Buying your first motorhome – so exciting but so overwhelming too!

Buying your first motorhome – so exciting but so overwhelming too!

Thinking of buying a motorhome for the first time but don’t know where to start?

Well, choosing a motorhome is a very personal thing but be sensible – let your head rule your heart and not the other way round, like us!!

After three years caravanning around southern UK in Florrie, our first ever caravan, a Bailey Unicorn III Seville, both of us realised that whilst we loved her to bits and enjoyed the lifestyle, we wanted something more. Without speaking to each other, (please don’t think we have a communication problem with each other – we don’t, honestly) we’d both started to feel the urge to move on to a new location after only a few days at the current site. Neither of us said anything to each other because we didn’t want to offend or ruin the fun for the other person. But, the hassle of packing away and hitching up to move to a new site was beginning to irritate us both. We were outgrowing Florrie and our style of travel was subtly changing too. It came to a head when we called in at our local dealership to get something for Florrie. Outside, campervans, coach built and A - Class motorhomes, second hand and shiny new, subtly called to us both. It felt sacrilegious and so wrong but one of us succumbed and made the suggestion “let’s go take a look”.

 

'Florrie' down at Tregurrian, a camping and caravan club site, a few miles from Newquay in Cornwall. A wonderful site with brilliant staff and stunning beaches and cliff walking a mere short stroll away. 

Oh my. What a revelation! The decision to switch to a motorhome lifestyle was done in a split-second. This was in September 2020 and as we found out over the next three days, many dealers had sold most of their stock and were awaiting new arrivals. The NEC National Motorhome Show for October had been cancelled. Covid - 19 had impacted on everything. Dealers had practically sold everything they had in stock during or immediately after lockdown restrictions were eased.

Undeterred, we traipsed to every dealer within a 150-mile radius over the three days and during our brief coffee stops on the way, we drew up a list of ‘must haves’ and ‘compromises prepared to do’.  We clambered in and out of coach-built motorhomes of all makes and sizes. We sat in cabs, lay on beds, played with drop down bed buttons. We got vertigo climbing ladders into the fixed rear beds above garages. We measured garage doors to find whether our E bikes would fit in (they didn’t on most). We ruled out various layouts. Within two days we knew what we wanted! It wasn’t flashy bright interiors with lots of white, orange or grey plastic and Formica tops. And, it wasn’t ‘tank like’ either. Funny how it’s the little things that often drive decisions. In our case it was the interior colour scheme of all things. Purple and grey won us over. Go figure!

We looked at our budget and rapidly developed a healthy sense of pragmatic accounting! Governed by limited stock and our ‘must haves’ and also by salespeople telling us they didn’t know when their stock would be arriving and whether overseas brands would be subject to tariffs, it came down to a choice between three Chaussons and an Aria. Then, by chance, we found Bryony, an ex-demonstrator with 100 miles on the clock, pre-registered and hidden away at the back of a display lot, awaiting a tidy up. We were instantly in love! We did the test drive, (including along narrow Dartmoor lanes) came back and immediately paid the deposit. Less than 48 hrs after seeing her, she was ours!

It was only on our first trip that we suddenly realised why we really liked her so much. The layout and furnishing style were almost identical to Florrie’s, just slightly smaller in all aspects! Clearly, we are creatures of habit, or, more being more kind to ourselves, creatures with discernible good taste. We know precisely what we like! More by luck than by planning, we also discovered that dealers often want to get rid of their ex demonstrators around autumn time, so there are good deals to be done on ex-demonstrators that often come with a good kit specification.

Now, having discussed our impulse purchase over a few more coffees and some breakfasts in Bryony, we offer these tips to those of you thinking of buying a new motorhome. We hope they help.

 

1.       Make sure you ask yourself WHY you want a motorhome? What is it you want to achieve regarding your lifestyle? How will you plan to use it? Who will be using it – you or you plus other family? How often will you use it - will it be for a few weeks at a time or longer touring, on sites or wild camping? How many belted seats and beds will you realistically need? Are you comfortable with driving a larger vehicle and can you legally do so? Be honest and realistic with yourselves. Take a hard look at your budget and the associated-on costs with owning a motorhome. Do your research at the start. One of our favourite motorhome blogs is ‘Wandering bird’. It has been thought provoking and inspirational for us. Here, Kat gives you 20 reasons for why you should buy a motorhome – worth a read, just in case you are looking for more justification. https://www.wandering-bird.com/reasons-to-buy-motorhome/

 

2.       Research, research, research. Don’t be impulsive like us! Practical Motorhome Magazine suggests most first-time buyers take up to two years before actually making a decision and taking the plunge. TWO Years!! We did it in less than two days! Whoops! But in fairness, our caravan experiences did help guide us a little. Browse the internet, get the brochures, visit some motorhome shows, buy some motorhome magazines and most importantly, visit as many dealerships as you can. Definitely go to the big October motorhome show at the Birmingham NEC. Clamber over different style motorhomes, sit on sofas, put up tables, lower down roof-based beds, stand in the shower. Close the bathroom door and see if you can dry yourself easily. Do some test drives. Draw up those ‘must have’/’can compromise on’ lists and talk it all through time and time again. Start making a list of the motorhomes you sort of like. Remember if you plan on taking E bikes or inflatable canoes/SUP’s you may well need a big garage. As well as the big things like price and layout, there are smaller things that also drive our choices of motorhome like, in our case, interior fabric colours or whether the toilet and shower are in separate compartments or not. Can you put up with making and disassembling the bed every night/morning or would a fixed bed be better? What about the type of motorhome you go for? A low profile (aerodynamic, big sunroof, light cab area, at or under 3.5 tonnes, on a lower chassis with a lower centre of gravity and better on road behaviour – great for going down narrow rural roads as they are often 6.3m or less and not so wide); or an over cab design (bulbous front section over the cab which has a double bed, higher headroom, uncluttered lounge areas); or really splurge out for an A class (luxury build on just a chassis with no other extra bodywork on the base vehicle – more space everywhere, better insulated and great panoramic windscreen)? Check out what restrictions you have on your driving licence. If you passed your test pre 1997, you should be good for driving up to 7.5T vehicles. Passed after ’97? Then you will need to check whether you are limited to 3.5T or less (C1). If you want to tow, you must have passed your test pre 2013 and have a B on your licence, then you are good for towing trailers up to 750 kg Maximum Authorised Mass or (MAM) or larger trailers if the combined trailer and vehicle are under 3.5T.  As part of your research, join some FaceBook forums dedicated to the makes you are particularly looking at. There are two or three Autosleeper FaceBook forums and each was a mine of information, freely given by members. They helped us a lot over those two days as we had so many daft questions, all answered with depth of detail, humour and passion. Finally, take a close look at how much you can afford to spend. Have you budgeted not only for the motorhome but also for road tax, insurance, servicing, MOT, repairs, site storage etc?

 

3.       Along with research, ask lots of questions – questioning is in our DNA, after all we are retired teachers. We know, at times, it can be irritating but really, after your house, this could be possibly the biggest purchase you ever make. So, don’t be afraid of asking questions of the dealers. Remember there is no such thing as a dumb question and you ‘don’t know what you don’t know’. You ask away when you think you have found ‘the one’. Take your time, ask the questions, check the details and ask the questions again to get clarification. Don’t be pressured into a quick sale and don’t fall for the sales pitch patter. Bring some objective friends along if need be and get their thoughts and opinions. Of course we didn’t do this…..but then we weren’t being sensible were we!

 

4.       Get the right layout for you. We knew what we wanted: side benches, end bathroom, low profile, no longer than 6.5m, narrow width, cooker with oven, fridge and microwave. A traditional wood finish and a bit of luxury on the seating furnishings and curtains. In reality start by looking at the sleeping arrangements. Fixed bed, transverse bed, single beds, permanently made up or put out at night? Can you climb up a small ladder to get into it? So many options to choose from. Used to pulling out a frame and rearranging the sofa cushions each night to make up the bed and then putting it all away each morning, we were happy to go with that again. We wanted the space in the lounge area where the side sofas were, a spacious end bathroom and a length under 6.5m, so compromises had to be made. There had to be plenty of locker space and we liked galley style kitchens with a sensible amount of work space. We wanted a cooker with hob and oven, a microwave would be a big bonus.  One last thing about beds by the way and it sounds stupid, but do lie on the bed and work out how your partner will clamber over you in the middle of the might to get to the toilet! You can see a video tour of the motorhome we opted for here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-wiJo62eQA . When you have started to narrow things down, take some motorhomes for a test drive. If you plan on lengthy touring, make sure cab seats are comfortable and there is good visibility. One of us likes space to store atlases, sat navs and mobile phones close to hand. The same one of us once refused to buy a Dacia Duster because the cup holders were too small. In frustration, the salesman actually went and got a take a way coffee and bought it across to the showroom to prove that they were of an adequate size. He lost the argument and we didn’t buy a Dacia Duster that day! Today, the cup holders are far bigger!

 

5.       Give consideration to your payload requirements. What you use the vehicle for and how much time you will be in it are critical factors here because it determines how much gear you are going to take. We discovered the stated payload isn’t quite what it says it is. Those extras like tow bar, TV and bracket, awning often come out of the payload figure. Good websites that helped us get our heads around the various weights you need to understand are at https://thegapdecaders.com/motorhome-weights-guide/ and https://www.hortoncommon.co.uk/motorhome-weight-plates-explained/ . See our post about what happened when we paid our first visit to the loal weigh station.  Remember, if you overload your new motorhome and get stopped, it results in fines and invalidation of your insurance! One bit of advice we did pick up from a dealer - never buy a motorhome bigger than you actually need just because you think you will get a higher payload with it. Pare down what you imagine you need to take. Bigger motorhomes come with restrictions of where you can go! Make sure you are very familiar with the weights to do with your motorhome. We have written them, along with the key dimensions onto a piece of paper which is stuck to the sun visor. Quick easy reference! Essentially, the Maximum Authorised Mass ( MAM ) is the maximum legal weight of the van, plus everything inside it. This includes fuel, water, clothes, bikes, food and drink, added accessories, spare wheel, toolkits, driver and passenger! The MAM figure is on a plaque attached to the van cab. Ours is 3,500 kg.  Make sure you know what yours is and what the payload is for your vehicle. If your motorhome weighs 3,200 kg empty and your MAM is 3,500 kg then you would have a payload of 300 kg.

 

6.       Definitely do the ‘try before you buy’ thing. We didn’t, not once, but in fairness we had a caravan for three years so we sort of had a feel for what we were doing and one of us had driven many minibuses over his career. Renting a motorhome for a weekend or perhaps a week allows you to find out more and get a taste and feel for the motorhome lifestyle without making the huge financial commitment. Research on the internet to find hiring specialists or a dealer who runs a ‘try before you buy’ scheme. Some do apparently. Take that opportunity to find out about how to live in a motorhome and all the jobs it involves like emptying toilet cassettes and grey water tanks!

 

7.       New or second-hand? We never contemplated second hand but we couldn’t give you a clear rationale why. Habit, I guess. We have always bought our cars new and then run them down into the ground. Only twice have we ever bought second hand vehicles and on both occasions we struck lucky. What we would say though, is take a real close look at what warranties you get on cab, engine and habitation unit and do some really good research on tips to follow when looking at second hand motorhomes. With caravans, damp was always the main thing to be on the look out for in second hand ones. On a new vehicle, do some research to work out what the depreciation value will be after a few years. Try to find makes that depreciate slowly! One last point, try to find the motorhome you want at a dealer close to you, who runs a well-regarded service workshop on site as well. It saves all those long journeys when it comes to annual habitation checks and services.  We had an excellent relationship with our service team where we bought Florrie. We hope to establish the same relationship at the different dealer from where we bought Bryony. What is really important is to establish with your dealer that they will correct your motorhome snags list immediately after your first trip out! See our post about our first trip out to Dartmouth and the snags we found in Bryony.  

 

8.       The closing the deal bit. Our rookie mistake? We appeared so keen and enthusiastic and hearts set on Bryony! The dealers mistake? Assuming they had got us on the hook! We genuinely were ready to walk away if a fair deal couldn’t be done. It would have hurt but when it comes to finances, we always want a fair deal for all, thus we go for ‘win-wins’ every time – a good bargain for us, a fair win for a dealer. You must know what your budget is and work within it, remembering that there will be on costs e.g. storage, annual habitation services etc. Never exceed your budget. If need be cut your cloth accordingly and look for a version with a lower spec or an older model on the second-hand market. An ‘interesting’ discount had already been applied to the overall cost of Bryony by the dealer, an enticement to get shot of this ex demonstrator quickly. Bryony’s spec was good, coming with awning and good quality appliances. The winterization and premium kits had been included in her price as well. It was below what other dealers were selling similar broadways for nationally (we checked on the internet). They’d take Florrie in part exchange but only gave us a poor offering for her. The fly in the ointment! We asked for more off the price of the vehicle, eliciting a flat refusal from the dealer. No joy there then.  We pointed out another dealer had offered significantly more for Florrie and we were ready to buy today but not on that part exchange offer. The dealer blinked! “Would we buy the motorhome today if they matched the part exchange offer made by another dealer?” Of course, we would. The deal was struck, a free TV and bracket thrown in as a gesture of goodwill. A good deal on gap insurance was also offered. Smiles all round. A win-win for both sides. One final thought, if you are buying using finance make sure you know how much you can borrow, what the repayments will be and read the small print.  Remember to budget for those other costs as well - storage, gap insurance, actual insurance, annual habitation checks, biennial cab and engine services and of course the costs of holidays, diesel, campsite fees etc.

We hope this has been helpful. As novices, we will have missed out lots here but we will regularly update this blog post as we gain experience or tips and advice from more experienced motorhome users. In the meantime, take care out there and have plenty of fun motorhoming.

Steve and Maggie

If you want to find out more about us then visit: https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2020/10/welcome-to-our-blog.html

PS

We have had Bryony now for six months now and admittedly three months have been under national lock down. However, it has given us time to reflect and here is are some further points we would make to anyone else thinking of buying a motorhome for the first time. We wish we had thought of checking these before we bought Bryony. 😄

Firstly, don't get caught out accepting the dealer and manufacturers published payload figures. Our dealer insisted our vehicle at handover weighed 3031kg and that we therefore had a payload of 469kg. We are not convinced about that. We think the vehicle was much heavier when we collected it. Admittedly we had added a big tow bar on the back. So our tip worth considering is this - do a proper test drive of the vehicle before you buy, on  a variety of different road surfaces (we did that bit) and then take it to the nearest weighbridge and obtain a weighbridge certificate that shows the actual axle weights and overall weight of the motorhome. Then compare this data to that shown on the vin plate. If they don't marry up - walk away and start again. 

Secondly, check the tyres carefully, especially if the motorhome has been standing on the forecourt for any length of time. Is there any evidence of degradation, cracks, cuts, bulges in the sidewalls, both outer and inner? Use a LED torch and shine it at an acute angle across the sidewalls to see any degradation evidence. Check the date on the tyre wall - how old are the tyres in reality? Motorhome tyres should be changed every five years. What is the tread depth? 3mm is the ideal minimum, 1.6mm the legal minimum. 

Finally, check the batteries - both vehicle ad leisure. They should both have a date on them showing when they were manufactured. That will give you an indication of how old they are. 

Hope this helps - good luck - its exciting buying your first motorhome isn't it.