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After a lengthy gestation period -the plans to buy a motor-home were picked off the shelf a week last Sunday, dusted off and detailed work started on procurement. We don't hang about and by Friday had a van (as I call them) in our sights. We negotiated on a van that was brand new - costing 3 grand more than a three year old (highish mileage) one. I am now a member of the Caravan Club - the epitome of Middle Class pretensions... what have I become !? :-)
Last edited by: R.P. on Thu 17 Jul 14 at 17:10
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First it was Crocs and now this. I think you need to take very long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if this is the man you set out to be.
Very disappointing. I am quite upset by it.
;-)
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Congrats RP. I too joined the Caravan Club (although remaining in Camping and Caravan Club too).
CC sites are very good indeed. The Xplore's maiden voyage was to Carsington Water.Would have stayed at their Centenary site in New Forest while watching RTI yacht race too but their snobbiness includes a ban on 'pup' tents and The Lad's too big for bunk in the van for more than one night. So it was Forest Holidays instead.
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Err... where does FIAT come into it? Do they make caravans?
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It's a Motorhome....! (keep up) - the received and for that matter the perceived wisdom is that Fiat Ducatto 2.3 130bhp 6 speed is the best engine....in fact Germans apart it seems to dominate the market. Otherwise built with pride in Grimsby.
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Oops - sorry, yes, I read motor-home, then got distracted by the talk of 'vans'...
Brave man - good luck!
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Good Lord.
Grimsby.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Thu 17 Jul 14 at 17:25
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Borat has a film about Grimsby...tinyurl.com/mfrk3ns
They don't like it.....
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>> Good Lord.
>>
>> Grimsby.
Reminded of a rather rude joke about a blind man, a woman, and "a sh it house door off a Grimsby trawler".
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Are you going to get Smart car to tow behind it? Seems to be the thing to do.
I have no possible use for a Smart convertible but I can't help thinking I'd quite like one. Actually I wouldn't on reflection, unless I had a motorhome to tow it with of course.
It must though, at some point, occur to those towing a small holiday car behind their motorhome that they could have used their normal car to tow a caravan which would have been much cheaper than buying the motorhome and the holiday car.
Well I would have that thought anyway.
I mean, if you had "pitched" or whatever you call it you do with your motorhome when you park it in a field. Erected your awning, set up your barbecue, connected up your power lines and stuff like that, then realise you've no milk, I guess you need the Smart car to go and fetch some or you have to take it all apart again.
Or, you could, not buy the motorhome, or the Smart car, or even the caravan to attach to your proper car and stay in a hotel, with a bar and a chef, and proper toilets.
;-)
Edit - and milk
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Thu 17 Jul 14 at 19:38
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Well done RP good choice enjoy it, best touring vehicles out. High viewpoint means you can see over hedges / walls etc. You always have your gear with you no need to keep going back to the campsite you left his morning, and great when you have dogs they are with you wherever you go and with plenty water out, high up windows & vents open and curtains closed dogs can be left in the caravan even on a hot day for a short while, while you nip in somewhere.
We have had ours since the kids were little and have a lot of memories both to look back on and to make for the future.
Enjoy the freedom, welcome back by the way
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You've just had a fortnight away from here (happy birthday by the way) and now you've got a motorhome.
What's the public going to do at the CAB?
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:-) Lots of thinking gone into it. One of the reasons is of course the dogs....F/MiL not getting any younger and it feels unfair to dump the dogs on them for any length of time...so this is away of going to Europe without that worry. I still work for the CAB although had to drop one day a week for tax reasons ! A year of driving their rig has given me some considerable experience of Ducattos !
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I read somewhere those Smart cars with their semi-auto boxes don't like being dragged around.
Could always fit a bike rack and not fit half a tonne of BMW to it. A Suzuki VanVan would be handy for nipping about on. A scoot just screams pensioner wagon.
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Grimsby or Immingham? Autotrail?
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Autotrail indeed...! Tracker
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We've put a bike rack on it - well bicycle. Dusted off the Marin that's been standing in the garage for the last five years...
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>> We've put a bike rack on it - well bicycle.
>>
Fell off the back of a Mondeo did it?
You'll be talking of roof boxes next, it's a slippery slope...;-)
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I know. The cassette thing makes me puke though....so I must still be normal. Delivery date first week in August.
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Tracker? No - cruised those mean streets for 15 years :)
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Pics pics and Pics please. Trying to persuade the Ayatollah at Homei! I've done with cruising. Not much bang for the buck. Too much British Isles to see.........
Velcome back from me too comrade.
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Have you got one of those big storage locker things that will fit a trials bike in?
That's all you need for occasional transport.... a waterproof rucksack and a rack.
I'm a bit jealous, with kids of my age, that would be ideal.
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>> It's a Motorhome....! (keep up) - the received and for that matter the perceived wisdom
>> is that Fiat Ducatto 2.3 130bhp 6 speed is the best engine....in fact Germans apart
>> it seems to dominate the market. Otherwise built with pride in Grimsby.
>>
BIL has a Hymer motorhome with a FIAT Ducato engine, as you say, that seems to be the industry standard - almost.
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Excellent. I love motorhomes in general and the Ducatto based ones in particular.
Which one?
Depending on what transport you need, we've always done well carrying an old-sit-up-and-beg moped for supermarket trips and takeaway retrieval.
On the rare occasions we've wanted to drive around, as opposed to drink and get taxis, we've always found someone nearby renting out old wrecks for not much per day.
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V50 is going to make way for it, The Ka becomes vehicle 2. No bike upgrade for a while and considered selling one of them for a nano-second.
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>> V50 is going to make way for it, The Ka becomes vehicle 2. No bike
>> upgrade for a while and considered selling one of them for a nano-second.
Surely there is room on the back for a rack with a couple of smallish trail bikes?
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>>Tracker EKS
Very nice.
We did choose one with a permanent bed at the back though, just to avoid having to make a bed every night. That then also led to significant storage room underneath the bed accessible from outside.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 17 Jul 14 at 20:38
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We were very restricted with the length of the vehicle - given where it's going to be parked. Ford Transit based Tribute (the new one) seems a very nice design with a rear bedspace that can be stowed complete and made up.
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Is it going to be parked close to home?
Its nice to be able to keep it fully loaded and charged so that one only need add bread, eggs and milk to go off at short notice.
You seem to have got a lovely standard of accommodation. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it.
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Yes outside the house, hence the length issue. Yep on charge !
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>>Yes outside the house, hence the length issue.
Is that the only issue? I tried that with a boat in the driveway and the car, later, a motorhome, in the road. Infra dig in the view of my middle-class neighbours.
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Fenlander is on record of not approving:)...or is a motorhome different to a caravan in this respect?
Pat
Last edited by: Pat on Fri 18 Jul 14 at 15:36
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Shouldn't this be in the "At what age do men accept they are getting older?" thread?
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Maybe, maybe not Kevin, at least he's selling one of the Volvos.
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And the bike fleet remains in tact.
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One of them is still a scooter though. Need to sort that.
What kind of Marin do you have? ( don't say a dusty one ! )
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Scooter still doing service as a commuter.
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>Maybe, maybe not Kevin, at least he's selling one of the Volvos.
I bet he's had the hairdryer out to swap over the National Trust sticker though.
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Three of my chums, and myself, have discussed buying a motor home for several months now. Two are semi retired, so could 'make time' for longer trips. A mutual friend is on his third motor home in 5 years... He tells us that you need to buy three before settling on the correct spec etc.
Personally, as and when I retire, it would be a 6 month European summer tour for me. Picos de Europa, Dolomites, any mountain areas with lots of walking and some backpacking involved.
It would have to be something manageable on mountain roads, but a shower & loo would be nice as I would hate to stay on sites most of the time.
The US motor homes always impress me, especially those towing a V8 engined twin cab pick up with a quad bike on the truck bed. Or even put a Westfield on the truck bed. Way to go. Sweet!
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I suspect motor homes of being top-heavy, lumbering and sluggish. I may be wrong but that's the way they look to me.
A van on the other hand, with appropriate mattresses and a well-packed primus and so on, is another matter, the vehicle's the thing really. Hurtle down,get there first, awning out before the next people arrive.
Or better still, go somewhere else altogether and take it easy.
My problem really is that I always feel as if I am camping even at home.
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Well done RP, nice choice...all was going well until you said you'd joined the Caravan Club.
Haven't you heard of wild camping for the over 50's?
Pat
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Might I suggest a separate section on the website for caravans, motor-caravans and the 'lifestyle'?
That way the rest of us don't have to suffer...
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You're right will create one afterwards, and I promise to avoid mentioning mine.
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>> You're right will create one afterwards, and I promise to avoid mentioning mine.
>>
Good idea. That is, the separate section. But not a good idea not to mention yours - it's interesting, and quite happy to see the discussion under its own little awning somewhere if required.
We were in the CC club years ago, but every time we went to a site it was obvious they let anybody in and there were no "special places" or anything, and the only advantage was you paid two bob a night instead of two and six, so you needed to visit four hundred and three sites a year to get your subscription back alone.
So we ditched it. Maybe things have changed since the early eighties. It's a constant surprise to me that things have.
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Might be a way of attracting some more new people as well ! Perhaps one for our two wheeled friends as well ala HJ ?
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The last Bikers Caff contribution on HJ was over a month ago. Do you think one on here would be more active?
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Fiat built vans have been re-badged as Fords, Peugeots, Citroens over many years and are/were built on the same production lines - the Boxer, Talbot Express and others readily come to mind.
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On the M5 I saw ( Christ the motorways were busy tonight ) a motorhome towing a caravan.
That's just wrong.
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Motorhomes are wrong. What's wrong with a caravan? Oh I'll get my coat. :-)
I can see why a dog owner might think this makes sense. But it doesn't to most of us. I suppose motorhomes are two to the penny when buying new. Cheap as chips.... Any other cliches I can add?
But lets be serious but when you get to the destination a proper car is useful surely? So a decent towing car?
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>> But lets be serious but when you get to the destination a proper car is
>> useful surely? So a decent towing car?
>>
With a motorhome, although you would call mine a camper van if you were being polite, you don't need the same destination 2 days running if you don't want to.
Even if you are going back where you started sometimes it's good to have the facilities when you are out, we've had some great views for breakfast and supper.
If you don't get it that's fine we are all different thankfully but it doesn't mean folks who do are wrong to enjoy something you don't
You go for it RP we've enjoyed it for over 30 years now.
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>> Fiat built vans have been re-badged as Fords, Peugeots, Citroens over many years and are/were
>> built on the same production lines - the Boxer, Talbot Express and others readily come
>> to mind.
>>
Sevel (the name of the collaboration) vans have been badged Fiat, Peugeot or Citroen. But never Ford.
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You presumably have not heard of Iveco? Perhaps vans might be the wrong area, but there was collaboration between the two companies trucks wise.
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>Might I suggest a separate section on the website for caravans, motor-caravans and the 'lifestyle'?
>That way the rest of us don't have to suffer...
Are you telling us that you wouldn't be interested in the techniques and pitfalls of cleaning out a chemical toilet Mike?
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The short answer is no, I wouldn't. But if you want to talk about that sort of thing where I can't hear then that's fine.
On reflection, my remark above may have been a bit unkind. I was feeling rather dyspeptic at the time I said it. 'Camping cars' are a pain here in the summer - we get them parking on our land as soon as it gets dark! We had friends from the UK stop off here with their van a few weeks ago, which gave the neighbours a laugh when they saw what we were hosting.
These friends use official sites all the time - I think the network they use over here is called France Passion - which is fine. It's the scroungers who trespass and won't pay for facilities that get up people's noses. The French accuse the Dutch, in particular, of freeloading and arriving pre-stocked with food, etc, so they don't even use local shops.
Anyway, no matter how one argues the economics it's hotels for us. We've clocked up more than 300 all over France up to now.
Last edited by: Mike Hannon on Sat 19 Jul 14 at 10:53
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It's horses for courses Mike and I fully accept a lot prefer hotels and caravanning isn't for them...just as a tent would be an absolute nightmare for me!
However we all share the same roads and all have as much right to be there as any other sector, even cycles, so bearing that in mind, surely sharing the same forum does make one sector more aware and hopefully considerate of the other ones?
Pat
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Anyone tried one of these? Looks like blinking hard work to me.
www.eta.co.uk/2012/04/19/a-tent-that-tows-behind-a-bicycle/
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Got to be a powered bicycle, preferably something fairly quiet, a VeloSolex or something.
Bit minimalist though, attractive as that can be. I prefer the thought of a tall Transit-type van with high gearing, blatting along at 70-odd on economical part-throttle. That's what this thread is really about.
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You're right Pat, of course. It's just that finding a camping car blocking my back drive and with a sign on it saying 'if the van's rocking...' in Dutch or German has soured my outlook.
Did I mention back along that I saw a six-wheel camping car go past, towing a trailer with a BMW 5-series tourer on it? And just the other day I saw one with just four wheels towing a trailer carrying a VW Touran? My gob was smacked yet again...
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Won't be towing nawt. Won't be stocking in the UK either - I prefer the taste of French groceries and that is part of any holiday...
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Nawt.....Hmmmm. Is that a Welsh spelling Rob? Oh! never mind, it's been a long day and I can't afford a few days off anyway to go out camping, with wheels or otherwise. Things are a bit tight in farming at the moment what with the price of Beef dropping etc.
However.................on a slightly brighter note 'may' I borrow the Triumph whilst you and the good lady are En France?
OK.....ok....just a thought.
Hope you enjoy,
MD. 0:)
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Picked it up yesterday, Mrs RP drove it home and got pulled by the Police. The van is on her personal plate and it showed up as still being on the Volvo and consequently no Insurance. Bizarrely the MID check was OK - eyelid did not batter on the lack of VEL (again not received from DVLA but shown on their database). Van is great - not driven it myself, been to busy trying to make sense of the huge library of books and a DVD that came with it. Some things are still rather mysterious...
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>> Picked it up yesterday, Mrs RP drove it home and got pulled by the Police.
Thats really rather funny
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Hope they didn't recognise her:)
Pat
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FIAT - Who'd have thought. - Runfer D'Hills
