Transition from caravan to motorhome

we have been caravaners for more than 45 years! Oops where does the time go.  We are 73 and 74 but Helen has mobility issues and at times uses her small mobility scooter.  We have been thinking of changing to a motorhome for the simplicity for me to set off and get settled down at the site.  The MH we are looking at is about 7m so maybe not so easy to park on days out.  It's a dilemma as there are benefits from both choices.  We would appreciate advice from anyone who has similar disabilities and how to overcome them.  

Helen and Norman,fortunately we do not,yet,have mobility issues like yours but we are long term motorhomers and are well past 21 -so who knows?During Lockdown I have followed Motorhome Vlogs on YT and I came across "Dud and Ellie".The lady of the couple has mobility issues but they really get around in their Bailey and good on them👍.They may give you some ideas.Good luck .

Disabilities are an individual thing, everybody is different and has different needs so it would be hard to offer you specific advice. What suits one may not suit another. That said, it would appear you want to carry a scooter with you rather than relying on other means and that you can manage with a standard production motorhome. Your hesitancy or problem would mainly appear to be how can I transport the scooter?

There are compact portable scooters available, you could shop around and see if you can find one that is better suited to being carried in a motorhome. You may find it advantageous to buy a motorhome having a garage in which to store it, or it might be possible to carry it on a rack designed for that purpose. These racks are mounted on the rear of the motorhome and you need a good payload on the rear axle to achieve this. A garage would be a better solution.  You will also need to think about whether you will be able to use public transport with a scooter. Lastly you can always consider towing a small car which can be used to transport disability equipment and used for local trips at your destination. Towing a car gives you lots of options and this is one of our solutions.

Dud and Ellie appear to only carry a wheelchair inside the accommodation area of the motorhome. This is what we do but we can also carry equipment in our towed car or on a rack mounted on the rear of the motorhome. What configuration we use depends on where we are going and how we intend to tour.

peedee

Helen and Norman, Alas, we do have mobility problems, and for that reason stayed with small caravan / big car.  

We saw active couples cycling and walking from their Motorhome, but realised that was no longer possible for us. We never wanted to sit on a campsite all day, we wanted transport to go to shops, pubs, gardens, National Trust houses, restaurants, seaside, and visit friends . We could do most of that with a smaller panel van conversion, but that wouldn't carry wheelchair or mobity scooter. It never seemed practicable for us to drive a larger Motorhome every day from place to place and find somewhere to park it, and public transport was non existent at most campsites we liked. 

The change might work for you, but at our age and with our mobility problems it would be ridiculous to attempt it.

Good wishes to you. 

 

I can appreaciate what you say Eurotraveller but for us the caravan was just too much to handle. At the time I changed to a motorhome, movers did not exist, that would now overcome one of the major disadvantages of owning a caravan for us but as my wife is non ambulent, access to, and the size of a caravan needed became a problem. We switched to a motorhome 20 years ago and have no regrets.

peedee

www.wheelgotravelling,info

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My oh is now in the situation whereby she has dificulity walking ,and we also are not sure about the future 78/76yrs ,at this time we still tow a caravan and OH has a small mobility scooter ,which can be taken apert to ease transporting,we also have a collie who travels in the rear of the car,,so we still have the problem of  transporting the scooter,

Next week will be the big test as it will be the first time away since last year, and now with the scooter we have a cycle rack that bolts to the tow hook of the car that i have tried and the scooter less battery can be carried on that, when c/van on site if we go out

The other option is we May go for is a panel van conversion (white van man size) we can then  use as our daily transport as well, with a trailer for when we go away as more kit would need to be carried,

One thing we would not do again is have a motor caravan that could restrict our choice of sites or areas we can go (we have had one) 

It was in 1999 i convinced myself to make the move but didn't take delivery of my first motorhome until January 2001. When we had a caravan the powered jockey wheel was the only thing I was aware of to easily move a caravan and these were prone to problems especially on soft ground. My problem was I had to turn my caravan around in a gravel driveway. I have since had the driveway blockpaved and a parking space created for the motorhome but I still have to maneuver back and forth in the drive to get out. I have had a bad back for a long time and frequently suffer from over doing it.

peedee

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Our Bailey is the same ,it came "expecting" a motor mover to be fitted at some point,

One good idea is also that the spare wheel mounted under the c/van near the axle does not need the much complained about alko carrier