I’ve been the Content editor on Practical Motorhome for nearly five years now, and something I’ve found myself thinking throughout that time is that there seems to be a lot of assumed knowledge.
Now that’s all well and good if you know. But what if you don’t? You could end up with a costly mistake, or perhaps even exceeding your payload. I’m not here to point the finger at certain brands, and I will also stress that many motorhome brands do a very good job of clearly outlining everything you could need to know. But in my opinion, some do not.
Let’s start with payloads and motorhome upgrades. In my experience, in some cases, you can look at a spec sheet or the website and be none the wiser as to what the payload would be after adding on certain upgrades – that is, if you’re sure whether the payload actually takes into account all of the ‘van’s equipment in the first place.
As many of you reading this will know, motorhome weights are no small thing – knowing your payload is crucial, and not clearly outlining it could potentially result in someone inadvertently driving with an overladen motorhome.
Of course, there are steps you can take to reduce the weight of a motorhome, but unless you operate under the assumption that the ‘van is going to be overladen from the very start (and why would you?), it feels a little concerning that this is not always more clearly outlined.
And what about berths? Many of you reading this would be able to (almost certainly correctly) guess a four-berth motorhome with a fixed bed and no obvious signs of any other berths would have the remaining two berths made up in the lounge. But if you were a new motorhomer and were trying to choose the right ‘van? How would you know that, especially when a manufacturer’s website gives nothing away?
And is it just me who’s found myself looking at the spec of certain models online, only to find the page provides the vaguest of outlines? It would certainly leave me asking “what exactly am I getting here?”. After all, you’ll want to know what capacity the motorhome fridge provides, what the fresh and waste water tank capacities are, what fixtures and fittings it provides – the list goes on.
I’ve encountered the same issue when looking at a motorhome online, which offers a third berth. However, it gave no idea where it could be found, or what the dimensions would be. Does that mean it’s for a child, or could this be a couple’s motorhome with an extra berth for the occasional friend to stay over?
I mentioned the berth issue to our Reviews editor, Peter Baber, in the past. He’s reviewed hundreds of motorhomes and campervans over the years and reasoned that it must be because most manufacturers reckon it will be couples who make up the majority of their user base, so the focus will be primarily on the main bed in the ‘van.
A fair point. But what if you are a family? You could certainly do with a bit more information. In some cases, I’ve even found the price is not listed on a website – imagine falling in love with what you think is your dream motorhome, only to find out it’s way out of your price range!
Now I guess the rebuttal to this would be you’re not choosing a motorhome and suddenly spending £60,000+ based on what you see on a website – you’re going to want to see it in the flesh, try the bed and sofa, and work out if you can envisage it being the right motorhome for you. You’d also be visiting a dealer, who would be able to answer a lot of your questions, or talk to a manufacturer first-hand if you headed to one of the NEC shows, for instance.
And yet I feel things could just be so much simpler and transparent. Why is it sometimes so hard to find out information about something which is going to cost such a large sum of money when you could, for example, go on Apple’s website and find out an in-depth and detailed spec of the latest iPhone? Something which is only a small fraction of the price of a leisure vehicle, yet one which could almost provide an information overload with the detail provided!
Perhaps I’m of the generation that expects too much information to be at my fingertips at all times (what would I do without Google Maps when exploring, for instance?). I’m also used to making informed buying decisions (for instance, I’m a nerd for the technical data that comes with various gadgets and love a side-by-side comparison). But I really do think information could be made a whole lot easier for motorhomers, to allow us all to buy with more confidence, and give us real peace of mind.
Lead image: Getty Images
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