New motorhome owner.

Rainbowsend

Great information and glad to have found the forum, we have just purchased our first motorhome, there seems to be such a lot of information to remember, our motorhome is an elderly lady a 1993 Fiat Ducato, it is in excellent condition and I have been reading up on Aidans tip of the week.
My question is, would it be worth our while joining one of the many camping clubs out there like "safe night" or "camping key" what are the benefits or has anyone any suggestions of other "clubs".
I like the idea of wild camping but as I plan on using it without my other half sometimes I will probably have to use campsites on those occasions.
Appreciate any info?
So excited and looking forward to our first trip out.

Pat Dunne

Welcome to the wonderful world of Motorhomes.

Day Lewin

Me and Mr March do "stealth camping" all the time in our innocent-looking Citroen Relay, which only has two side caravan windows to give her away ;-)
Oh, and a trail of ivy hand-painted on. (give us a wave if you see us!)
We use conventional booklets or websites to find a "proper" campsite about every third night, to get a shower and empty waste and charge our gadgets, etc.
No clubs or stickers, but I'm in several of the facebook groups that share information about overnight pitches.
You can find lists of campsites anywhere - they need to advertise to make their money, after all.
Wilding is a little trickier as you have to be very discreet, but there is great satisfaction in passing un-noticed in many wild and beautiful places.
Best of luck to you and your missus and your old Duchess, I hope you have many good times in her.

Rainbowsend

Getting ready for our first trip next weekend, really looking forward to it heading for Clare and up around that area.

rustynutz

I'm just back from a trip to Clare, we stayed in Nagles in Doolin, lovely campsite, well kept in beautiful surroundings

Reg'stoy

Hi rainbowsend, firstly good luck on your new adventure, happy 'driving'. Now you've dipped your toes in the water might I get some insight from you as it's something we're thinking of doing too.
So what are the costs involved, such as insurance and how much were your fuel costs, campsite fees etc.
Had you prior to buying your van thought of the annual costs, how much use do you expect to get from it. Can you decide this evening to head off in the morning without too much fuss and is there a lot to do once you get home.
Did you do a trial rent of a van before you bought?
Obviously I really like others views on motorhoming also.
Thanks in advance

Rainbowsend

Hi back Reg'stoy! I have always hankered after a motorhome and took the plunge this year, didnt have a lot to spend and it took us about 4 months of hard looking and a lot of travelling to look at them, there are an awful lot of rust buckets out there! But eventually we found "Winnie" a 1993 Fiat Ducato, very low mileage and well looked after but still a good age. Luckily my hubby is a mechanic so can sort most things on it which helps.
Insurance was 340 per year, unlimited mileage, fully comp, breakdown cover and valid in Europe, which I thought was excellent. Tax 102 per year and CVRT 108 per year, then it is just diesel and campsites.
Just back from our first trip in her, and all went well, apart from a few hiccups (another passing moho took the wing mirror and didnt stop) Campsites can be expensive and I think when we are a little more used to it we will try a bit of Wild Camping in between sites, average was 23 euro per night, including lecky and usually extra for showers (1-2 euro)
I hope we will be able to get away at least once a month for a couple of nights at least, I had a little drive and considering there is no power steering it wasnt to bad at all to drive, so just a matter of getting used to the width and height.
Good luck on your hunt and dont rush into it.

crabbypaddy

Rainbowsend wrote: »

I had a little drive and considering there is no power steering it wasnt to bad at all to drive, so just a matter of getting used to the width and height.

If you get tired of the manual theres a guy in uk that fits electric power steering columns from corsa, you hubby should be able to work it out.

http://www.talbot-express-power-steering-conversions.co.uk/

Macy0161

Reg'stoy wrote: »

Can you decide this evening to head off in the morning without too much fuss and is there a lot to do once you get home.

Well you can, to a degree. We normally have staples in the van for the season, and leave beds set up (within reason).

If you're wild camping, you'd probably would want to have the leisure battery fully charged (depending on how far you're going to drive) and enough water for a couple of days. If going to a site, you could wing it, and get water on arrival.

Also, if you get into the habit of emptying waste water/ toilet cassette when you get home, that's one less job to be done.

I'd say my missus thinks we go with no fuss, but that's because I look after all the water, batteries, gas etc!

Reg'stoy wrote: »

Did you do a trial rent of a van before you bought?

We didn't, but I would recommend doing so. It's not for everyone, and even a 6 berth with two is still a small space if one of you doesn't like it. We started with a Bay, which I loved, but my wife didn't. The 6 berth motorhome we have now is the compromise, which we both love. Next van will be our third one, which they say is the one you get right!

Benbecul97

Also, if you get into the habit of emptying waste water/ toilet cassette when you get home,

Fair enough grey water, but where do you empty a chemical toilet when you get home?

Macy0161

Benbecul97 wrote: »

Fair enough grey water, but where do you empty a chemical toilet when you get home?

Lift a drain cover to the sewer pipe. We've our own waste water treatment system, so maybe it's easier. I hate doing it on site tbh!

Benbecul97

Macy0161 wrote: »

Benbecul97 wrote: »

Fair enough grey water, but where do you empty a chemical toilet when you get home?

Lift a drain cover to the sewer pipe. We've our own waste water treatment system, so maybe it's easier. I hate doing it on site tbh!

Fair enough, and does the chemical solution you use in the cassette not mess up your waste water treatment system (if you use a solution that contains formaldehyde)?

Macy0161

Benbecul97 wrote: »

Fair enough, and does the chemical solution you use in the cassette not mess up your waste water treatment system (if you use a solution that contains formaldehyde)?

It's not a septic tank, but we normally use the green stuff or biological washing liquid.

Tbh I would think for the size of the treatment system, the amount of blue stuff (and how much it's diluted before it even enters the system) I wouldn't be overly concerned. I know some sites insist on the green stuff, but that would be the majority of their inflow I would guess.

Reg'stoy

Rainbowsend wrote: »

Hi back Reg'stoy! I have always hankered after a motorhome and took the plunge this year, didnt have a lot to spend and it took us about 4 months of hard looking and a lot of travelling to look at them, there are an awful lot of rust buckets out there! But eventually we found "Winnie" a 1993 Fiat Ducato, very low mileage and well looked after but still a good age. Luckily my hubby is a mechanic so can sort most things on it which helps.
Insurance was 340 per year, unlimited mileage, fully comp, breakdown cover and valid in Europe, which I thought was excellent. Tax 102 per year and CVRT 108 per year, then it is just diesel and campsites.
Just back from our first trip in her, and all went well, apart from a few hiccups (another passing moho took the wing mirror and didnt stop) Campsites can be expensive and I think when we are a little more used to it we will try a bit of Wild Camping in between sites, average was 23 euro per night, including lecky and usually extra for showers (1-2 euro)
I hope we will be able to get away at least once a month for a couple of nights at least, I had a little drive and considering there is no power steering it wasnt to bad at all to drive, so just a matter of getting used to the width and height.
Good luck on your hunt and dont rush into it.

Not as expensive as I imagined so. Have checked out the cost of hiring a van and wow super pricey, considering all the extras you mention such as site costs etc.
The idea of saying let's go to x,y or z and just getting in and going is what really appeals to me.
Looks like I'll have to try a trial rental, only fear is we'll be spoiled having tried a new van and then probably doing like ye and going down the route of a cheapish second hand model.
Just one more thing, did ye cook during your time away, stupid question I know but from what I can see some only have gas rings so it's either fried or boiled food.

rustynutz

We bought our first motorhome 2 years ago, and our second one this year. Be very careful when buying, if you can bring someone with you with experience. In my experience there are way more bad Motorhomes out there than good, specially if your budget is in the 15-20 year old range. The two biggest enemies of Motorhomes are rust and dampness, I focused more on the mechanical side of things when buying my first and ended up buying one riddled with damp. Although the experience I gained gutting the interior and cutting out the rot was invaluable when it came to inspecting the second motorhome before buying.
Also check all apliances are working, toilet, water heater, space heater, fridge etc. As each can be an average of 500 euro to replace.
We (myself, partner and 2 kids 5&6) made great use of the motorhome this year, despite the poor weather, we averaged out being away every second weekend over the summer, staying mostly in campsites. Its not too much hassle going anywhere as long as you leave blankets etc. In the camper you can make the decision to leave and usually be on the road within the hour. I make a habit of emptying toilet and grey water tanks on the way out of the campsite when leaving the campsite on the way home so there is very little to do when we get home.

Rainbowsend

I did cook, mainly to see how I would get on with it, we were lucky that there was 4 burner hob, grill and oven so full facilities. I use a slow cooker at home and I can see this being useful for stews and casseroles.
I went to IKEA and bought full set of crockery, cutlery and bedding so it is kitted out and ready to go, cost well under €100 and there is always disposable barbies if the weather is good.