SIZE MATTERS!

What size motorhome should you be looking at, and what are the potential problems to be aware of? Peter Rosenthal shares his top tips

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Over the years, I’ve tested almost every size of motorhome, from tiny Berlingo-based campervans to 7.5-tonne RVs and A-class models. I’ve squeezed small campervans along narrow Cornish lanes and wafted along in 9m-long A-class vehicles on the vast German autobahns.

This has informed my thinking about the size of vehicle that works best for me. But the key phrase is ‘for me’.

What works best for you is going to be different. Many factors come into play when you are selecting a vehicle to suit your lifestyle, so it’s helpful to run through them here.

WHAT ARE YOU LICENSED FOR?

Before you spend any money, dig out your driving licence and head online to the Government websites at www. gov.uk/driving-licence-categories and www.gov.uk/driving-licence-codes to see which vehicles you are entitled to drive. Do not use any other websites for this - it’s all on gov.uk and all free.

If you have the B category on your licence, you can drive everything up to medium-sized coachbuilts, which are generally up to 3500kg Maximum Authorised Mass.

Most motorhomes are under 3500kg, to enable as many buyers as possible to be eligible to drive them, but this can make the payload tight.

Moves are afoot to try to raise this B category weight limit to 4250kg in Europe, which should be adopted by the UK at some point. It hasn’t happened yet, but fingers crossed.