First Motorhome - Warning lots of questions

tdm900

Guest
Before i ask a load of questions a bit about myself. the wife and I have been hiring motohomes for the last couple of years, joined the site before we hired one for the first time in 2013
and been mainly a lurker since.
Well I'm semi retiring in July this year, working 2 days a week and seriously considering buying our first van, when we have hired a van - a total of 3 times, 5 weeks in total - we have done Scotland wildcamping for approx 2 nights out of 3
stopping in a campsite to charge/emptying tanks.
So to the questions
I have really got into Landscape photography in the last few years. How easy is it to wildcamp (would be remoter scenic locations) in England and Wales? I have downloaded the POI guide and used that for Scotland
Very roughly what sort of costs would I be looking at to own a van? I would have to find somewhere to store it as well so another cost there ( I know thats sort of how long is a bit of string question)

Budget would be in the £25,000 range and thinking of compact 2 berth around or under the 6m mark.

I have read some articles about the corrosion on vans in some cases being a problem, is this a general case or just a few cases? And if I get an older van is there any rust treatments that would be worth doing?

many thanks
Graham
 
Hi Graham, if you've hired a few times then you know what it's all about, don't think you'd regret buying one, you'll just wished you'd done it sooner. We have a sundance 590 and as a rough cost, would say budget £1k, for tax, MOT, insurance then you have gas (for us £40/50 pa), and then fuel costs on top. Add a contingency for repairs/tyres etc.
We've never had a problem wildcamping in UK, but were not fussy where we stop, especially if its just a short overnight sleep stop, moving on first thing.
As with all things you might get a van with non/few problems or a bag of sh*te, cost doesn't always come into it, even some of the most costly vans can have problems. Hope this helps.
 
yorkslass said:
Hi,:welcome::wave:
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Thank You :)

yorkieowl said:
Hi Graham, if you've hired a few times then you know what it's all about, don't think you'd regret buying one, you'll just wished you'd done it sooner. We have a sundance 590 and as a rough cost, would say budget £1k, for tax, MOT, insurance then you have gas (for us £40/50 pa), and then fuel costs on top. Add a contingency for repairs/tyres etc.
We've never had a problem wildcamping in UK, but were not fussy where we stop, especially if its just a short overnight sleep stop, moving on first thing.
As with all things you might get a van with non/few problems or a bag of sh*te, cost doesn't always come into it, even some of the most costly vans can have problems. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

It does, just trying to get some idea of the costs etc. if everything works out like I hope it should be getting one in the second half of this year.
With the photography side hopefully be the case of arriving for the latter part of the day and move on fairly early the next day.
 
Mul said:
erm, you don't happen to own one of these do you by any chance .... snap ?
View attachment 28280

Chrz Mul

p.s. welcome :)

p.p.s. How a about a Peugeot Nuevo ?
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I did have one a lovely red one. Best bike I ever had trouble was nowhere to keep it and not having the time to use it so sold it :-(
Got a rusty old Honda CB500 now.

been looking at vans and thats the sort Im swaying towards at the minute been looking at The Eldiss 115 as well. To my very untrained eye can't see a lot of difference.
 
A number of MH are sold because they have problems. Saying that ours behaved itself for the first time in months. If you are buying SH do your homework. Loads of info on the web about problems with damp etc. If it's got one problem then they usually have others. Don't fall in love with one and buy it if it has problems. Yes it may look really good and that damp patch is because its being standing. Hmmmmm. Even buying new is no guarantee that you get a good one. Check the dealer out and look for adverse reviews. Ok all dealers get the odd one but someone near Newark has got hundreds.
 
Hi tdm, welcome to the site :wave:

Like everyone says, do your research and when deciding to buy check out everything - and I mean everything - on the van beforehand to make sure it all works.
Don't just take the seller's word for it, get them to show you things in full operation.

With a budget of 25k you should be able to get a stonker of a van! :D

Personally, I would never buy new, simply because
a) I couldn't afford to
b) You lose a lot of money on the vehicle's value immediately
c) Any snags/problems should have been found and fixed by the person who DID buy it new (not always, but hence getting them to show you eveything working)
d) There are some fantastic secondhand vans out there

I like Autosleepers, but everyone has their own preferences and you and your wife will know what kind of layout, etc. would be best for your needs.

Good luck with your search and happy camping! Let us know when you eventually do get your van ;)
 
Hi and welcome along, with a 25k budget the van should be of an age where rust is not an issue unless it's been repaired poorly. In panel van size you will be into the X250 Fiat from 2006 onwards which is a much improved vehicle over the earlier model. Having said that a good previous shape would also do well.
 
We also like the remote spots to stay in, but these usually mean narrow lanes and overhanging branches so, if that is your thing, don't buy a van that will give you heart failure every time you trim the hedgerow with it. We bought our van 4 years ago with the intention of keeping it for two years and then doing something else for holidays. We spent £10,000 on an old van and have been very happy with it. It probably isn't as winterised as modern ones but it is still cosy and I don't get excited about the odd scratch.
 
Some of the really shiney ones seem to scream conspicuous consumption.
And like many things you can buy these days there always seems to have been a "golden age" where quality wasn't such a compromise.
In my rather limited experience it would appear that the best period for build quality alone was the 1990's.

Talking to a guy yesterday who has an older van, he said he went to look at new ones and was not impressed. He thought mine was better built and was amazed that the bodywork was all aluminium.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys I do appreciate the help. So far we hired a Fixed bed, a rear end kitchen (under 6m) and a panel van. At the meoment leaning towards a end kitchen layout. The other layout I thought about but we haven't tried is the rear lounge.
I will let you know how things go and no doubt we will back with more questions.
 
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