If we are about to buy a motorhome: should we choose a big or a small?

When we decide to buy a motorhome it’s worthwhile to list the aspects you find important and what are those expectations which are negotiable, or we could live without. Since there are many second-hand motorhomes/vans it’s worth narrowing down the terms.

Pros and cons of smaller and bigger motorhomes:

Smaller size:

Many who initially wanted a big one end up choosing the smaller size. There are many reasons for this, if we can give up on some terms then buying a smaller one seems the better choice.

Pros:

- Manoeuvring. Manoeuvring is far easier on the roads, it is easier to driveWe may end up in a situation where we get lost on narrow roads, in which case turning and correcting can be done much more easily than with a large vehicle. Also worth mentioning the large trees along the less busy roads, which also need to be constantly monitored in the case of a larger motorhome to avoid some hanging trees grinding the top of the motorhome.

-Parking. It may not even be necessary to go into detail with this, as it is self-evident that parking a smaller vehicle is easier, you don't have to pay attention to space as much as you had to with a larger car.

While, I don’t assume that women drivers aren’t as good as men with manoeuvring but let’s just say that I would feel be more confident about my driving skills with a smaller vehicle, so I say that a smaller motorhome is better for women as well, only of course if they aren’t truck drivers in civil. 🙂

-Size regulations. This is a rather frequent problem, which motorhome users have to face. But with a smaller vehicle, you don’t have to take into account that because of a size regulation you can’t park or use a road. Size regulations can force bigger motorhomes to an indirection in some cases.

-Cheaper. From one side it’s cheaper to maintain, it consumes less gas since it has to drive a smaller mass and because all of these its ecological footprint is also smaller, it impacts nature less with pollutant emission and its insurance prices are reasonable as well.

-Mobility. You have way more mobility with a smaller motorhome even if you are staying in a camp. After you parked with your bigger motorhome you are reluctant to explore the environment with that because it isn’t suited for exploring a city, a smaller motorhome is even more advantageous for shopping. As a result, travelling by a larger car requires more care and planning.

-Safety. When it comes to safety issues, I am thinking mainly of motorhome burglary, the smaller car is also a better choice, as it is less conspicuous - it does not shout from afar that someone lives in it and there are a high chance of valuable assets - especially if we cleverly try to hide that. It is worth noting here that although the pop-up roof for sleeping is a very well-used optional element of motorhomes, it also attracts attention, as it is not a common element for cars, so in case of staying outside of campsites or caravan parks during the night (which is unfortunately illegal on paper in several European countries), it can unfortunately also attract the attention of local authorities or even those who are specialized in breaking up motorhomes.

Cons

-The lack of a bathroom. The primary and for many, the most hurtful con of a smaller motorhome is the lack of toilet/shower. Unfortunately, due to lack of space, this is usually not possible in such a small area. On the other hand, these can be built into a larger car, which is a very big plus in terms of comfort features. Perhaps the only advantage of not having a toilet or shower in our motorhome is that we don't have to regularly empty the toilet tank or the dirty water used for showering. The shower can be solved with some ingenuity for small motorhomes outside, of course, this is only an option if the temperature allows it and we don’t have to freeze into ice cubes in order to smell fresh.

-You can’t stand up in the living space. This also can be obnoxious, especially if you cook inside or you are tall or when you can’t leave the motorhome for days due to weather, that’s when the height limit’s inconvenience really comes out.

Because both options have its pros and cons I think everyone should decide the most suitable size by their own preferences.