Buying a Motorhome – Motorhome Insider

When I first became interested in buying a motorhome, I had a host of questions. Long term owners have questions from time to time as well, so it isn’t just the beginners. Most owners are more than happy to share their motorhome tips and tricks and frequently asked questions with those new to the hobby, so ask the people you meet. Where Can I Find Questions And Answers About Motorhomes? Top FAQ tips and tricks on owning a motorhome can be found in a range of places, from websites, Facebook groups, and message board forums. Many of the answers come from other motorhome owners who share their experiences and there are 23 motorhome questions and answers below. For this article, I combed many of the Facebook groups and message boards covering motorhomes, with the intent to bring together in one place, the most frequently asked questions. The range is wide and deep. For some of the questions about motor homing below, we have created special articles, so look for the links. It's motorhome FAQ time - let’s dive right in. 23 Top Motorhome Questions (and Answers) Where is the Best Place to Insure a Motorhome? Tricky question. There are several insurance companies who will insure your motorhome or campervan, but a lot more who are not interested in your vehicle. Like any motor insurance company, they will underwrite each ‘risk’ as they see fit. The company will consider the ages of the drivers, the age of the motorhome and the value. Some companies won’t insure the top value range of motorhomes, while others decline older vehicles. Saga Motorhomes will only look at the driver over the age of 50 and maybe a useful company to call if you meet the criteria. Most insurance companies will set down requirements, especially for higher-value vehicles. Expect to be asked whether your motorhome is fitted with an immobiliser, an alarm, or an approved tracker. Every motorhome insurance company will expect you to store the vehicle off-road in a driveway. Other companies will demand that a wheel clamp is fitted and a lockable post in the driveway at all times. There is no real ‘best’ please to insure a motorhome, but try companies such as (in A-Z order) Adrian Flux, Advance, AIB Insurance, Caravan Guard, Comfort Insurance, NFU Mutual, Safeguard, Saga Motorhomes, Staveley Head and Vanguard. Several of the national camping, caravanning and motorhome companies can also offer insurance quotes. Be wary of the online comparison sites, as they can often give false results and you could find that your campervan insurance is not valid. For a motorhome, you need to talk to a human-being each time. When your insurance is due for renewal, look carefully for any changes in terms and conditions, as you may find the addition of extra security measures hidden in ew terms and conditions. What is the Best Motorhome Breakdown Insurance? The best one is the one who always turns out in the middle of the night, in all weathers and within the hour. When you find that company, do let me know! The breakdown insurance company you choose, depends on your needs. Some companies will cover you for travel into the European Union, others exclude cover there. For companies who offer European cover, these may vary from 30 days up to a full year. The first place to ask is your current motorhome insurance company. An alternative is a stand-alone policy with a third-party insurer. Make sure that whoever you choose, will cover you for the age of your motorhome if it’s old, and if the length of your van is unusually long. Again, many of the national motorhome clubs may be able to provide cover. Will Motorhome Life Make Me Healthy? The great outdoors. The smell of the countryside. All those bicycle rides and walking as you explore villages and towns. All designed to make you healthier, yes? Well, in practice, probably not. One of the greatest temptations when travelling by motorhome is visiting all those attractive little restaurants and cafes. After all, what are a few extra meals out each week? These are unlikely to make you healthy and can have just the opposite effect if you're not careful. Then there all those bottles of locally produced wine and beers which need to be tested to make sure they are up to scratch. Saying that, you may well walk more while travelling then you do by staying at home. After all, there are so many places to visit, from castles and cathedrals to picturesque villages and beautiful beaches. Many motorhome owners carry bicycles on rear racks, or in garages. Bicycles are perfect for parking the van a little outside a town and cycling in. Good for health and heart. All in all . . . staying healthy while travelling especially long term, is something to keep a watchful eye on. Do I Need an MOT for My Motorhome? The rules for a motorhome, campervan, and cars are the same for MoT tests. When your motorhome reaches the end of its third year from registration, it will require a valid MoT certificate. The standard tests will be carried out by a licenced MoT station and you’ll receive a printed certificate. The MoT pass will also be registered online, which is public for anyone who wishes to look. Not all MoT stations can cope with a motorhome due to the height of your vehicle. When you book your test, make sure to ask whether they can manage your motorhome on their ramp, as it would be unfortunate to be turned away on arrival. If you are travelling abroad when the MoT is due, you will have to return to the United Kingdom for the test, as these cannot be conducted by a garage outside the country. If you are abroad and the MoT expires, although you are not in the UK, continuing to drive your vehicle will be illegal. It will also mean that your motorhome is uninsured until you return home and undertake a successful test. The MoT certificate covers the mechanical safety of your motorhome and there are no checks on the habitation area for things such as damp, gas fittings or electrics. However, any seatbelts fitted will be checked. When you are looking to buy a second-hand motorhome or campervan, you can check the MoT history online at the official Government website. What About the Internet in a Motorhome? We all love access to email, Facebook, the news and Netflix while we are on the road. There are several ways to access the internet from your motorhome. The simplest way is to use the data allocation on your mobile phone. Some mobile contracts are unlimited with their data but can restrict that when you are in Europe. Many will permit to tether your phone another device, but other contracts will charge you an extra. Check the allowances of your mobile phone contract, to avoid any nasty charges, especially when using data abroad. Since the UK left the European Union, mobile phone roaming changes can be changed by your provider at short notice. A popular way to access the internet is to use a mi-fi device. This is separate from a mobile phone, so doesn’t affect your data there. A mi-fi is fitted with a data-only 4G SIM card and can be used to tether multiple devices at a time. They are designed to provide a wi-fi hotspot in your van. For instance, I use my mi-fi device to link to a laptop, two iPads, and an Amazon Echo Dot all at the same time. There are various data only contacts available for mi-fi devices, so check carefully to see what each carrier offers, as these change all the time. When buying a mi-fi, look to find one which is unlocked, meaning you can swap SIM cards between networks. The addition of a rooftop aerial for a mi-fi device will provide a stronger signal. I use this set-up which works well while I am driving, as well as when parked up for the night. A wi-fi booster is another option for use when stationary. Many campsites have wi-fi, but the strength will vary across the site. Clipping a booster aerial to your motorhome will generally, but not always, pull-in the campsite wi-fi. Many other places offer free wi-fi, so this can be useful in other spots as well. This is not something which you can use when you are driving. Motorhome Without a Permanent Address Full-time and long-term motorhome owners often don’t have a permanent home address. When I travelled for eight months straight, I didn’t have anywhere to call home, as I had given up renting a flat. However, people like the DVLA, your bank and in particular, your motorhome insurance company, will need you to have a postal address. The simplest way to achieve this is to use the address of a family member. There are ways to manage a remote address, which are covered in our detailed article on living without a permanent address. Is It Difficult to Drive a Large Motorhome? That’s a good question! The answer is, it depends. How large would be the first question. Many motorhomes are around six metres in length, or between six metres and seven metres. Then, there is the American style R.V. which can be up to 12 metres, the maximum length drivable in the UK. The smaller motorhomes and campervans are like driving a large van. The simple answer to whether you can drive a large motorhome, or in fact any motorhome you are considering buying, is whether you feel safe and comfortable doing so. If you are looking at a larger motorhome, then take it for a test drive, as that will be your best guide. Is Motorhome Wild Camping Safe? The chances that you will be murdered in your bed while wild camping is nil. Well, virtually nil! Finding a good spot where you feel safe is the key. When you arrive at a wild camping spot, consider whether everything looks right. Most places are fine, but there will be somewhere you feel a little uneasy. If you feel that, then move on. In the past year of long-term motorhome travel, I have stopped at perhaps 50 different wild camping spots. Many were wonderful places to stay for the night, in the hills, by lakes, and at harbours. Others places were a little less salubrious. Of the 50+ places, I have moved on from three as they were just not right. The other 47 or so were fine and felt perfectly safe. The first time you try a wild camping spot, you may feel uneasy, just because of what you are doing. By the third one, you will feel you have been wild camping for years. Where Can I Stay Free Overnight in My Motorhome? Every piece of land is owned by someone, whether private property or managed by a local council. Saying that there are places where you can stay overnight away for campsites. These can be as simple as a car park which permits overnight camping, to spots by the beach overlooking the sea. There are some wonderful places in woods and forests, plus many a layby set back from the road. A couple of the best places to find free overnight stops are the Android and iOS apps, Search for Sites and Park4Night. Always check for signs and if you see one which says 'No Overnight Camping', then move on. Why Are Motorhome Campsites so Expensive? Essentially, because each is run as a for-profit business. Many sites are run as a private business and there are also plenty run and owned by the larger clubs, which tend to not for profit, but still not cheap. Campsites are often criticised by motorhome owners as being expensive, but perhaps without them considering the cost of running the site. Motorhome with more than five spaces, generally need to be licenced by a local authority and minimum standards can be imposed. The supply of facilities expected by campers does cost money. For instance, water at a site may be metered and the site pays for every litre, while providing users access at no extra cost. Electrical installation of EHU posts is expensive and as well as the original install, these need to be maintained. An annual inspection of each post and the main electric supply is a legal requirement, all which costs money. Then there is the matter of staff, insurance, buildings, waste-water rates, rubbish removal, websites, credit card machines and fees, advertising and many more incidental costs. Another argument which comes up on the cost of using a motorhome campsite is the changes in seasonal rates. Like almost every aspect of travel, rates are higher in the summer than they are in the winter. The reason for this is partly supply and demand in busy periods, but also averaging costs and over a year. What you are changed in the off-season can effectively be at a loss and the higher summer rates are where the overall profit is made. There is, of course, a choice when it comes to campsites, which is to use them and pay the cost, or just wild camp elsewhere. Do I Need a Special Pitch at a Campsite? There is no legal requirement for special pitches at campsites for motorhomes. Most campsites offer a choice of a grass pitch, or what is known as hard standing. The grass pitches are generally cheaper, but this is not always the case. The smaller campsite may be grass only, although I have come across several sites with up to five pitches, all of which were hard standing. Hard-standing ranges from a solid concrete block to loose shale. Hard standing isn't always flat either. If the weather is likely to be wet, you may prefer hard standing to grass and, in any case, the campsite may close grassed pitches to avoid motorhomes becoming stuck, especially in winter. Which you use is of course up to you. What is a Motorhome Aire? An Aire is somewhere to stop overnight at little or no cost. Aires are particularly popular in France and other parts of mainland Europe, where they number into the thousands. The idea for Aires is that they attract motorhome and campervan users, encouraging us to visit towns and village, to spend money with local businesses. Many towns and villages in France have dedicated parking for motorhome and campervans known as Aire de Campingcar. Sometimes they are a space in a car park without any facilities, through to areas where fresh water is available, plus a wastewater grill and somewhere to empty back waste. Spain and Portugal also have a number of Aires. In Germany, they are called Spielplatz and they exist in other European countries too. The United Kingdom has very few true Aires, as it seems local councils don’t understand how they can benefit towns and villages. We have more on Aires and how to use them, in our special article here. Should I Hire a Motorhome Before I Buy? There is a strong argument for hiring a motorhome before you buy one. Hiring a motorhome before you buy will show whether you enjoy the experience of being on the road and living together in a relatively small space. Another good reason to hire before you buy is to try out different motorhome layouts. For houses think location, location, location – for a motorhome, it is layout, layout, layout. Check our article on hiring a motorhome. Do I Need a Special Driving Licence for a Motorhome? For most motorhomes and campervans, a standard full driving licence will suffice. The minimum you need is category B for a manual motorhome. If you only have category B-Auto, you will be restricted to vehicles with automatic gearboxes. These categories cover you for up to 3,500 kilos. To drive a vehicle over 3,500 kilos and under 7,500 kilos, you will need to have category C1 on your licence. For a trailer where the total combined weight is over 3,500 kilos, your licence needs to show category C1E. If you took your driving test before 1 January 1997, you will have category C1 already. Driving tests taken after that date, won’t include C1 or C1E and you will need to take a father course and test to drive vehicles over 3,500 kilos. There are also restrictions when you reach the age of 70. Check the article on driving licences here. How Many Seatbelts Should There Be in a Motorhome? The simple answer is as many as you have passengers. The driver and every passenger must wear legal seatbelts. Your motorhome may have a sleeping capacity of six, but if you only have four seatbelts, then four it the maximum number who can be driven. What is a Motorhome Leisure Battery? The engine of your motorhome is fitted with a standard battery, used to start the motorhome. Very little else is powered from the engine battery, except for the cigarette lighter socket and perhaps a single light in the van. One or perhaps two leisure batteries will provide you with 12-volt DC power in the evenings for lights, running a mains inverter and a television. Leisure batteries are not the same as engine batteries, so make sure you buy the right type. Leisure batteries will take charge from the engine which you are driving and from solar panels if you have them fitted. Leisure batteries are not designed to use with a fridge. Can I Run my Motorhome Fridge on a Ferry? It is easy to think that you can run your fridge from gas while on a ferry. However, this is not permitted. When you check in to the ferry port, you can usually expect bottles will be inspected to check that they are in the off position. Switching them back on after that check is both against the terms of carriage and dangerous. One way to make sure that the contents of your fridge remain cold during the voyage is to prepare ahead. Running the fridge at its maximum cold setting should chill it down. If you can make it cold enough, freeze some plastic bottles of water, making sure not to fill them right up to allow for expansion. Pack these around the other items in the fridge. Better still, plan to carry only minimal items in the fridge which won’t be too affected and then stop to buy new supplies when you come off the ferry. Can I Run My Motorhome Fridge in the Euro Tunnel? When you arrive at the check-in points for the ferry, your gas bottles will be inspected and checked to make sure they are switched off. Turning them back on again after the inspection is against the terms and conditions of carriage and is also dangerous. The tunnel trip is relatively short, so your food shouldn’t be affected too much. You can prepare ahead of arrival at the tunnel, by having set your fridge to the coldest temperature and simply not opening it. Once you leave the tunnel at our destination, find a safe spot to stop and turn the gas back on and re-light the fridge, or just use the 12-volt option as you drive. How Many People Can Travel in a Motorhome? This is something which can catch out the unwary. A motorhome may well say ‘sleeps six’, which it will do. However, although sleeping six, there may only be four seatbelts. That means while you are driving, the maximum number of people who can travel in the motorhome, is four. It may be possible to add another seatbelt or two, but there are strict rules on how these must be fitted and the direction of travel for the passenger. Check the rules very carefully before just adding a couple of, say, lap belts, as you any find this is illegal and if involved in an accident, your insurance company is unlikely to pay any claim. How Old Does a Motorhome Have to be Before it is Considered a Classic? There are many arguments over this one! In general terms, a motorhome won’t be considered as a classic until it is at least 20 years old. Many people consider that 25 years old is the benchmark, other 15. There are several classic motorhome groups and clubs around, often specific to make. These groups sometimes hold a rally, for instance, the Hymer Classic Club meet in various parts of the UK. Can I Stay Overnight at Euro-Disney in My Motorhome? Euro Disney allow you to stay over for around €45 a night. That can reduce to €10 if you hold an annual pass for the park. As an alternative, there are several motorhome campsites not too distant from the Mouse. The campsite International de Jablines is close and has a regular bus service to Euro-Disney. What are the Best Apps for Finding Motorhome Campsites? My personal preferences are the app's Search for Sites and Park4night. These list thousands of formal campsites and places to wild camp across the United Kingdom and into Europe. Both are available for Android and iOS. There are several other popular apps for finding campsites and wild camping spots, which can be found in our special article on motorhome apps here. How Do You Wash Clothes in a Motorhome? I asked this question when I bought my first motorhome – the answer given was ‘occasionally’. Handwashing of smaller items works in the kitchen sink, but larger items such as trousers and towels are more difficult. How can this be resolved? Many campsites have a washing machine and, with luck, a dryer. These are always extra, although the price varies significantly. Dryers tend to be more expensive than the wash and some dryers will eat money and barely work. Another solution is that many towns have a laundrette, which can be self-service or managed. Safe Travels! RELATED QUESTIONS What are the Best Apps for Motorhomes? There are around 30 apps which work well for motorhome owners. How Can I Secure my Motorhome? Here are 15 ways to secure your motorhome from theft.