or passing vandals) and also because insurance premiums will be higher if you can’t keep it off-road.

What facilities do you need?

I’ve already discussed sleeping arrangements in another post but there are other facilities to look out for.

For many of the home comforts you’ll want a mains electricity hook-up, so you can run everyday appliances in the motorhome. These are pretty much a standard feature these days but something you shouldn’t overlook.

How many people (or pets)

Some of this is obvious, some of it less obvious.

Clearly you need to work out how many people will require a bed and then make sure you enough sleeping space.

One option is to buy a motorhome that has the number of beds you need. They’ll all have a double bed or two singles but if you need more than that you’ll have to go bigger and, potentially, pricier. It’s definitely worth having a look around one of the bigger dealers to get an idea of just how many variations there are on sleeping arrangements.

What can you afford?

This is a biggie for most people as prices can range from a few hundred pounds for an ancient camper to tens of thousands for a brand new, big beast with the very latest in everything.

An important point – don’t expect motorhomes to depreciate in the same way as cars, they hold their prices for a lot longer – or perhaps it just seems that way because they start life at much higher prices.

What are you comfortable driving?

Without a doubt there are some fantastic motorhomes available with just about every home comfort you could ask for. But all of those comforts can only be accommodated by have a larger vehicle – which you have to drive around.