Motorhome or RV Wanted

We will be travelling and living full time in this vehicle for the foreseeable future or until we get tired of travelling or get too old - whichever comes first  Therefore we would like:-

Vehicle - LHD with automatic gearbox, 20+ MPG or LPG equivalent, and fully road legal for 12 months.

Accommodation - 4+ Berth with fixed bed, aircon, heating, TV system, onboard generator, fridge freezer, Shower, hot and cold water system, gas cooker and oven, and anything else for comfortable summer and winter living.

Our budget is up to 25000 euro or perhaps slightly more if you will accept a Chrysler Voyager as part exchange?

Best advice off the top of my head and from practical experience...bigger is better...BUT avoid American M/H's /  RV's.

Low mileage examples of such are available at a reasonable price and within your budget but support and maintenance is nigh on non-existant here in Spain. We had a Chevvy 6.8 litre V8 diesel powered Allegro with all the bells and whistles but the damn thing used to eat drive belts (and theres lots of 'em and when one goes it invariably takes out another one or two). Since the belts are used to drive the power steering, the engine water pump, the alternator, brake assist system and cab aircon they are essential. Drive belt replacement is the single most common failing on all American M/H's irrespective of engine manufacturer. It's not a DIY job either...

Also recovery in the event of a breakdown is beyond the scope of the average grua and it is necessary to involve heavy haulage companies with big low loaders. The length of bodywork beyond the rear wheels is also a problem especially if you have a rear mounted framework for bikes; its impossible to get them onto a low loader without digging great gouges in the tarmac.

Routine tyre changes are impossible without assistance and again involve truck type tyre replacement companies for roadside recovery. Very expensive...

Roadside recovery Insurance is possible but not if the vehicle is over 15 years old or its weight is in excess of 6.5 tonnes.

I am assuming your driving licence is UK issued; if it was issued prior to 1997 you can drive any vehicle of this type up to a max weight of 7.5 tonnes. After 1997 you are restricted to 3.5 tonnes. Weights beyond the limits require a C  (HGV) licence.

Another point with American M/H's, the LPG tank for heating and cooking appliances is integral to the vehicle and LPG stations are very few and far between in Spain plus a special adaptor is required to fill the tank.

As I said at the outset, the bigger the better but there are problems.

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Thanks for the info foxbat and yes both of us have a license pre 97 and in one case pre 67. The drive belt problem you mention also occurs on the Chrysler Voyager, which we have at the moment, but throwing a belt has never been a problem as I wax the belt every so often, using a candle, and this helps to keep it on all the pulleys. Simple cheap and effective.

Lets hope that someone has a good one for us.

Denis and Flo

 Hi Denis and Flo,

What a great idea,

Jan and I toured Spain in a Motorhome for a few years before settling down with our villa. Its a great way to see all that Spain and the rest of Europe has to offer, but I am sure that when you have done it,  like us,  you will finish up back in Moraira. You simply cannot beat it.

We had a number of Motorhomes, all by Swift. They are a good British brand, offering many layouts, and the quality to match. For what you are doing , it is important that you choose the maximum size that money can buy, but for me  about 25 foot in length, is more than adequate. Jan and I opted for  the Swift Kontiki on a Fiat cab with the lowered galvanised chassis. This was effective for long distance touring where side winds were a problem. The Kontiki model comes with all the toys, inc oven, grill, hot and cold water, shower, fridge, on-board waste water and fresh water, warm air heating, etc etc. The only thing we had to add was Air con, which sits on the roof. We had two Kontikis and can thoroughly recommend them. Our last motorhome was a Swift Bollero, which had all the refinements of the Kontiki but was smaller which I thought would be an advantage, but proved not to be. Space in these vehicles is well worth the premium.

Anyway, you should be able to pick up a five year old model for the sort of money you are prepared to pay, and the beauty of Motorhomes is that unlike cars they more often come with far fewer miles for there age.

And, when you have discarded your motorhome, you will probably buy a caravan and a good towing car, then you have the best of both worlds. When sited you have your car to tour the area, and a 25 foot caravan gives you more space per foot than a motorhome, simply because a caravan unlike a motorhome does not have the cab, drivers seats etc etc. Thats the way Jan and I now choose to do it .

Good luck, and hope to see you when we get back unless you are already away.

PeterandJan

Hi Peter and Jan,

We plan on touring for the odd year or two, going back to some of the old haunts in Germany and Italy, and visiting some friends in Holland. The only problem we can see with heading to UK is the stretch of water to cross and that is why we would prefer something with a Continental registration/ITV/TUV as they are easier, and cheaper, to keep legal. But UK registered is ok providing it has 12 months (ish) MOT/Tax.

Have been offered a 36ft fifth wheel with Chevy pickup but just a tad too long at 40ft+. Pity as it was in lovely condition with all the bells and whistles. Other than that we have had no further offers.

The plan is to leave Moraira about the end of April and if we need to go back to UK first to buy something then we may tour there and then head for foreign shores later in the year. May be able to take advantage of the beautiful British summer.

Everything is lovely here at the moment and we will be sad to leave, and as you say we may be back, but we still have that desire to travel while we are able to.

See you soon we hope.

Flo and Denis

quick suggestion!

As you said there is always the problem of that stretch of water that can make life difficult.

Have you thought perhaps about buying S/H from Germany?

Representative of many websites is this one...

Much easier I guess when it comes to MOT time to simply swing back through Germany if you keep it on German plates...quite how you go on for road tax is another thing of course!

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Foxbat you are a star. That looks like a good site and we could have a holiday in Germany at the same time . But will have to brush up on mein Deutsch as we are both a touch rusty.

Once again many thanks for the info.

Denis and Flo

Just noticed a grammatical error - mein Deutsch is singular should be unser Deutsch. Told you we were rusty

Denis'n'Flo...

From what I recall they speak pretty good English.

I contacted them some years ago about buying a M/H, before settling on the Yank Tank that we bought privately in the UK.

By the time we had got through our third recovery and 1000Euros for busted belts between Pompey and San Sebastian we decided to call it quits and put the thing on a low loader for transportation to our chosen campsite near Granada. That cost us another 4 grand and during the transit they recovery team managed to bounce the underslung 60 gallon diesel tank into one of the chocks they were using; this punched a hole in the bottom of the tank. A new tank would have cost around 2 grand to import from the US so we eventually flogged the thing to the campsite owner who now uses it as a static bungalow...

What started out as a good deal turned bad almost as soon as its wheels turned in France. There was no indication on the dash for a drive belt failure so almost before we knew where we were, we had flat batteries and a boil up!

A real pig in a poke...hence my suggestion that whilst Yank machines are all very nice they are a b*tch when things go wrong!

Stick to European; they may not be so big but in the long run they are far more suitable for use in Europe.

Good Luck with the search.

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Foxbat. Sounds like you had an adventure that you could have done without! But if you will buy in Pompey with all these sailors about  ?? Seriously, we had a business and lived in Osborne Road Southsea for a number of years and would go back there tomorrow. Apart from the cold/wind rain etc that is. It can blow a gale across the common on a good day. 

Had a good look yesterday at some dealers in Germany and it might be worth a try if nothing comes up down this neck of the woods. Still living in hope that some kind person will sell their motorhome with most of our wish list on it.

** EDITED - Spam **