There is no doubt, the Covid pandemic has a lot to answer for. Obviously far more serious issues than that of our Motorhome search, but for us Covid completely scuppered out Working on Tour plans in so many ways.
As many will know, the cost of motorhomes, amongst other things, has absolutely sky rocketed and sadly for us, out of budget – keeping the sensible head on and not letting the heart get carried away.
We simply could not believe the price hikes as result of the past few years. Absolutely crazy. So much so, we thought our dream of getting on the open road were all but disappearing before our eyes.
Even during the Covid stuff, we at least managed to visit the Caravan and motorhome show and the NEC but not only were we put off by the eye watering numbers, we simply could not decide/agree on the ideal layout. It was beginning to look all over for us.
But then I stumbled on an old motorhome brochure we hade picked up somewhere along the line, and started to flick though its glossy pages with high quality images and floor plans. And there it was. The answer to most of our requirements. It just took seeing in a different way and not being so rigid in our ‘must have’ list. How had we not seen it?!
Some plus points:
Large rear washroom with separate toilet and full shower.
Large kitchen with double, duel fuel oven & full size fridge freezer.
Huge lounge so you can comfortably put your feet up if you wanted.
Awning with outside light.
But the negatives:
No drop-down or fixed bed which means having to make it up each night. Something we were very keen to avoid at the start of our search.
Very little in the way of garage/external storage
Lounge is at the front not our preferred rear. But we have come to conclusion, a rear lounge costs us other things we prefer to have such as a big washroom.
Having the one bed in the lounge area/seat means one main area for eat, sleep, relax and work
Now all we need to do was find one so we could check it all out for ourselves. This was much harder than we thought! Sure there are some dotted around the country but we were not keen to travel to Cornwall or Scotland just to see if it would work for us. However, 3 weeks ago, we found one, stuck a holding deposit on it so we could go and view it – it was still an hour drive away from us – and we set off full of excitement while trying to keep emotions in check.
We pulled up at the location. The motorhome was stood there. First impressions after a quick whip round the externals were favourable. Then to the inside. We loved it. Its roomy. Very roomy. Has a great washroom including the bonus of a full length wardrobe and shelf storage. Kitchen is big enough to easily prepare and cook a good meal. The lounge is massive with the seats of course, converting into the big double bed for the night. BUT this was so quick and easy, we are convinced we can live with it to get the other important elements.
We have concluded that we can add additional storage in a number of ways, not least the addition of a rear mounted storage box. We can also have stuff packed in the living area while on the road which I gather a good many of motor-homers have to do anyway.
On practical levels it has dual leisure batteries, solar panels, plenty of roof lights/vents, excellent Alde heating and water supply to name a few.
What is it? Its the Elddis Majestic / Encore 275.
It ticks more boxes in terms of features and layout than any other motorhome – and within our price point – we had looked at and so we are sticking with it. Decision made!
All we have to do now is find the right one in terms of age, condition and price. We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we do. We’re back in the game!
