MOTORHOMING WITH FINN THE COCKAPOO
The Beginning
We'd sold the holiday homes in Switzerland and Spain, vowed never to subject ourselves to airport searches and delays, accepted being in our sixties with grace, and bought ourselves a Cockapoo puppy who we named Finn.
We'd decided to take on Finn when we saw a picture of him at one day old, whilst we were watching an England v Scotland Six Nations rugby match on TV.
Finn Russell was playing remarkably well, and the naming of the puppy was a done thing.
The decision to buy the puppy, and the naming was easy, and completed in seconds. Now we had to wait eight weeks for our lives to change as he was unable to leave his mother until the completion of that time.
In the meantime everything puppy related on Amazon was bought, and the puppy area of the house was becoming overcrowded with purchases long before he arrived.
(This may be the time to include the first recommendations and reviews of items for your dog that you may need?).
Although most motorhomes include a fly screen inside the entry (habitation) door they are quite flimsy and may not be strong enough to keep the larger, more enthusiastic dog on board. There are compact dog safety gates available to keep those dogs on board, and I include a link to such a product now:-
https://www.dog-g8.com/pages/about-the-product
As our dog was small and room on board to store a gate was tight we decided against the safety gate. We opted, however for a tether so that he could relax outside without wandering off. I include a link to a number of tether options here:-
Whilst we're looking at items for dogs some thought should be given to their travelling, sleeping and eating arrangements etc, and I include a further link to all the options available (bear in mind space is limited so the smaller/foldable items are more preferable):-
Now, back to the tale. The day of his arrival soon came, and we introduced this little bundle of fur into an alien environment, as he left his mother and siblings behind. He tentatively explored his new home and came to accept us as his surrogate parents. To avoid a sleepless first night we made up a bed for him in our bedroom, he still sleeps there to this day.
How were are lives going to change, and more importantly, where and how were we to go on holiday now?
After a lot of research and discussions we decided to buy a motorhome, not wanting to leave Finn, or for him to endure kennels when we went away. We then speculated where the three of us where going to go.
Ideally we liked the thought of wild camping in Scotland, but after taking advice on board and inspecting others motorhomes we thought that we would need some advice regarding the gas, electrics and, above all, the cassette toilet.
We then visited the Harrogate motorhome show, telling ourselves not to rush into a purchase. We had previously nearly bought, what would have turned out to be, an unsuitable van, and had a fairly good idea of what we were after.
We split up when we arrived at the show and visited all the stands selling what we were looking for. With only a few minutes before the show was to close we bought ourselves a new Ellldis Accordo 105. Finn took a shine to this model and enjoyed his guided tour.One of our 'essentials' in our purchasing decision was a separate shower, but by the time we had exchanged this motorhome for another later that year the shower had yet to be used (this will be commented upon further in the blog).
The purchase of this motorhome was to prove our first big error, but thanks to a healthy market for motorhomes it wasn't going to cost us dearly. As you'll find out, after a few trips we found that the Elldis Accordo 105 wasn't entirely suited to our needs. We found the making and the unmaking of the bed every day tiresome, and were not happy with the lack of storage that the motorhome provided.
It is not uncommon for first time motorhomers to buy a vehicle that is not suited for them, which is why there are so many fairly new low mileage models on the market. This may be the best time to look at all the options available.
There are four classes of motorhomes available, these are:-
1. Class A motorhomes - these are purpose built motorhomes, often very large, and include a good number of luxuries. They are built on heavy duty frames and offer all the facilities for long term living on the road. These tend to be very expensive, and not many sites will accept them because of their size. A special licence is also needed to drive them. They often include slide out sides to increase the living space and tend to be the preserve of the rich, like racing car drivers. There are not many of these on the road. The following pictures will give you some idea of what these vehicles can provide.
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2. Panel Van Conversions - these are the most common motorhomes that you will find. They are often built on the chassis of a commercial vehicle, such as a Fiat, Ford or Peugeot, by a specialist business, such as Elldis or AutoTrail, and can offer a variety of generic layouts, as can be seen below. For your interest we opted, eventually, for the number 9 layout, as the garage under the bed offers a lot of storage, and the fixed bed does not need remaking every day:
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The layout and the storage provided varies enormously, and you need to consider in detail before you buy which option will suit you the best. In order to determine which is the better option for you, you can hire a motorhome for a holiday to see if it suits you. I would, however, warn you that the insurance costs a lot of the hire companies charge, if the vehicle is damaged, in the slightest way. This potential excess charge can weigh on your mind throughout your holiday and spoil your enjoyment. I say this from experience.These motorhomes are much cheaper than the A class above, and are more within the budget of most people. They also come in a lot of different sizes, on different axle combinations. Again, the bigger ones are not too welcome at a lot of sites.
There are two variants of motorhome, the low profile coach built motorhome and the overcab bed coach built motorhome, the latter of which has a bed over the driving cab, giving accommodation, often, for an extra two sleepers.
3. Campervans - These offer less accommodation than the motorhome as they are often conversions of commercial vans. Whilst the coach built motorhomes are built on a commercial chassis they are often wider than the standard commercial vehicle, camper vans are often the same width as the van within which the conversion has taken place. Many people buy the vans themselves and complete the conversion on a DIY basis, but the specialist firms that build motorhomes do offer camper van options. Surprisingly the professionally built camper vans don't tend to be much cheaper than the motorhomes.
4. Micro Motorhomes - These are by far the smallest of the motorhomes as they are little more than an adapted people carrier, small van or car.
Now that we have looked at all the motorhome options available we can return to our tale.
As the motorhome was new we agreed it was sensible to wait until 1st September for delivery so it would be on the new registration number for that half year.
On the way home, after chastising ourselves for our recklessness we began compiling a list of extras that we wanted to be added to the motorhome, such as a TV, an awning, a step and a bike rack. This would result in a further amount being payable upon delivery!
Again, this may be a time to look at all the extras that are available and can be added to make life easier:-
When we arrived home our sensible heads kicked in, where were we going to park the motorhome, we haven't got a driveway! We explored one or two fairly local storage facilities and then found a generous neighbour who would let us store the motorhome in their garden. Problem solved.
In late August the dealer rang to tell us that the motorhome was available early and asked whether we wanted an early delivery. Our neighbour trimmed his trees and made a space in his garden available. Sue began to have worries about driving such a big vehicle. But these worries later proved foundless as she quickly began to enjoy her driving.
For a number of days we were unable to drive the motorhome, until the 1st September came along. But in the meantime we were able to familiarise ourselves with the controls and complexities of the electricity, water and heating, leaving Finn to entertain himself whilst we disappeared off to the neighbours.
We were now ready to go, turn to 'Our trips and reviews' for details of our travels. I promise to add a new trip every week. If you can't wait I have published all our trips to date in two books:-
First year motor homing with Finn the Cockapoo on the following link https://amzn.to/3OLYSz7
Second year motor homing with Finn the Cockapoo the following link bit.ly/3T9b5Re
I am currently working on 'The Third Year'
Enjoy.
Note: the reason I have detailed all our experiences to date is mainly for personal purposes, when dementia kicks in I will still be able to recall all the trips!
Below I include a picture of a motorhome to aspire to!
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