A motorhome holiday may be the best family holiday you can imagine, but there’s a couple of things that you ought to know before you go….
Here are some tips from over 15,000 hires - I hope you find them useful:
1 Plan your trip. It’s amazing, but some people turn up to hire a motorhome, then think about where they want to go! That’s completely the wrong way round. You have to plan a motorhome holiday in order to get the best out of it. When you are looking at a map of the country you are touring, remember the distancesinvolved and the amount of time it will take to travel from one place to another. To visit the entire British Isles, Scotland and Wales in a week or less is totally impractical - all you’ll see is lots of motorways and not much scenery. Better to limit your trip to a few key places that you really want to visit and enjoy the journey.
2 Book at least the first two nights of your trip at a campsite in advance. During the summer, campsites book up very quickly so it’s best to book the first two nights or so, that way you can relax, knowing that you have a place to stay for at least the first couple of days. This takes the stress out of trying to find somewhere to stay
late at night and when you may be tired. Make sure you bring an up to date campsite guide with lots of sites in the areas that you are planning to visit.
3 Avoid bringing rigid suitcases. When you hire a motorhome, you have a limited amount of space, so your suitcases can really get in the way! Better to bring your clothes in a soft bag or rucksack which you can easily store away using the minimum amount of space.
4 Do not pack too much! On a camping holiday, you do not need lots of changes of clothing or large toys, gadgets etc. This is a time to bring families together and games such as cards, colouring books, a few CD’s or an ipod, are ideal and take up very little space. If you are bringing bicycles, check the vehicle has a bike rack fitted – it’s not practical to add one later, and find out how many bikes the rack will hold. Alternatively use a motorhome which has garage/storage area to house your bikes. A motorhome holiday may be the best family holiday you can imagine, but there’s a couple of things that you ought to know before you go….
5 Check that campsites are open. A common mistake is presuming that a campsite is open all year round – most are closed from November until March. The reason that campsites close in the winter is because the ground is too soft to support the weight of a motorhome. You can find details of all the sites open in the UK in guides like the Caravan Club Site Guide. It is not advisable to simply park in a lay by – certain councils have a
‘zero tolerance’ policy on overnight camping in the UK. In the more remote areas, such as the Scottish Highlands, this is less of a problem.
6 Do not overfill the fresh water tank. If you are staying on a campsite, there is no need to carry water between sites – it’s very heavy and will burn fuel and affect the handling and performance of the vehicle. Better to fill the water tank up to about a third full (maximum) initially and when you arrive on site, fill up.
7 Use the campsite facilities where possible. Although a motorhome has a toilet, shower, hot water etc. they do not compare with the facilities you will find on most campsites. It’s much better to use the site facilities wherever possible – it keeps the motorhome cleaner and you’ll have less to do when you want to move on. Most sites provide mains power hook-up and when you connect to their power supply, switch the fridge and
the heater over to running on mains electric, rather than using your gas.
8 Make sure you carry a spare gas bottle. If you are travelling for a long period of time in Europe, you should carry a spare gas bottle. It is impossible to refill a UK gas bottle in Europe and it’s also difficult to use a European gas bottle in a UK vehicle. The best solution is to use the gas economically and to carry a spare.
Again, using campsite facilities will extend the life of your gas supply!
9 Black out and insulate. Make sure you ‘black out’ the windows, sunroofs, windscreen and cab area with the special covers provided. It’s easy to forget the windscreen and the cab area, but a great deal of heat is lost through the windscreen during the winter and you will burn more gas trying to keep warm. In the summer,
the covers also keep the heat and light out.
10 Don’t pack too much food and drink. The fridge in a motorhome is not as big as the one you have at home. Overloading it with food to last the whole week is not advisable and it will not keep. Better to bring a few days worth of food and buy more from a supermarket during the trip.
11 Pack a torch. Have you noticed that things go wrong at night? Depending on where you camp, there may not be any outside lighting. If you need to unpack a locker or find something in the dark, a torch is the essential must have item!
12 Be careful using the awning. The one item that causes the most amount of trouble on a motorhome is the awning. They are very delicate and fragile – you should only attempt to use them if you are familiar with their operation. You need at least two people to unwind one and two people to pack it away. Never leave the awning unattended, the mildest gust of wind can ruin it, never force it back into the housing or try to wind it in when it is wet. Remember, it costs over £500 to replace!
13 A motorhome is very different to your car! When a motorhome is loaded up with passengers and contents, it can weigh well over 3,500 kilos (3 tons or more). Keep in mind that it will not stop or corner like your car. Keep your distance from the vehicle in front, do not approach corners too quickly and check the tyre pressures before starting your journey. Keep weight down to a minimum by not over filling the water tank, make sure the waste tank is empty and do not overpack (see my earlier tips). Take care when trying to park or drive through gateways, as it is very easy to misjudge the rear and cause damage. It’s best for a passenger to get out and guide you into parking spaces or round tight corners. Think about trees which may overhang on the road ahead – they can cause expensive scratches! Keep away from the edge of the kerb.
14 Plan your return. If the last night of your holiday is hundreds of miles away from the return point, you may be very late and pay a lot of money in late return fees. Plan to be in the vicinity of the return depot the night before, and if you are going to be late let the hire company know in advance. During busy periods motorhomes are booked out ‘back to back’, so it’s only fair on the next hirer to return it on time…
15 Have fun! Despite your best plans, things can go wrong. Your holiday enjoyment depends on how you react to problems that come along, rather than the problems themselves. Unlike a hotel or an airline, once you’re away on a campsite or in the middle of nowhere, you’re on your own! There’s always a ‘work around’ or a way to make things better, but don’t let anything ruin your holiday. If an issue cannot be fixed by phone or quickly by a nearby specialist, carry on with your holiday rather than allow the problem to get to you. Keep a note of anything that doesn’t work properly and bring it to the attention of the hire company when you return.
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