Hello from the Channel Islands :-))

[sparky]

Hi everyone,
What a great site this is.. and so friendly!
I'm due to look at a Romahome tomorrow.. after searching for aaaages for one over here 'cos they look perfect for just me and pooch.... but as it's my first foray into motorhoming/camping, I'm not actually sure what questions I should be asking the seller...
All I know so far is that it's a 2000 fixed top Duo with 30,000 on the clock...
The seller is asking for £10,000.. is that a good price?
Any tips for me re what to ask would be much appreciated... and I'll buy a round at my first meet.. promise!

[Graham]

Hi Sparky

Welcome to the forum, you are right its a lovely friendly place and lots of people with vast knowledge of the small motorhomes.

I have answered some of your questions in the other thread in Romahome chat.

[BiscuitTin]

Hello sparky
I'm a newbie too Good luck with your purchase

[sparky]

Aw, thanks BiscuitTin.. it's all a bit daunting eh.. 'specially if you don't know what a thingy or a wotsit is... technical terms for mechanical 'stuff'

[leftnoright]

Welcome to sparky, good luck with your quest.

[BiscuitTin]

Feel the fear, and do it anyway as you said in your other thread small ones don't come up that often. There was nothing decent in Scotland when I was looking, all family sized, so I had to travel to Preston to a dealer to get my VW. It sounds nice, and looking at vans gives you a good idea of what you want etc.

[sparky]

Thanks to LNR for your welcome too

BiscuitTin... I'm doing just that.. but ask me again when I'm faced with the motorways in the UK that I haven't driven on for over 25 years, let alone France and driving on the right!
But hey, you only live once... I was going to say 'You're a long time dead'..
but under the circumstances.. I wont!

[bluenote47]

Hello and welcome - hope you get your van Ok - we're all on a learning curve with them no matter how long you've had one

[sparky]

Thanks so much Bluenote.. I'm learning lots just from reading on here.. It's just a pity work is going to get in the way !

[Ian.C.S]

goodmorning Sparky,
A recent thread on here was talking about restrictions on motor caravans on the channel islands. Saying that we could not bring our vans to you and you had to keep them garaged - sounds unlikely with big vans, so whatis the situation? are you on Jersey or Geurnsey, presumably not Sark-hoho.
Ian

[jayjay]

Hi Sparky, and welcome to the forum!

I hope your purchase is sound and all goes well. You'll love small motorhoming.

As for the motorways, well you don't have to use them if you don't feel safe on them. My roma was a high demountable and unstable in high winds and with lorries zooming past (45mph top speed!), so I never used motorways, but instead used the A and B roads... amazing how much more of the UK you see that way. And you can stop when you feel like it and put the kettle on! I went from cheshire to the outer hebrides completely on A and B roads! It took longer, but I saw places I'd never seen before - like Shap Village on the A6, a lovely place to visit!

Get a satnav that you can set to 'avoid motorways' and you'll be ok on that one. Then you can practice a few junctions at a time until you get used to being on them again.

[gadgetman]

Hi Sparky and welcome to the forum, sound advise from JayJay, all the best with your purchase, hope we meet up on your travels.

[sparky]

Hi everyone
Thanks to all for the lovely warm welcome.. along with the much needed sound advice!
Re motorhoming in Jersey ... there's plenty on the roads in summer as you'd imagine.. As far as I'm aware, visiting motorhomes have to stay on campsites and I've seen quite a few locally owned ones on drives etc, but you're not supposed to stay in them overnight.
I'm certain that 'wild' camping goes on, but as long as it's not your 'permanent' summer residence, I think it would be hard to prove as long as you move around...
I'm definately going to buy a sat-nav and will look on here to see which one people advise... erm... how does it know when roads change, do you update a disc on a pc ?
As from today I am the (very) excited owner of my very first small motorhome.. a Romahome Duo.. and she's dinky and GORgeous and I can't WAIT to bring her home on Friday..
So you'll all be getting asked LOTS of questions!

[jayjay]

Congratulations! Enjoy!

Sat navs vary, both in price and useability, so I can only tell you that mine is a TomTom One and apart from the odd meander, it's ok. It updates on mapshare every time I connect it to my computer, but the road maps (this seems to apply to all satnav's as well) are always out of date as the roads change so quickly.

But in the dark and mysterious land of Wales, in the middle of the night, it got me home when I hadn't got a clue where I was...

They all seem to take you down the wrong path occasionally (mine loves to meander down B roads (usually in Wales), taking in the scenery in order to save a few miles... ) so it's always best to check the route with a map before you go if you can. If I don't like the way it's taking me, then I edit it or tell it to re-route. It also avoids motorways if I set it to do that.

[sparky]

Tom-Tom seems to have a good reputation, it's definately on my 'might get' list... along with loads of other things I've seen recommended on the site... like the pop up tent you put up ( somehow) which means the back door opens into it... handy for large pooch to sleep in, The double skilltet... reams of velcro... Hi-vis jacket?! Triangles... torches ( head and hand-held)... quick dry towels.. etc etc etc...