Motorhomes & Campervans off grid Vs Traditional?

[Taipan]

Budget was hopefully going to be around £20k, but it look like to get anything decent I'll have to up that substantially!?

To be honest, for £20k you'll just about a buy a decent 5 year old VW T6 from a chippie, it might have some racking for tools but that's about it. If you do start having a serious look and find something you like, get someone who knows what their doing to have a look. Campervans and motorhomes are a whole new world of problems you never knew existed with vehicles.

Thats what I'm looking at now. IF I up the budget then I can get something like the one below, but its not really an off grid one, so I have to chuck more money at it. Plus the interior looks very old fashioned.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115343155851 ... 1438.l2649

For the same budget I can find an "off gridder" but 145k miles and it looks like it was made out of an old caravan and some cheap tongue in groove. I am starting to like this style, but you'd certainly need to see some build pictures!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294941219499 ... 1438.l2649

So I jump up the budget and I can get this, more modern, lower miles, off grid etc blah. But that is an effin great chunk of change sat on the drive and how much am I going to actually use it! If we had retired and were going to Spain looking for areas to live in, which is eventually the plan, then maybe, but we're not there yet. I appreciate its not spent money and can be cashed back in, but I'm thinking making do with the first one wouldn't be quite so financially painful?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224930210854 ... 1438.l2649

[KungFooBob]

MOT, Service and a new Leisure battery on mine today.

£25k to you.

[Yorick]

Budget was hopefully going to be around £20k, but it look like to get anything decent I'll have to up that substantially!?

To be honest, for £20k you'll just about a buy a decent 5 year old VW T6 from a chippie, it might have some racking for tools but that's about it. If you do start having a serious look and find something you like, get someone who knows what their doing to have a look. Campervans and motorhomes are a whole new world of problems you never knew existed with vehicles.

Thats what I'm looking at now. IF I up the budget then I can get something like the one below, but its not really an off grid one, so I have to chuck more money at it. Plus the interior looks very old fashioned.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115343155851 ... 1438.l2649

For the same budget I can find an "off gridder" but 145k miles and it looks like it was made out of an old caravan and some cheap tongue in groove. I am starting to like this style, but you'd certainly need to see some build pictures!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294941219499 ... 1438.l2649

So I jump up the budget and I can get this, more modern, lower miles, off grid etc blah. But that is an effin great chunk of change sat on the drive and how much am I going to actually use it! If we had retired and were going to Spain looking for areas to live in, which is eventually the plan, then maybe, but we're not there yet. I appreciate its not spent money and can be cashed back in, but I'm thinking making do with the first one wouldn't be quite so financially painful?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224930210854 ... 1438.l2649

The first one has same layout as mine. Plenty of space.
Too many have tiny seating area with fixed table. Not much fun sitting inside.

[KungFooBob]

Much cheapness.

[Pirahna]

So I jump up the budget and I can get this, more modern, lower miles, off grid etc blah. But that is an effin great chunk of change sat on the drive and how much am I going to actually use it! If we had retired and were going to Spain looking for areas to live in, which is eventually the plan, then maybe, but we're not there yet. I appreciate its not spent money and can be cashed back in, but I'm thinking making do with the first one wouldn't be quite so financially painful?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224930210854 ... 1438.l2649

The one big problem with that one is that you sleep across the van. Great if you're not too tall and the person next to the back doors doesn't need a piss in the night. It's a van so the mechanicals need to be tip top, then everything else needs to work as well. The camper bit of the it, electrics, water, toilet etc, plus non of the windows and vents leak. Get someone who knows to check stuff.

Now onto the second bit, retiring to Spain. Our plan was to drive around Europe for a while checking out Spain, France, Italy etc finding somewhere to live out our lives. If you read my van build thread you'll know that we sold up in the UK last year and picked the van up at the end of November. I'm typing this from my new house in Spain looking at trying to sell an expensive but bespoke conversion. It was worth it though.

If you want to come out and have a base to use you're more than welcome. If you're serious about Spain why not buy a Spanish van?

[Felix]

Budget was hopefully going to be around £20k, but it look like to get anything decent I'll have to up that substantially!?

To be honest, for £20k you'll just about a buy a decent 5 year old VW T6 from a chippie, it might have some racking for tools but that's about it. If you do start having a serious look and find something you like, get someone who knows what their doing to have a look. Campervans and motorhomes are a whole new world of problems you never knew existed with vehicles.

Thats what I'm looking at now. IF I up the budget then I can get something like the one below, but its not really an off grid one, so I have to chuck more money at it. Plus the interior looks very old fashioned.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115343155851 ... 1438.l2649

For the same budget I can find an "off gridder" but 145k miles and it looks like it was made out of an old caravan and some cheap tongue in groove. I am starting to like this style, but you'd certainly need to see some build pictures!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294941219499 ... 1438.l2649

So I jump up the budget and I can get this, more modern, lower miles, off grid etc blah. But that is an effin great chunk of change sat on the drive and how much am I going to actually use it! If we had retired and were going to Spain looking for areas to live in, which is eventually the plan, then maybe, but we're not there yet. I appreciate its not spent money and can be cashed back in, but I'm thinking making do with the first one wouldn't be quite so financially painful?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224930210854 ... 1438.l2649

Crafter i like but Kungfoobob's offer must be worth a look over even though its a Transit

[Taipan]

To be honest, for £20k you'll just about a buy a decent 5 year old VW T6 from a chippie, it might have some racking for tools but that's about it. If you do start having a serious look and find something you like, get someone who knows what their doing to have a look. Campervans and motorhomes are a whole new world of problems you never knew existed with vehicles.

Thats what I'm looking at now. IF I up the budget then I can get something like the one below, but its not really an off grid one, so I have to chuck more money at it. Plus the interior looks very old fashioned.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115343155851 ... 1438.l2649

For the same budget I can find an "off gridder" but 145k miles and it looks like it was made out of an old caravan and some cheap tongue in groove. I am starting to like this style, but you'd certainly need to see some build pictures!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294941219499 ... 1438.l2649

So I jump up the budget and I can get this, more modern, lower miles, off grid etc blah. But that is an effin great chunk of change sat on the drive and how much am I going to actually use it! If we had retired and were going to Spain looking for areas to live in, which is eventually the plan, then maybe, but we're not there yet. I appreciate its not spent money and can be cashed back in, but I'm thinking making do with the first one wouldn't be quite so financially painful?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224930210854 ... 1438.l2649

Crafter i like but Kungfoobob's offer must be worth a look over even though its a Transit

KFBs is a great buy for someone, but the wrong type for us. TBH, I think I've parked this idea for now. The wife is as taken back by the price to get what we would want as I am. Doable if we were going to use it regularly, but with her Mum's advancing dementia placing more demands on our time and we also have a couple of home improvement projects to do this year, I can see it ending up as a costly white elephant on the drive. Conversely, it may be her Mums dementia that sees us buying one as I think I'm going to need to force some respite on my wife as this goes on, but then, as some have intimated, the occasional B&B would be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying, taxing and insuring a MH!

[Rockburner]

Thats what I'm looking at now. IF I up the budget then I can get something like the one below, but its not really an off grid one, so I have to chuck more money at it. Plus the interior looks very old fashioned.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115343155851 ... 1438.l2649

For the same budget I can find an "off gridder" but 145k miles and it looks like it was made out of an old caravan and some cheap tongue in groove. I am starting to like this style, but you'd certainly need to see some build pictures!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294941219499 ... 1438.l2649

So I jump up the budget and I can get this, more modern, lower miles, off grid etc blah. But that is an effin great chunk of change sat on the drive and how much am I going to actually use it! If we had retired and were going to Spain looking for areas to live in, which is eventually the plan, then maybe, but we're not there yet. I appreciate its not spent money and can be cashed back in, but I'm thinking making do with the first one wouldn't be quite so financially painful?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224930210854 ... 1438.l2649

Crafter i like but Kungfoobob's offer must be worth a look over even though its a Transit

KFBs is a great buy for someone, but the wrong type for us. TBH, I think I've parked this idea for now. The wife is as taken back by the price to get what we would want as I am. Doable if we were going to use it regularly, but with her Mum's advancing dementia placing more demands on our time and we also have a couple of home improvement projects to do this year, I can see it ending up as a costly white elephant on the drive. Conversely, it may be her Mums dementia that sees us buying one as I think I'm going to need to force some respite on my wife as this goes on, but then, as some have intimated, the occasional B&B would be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying, taxing and insuring a MH!

Yep - it's a big chunk of money sitting depreciating (albeit relatively slowly) on the drive if you're not using it regularly.

[Demannu]

IF you buy rhe right vehicle, then depreciation will be minmal, or in my case, its worth £4k more than i paid for it!
Stirring up a hornets nest, but i'd avoid a tranny based van as they have a habit of disappearing very quickly (obd security overide), and fiats have a nasty habit of draining the windscreen onto the injectors and leaving you with a nice little bill, or rear engine mounts, or fuel filter housings , or...............

[Rockburner]

IF you buy rhe right vehicle, then depreciation will be minmal, or in my case, its worth £4k more than i paid for it!
Stirring up a hornets nest, but i'd avoid a tranny based van as they have a habit of disappearing very quickly (obd security overide), and fiats have a nasty habit of draining the windscreen onto the injectors and leaving you with a nice little bill, or rear engine mounts, or fuel filter housings , or...............

EVERYTHING has it's little problems.

[Demannu]

IF you buy rhe right vehicle, then depreciation will be minmal, or in my case, its worth £4k more than i paid for it!
Stirring up a hornets nest, but i'd avoid a tranny based van as they have a habit of disappearing very quickly (obd security overide), and fiats have a nasty habit of draining the windscreen onto the injectors and leaving you with a nice little bill, or rear engine mounts, or fuel filter housings , or...............

EVERYTHING has it's little problems.

In 8 years, a cam sensor (van still worked, just had to be below 80c on the temp guage), clutch slave cylinder (115k miles), starter motor (see cam sensor problem).
Fiat, fix it again tomorrow
Ford, fix or repair daily

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

What are the benefits of a motorhome over a car and caravan?

[Taipan]

What are the benefits of a motorhome over a car and caravan?

Fors and against for both. Obviously, you can easily drive through little villages and explore back roads in a camper a lot easier than in a car with a caravan on the back. But their (caravan) advantage is when parked up you still have a car to use.

[weeksy]

What are the benefits of a motorhome over a car and caravan?

Fors and against for both. Obviously, you can easily drive through little villages and explore back roads in a camper a lot easier than in a car with a caravan on the back. But their (caravan) advantage is when parked up you still have a car to use.

I'd have thought most camper people just have 2 Ebikes nowdays or 2 pedal bikes.

[lostboy]

What are the benefits of a motorhome over a car and caravan?

Fors and against for both. Obviously, you can easily drive through little villages and explore back roads in a camper a lot easier than in a car with a caravan on the back. But their (caravan) advantage is when parked up you still have a car to use.

If parking a motorhome isn't fun, try parking a car and caravan*!

* Anywhere other than on a camp site!

[Taipan]

What are the benefits of a motorhome over a car and caravan?

Fors and against for both. Obviously, you can easily drive through little villages and explore back roads in a camper a lot easier than in a car with a caravan on the back. But their (caravan) advantage is when parked up you still have a car to use.

If parking a motorhome isn't fun, try parking a car and caravan*!

* Anywhere other than on a camp site!

I couldn't even do that when I towed. I used to unhook it and shove it into place!

[Druid]

If parking a motorhome isn't fun, try parking a car and caravan*!

* Anywhere other than on a camp site!

I couldn't even do that when I towed. I used to unhook it and shove it into place!

It feels like most people have a caravan mover these days. Just unhook the van, leave the towcar in the road and spend half an hour manouvering the caravan into place

[Taipan]

If parking a motorhome isn't fun, try parking a car and caravan*!

* Anywhere other than on a camp site!

I couldn't even do that when I towed. I used to unhook it and shove it into place!

It feels like most people have a caravan mover these days. Just unhook the van, leave the towcar in the road and spend half an hour manouvering the caravan into place

I fitted a mover to my in-law's caravan. Still amuses me watching him remotely drive it off the driveway and round into the back garden!

[Taipan]

My Sister is now buying a campervan. It's a home conversion of a Renault master. She's tying Adrian Flux but is there anywhere else that specialises in insurance for these types of conversions?

[KungFooBob]

Dunno about home built, but Comfort and Caravan Guard are the two biggest for general mohos.