Is Touring Ireland in a motorhome worth it?

regi3457

My family and I are living in a house and we have to move out in a month. We were thinking of buying a motorhome / campervan and touring Ireland and maybe the UK until November or so then moving off to Spain or Portugal for the winter and staying in Europe after that. We are not sure we will come back to Ireland. I was wondering if anyone can kindly share with us any tips or past experience mainly regarding these questions

1) Is the poor weather an issue when living in a motorhome in Ireland? Or is it less enjoyable because of it?
2) how much can one expect to pay living in a motorhome for those months if they own their motorhome? I don't mean petrol/diesel costs but overnight costs. Obviously it will depend on numerous factors but are there ways to do it inexpensively? I looked at this park http://www.camacvalley.com/newres/res.html and it shows 22 euros as the cost but is that to enter the park and you can stay as long as you like? Or is it per night.
3) Since we will more than likely be going to europe with the motorhome and be spending more time over there , is it better to buy a LHD? This issue worries me a bit because if we buy a LHD then we will have to use it here until december and I have never driven a motorhome let alone one that is on the wrong side of the vehicle.
4) will selling the campervan abroad be a problem?

thanks for your past experience and knowledge

crabbypaddy

regi3457 wrote: »

1) Is the poor weather an issue when living in a motorhome in Ireland? Or is it less enjoyable because of it?
2) how much can one expect to pay living in a motorhome for those months if they own their motorhome? I don't mean petrol/diesel costs but overnight costs. Obviously it will depend on numerous factors but are there ways to do it inexpensively? I looked at this park http://www.camacvalley.com/newres/res.html and it shows 22 euros as the cost but is that to enter the park and you can stay as long as you like? Or is it per night.
3) Since we will more than likely be going to europe with the motorhome and be spending more time over there , is it better to buy a LHD? This issue worries me a bit because if we buy a LHD then we will have to use it here until december and I have never driven a motorhome let alone one that is on the wrong side of the vehicle.
4) will selling the campervan abroad be a problem?

thanks for your past experience and knowledge

How big is this family, how much camping experience do you have? I love my van and go away every second weekend 12 months of the year, but its also a relief to come home after a long trip.

Weathers isn't a big issue for a couple, but kids will get cabin fever after a couple of days of rain. Although as they say theres no such thing as bad weather just bad clothes so our kids go out in all weather in their ski jackets, salopetes and wellies . But wet clothes, jackets etc can be a big issue in a camper and cause condensation and damp so if you're living on board you need sufficient heat or a dehumidifier to dry it out in terrible weather. Make sure you get one with heating. If you're going to live in it longterm then I would definitely invest in refillable gas cylinders e.g. gaslow for heating, cooking, shower, hot water. Also solar panels.

If you're not stuck to one are due to work then you can wild camp all over the place for free as long as you move around, there is also safe nights Ireland with a long list of places you can stay for €10 per night. If you're staying long term you can do a deal with most parks. In europe there are thousands of places you can park free again assuming you're moving around.

If you plan on staying in europe definitely buy LHD. You will end up reregistering in another country unless you plan to bing it back to ireland annual for its roadworthiness test, registering a RHD can be a real pain especially in Spain / Portugal. Also the scrap yards, dealers and motorfactors will be full of LHD parts so RHD can be a pain in terms of maintenance.

Insurance can be an issue also you will probably have to get a worldwide touring policy wehn you leave Ireland or similar as you will be of no fixed abode and living full time in a van falls outside the terms of the group schemes which are based on occasional use.

regi3457

crabbypaddy wrote: »

How big is this family, how much camping experience do you have? I love my van and go away every second weekend 12 months of the year, but its also a relief to come home after a long trip.

My wife and I and our two kids age 3 and 1. We have lots of camping experience but none in Ireland and none in a motorhome.

crabbypaddy wrote: »

Weathers isn't a big issue for a couple, but kids will get cabin fever after a couple of days of rain. Although as they say theres no such thing as bad weather just bad clothes so our kids go out in all weather in their ski jackets, salopetes and wellies . But wet clothes, jackets etc can be a big issue in a camper and cause condensation and damp so if you're living on board you need sufficient heat or a dehumidifier to dry it out in terrible weather. Make sure you get one with heating. If you're going to live in it longterm then I would definitely invest in refillable gas cylinders e.g. gaslow for heating, cooking, shower, hot water. Also solar panels.

If you're not stuck to one are due to work then you can wild camp all over the place for free as long as you move around, there is also safe nights Ireland with a long list of places you can stay for €10 per night. If you're staying long term you can do a deal with most parks. In europe there are thousands of places you can park free again assuming you're moving around.

From June until December we will have almost 6 months so some of the time we will be on the move but for a while we may wish to stay put for a month or so in a nice place. I guess it would be kinda 50 / 50. Do you know Corkagh park? Are there other good parks you can recommend?

crabbypaddy wrote: »

If you plan on staying in europe definitely buy LHD. You will end up reregistering in another country unless you plan to bing it back to ireland annual for its roadworthiness test, registering a RHD can be a real pain especially in Spain / Portugal. Also the scrap yards, dealers and motorfactors will be full of LHD parts so RHD can be a pain in terms of maintenance.

Insurance can be an issue also you will probably have to get a worldwide touring policy wehn you leave Ireland or similar as you will be of no fixed abode and living full time in a van falls outside the terms of the group schemes which are based on occasional use.

Well we will be living in our motorhome, so what do you recommend here? In Spain we could just get insurance there as we will probably be there most.

karmaan

Your kids are at a good age to do a trip like this so go for it. There are lots of safe places in Ireland to overnight especially along the Shannon and other lakes and rivers. You might need to stay on a site every so often to empty waste and plug in. If you want PM me re- suitable places .
You need a van with decent floor space rather than lots of beds and fixtures with good heating and a grill/oven, maybe a stand alone awning/tent would be handy.
T

CelticRambler

I can't comment on the "Touring Ireland" part of your question, but fifteen years ago we sold up in the UK, took four children out of school and took off in a motorhome. We were supposed to cut our teeth with an Irish tour but we bought new and our MH wasn't delivered on time (probably because of the customisations I'd asked for ) Other than that, however, we drove off into the great Euro-blue yonder mid-December and never looked back ...

Our children were from 8 to 4 years old and none ever suffered cabin fever! Tablets and smartphones didn't exist in those days, but they were completely happy with reading books, colouring books (I still come across the odd lost pencil), DVDs and ... the great outdoors. I'm pretty sure they've grown up to be the environmentally-conscious youngsters they are because they learnt that everything important (diesel, gas, water, electricity) was in finite supply and not to be wasted.

We bought LHD as our ultimate objective was to find a house in France, and to get there, we would travel via Germany and Austria; and then pretty much the whole of the East, South and West of France. On occasional trips back to the UK to keep in touch with relatives (we met the Irish ones somewhere on the continent!) LHD was never a problem.

In those first six months (before we became "settled" again), I'd say we didn't spend more than about 200€ on parking, almost all of it in Vienna and Bavaria (Christmas and New Year respectively) and in England. In the 14.5 years since, I doubt I've even paid that much!

regi3457

CelticRambler wrote: »

I can't comment on the "Touring Ireland" part of your question, but fifteen years ago we sold up in the UK, took four children out of school and took off in a motorhome. We were supposed to cut our teeth with an Irish tour but we bought new and our MH wasn't delivered on time (probably because of the customisations I'd asked for ) Other than that, however, we drove off into the great Euro-blue yonder mid-December and never looked back ...

Our children were from 8 to 4 years old and none ever suffered cabin fever! Tablets and smartphones didn't exist in those days, but they were completely happy with reading books, colouring books (I still come across the odd lost pencil), DVDs and ... the great outdoors. I'm pretty sure they've grown up to be the environmentally-conscious youngsters they are because they learnt that everything important (diesel, gas, water, electricity) was in finite supply and not to be wasted.

We bought LHD as our ultimate objective was to find a house in France, and to get there, we would travel via Germany and Austria; and then pretty much the whole of the East, South and West of France. On occasional trips back to the UK to keep in touch with relatives (we met the Irish ones somewhere on the continent!) LHD was never a problem.

In those first six months (before we became "settled" again), I'd say we didn't spend more than about 200€ on parking, almost all of it in Vienna and Bavaria (Christmas and New Year respectively) and in England. In the 14.5 years since, I doubt I've even paid that much!

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Did you leave the UK straight for europe or did you tour the UK as well? I wonder if the weather would make it less enjoyable than places with more stable weather. I mean is summer really "summer" over here? I have only been here for one summer which was the last one and it wasn't really what I would call summer.

CelticRambler

We didn't really tour-tour. Due to the delivery delay, and seeing as we'd already sold our house, we'd moved briefly over to Dublin to stay with my parents. When the 'van was ready, my wife and I collected it from the UK, drove it to Dublin, then did a "farewell tour" of the relatives in Ireland and the UK. Seeing as we were parking on driveways and eating in bricks-and-mortar kitchens, that doesn't really count!

We found that "weather" wasn't really a big deal (other than hugely increased fuel consumption when driving head-on into the Mistral or Tremontane winds :eek: ) At that time, we went looking for a White Christmas but didn't find it in Vienna, so drove back to Bavaria for a white New Year. Later in that trip, and since, we just went with the flow. Some places are better seen in the rain - it adds to the atmosphere! (I was in one yesterday - Cirque de la Consolation in Eastern France - with amazing waterfalls and rivers; one of the best geography field trips you could wish for)

The most important thing for "happy families" is to lead a lifestyle appropriate to a motorhome and not try to keep all your normal habits. Our children were older than yours, so this wouldn't apply in the same way, but each of them had a pair of plastic boxes, one for their regular clothes and one for their toys and books. We rigidly enforced the rule "if it doesn't fit in the box, you can't take it" which stopped them filling our living space with clutter.

As adults, we did much the same. The very fact that you have to pack everything away before you set off on the next journey means you quickly get used to being economical with everything - e.g. re-using cutlery instead of getting yet another spoon out of the drawer or not washing glasses that have only had water in them - and also knowing that there's a "time and place". We chose a layout that had two of the children's beds at one end, two at the other, and the living/kitchen space in between. As soon as we'd stop for the night, they'd either go out exploring or go to their beds, while MrsCR would start the dinner and I'd deal with things like putting up screens/the awning, hook-up/toilet emptying, running repairs, etc.

Thinking back over that time (and even last weekend) I really don't remember "weather" ever being that important - other than the one time we got caught in a once-in-a-hundred-year storm in Barcelona. We upped sticks and drove back to France to get away from that.