DO NOT GET CARRIED AWAY BY A SHINEY MOTORHOME, most first time buyers or all ? buy an unsuitable van to start off lots to consider, the first thig is your driving licence, are you licenced to drive the size of vehicle you have fallen in love with, if it is OVER 3-5 tonnes laden weight it will require a different licence to your car licence, under 3-5 tonnes you can drive it on your car licence,if you passed your test before a certain date you can drive the heavier van on your present licence until the age of 70 when you require medicals every 3 years to retain the GRANDFATHER rights as they are called, Next where will you keep it over night, an
Insurance question, will it fit on your drive at home or will you need road side parking or storage, these answers have an effect on your
Insurance premium.
Next look at lots and lots of vans, and then look at lots and lots more until you are sure of your needs and likes, go to lots of dealers, look at private sellers BUT do not be bamboozled by them , they are not concerned about you buying the wrong van for you, just in taking your money, LOTS of SCAMMERS out there so BEWARE of fraudsters and DO NOT part with ANY money until you are sure the van is GENUINE, free of finance owned by whoever you are going to buy from, not stolen, or crashed repaired ,and all documents in place.
So the van will depend on your likes, size , condition ,mileage , layout storage,[very important] do you want fixed beds, how many seat belts, how many beds [ fixed bed for us every time, no faffing about at night making a bed ARRRGHHHH] water storage , gas storage [Refillables ?}fridge and freezer size, wardrobe space is very important, some vans claim to be 4?5 berth but only enough wardrobe space for 2? Left or right hand drive, do not worry about right hand drive ,if you plan to drive on the Continent it is really easy to have right hand drive in Europe , there are high top vans ,low lines,A class ,Coach built, vans with big ugly lumps over the drivers seat which is called the LUTON and have beds up there , it is your choice, then engines a real minefield, some vans are under powered for their size so beware, British vans have the habitation door on the left hand side , Continental built vans have the door on the right hand side , both good, no problems , but consider if you can live wish this.
As you sit in the van you like think where will I put everything, pots and pans, crockery, clothes etc etc where will I store outside stuff, ie barbies chairs tables , awnings wind breaks tools etc etc, nothing worse in my book , having outside clutter inside the van, does the van have a spare wheel many do not, [MADNESS}
Shower and toilet facilities are VERY important to us, we insist on a full size shower separate from the toilet, , and big enough to shower daily with comfort, some vans have diesel heating for space and water, mine does ,it is very efficient, and heats up almost instantaneously.
There are many many consideration when buying your first vans so be careful, if you get the wrong one you will loose lots of money changing the van to another and most of us have done that,Damp is a major consideration as are many other things as I am sure others will tell you, ask as many questions as you like as we are all here to help and were all newcomers to our hobby at one time,
Thank you all very much for the really informative responses, to answer a couple of questions, due to limited driveway space whatever we buy will be stored in a compound (probably the same place we currently store our caravan), not that it matters but I'll be 57 when I retire and I do have a C1 licence.
