Motorhome & Caravan Show

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Discussion

48k

Original Poster:

13,967 posts

155 months

Tuesday 15th October
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Anyone off to the NEC this week? I'm going today. Hoping to get some ideas for an upgrade from a Transporter day van to our first motorhome.

blueg33

38,527 posts

231 months

Tuesday 15th October
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Hmm - many caravan and motorhome enthusiasts gathered in one place...............very tempting target wink

At least they wont be clogging up the lanes

48k

Original Poster:

13,967 posts

155 months

Tuesday 15th October
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OK, so, found my perfect motorhome.

Just need 200 grand of finance...

Spuffington

1,238 posts

175 months

Wednesday 16th October
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Interesting, what have you found? Presumably a high end Hymer, Niesmann & Bischoff, low-end Concorde or Morelo at that price?

We were supposed to be going today. Have been wanting to go for years but the thought now of taking our two boys with us (4yrs and 6months) was too much when it came to it. Given it’s two hours each way there and lots of walking. Baby we could’ve carried but don’t think pushchair will work.

We’re instead off to a local ish dealer to see a Burstner Argos 747 in the flesh. We’re looking at making the chance from a compact 6m camper as we need 5 belts & berths (have a 12yr old daughter too).

48k

Original Poster:

13,967 posts

155 months

Wednesday 16th October
quotequote all
Spuffington said:
Interesting, what have you found? Presumably a high end Hymer, Niesmann & Bischoff, low-end Concorde or Morelo at that price?

We were supposed to be going today. Have been wanting to go for years but the thought now of taking our two boys with us (4yrs and 6months) was too much when it came to it. Given it’s two hours each way there and lots of walking. Baby we could’ve carried but don’t think pushchair will work.

We’re instead off to a local ish dealer to see a Burstner Argos 747 in the flesh. We’re looking at making the chance from a compact 6m camper as we need 5 belts & berths (have a 12yr old daughter too).
Lots of people with pushchairs and in wheelchairs there. It wasn't actually mega busy but maybe that's because it was a weekday, previously I've gone at the weekend.

Grandad Gaz

5,166 posts

253 months

Friday 18th October
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48k said:
OK, so, found my perfect motorhome.

Just need 200 grand of finance...
Couldn't have been the one I looked at then! Mine was £288K

Seriously though, the wife and I plan to get a motor home of some sort next year. The choice was simply staggering and we came away more confused than we went in.

How on earth do you decide? It looks like there has to be a compromise between size and practicality somewhere along the line. Sometimes I think a van conversion would be best, other times it has to be a proper motor home.
We came away with loads of brochures. Hopefully we can narrow it down a bit before next spring.

missing the VR6

2,391 posts

196 months

Friday 18th October
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I'd say the key is having as much space to move around in as possible. We deliberately bought a 5/6 berth one when there's only 3 of us and a medium size dog. It's nice having space if you're stuck in on a wet day, not getting under each others feet.

Spuffington

1,238 posts

175 months

Friday 18th October
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We decided to give it a miss in the end. I think we made the right decision given it was hard enough looking around 4 motorhomes in a quiet dealership with two young boys - the idea of doing it with several thousand people at once would've been too much to bear!

But we did decide that we're going to make the change from campervan to Burstner Argos 747. Saw a lovely example, if not overpriced IMO. Spent a lot of time in it and would be willing to have a haggle. I was very impressed by the Salesman at the time for his ability to juggle being around for questions but not too pushy or overbearing. Shame that at the mention of a haggle he seems to have put the pen down, in spite of showing our intent by coming in our BoxDrive and showing we were serious punters....

https://www.cranham.co.uk/vehicle-details/used-bur...

Anyhow, the scene has been set now. If not this one then definitely a >2016 (Euro6) van. So thoughts turn to preparing my campervan for sale. Anyone in the market for a very lightly used BoxDrive 600XL on 4x4 MAN TGE 4.180 chassis, please reach out! wink

Spuffington

1,238 posts

175 months

Friday 18th October
quotequote all
Grandad Gaz said:
Couldn't have been the one I looked at then! Mine was £288K

Seriously though, the wife and I plan to get a motor home of some sort next year. The choice was simply staggering and we came away more confused than we went in.

How on earth do you decide? It looks like there has to be a compromise between size and practicality somewhere along the line. Sometimes I think a van conversion would be best, other times it has to be a proper motor home.
We came away with loads of brochures. Hopefully we can narrow it down a bit before next spring.
Key thing from my perspective is to really think about what it is you want to do with it. Are you active types who just want to arrive somewhere, do something and then kip for the night. Or are you more likely to pull up somewhere, stay for a few days, spend your time reading, eating, watching TV? If the former, then a campervan is ideal. If the latter, the bigger & plusher you potentially want to look.

If you're really confused, I'd suggest hiring lots of different layouts to work out what you're comfortable with.

I've always stuck to fixed beds - I prefer the ability to hit the hay easily rather than turn everything upside down to make a bed and pack it away. That said we looked at a few rear lounge models recently due to now having 3 kids and can see the appeal of separation of living spaces.

Go try a load out at a dealership without the pressure of thousands of people bearing down your neck.

Good luck with your search! smile

LeighW

4,706 posts

195 months

Monday 21st October
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Grandad Gaz said:
Couldn't have been the one I looked at then! Mine was £288K

Seriously though, the wife and I plan to get a motor home of some sort next year. The choice was simply staggering and we came away more confused than we went in.

How on earth do you decide? It looks like there has to be a compromise between size and practicality somewhere along the line. Sometimes I think a van conversion would be best, other times it has to be a proper motor home.
We came away with loads of brochures. Hopefully we can narrow it down a bit before next spring.
We went on Friday, I don't know how the market is in general, but there were a lot of salesmen stood around twiddling thumbs.

Having had our VW Transporter camper for over ten years, my wife and I really would like more space and comfort. We've spent ages weighing up the pros and cons of van conversions vs coachbuilts, and it's so hard to decide. Van conversions such as CV20s etc look decent, but then we saw the coachbuilt Benimar Primero 286 which has a huge garage at the back that we could fit our mountain bikes in, tons of storage, lots of seating space, drop down double bed, proper separate shower etc.

We've now decided that we probably wouldn't get enough use out of them use while we're still working to justify the considerable (to us) outlay, so we're going to get a wobble box instead and keep the camper to tow it and to use for days out with the bikes etc. biggrin