How to Work Out if a Motorhome Is a Good Fit With Your Retirement Lifestyle and Budget

I’m not one of the tribe that bought their motorhome with their pension lump sum or an inheritance. I’ve owned Klaus the Knaus, pictured here since I was in my early forties so feel well equipped to talk about this subject. On one hand, if you are considering buying your own motorhome, I’d say ‘Go for it’ but I’d also add words of caution that dampen down my enthusiasm.

Now Klaus is my favourite possession ever. My son, Louis, who’s now in his twenties doesn’t remember life without him. We had many adventures in this country and overseas and he is used as a convenient spare room on the driveway on our home. Louis and I even lived in him fulltime for a few months with no major falling out but that’s another story.

In the days before Brexit when the exchange rate between the pound and the Euro was good it made sense to import motorhomes. So, with our hard earned savings in a rucksack, my ex-husband travelled to Hamburg to pick Klaus up from his homeland. He became mine when we divorced. My ex never really had the travelling bug like me and my son. So when we parted Klaus was part of my divorce settlement. He might have fallen apart years ago but my partner Paul is very handy. Klaus is thirty years old this year and still, fingers crossed going strong.

Thinking About the Finances

Your motorhome may well be the most expensive item that you’ve ever purchased aside from your home. Of course there are finance schemes although Klaus was purchased outright upfront. There are also upkeep costs that can include maintenance (unless you have a Paul), road tax, not insubstantial insurance and storage costs if you have nowhere suitable to park your pride and joy at home. Do the maths before you’re tempted. Even think about sharing ownership with a trusted family member or friend.

Some people offset costs by hiring out their motorhome when they are not using it themselves. While this is an option for newer vehicles it wouldn’t be something that we could do with Klaus. There’s always a little niggle on our longer travels. My Duolingo Spanish has become a useful tool to have in auto part stores. We haven’t even lent him to family members for that reasons. Even if we had a newer van I wouldn’t be keen on this option. They’re big beast and more prone than standard cars to getting a knock or two. Klaus has his battle scares, not all of my making. The Germans before us had their own knocks.

Can You Justify The Cost?

If someone asked me this question I’d say yes, yes and yes again. Let me tell you that my parents thought that buying Klaus was an inordinate waste of money. ‘You’ll never use it.’ said Dad. On average I have always been away in Klaus for over fifty days a year. It’s more like seventy five since we’ve retired. The time that he becomes that ensuite guest room on the driveway now amounts to another fifteen days Let’s just say that Dad admits that he needs to eat his own hat.

For me to make motorhome ownership worthwhile I had to change my modus operandi when it came to travel. Holidays by air to distant lands have mostly been off the radar since I owned Klaus My adventures are based in the UK and parts of mainland Europe where there is easy ferry access. Hence I’ve scoured Brittany from coast to coast as the port of Roscoff is so easy to reach from Plymouth. My days of ticking off an extensive list of countries visited are on hold.

So before buying a motorhome, or indeed a boat, caravan or static in a holiday park for that matter think very carefully. Are you going to use it? Do you have time to go away in your Wendy House on wheels enough time to warrant the costs? Would you miss the sense of being pampered that your current hotel holidays give you? Are you prepared to change the way that you travel? If you waver on the answers to any of these questions hiring instead may be a more sensible option.

How to Choose a Motorhome

Here’s an article that goes into way more detail than I’m able to here. Given the investment required buying a motorhome is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’ve seen many stories on social media got it wrong. and sold up at a loss shortly after buying Motorhome choice is very individualistic. For example I’ve learnt to live without an oven, cooking on two gas rings with a cast iron griddle that I add when needed. For some people this would be entirely unacceptable.

As recommended in the article my ex husband and I hired a vehicle before buying. This gave us a good idea about our likes and dislikes as well as a lovely holiday in Scotland. We loved the bunk beds in the hire van as Louis was tiny at the time. We didn’t like the miniscule fridge or the fact that the floor of the cab was at a different height to the driving area. After this trip we bought Klaus and our choice was very informed.

However he was bought when I was much younger and agile. I no longer relish climbing up to the bed above the cab especially as I have to mountaineer over a grumbling fat bloke when I go to the loo in the middle of the night. And we don’t need those bunk beds anymore. Our next van will have a drop down bed or sleeping arrangements at floor level for us oldies. We’d also like a garage for easy bike storage rather than our existing rack on the back.

What we do need is a set up that allows us to wild camp for an extended period of time. This is a major priority for us as we use the aires, free or cheap parking spots with limited facilities, around Europe. Some of the newer vans have chemical toilets that are the size of handbags. Ours doesn’t need emptying for three or four days. We love our 2 x 11kg gas bottles too whereas a lot of motorhomes only have space for one small one. And of course there needs to be room for solar panels to charge all our electronics and our e-bike batteries.

Do You Have Somewhere to Put It?

This is less of a consideration but something worth thinking about. Where are you going to store your motorhome when you are not bimbling about in it? Keeping it on public highways is not idea. Frankly it seems to piss other people off and may not be the securest option. Do you have a driveway where you can keep it. If not you may opt for a storage facility. We used to keep Klaus at one of these. While he was safe and off the road he was less convenient to access and the parking space came at a cost.

The Hard Sell From The Woman Who Knows

I love my motorhome more than any other inanimate object in the world ever. So, in spite of the cautions, I’m going to say go for it if you’re prepared to sacrifice money and more far flung foreign travel.- I now prefer living in my van to any hotel room or holiday let however plush. It is our home from home where we can rock up at the most amazing spots. Like this one in Galicia., literally a stone’s throw from this glorious beach. You just nip out of the gate and you’re on it.

I have all our ‘stuff’ with me which includes an e-bike, full snorkelling kit, wet weather gear for hiking and a selection of board games and jigsaws for when it rains. You’d be hard pressed to take all that on a flight.

We can eat what we want when we like. This is excellent in Europe where meal time norms differ from those for us Brits. Those Spanish people eat way beyond my bedtime as a rule. My digestive system is not used to that. And in France mealtimes are quite rigid. If you’re on the road you’re hard pressed to get a meal mid afternoon. But with a fridgeful of yummy stuff from E Leclerc you’re sorted.

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