Diesel

What is it? Plastic white, 35mph behemoths (often named 'Hymen' or 'Swift'), driven by people who could hardly manage a Micra (let alone reverse one) are everywhere on my favourite roads these days. Some even wheezingly tow laughable Italian Cardboardo-Cinquento mobiles behind

I like the romantic notion of 'just taking off' (especially if you are retired and have time to use up) but SURELY the annual depreciation on one of these lane clogging, ozone melting, plastic, French weedy engined frustrato-mobiles would pay for WEEKS and weeks of QUALITY hotel stay?

I just don't get it!? Why lose £3k pa on a plastic pig for a soggy few weekends wheezing around in Wales (and holding up all the locals who are trying to do a days work)?

D (you can just tell I had an hour added to my journey!)

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

dont hold back ...

MrRA

It's birth of the UK's 'RV' scene I think. Guy in work with me paid nearly £70k for one recently. I was overwhelmed with disbelief.

Diesel

Its the new Timeshare I tell thee! Fools & money....

Motorhomes.Mobi | Used Hymer B584 Fiat for sale >shock<

Shark Man

Stupid thing is, there is no call for them to meander so slowely. Modern ones are are far more powerful than what was about when we had one over ten years ago:

Our lowely 1990 Eldis Autostratus CK (albeit with Alko chassis, so it was good in da twisties ) Would happily sit at 80mph on the motorways.

90+mph was a bit of an **** though as the roof light vents kept popping open

0-60 was not too bad either, helped a little by a ported and flowed cylinder head (2.0litre Petrol Fiat Ducato - my first "head job" ), Timed it at 15seconds, which is on par with shopping cars and pauper-spec SUVs



One annoying thing about many modern motorhomes is they seem to be fewer and fewer using the AL-Ko chassis these days - instead retaining the factory base vehicle's ladder chassis and leaf springs. This basically makes the difference between it handling like a large car and a top-heavy luton van (also better payload and lower roof line too, so less drag, more speed and better MPG).

However, good 2nd hand investment; in the 6 years we owned ours it had pretty much no depreciation. Paid £12K for it, sold it six years later for £13K. Try doing that with a car or a caravan! In fact, here's one for sale now for only £500 less than what we paid for ours 16 years ago Warwickshire Motorhomes

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Have you noticed the vinyls on these modern motorhomes? Most of them are absolutely hideous splodges and swooshes but it can be quite good fun on a long and boring motorway journey spotting the worst and trying to figure out what they're supposed to be and, what particular drug the designer was on at the time

NACRO

I borrowed one of these for a recent weekend motorsport event



4WD and remapped to over 200bhp

Slow it wasn't, in fact I out accelerated some toerags in Mondeo down a sliproad. Only problem was the original purchaser paid some 68,000 euro for it.

wagrain

We recently bought a caravan!

But I do get my foot down, and its the car drivers holding me up!

If only they would raise the legal towing speeds on motorways . . mine will happily sit at over 80 on the motorways of Europe.

It does help having plenty of my equestian friends under the bonnet!

Waggy

Leslie

Its even more difficult to get past when they are towing a Smart car behind on an ambulance for their personal transport at the camp site.

Les

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

The old driving these are an issue but the parents just bought one and love it. Scooter on the back so they can get about when they arrive, can't fault it. Means they can take the dog etc in the UK too which many hotels don't allow.

Problem i find is numpty car drivers that sit behind them and moan rather than over take. see it on the single carriageway sections of the A1 all the time.

I follow for one straight bit, if they do nothing the next chance i'm out and trundling past 4 cars and on with my journey. You can guarantee that they areall tutting into their cardigans too but sod em. Learn to drive i say.

5t.

Diesel

You have a point there mate - it just annoys me that they wont overtake when safe to do so, but then flash their lights at you when you overtake and are forced to do it in stages and pull back in before eventually passing the slow vehicle at the front.

D

Leslie

Any decent driver would leave enough space between him and the motorhome so that anyone else can "staircase" their way past!

Les

DanTheMan

I just sold my Evo 6 for a motorhome, luckily it will touch 80 but I'm always being held up by old codgers and it aint got enough oooomph to overtake - from behind I bet it looks like I'm holding up the queue.