Cant help wondering what is the point of owning a motor home when you have to tow a vehicle behind it? A truly luxurious caravan would be no where near the price ,not trying to be rude or insulting to motor home owners I just cant see any benefit...
Ron, my take is that caravaning and Mh touring are different. For Touring and Health Issues
eg Go to Tassie
With Van. Park in the Hobart Show grounds, leave van and have Day trips to Port Arthur, Huon, Russell Falls etc etc.
With the Mh, Spend night in the showgrounds, see Hobart via local train/tram service, then travel to Port A, Huon, Russell Falls, stay overnight along the way.
Health Issues
Re the Caravan adjusting jockey wheel and stabilizers, as some get older its easier in a small Mh without a tow vehicle, can still park in shopping centres and Maccas etc.
We progressed onto motorhome . Saying that Iām not saying one is better than the other . Ford V Holden thing . Ours is an 8m but have little issues parking etc .I have always driven medium sized trucks EPVās so this size is no problem.. I can park in loading bays or out back or taking two parking sections . We free camp a lot, having the ability to jump behind the wheel and drive off is added Secuity. But not the reason we bought this motorhome . There was 5 the same in sales yard we paid second hand what a GOOD new van would cost . Plus we didnāt have a vehicle you would tow it !! Unless you would use a new Falcon GT as tug ? No !!
We have a motorhome for several reasons, one - we love it, so easy to drive, relatively easy to park in most towns. Security, get into drivers seat and drive away from any safety issue. We tow a small car - Nissan Micra 1996 model - very light, uses hardly any fuel, cost us $1600 - had it for three and half years, and it alone has done about 35,000k. Most of it's life is spent on the trailer. Saves a lot of extra k's on the mh.
The setting up with a caravan (used to have one) is often very hard for people with arthritis in shoulders, legs, arms, neck etc. None of this getting car off the tilt trailer, so easy - undo chains, release trailer hold downs - back you go, drive away.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
We have a small caravan at present. 15 ft 6 in in the old language. We travel as a family of 3 and fit in quite well although a bit squeezy when cooking a meal. However, we are seriously thinking of getting a motor home for several reasons.
1. It is getting a bit hard to hook up at our age and consequently we tend to leave the car hooked up all the time. A motorhome would be shorter than the combined length of car plus van so easier to go shopping.
2. I don't like driving when towing (had a scary incident some years ago) but I would be happy to drive a motorhome. Ive heard the Fiat is just like driving a car.
3. As others have said, when free camping it is easy to drive away from trouble. I have a fear of being locked in the van by bad types.
The trouble is we don't want a big motorhome but the smaller ones are set up for couples. Still looking for the perfect layout in a compact size. Auto-Trail, Knaus and Swift seem to cater for 3 seats facing front and beds thad don't have to be made up every night. Still looking.
MOLLUSCAN - we have the Fiat Ducato - 2010 - and it is the dual gear type - i.e. auto OR manual in the same vehicle. I drive in the auto mode, and am just getting used to driving in towns recently. Intend to do a lot more driving in the future - haven't done up till now, but feel it is time - besides - he/she who drives doesn't have to cook that night or clean up - bonus!
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
What got me thinking about motor homes a friend of mine bought one second hand while in Europe and toured Europe for 12 months ,over there every where you park is in town and you have lots of company,they had push bikes racked on the back so need over there to tow a car ,yep a full 12 months with your own home to cook in ,seeing everything Europe had to offer and at the end they sold the motor home for only a ten grand Aussie dollars loss.
now in Australia the car is very important for running around ,he now has had a van for few years but he still misses that motor home ,at The moment they prefer the Van ,that may change in the future we all choose whats best for us and no doubt both vans and motor homes are just personal choices...
When we were younger and fitter, we thought like you. Had an offroad van and travelled extensively and into remote places.
The Driver's health deterioration meant he'd had enough of caravanning (even though I drove the rig too) and we sold it.
Then, eventually, he missed travel and we bought the Coaster. Our first trip demonstrated that we really needed a little runaround car as well.
Flat towing the terios is a totally different tow experience to towing a caravan, even though our caravan was only a small one. Flat towing is much easier.
We can set up camp, including unhitching the terios, in a fraction of the time it took to unhitch the 4WD and set up the caravan.
Don't miss the caravan(s) one bit and don't have a car in tow either, life is just simpler.
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Steve, Di & Ziggy We named our Motorhome "Roadworx" because on the road works "On The Road Again" Ford Transit with 302 Windsor V8 conversion, C4 Auto, 9 Inch Ford Diff All Lighting L.E.D., 260 Amp/h AGM, 530 Watt Solar + Kipor Backup Gen.
I am keen on different opinions, MH versus van, I currently have a Traveller caravan and are thinking of going to a MH. The Motorhomes I like are 10 metres long and have everything inside you would ever need. My van is nearly 9 metres in total length before I put the tow vehicle on. I would like a 10 metre motorhome and a Grand Vitara behind on a A-Frame, not a trailer, MH and Suzuki would be about the same length as I have now. Free camping would not be a problem and taking the MH to a Caravan Park, it takes about 1 Minute to disconnect the Suzuki, I can drive the MH in and the BOSS can drive the Suzuki in. The MH should be easy to park not towing anything and would make a fantastic Home Base to go out from in the Suzuki. You could stay in a Caravan Park for weeks in fantastic comfort before moving on to the next park. The Suzuki takes a little longer to attach back to the MH but still only a few minutes, probably quicker than attaching the car to the Van now.
I would appreciate any opinions as I have not done any of this , at this stage it is all just thoughts. Opinions Greatly appreciated
I have taken the slide on route, as there is only me , and I want to tow a large tinny for fishing. I am , at the moment ,lowering the tray on the DMAX to make it easier to unload the camper, with is selfcontained. I don,t need the larger MH, and still like to go off road at times. Everyone to their own. Bill
When the kids were smaller - school age - we had a pop top van and used it most school hols. Drove from home to 'somewhere', set it up for a week or more, packed it up and went home & back to work. Was great as a 25-40yr old
As time went on, I got more & more cheesed off at being 'locked' into one place due to the need for all the connection / disconnection of caravan to vehicle, the annexe and the 101 other bits. My back had been injured industrially and bending down was a pain in more ways than one.
As the kids left home we went to a small campervan - easy to drive, much the same set of fittings as the old pop-top, and over 20+ years we drove 2 of them till they fell apart. But there was no shower-toilet in the camparvan
For her 50th celebration, the CFO demanded a shower-toilet and I agreed, so the Sunliner EuroTrans came along. A magic motorhome for us - great floorplan, huge storage [600+kg], separate sleeping-eating-cooking areas [beaut in wet weather], and this is now home-on-the-highway for 8-9 months each year
We have never wanted to tow anything - no need to with the versatility of the MH - and after 430,000km over 15yrs we don't look like stopping any time soon
Thanks Ron,
Sounds like you are loving life. You are certainly doing it right. I personally would want to tow a vehicle because I enjoy taking off for day trips and exploring, more so Off road, along beaches and so forth and my relatively large MH is at the Caravan Park as a base.
My MH wouldnt not go places I want to go. At the moment the caravan is my base and the fairly large 4x4 is my transport, I am thinking the MH would be a much better or more comfortable base and a smaller 4x4 more versatile for day trips.
A 10 metre MH is only just over a metre longer than my van in total length but all usable space so its a very good Base to come home too. Parking in normal caravan site should be relatively easy.
I am looking forward to 6-8 months on the road each year and have the family visit me.
Horses for courses I would think. I have a slide on camper, may not be everyone "cup of tea" but it suits me as I like to take my boat. Everyone has different needs & capabilities, we are so spoiled for choice. Enjoy what makes you happy!
I have taken the slide on route, as there is only me , and I want to tow a large tinny for fishing. I am , at the moment ,lowering the tray on the DMAX to make it easier to unload the camper, with is selfcontained. I don,t need the larger MH, and still like to go off road at times. Everyone to their own. Bill
Perry, you have described the way we travel, now. Base the bus in a caravan park and use the Terios to explore around the area. Move on when ready. We are comfortable in caravan parks and do not have to worry about the security of the rig when out and about in the Terios. We A frame flat tow - with the Ready Brute it takes maybe 3 minutes to unhitch, maximum, and not much more to hitch up. We are very happy with it all.
Thanks Wendy , I feel I will love travelling in a MH and having a little car for day trips, and coming home to a very nice MH. I get a little surprised when people say don't get a MH you have to tow something, but when you go caravanning, YOU ARE TOWING SOMETHING !!! and i feel the MH and a Suzuki would easier than a caravan and more comfy when stopped.
Its great to hear thats how you are travelling.
