Advice on longer motorhomes.

[Turnington]

personally i would not compromise my living space i have a 7.5 m,but sometimes i am envious and i can see the desirability in a shorter vehicle ,in my experience sometimes the very roads which you would most love to go down which often lead to a wilding opportunity eg tiny rural roads leading to beachs etc and in towns/villages small congested urban roads can be a problem , that slight extra length making u turns a worry , also it would be nice to be able to squeeze park in a normal space, I have noticed that my rwd tag has a tighter tirning circle than my brothers fwd tag 694 , which is handy i think its down to the front driveshafts..

 

[maingate]

I cannot say that I have seen a rear wheel drive tag axle motorhome.

What is it you have Turnington?

 

[Turnington]

its a 1984 mercedes hymer 750s. 8 wheels in total. normal mercedes twin rear wheel drive with a unbraked tag wheel each side (no axel as such) that dont actually take alot of weight i think the idea is more to support the large rear overhang and dampen the rear leaf springs(each tag is basically a wheel with a coil spring), coupled with the front leaf springs gives a very compliant ride, quite a few lorrys have this set up and some rvs btw

 

[Ian03/54]

its a 1984 mercedes hymer 750s. 8 wheels in total. normal mercedes twin rear wheel drive with a unbraked tag wheel each side (no axel as such) that dont actually take alot of weight i think the idea is more to support the large rear overhang and dampen the rear leaf springs(each tag is basically a wheel with a coil spring), coupled with the front leaf springs gives a very compliant ride, quite a few lorrys have this set up and some rvs btw

That is a super rare Hymer you've got there. I saw one at Peterborough this year, maybe you? I used to have a magazine with a road test of the 750"S" and it made very good reading. I was interested as we had an '88 655 "S", that is like a 700 but with single bed across the back, at that time.

Regards,

 

[Turnington]

yeah that would of been us, we go every year,the beige and brown tends to stand out somewhat! theres less than a handfull in the country I,ve only ever seen one other on the road in the 4.5 years i,ve had it ,theres been a couple on ebay but mines is much better condition .With its quite old fashioned styling (which belies the high tech interior)she seems to be becoming a classic camper and people see it as retro ,that its well maintained and are becoming increasing positive . The best thing about her now guys is.......... very low depreciation levels

 

[David & Ann]

yeah that would of been us, we go every year,the beige and brown tends to stand out somewhat! theres less than a handfull in the country I,ve only ever seen one other on the road in the 4.5 years i,ve had it ,theres been a couple on ebay but mines is much better condition .With its quite old fashioned styling (which belies the high tech interior)she seems to be becoming a classic camper and people see it as retro ,that its well maintained and are becoming increasing positive . The best thing about her now guys is.......... very low depreciation levels

I would love to see a picture of it.

 

[mick_p]

Ours is 12 mtrs Long.

We bought our 12m long American RV in the USA in which to tour both the US & Canada along with a Jeep Liberty ( Cherokee)

Both vehicles were shipped back to the UK in order to continue our 'Long Term Touring' of the UK & Europe.

Having been caravanner's for 9 years we knew that there would be sites, locations and roads that we would NOT be able to drive our 17 mtr long outfit ( RV + A frame + Jeep)

To help with that problem we invested in The Big Pitch Guides for the UK & Europe.

Hope I haven't breeched any forum rules mentioning the BPG, I hope my advice helps others with a similar SIZE problem?

Mick

 

[guyd]

I hope you have an artic licence....

12M vehicle is class C driving licence - I bet its over 7.5 tons......

Cherokee is over 750kg (a bit... )

so you need a C + E driving licence!

from dvla:

Large Vehicles
Description Category Minimum Age
Vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer up to 750kg. C 21

Large Vehicles with trailers

Vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer over 750kg. C+E 21 4


and no - just 'cos its a motorhome, whos TAX bracket is plg, doesnt mean you just need a car licence.... The artic I drove to pass my C+E had a car tax disc in it....


see here
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/DG_10037875

 

[barryd]

It will make little difference, go for it. They are all about the same width and height anyway. That van probably has a huge payload so if you can why not fit a scooter on the back. Best thing we ever did. Park the van outside a town or place of interest and scoot off to see stuff, park where you like, right outside. wouldnt have a motorhome without one.

 

[mick_p]

I hope you have an artic licence....

12M vehicle is class C driving licence - I bet its over 7.5 tons......

Cherokee is over 750kg (a bit... )

so you need a C + E driving licence!

from dvla:

Large Vehicles
Description Category Minimum Age
Vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer up to 750kg. C 21

Large Vehicles with trailers

Vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer over 750kg. C+E 21 4


and no - just 'cos its a motorhome, whos TAX bracket is plg, doesnt mean you just need a car licence.... The artic I drove to pass my C+E had a car tax disc in it....


see here
Driving motorhomes : Directgov - Motoring

Guyd, Phew, sorry for being a little late at replying, I belong to numerous MH & RV forums and for reasons that this thread has highlighted Wildcamping for Motorhomes isn't my No1 visited forum, but I've got an open mind and live in hope.

First, yes I hold a Class 1 or C+E licence the gross weight of the RV is 12.7 tons and the Jeep just under 1 ton.

In the USA and Canada wild camping is called Boon Docking, don't ask me why, even whilst we toured over there we considered boondocking but never had the courage to try, believe me it isn't easy, let me explain.

Okay imagine you are in Canada as were were travelling west to east on Highway No1, yes there are numerous sites 'disused garage forecourts' and the like but unless you are prepared to drive at 20mph and slower to check for an access and if suitable and don't forget the other vehicles on the road a lot being truckers who DON'T hang about.

You may also see a lane going into a wood, but again you would have to stop park up to check it out on foot.

Apart from just the 12m length of our motorhome a further problem and even for smaller motorhomes is caused when towing a car with an A frame and being unable to reverse.

Before we would ever consider using a French aire it would first have to be one that a fellow RVer has used and recommended, I would then hope that the access road to it, if it was in a cul de sac type situation wasn't to long as I would want to check out the spaces BEFORE committing the outfit down a road where we could get 'stuck'

Mick