Motorhome Length ?

Bobtaylor

Full Member
Posts
19
Likes
14
Hi all,
I’m after a bit of help/ information.
We have owned our current Motorhome for about five years, it’s proved to be great, but a bit tight when our daughter and son in law stay with us
Although it’s 5.8m long, the beds are above cab, tight headroom, and rear lounge converts to bed.
We will shortly be in a position to buy a new, or newer motorhome, and know the layout we want, fixed rear bed, and either a drop down bed over the front,,,,A Class, or a BIG above cab bed, and preferably a bed in the front lounge,,,,this probably means a long motorhome.
Issue is,,,,,, how do people cope with the longer Motorhomes, we rarely if ever stop on sites, preferring to Wild camp, or stop in pub car parks,
We manage with the 5.8m long rig, even though we stick out a bit, but wonder how the likes of the 7m rigs or bigger manage.
Are they a big problem in car parks, unwelcome in pubs or does your trips away require planning in advance,
Would welcome your knowledge and findings on living with these bigger motorhomes, just so we can decide on a size
Many thanks......
 
You may find that you get a long overhang at rear which can sometimes go over a verge. Width is also an issue.
Car parks can be problem but a couple of metres more doesnt make much difference wilding.
If your 4 up is only occasional you may want to consider NOT having luton style second bed to keep van height down.
 
Hi, I think ours is 7.5m and it is something we have to think about . Having said that we find there are still plenty of places to go for . Probably a bit more difficult for "stealth" wild camping but you have to be comfortable in your van . Try it , you can always change back, many do !
 
You may find that you get a long overhang at rear which can sometimes go over a verge. Width is also an issue.
Car parks can be problem but a couple of metres more doesnt make much difference wilding.
If your 4 up is only occasional you may want to consider NOT having luton style second bed to keep van height down.
Hi Markd, we actually have two daughters, and their other halves,
Thought we’d got rid of them when they flew the nest, but evidently not......they take it in turns to come away with us,,(we love it really)
Would be nice to have more space when they visit, and would be great to accommodate all of them and us, hence 6 berth..
 
Hi, I think ours is 7.5m and it is something we have to think about . Having said that we find there are still plenty of places to go for . Probably a bit more difficult for "stealth" wild camping but you have to be comfortable in your van . Try it , you can always change back, many do !
Hi,
We’ve seen a few around 7.5m and thought that length looked about right for us, our current van has quite a big overhang, so very aware of that,
Does yours fit into car park spaces, such as supermarkets or pubs ?
 
Hi, I think ours is 7.5m and it is something we have to think about . Having said that we find there are still plenty of places to go for . Probably a bit more difficult for "stealth" wild camping but you have to be comfortable in your van . Try it , you can always change back, many do !
Yes its all about preferences but I have just bought Citroen Dispatch HDI 2.0 2001 for a song in preference to my obvious Motorhome which is 5.99 x 3.0 x 2.99m & have had no issues in turning etc but yes with heights in some car parks & shops restricted to 2.0 like an Aldi in France this year.
Having said all that I live alone so a solar shower & a compost toilet with a setee bed, seem to keep me happy
 
Oh one more thing my big van I am trying to sell but can sleep 3 easily with no frt over bed but a double over a massive rear garage, with the ctr table & side seats provide a single bed in middle
 
Our van is 7.8mtrs long plus bike rack. In normal car parks we need two spaces lengthways unless we can overhang their back (quite often can).
Wild camping is not a problem at all and that’s a lot if what ido.
 
Hi,
We’ve seen a few around 7.5m and thought that length looked about right for us, our current van has quite a big overhang, so very aware of that,
Does yours fit into car park spaces, such as supermarkets or pubs ?

Usually No ,unless special motorhome spots , so we would tend to use unmarked parks
 
Ours is 7.35 metre A class with fixed rear bed over a large garage and a front drop down bed, usually use two supermarket parking spaces length ways unless we can park with the overhang over the grass, never had any problem going where we want to go and wild camping, we rarely plan much ahead, usually just the general area we want to visit and then see where we can stay overnight.
 
Ours is 7.35 metre A class with fixed rear bed over a large garage and a front drop down bed, usually use two supermarket parking spaces length ways unless we can park with the overhang over the grass, never had any problem going where we want to go and wild camping, we rarely plan much ahead, usually just the general area we want to visit and then see where we can stay overnight.
Sounds good advise....thank you, your MH is exactly what we want
 
Ours is 7.35 metre A class with fixed rear bed over a large garage and a front drop down bed, usually use two supermarket parking spaces length ways unless we can park with the overhang over the grass, never had any problem going where we want to go and wild camping, we rarely plan much ahead, usually just the general area we want to visit and then see where we can stay overnight.
Yeah for shopping visits 2 lengthway spaces work for us
 
Hi ya,
My Motorhome (The Nest) is 29 ft from Bumper to Bumper,
1F6BAA8D-A3A5-4BAF-95AE-71CA9DC7B9F2.jpeg

I’m a Full time Live aboard, Wildcamp all over the place in UK & Abroad over the last 8 years or so with little problem getting to where I wanted to go or stay.
 
7m + bike rack here. Issues that wouldn't exist with a 5m van are finding suitable pub stops and grocery shopping.

Pub Stops
We often use pubs as intermediate stopovers on our way to festivals etc. However, many of the car parks of listed pubs don't have somewhere to park a 7m van without inconveniencing other customers and so we tend to stick with the same few that we know can take our van without issues.

Grocery Shopping
We've been caught out a few times when trying to shop in smaller supermarkets and Jan has had to do the shopping while I either drive slowly round and round the car park, or find somewhere nearby to wait until Jan phones. Also, some supermarket car parks have islands or other obstructions so that you can't use two bays (see image for an example where I'd need 4 bays). So I check out the supermarket car park on Google Maps and only use those where I have a reasonable chance of being able to park.
supermarketpark.jpg


That said, we value the space we have over the convenience we'd have if we downsized.
 
20190712_183046.jpg


Just over 8.5m I think, and it's not been a problem. We've been in a good few pubs and as long as there are two back to back spaces it fits within the lines.
 
Hi, ours is 7.2 Metre and up to now not had a problem parking . Like others say ,another 2meters added not really a problem especially when Wilding. We also manage to get in towns, villages , there is normally somewhere to get in ,even if we have to have the rear overhanging a bit over verges etc. For us , better to have the space and comfort rather than be cramped for the sake of not being able to park in every spot! Rear bed set up full time for us too is the way to go 👍
 
For me it would be extra width Not extra length that could cause problems. Luckily my van isn’t new and I don’t ever intend changing it or I may have cried a few times on some of the gaps I get through. If the cab fits and it not brick/stone etc I go. The surf boys were surprised to see me at Tide Mills where they park up :)
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top