Children have gone their own ways, so we decided to purchase another motorhome and set off touring in Europe.
After taking the plunge we were often told by other people how 'brave' we are to take such a decision at our time of life ! We did it because our life ahead of watching TV, having the odd holiday abroad and though we both have hobbies that would have filled in the time 'Waiting for God ', we decided that was not for us. We did have dealer problems early on, but settled down to a nomadic lifestyle for the next six and a half years. We have met people who tell us they would love to do what we did, it is just a case of making your mind up and doing it if your personal circumstances allow it.
Unless one is fortunate enough to have a large Bank balance, then just as when owning bricks and mortar, budgeting is a must and our aim was to try and keep within the 'wonderful' state pension we receive every 4 weeks. No it is not easy and sometimes we were over budget which means we had to draw on our other meagre resources, but all in all our new style of life suited us very well.
How does one choose a vehicle to live in ? well for a start before you spend your money, do you and your partner really want to make the change.
If one of you is not to keen just remember you will be with each other 24/7 in a relatively small space, no stamping off upstairs if you fall out.
Never had a caravan or motorhome? hire one for a couple of weeks or more before you spend on what may be a major purchase in your life. Caravan and motorhome magazines regularly have
very low mileage units advertised,often because someone had made a wrong decision.
Choose a new motorhome, (applies to new caravans as well), or decide what you can afford at a maximum and do not go above it. Check current issues of magazines, as stated above there are bargains to be had, our Laika had 7000 miles on the clock when we bought it at 18 months old. The only major change we made to it was the upholstery, as the original looked like a tartan designed by a drunken Scotsman who was not wearing his spectacles at the time. You may laugh, but once more we would have been living with it 24 hours a day and it really was terrible.
Our next vehicle was purchased when we got what seemed to be a good offer for our Laika against a brand new Rimor 727 Super Brig. We had Dealer problems which were only sorted out at the Rimor factory in Italy, when we were touring in Tuscany.
