I have always fancied a motor home but never really brought the subject up with my dear wife as I was 100% certain she would hate the idea
Well I was very wrong she in fact seems very keen on the idea but has one reservation and that is the parking of the MH itself
Although we will be taking our hols in the 'van stopping at various campsites one of the attractions of getting a motorhome is using it for days out with our very young children so we have a base for meals , loo breaks etc. etc. now my wife did come up with quite an important consideration that is putting her of the idea a little and that is finding places to park the MH
We went for a day out to Bakewell on Sunday and my wife did comment on if we had taken a MH there where the hell would we park it
Hi
Its not as bad as you think, ours is 7 meters long and 2.2 meters high.
The length means if we use a car park we may have to buy 2 tickets as we use 2 bays, however if an attendent is there they normally say just buy the 1.
The height can be a problem multi storey is a no no and watch out for those dam height barriers on some car parks.
If possible try lorry or coach parks.
Dont let this put you off getting a MH they are great fun.
Good Luck
Chris
______________________________________________________________ Can not wait till our next trip. Chris n Deb
Well, you've made the first step towards an exciting new adventure with your family and you'll be surprised how quickly you'll get used to parking the beast (and driving it, of course).
If your chosen motorhome is less than, say, 6m in length it should fit into standard parking bays - but multi-storey car parks as well as those with height barriers will be out of bounds, for obvious reasons.
Over that length, you should still be able to find parking bays where you can overhang the ground behind, for example. You could also choose double bays (one in front of the other) to give you the extra length, but you'll often need to pay for both bays. A tip here, try to go for bays at the end of a row - much easier to get out again if the car park fills up.
There's a fabulous website called motorhomeparking (I think - a Google search will find it) listing loads of places around the country where provision is made for motorhome parking.
Other options include lorry parks - they usually have suitable spaces - supermarket car parks (either buy something, or make sure they have no restrictions) and sports centre car parks (open air, obviously!).
To be honest, in the four years we've been motorhoming with our 25-footer we've only once failed to find somewhere to park, and that was in Boscastle shortly after the floods. More often than you'd imagine we've been able to park at the side of the road.
In short, don't be put off by the fear of parking. It's not half as difficult as you may imagine.
______________________________________________________________ Mike
While parking a motorhome is not as easy as parking a car and there are some places where you feel unwelcome, most of us manage without too much trouble.
Most towns and cities have a car park without barriers and some even provide dedicated bays for MHs. Some insist you buy 2 tickets if you overhang your bay, some don't mind, some won't allow it at any price and some places have a grass verge that you can overhang.
Supermarkets also make useful parking spots but look out for height barriers and time restrictions. We always buy something if we stop there.
If you are going for any length of time then an e-mail to the parking supremo of a particular town ( address via the internet ) usually brings a quick and handy reply. I also do this if we are going to a National trust, English Heritage or private house or attraction and have always had a reply, promptly.
Now when you go to Europe life becomes considerably easier !
It takes a bit of planning at times, but it never stops us enjoying the opportunity to travel. On the contrary, we are fitter as we routinely look for edge of town car parks or park&rides when we visit new places. It takes a while to remind yourself about height, weight and width constraints, but you get there in the end.
Think also about where you will store any MH. We wanted to use our drive and knew we had a rigid length limitation of about six metres. It is worth researching the subject as deep and as long as you can before choosing a van. Try to visit one or more exhibitions, just to see what formats are available. We used the big show at Duesseldorf to finalize our choice. We spent four or five months beforehand researching the market to death, and arrived at the event with a short list of maybe a dozen vehicles to examine. Then, of course, we discounted them one by one and ended up getting something totally different. But thanks to all that work up front, we are still thrilled with our choice of MH three years later and would buy the same one again tomorrow.
Once you have one, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.
Grizzly mentioned National Trust - it's well worth having a NT subscription, loads of places for parking motorhomes and excellent days out.
______________________________________________________________ Still sat at my desk most of the time, although I may be using the laptop in the lounge or even on the sofa in Stella2, but not at the wheel of Stella2
Bognormike - the only motorhoming Oxford United supporter in Bognor
It's about getting your head around the size and the type of van you get. It will all fall in to place once you drive it for a while. You'll find places to park up that you wouldn't have seen in a car...
Grizzly mentioned National Trust - it's well worth having a NT subscription, loads of places for parking motorhomes and excellent days out.
...and I've always found NT administrators extremely helpful when I've e-mailed to ask about parking at particular houses. We've even been met and escorted to a prime spot at one particular place !
Can I first say that I am a member of various internet forums for various hobbies/interests and I have never come across such friendly and helpful people as I'm finding here
I am very new to the site and have only asked a couple of questions so far and I'm quite taken aback how nice you peeps are
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