Or, perhaps more accurately following a lot of research, what motorhome to build next? Because it’s very apparent that there’s really nothing available on the market that meets our needs at present. We don’t need an off-road motorhome in the strictest sense of the phrase, but rather a motorhome that’s capable of keeping on going when the roads get bad, very bad; this big “overland campervan” (as I have heard it called elsewhere) will be headed way beyond the end of Europe, for months at a time, with our whole family on board.
There are some great 4×4 motorhomes with 4 fixed berths for sale on.de but to be honest they’re either too old (30 years plus), too light duty to continuously withstand where we’ll be going (Sprinter 4×4 chassis), or (in the case of an otherwise stunning Woelcke MB 818D Vario Allrad) don’t have sufficient fixed berths. What we’re really looking for is something more like the very capable Unicat Terracross TC59 Family but (aside from being way too expensive) even that doesn’t have sufficient storage space for our long-term extended travel plans.
A Unicat TC59 Family motorhome parked where other motorhomes fear to tread
The only solution then appears to be to design something ourselves, and then arrange for somebody to build it for us. Although in this case, given the numerous different skill-sets involved, “somebody” is likely to consist of multiple different companies. And therein lies quite a bit more research.
But the first thing is to choose a suitable base vehicle for it all to sit on, and as we want both left hand drive (LHD) and 4×4 it makes sense to look in EU rather than UK.
Well, almost.
The first thing in reality then is to go back to school, and get myself a suitable driving licence. Probably in common with most people reading this blog, my current license covers me to drive up to 7.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW), or maximum allowed mass (MAM) as it’s now called. That’s more than sufficient for pretty-much every EU-standard motorhome, and the majority of the US imports too, but this planned big beast motorhome of ours will likely weigh in about 10-12 tonnes when full of water and fuel (600 litres of each), gas (propane/butane/LPG), diesel generator, fridge, freezer, dish washer, washing machine, oven etc. So I’ll need a Category C driving licence, to let me drive heavy rigid goods vehicles (including a big motorhome), as DVLA’s website confirms. And if I want to tow a small car behind, so we can more easily pop out for the day, I’ll need Category C+E (the same as all the drivers of the articulated lorries, just so our big camper can tow a car one tenth its weight). There are numerous driver training schools locally offering this commercial driver training, but a good friend of mine did his truck driver training with Scania near Bristol and heavily recommends them, so the odds are high that I’ll find a campsite near Bristol and spend a pleasant week or two down there in our current motorhome, while I learn to drive again.
The 7 books & DVD, most of which I'll be reading and watching in my motorhome this summer holiday
- The Official DSA Theory Test for Drivers of Large Vehicles 2012 (paperback)
- The Official DSA Theory Test for Drivers of Large Vehicles 2011 (PC CD-ROM)
- The Official DSA Guide to Hazard Perception
- The Official Highway Code
- Know Your Traffic Signs
- The Official DSA Guide to Driving Goods Vehicles
- or perhaps the unofficial The Complete LGV & PCV Theory and Hazard Perception Tests 2012 Edition (PC DVD-ROM) from Focus Multimedia Ltd as it seems to include many of the above official DSA products in one package.
and spend many a happy hour reading up on their contents, before going to sit a theory test, after which I can start taking driving lessons again.
I’ve been a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) for many years, but it’s fast becoming apparent to me that the extra studying and training that I’m going to be undertaking for my Category C+E licence will make me a better driver still, and (regardless of a new vehicle necessitating it) I’m looking forward to it as that surely can’t be a bad thing for every day driving either…
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