A List Of Essentials

First Aid Kit
2 warning triangles
Reflective jackets for all travellers onboard
Torches & spare batteries
Smoke detector
Carbon Monoxide alarm
Fire Extinguisher & fire blanket
Spare bulbs & fuses
Spirit level
Levelling ramps or lengths of wood
Gas bottles
Gas bottle spanner
Water hose
Tap adapter
Hose connectors
Toilet fluid
Plastic or rubber gloves
Tool kit
Electric hook up lead (s)
16 amp to continental adapter
Polarity tester
Polarity changeover lead
TV aerial extension cable.

Check list before moving off

Inside
All doors, windows , roof vents and lockers closed and locked
All loose items secured ( NB check bathroom )
Fridge switched to 12v and locked
Tables locked in position
TV aerial or satellite dish in travelling position
Maps, directions etc needed to hand in cab
Money for tolls handy
Dog, cat, children secured ?
Anti-rattle precautions wedged in place
Plugs in sinks

Outside
External lockers and inlets closed and locked
Steadies wound up
EHU cable put away
TV aerial cable put away
Step and mats put away
All items below van removed (chairs, buckets etc)
Gas turned off
Levelling ramps or skid mats stored
Awning rolled in and secure
Bikes secure and covers, warning plates etc in place

Make sure before leaving the site you have:

Fresh water topped up if necessary
Dumped waste water and checked cassette
Filled up drinking water
Collected all cards from Reception and made your final payment.

Important things to remember for each person:

Passport
Driving licence (including paper part if new-style licence)
EHIC medical insurance card*
Health and travel insurance policy and contact details*
Credit cards (tell your bank before you go)
Debit /cash cards (ditto re bank)
Spectacle prescription
Regular medicines prescription (or the tear off list that comes with a UK prescription)

Ferry tickets*
Campsite booking details, if made (and directions !)
Address book with UK contacts listed
Camping Card International card (CCI)
ACSI card*
Caravan Club card
Camping and Caravanning Club card
National Trust Card
English Heritage Card
Top up details for mobile phones ( tell your provider you will be going abroad- ie roaming)

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!!

 
There are many things that can be done to increase the MPG on your motorhome, here are some that will help reduce your fuel bills.

•  Check Tyres / Pressures -This is one of the more important factors on reducing fuel consumption usage on your motorhome. Lower than ideal pressure will increase your fuel consumption and hence decrease MPG.
• Unneccessary weight removed – Empty water and waste tanks before travelling. If you are heading to a campsite with water do you really need to travel fully laden with a full tank of fresh water ?.
• Drive Slower – This may sound obvious, but careful driving is sometimes overlooked. You are in a motorhome, it’s not a race so relax your foot on the accelerator and chill out en route instead.
• Smooth Acceleration – When the lights change, don’t gun the motorhome, instead press smoothly down and pull away, don’t try to fit into small gaps between traffic by hitting the accelerator.
• Motorhome servicing up to date – Obviously a poorly serviced engine can give reduced performance and / or increased fuel consumption.
• Use Cruise Control (if fitted) – Cruise Control gives smooth controlled speed when on the open road which is ideal for keeping fuel costs down, so if you have got it, then use it !
• Brake Slowly – Let the Motorhome brake itself using friction when approaching stopping points, anticipate braking and instead of stamping down on the Brake pedal, relax off on the Accelerator pedal earlier allowing the van to brake itself more.
  Roof Baggage – If your roof is laden with roof boxes, skis etc then if possible find alternative ways of stowing gear away within the confines of the van and hence streamlining the roofline.
• Engine Remapping – Motorhome remapping can increase torque and reduce fuel consumption.

Which Is The Best?
The smaller the vehicle, the better the fuel consumption, and the convenience in day-to-day use from the point of view of parking and access to narrow roads. However, they are normally restricted in space and storage. The more space and facilities you have, the bigger the van, and the disadvantages that brings.
How Do I Choose?
There are a number of criteria you should use when choosing the best motorhome for you.
What’s your budget?
How much can you afford to spend? Do you have a little money, maybe from a pension lump sum payout? Or have you sold your residence, looking to go .full time.? Or are you prepared to borrow money, either via hire purchase or bank loan?
Whatever sum you have available, there is a motorhome for you! That.s the good news. The bad news is that you will need to have multiples of tens of thousands of pounds to buy the ultimate in mobile living luxury. And in between, there are a huge number of options.
I would advise you have two figures in mind for your budget . one which you would like to spend on your motorhome, and the maximum you can spend. This will give you a budget spread, which will be useful when you are looking at vans for sale.
What seasonal use do you expect?
All motorhomes are good for use in fine spring to autumn weather. Some motorhomes are designed for slightly harsher environments, especially with regard to temperature. They can be built with double skin floors, so water tanks are contained in an enclosed (sometimes heated) space, to avoid getting frozen. The insulation, between the outer skin and the inner walls, can vary. Category 3 is the best insulation category, and specifies that the water system must be able to be kept frost-free. This is one you would choose if your hobbies included skiing in the winter. This type of van would be called .winterised..
How many people / pets?
Motorhomes are built with the ability for people to sleep in them. You must think how many people will be sleeping with you – is it just the two of you? Occasional children / grandchildren? Teenagers? Will you have pets with you?
You may see a motorhome advertised as “6 berth”. i.e. 6 people can sleep in it. But you must consider in what sort of comfort will this be? Are the beds / bunks big enough? Are there mobility issues, with climbing over items or people to use the toilet in the night? And although you might be happy with the sleeping arrangements, what about the cooking? Is the kitchen area big enough to cook for the amount of people with you? Have you all got room to sit and eat? If you have children, especially teenagers, they may want an area to sit away from the adults – their own space, if you will.
There is another aspect to the “family motorhome”. Although they may be advertised as “6 berth” or “4 berth”, sometimes the travelling accommodation is compromised. Current UK law states that all travelling passengers must have seat belts if they are seated in forward-facing seats. Some motorhomes provide only lap belts, which some purchasers may not be comfortable using. In law, you are allowed to travel “unbelted” in the rear of a vehicle if there are insufficient seatbelts, but the wisdom of this must be questioned. Not wearing a seatbelt (where there is one available) carries a fine of £500.
More imformation: http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/index.htm
Children can sleep in tents by the side of the motorhome, and some motorhomes have “safari rooms”, which are zip-on tents attached to an awning on the side of the van. You must consider the possibility of bad weather or illness, and you may need to accommodate everyone in the motorhome.
Where will you use the motorhome?
Some motorhome owners are content to visit areas of the UK, where you can normally enjoy reasonable access for a large vehicle. But if you wish to travel to other countries, there are other aspects to consider. Don’t forget the cost of travelling across the channel. Even short Dover-Calais hops can cost from around ? to upwards of ??, depending on time of travel and time of year.
France and Germany have good road networks, but from Italy east, the roads can become challenging to a large motorhome or RV. If your penchant is for exploration in Eastern Europe or Scandinavia, you may wish to consider a smaller motorhome or van conversion.
Fuel consumption
Most modern motorhomes use efficient diesel engines, but our expectations in terms of facilities raises the weight, and hence increases fuel consumption by a small amount. As a rough rule of thumb, a small panel van conversion could give you over 35 miles per gallon, a medium-sized coachbuilt will return from 20mpg to 30mpg, and an American RV may only return 10mpg. To mitigate this fuel consumption, some RVs are converted to run on LPG, which is approximately half the price of diesel, but less readily available.
Size limitations for storage
A lot of people these days keep their cars on a drive at the front or side of the house. A motorhome can be a much bigger, and heavier, vehicle. A typical family car might be 4.5m (14.7 feet) long, 1.7m (5.6 feet) wide, and weigh 1.5 tonnes. A medium-sized motorhome could be 6.8m (22.3 feet) long, 2.5m (8.2 feet) wide, and weigh 3.5 tonnes.
If the motorhome of your dreams is too big to keep at home, there are storage facilities available. Consult the Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association (CaSSOA) for a list of those in your area. Some have a waiting list, so apply early if you think you will need this.
More information: http://www.cassoa.co.uk/Caravan_Storage_Home.aspx

Driving licence restrictions?
Before January 1st, 1997, anyone passing their driving test is permitted to drive a motorhome up the 7.5 tonnes – this is called a category C1 entitlement. Anyone passing their test after that year is only permitted to drive a motorhome up to 3.5 tonnes – category B entitlement. Anyone wishing to drive an American RV weighing more than 7.5 tonnes will need to take an LGV driving course and pass the test to obtain a category C entitlement licence.
More information: http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers.aspx
These weights are the MAM (Maximum Allowable Mass), which is the weight of the motorhome, with driver and fuel, water and gas bottles.
Payload and weight definitions
UW (Unladen Weight) is the weight of the vehicle without driver or fluids (empty tanks).
MIRO (Mass In Running Order) – the unladen weight of the vehicle, plus driver and 90% fuel.
MAM (Maximum Allowable Mass) is the maximum weight of the vehicle, passengers and their belongings, including driver and 90% fuel. This is the weight as it may be measured when the vehicle is being driven.
GTW (Gross Train Weight) is the weight of the vehicle under normal driving conditions (MAM) plus and trailer it may be pulling.
From these, you can work out your maximum allowable payload. This can be calculated as the MAM – MIRO – i.e. subtract the weight of the vehicle in running order from the maximum allowable weight on the road. This tells you how much you can carry with you, in weight passengers, their belongings, cycles, scooters, TVs, satellite gear, etc etc.
There are dangers associated with driving an overloaded vehicle. Apart from the obvious risks of the steering and suspension failing or not working properly, your vehicle insurance becomes invalid (overloading a vehicle is illegal), and you can be fined up to £5000 for the overloading offence. If someone is killed in an accident involving an overloaded vehicle, the driver can be charged with manslaughter or causing death by dangerous driving.
More information (PDF file): http://www.dvtani.gov.uk/uploads/compliance/VOSA_VehicleSafety_DangersofOverloading.pdf

Towing
For some motorhome owners, an additional vehicle is useful when parked up for longer periods, or full timing. A small motorcycle or scooter can be carried on a rack fitted to the back of the motorhome, or a small car can be towed behind the motorhome. The most straightforward method of towing a car is on a trailer. You must take care that you do not exceed the GTW (see above) for the motorhome. The weight of cars “normally” used for towing are less than 1 tonne.
It is also possible to tow a car on an A-frame. This is a system which attaches rigidly direct to the towed car, and the car sits on its own wheels – sometimes, with the front wheels lifted off the road. The legal situation regarding towing on A-frames is a little unclear, and the best advice is to request written information from either a motorhome dealer or an A-frame manufacturer. Towing a car behind a motorhome is quite common, but care must be taken with any equipment used in the towing, and approved manufacturers and installers should always be used.
More information:
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/faq-cat-18.html http://www.towtal.co.uk/aframe.asp