Our Motorhome Maiden Voyage
As new motorhome owners our maiden voyage was full of trepidation. We carefully planed a “shakedown” trip not far from home to learn all about our new home on wheels.
What could possibly go wrong?
Our maiden voyage was planned to be at a campsite very near our home, just in case we needed to beat a hasty retreat from the many disastrous scenarios that we thought could possibly happen to people like us… total newbies to motorhome life. We did get a great “demo” from Southdown’s Motorhomes where we bought it from, but there was a lot to remember and we felt there were lots still to learn.
To find a campsite near home was not an easy task, since January in the UK is the low season and most places are closed for the winter. After lots of research and frustrating phone calls we found a campsite near the town of Weymouth called Bagwell Farm. We read the reviews and thought it would be a good place for our maiden voyage and so we booked it for two nights over a weekend.
With our motorhome fridge and cupboards fully stocked for our weekend rendezvous we left our home and drove the short distance of just over one hour to the lovely campsite near Chesil Beach. The weather forecast was predicting rain for most of the weekend…it did not disappoint, it poured down for most of Friday and Saturday, but finally on our last day we were rewarded with a beautiful sunny day.
We did little in the way of exploring the local area. Being so near home we already know this area well and therefore we did not feel like we were missing out on sightseeing. We used our time to get to know our new home, finding out how to hook up to electricity, fill up with fresh water, get the motorhome levelled up, testing our Wi-Fi, tv, cooking facilities etc.
Here we are all hooked up to electricity and ready for our first overnight in our new home on wheels
What went wrong?
We forgot to thoroughly go through our departure “check list”…oops. Resulting in some of the following near disasters:
We used the levelling ramps and the steadies to keep our motorhome firmly levelled and steady, but forgot to wind up the steadies before reversing off the levelling ramps…doh. Apart from a clumsy attempt of ploughing the campsite’s fields a little bit there was no damage to motorhome or steadies.
We forgot to lower our tv aerial and drove away for few miles before realising it. Strong winds whilst driving away might have ripped it off our motorhome roof. Thankfully we were not driving fast enough for that to happen and it was a very calm day with very little wind, so we got away with it.
The learning lessons here are loud and clear.. If you go to the trouble of creating a leaving “check list” REMEMBER to actually use it every time you leave a campsite.
What went right:
Our home on wheels is very comfortable, the bed is great and we slept very well. Cooking facilities are more than adequate and although we probably will not be producing many gourmet meals any time soon we will certainly be having many delicious home cooked meals.
From the moment we arrived at the campsite and got settled we immediately realised motorhome life will be a joy for us. Even though the weather was bad, inside our little cocoon was cosy, warm and felt homely. We realised that there will be challenges ahead, but this short maiden voyage has left us certain that it will also be a lot of fun.
We are now ready to venture further afield.
We will be catching a ferry from Poole to Cherbourg in France next week. We are not sure how long we will be lingering around the South West of France for or exactly what route we will be taking from there, but that is the beauty of motorhome living, planning ahead is not necessary and we can go wherever we feel like it.
Great that you got your feet wet :-). How nice that the antennae did not fly off. I was reading going oh no! because that would be a disaster and not a great way to start RV life. Interesting to find out that places close for the winter, I just assumed they would all be open since the RV life is so popular. I can’t wait to hear you venturing far stories…but make sure to check your “to do” list..haha! That’s me going to the grocery store without the list :-).
Kemkem, we are so glad to have learned a lot on our shakedown trip. We feel a lot more confident now to travel further afield. We were so relieved our antennae was not damaged because of our carelessness, it has highlighted the importance of checking our “check list” thoroughly. I hope to see you in Valencia, will stay in touch 🙂
It is lovely to hear from you. All the obstacles you encountered were also part of the fun. Now hit the road and enjoy the freedom and independence your motor home will give you.
Val, after years of planning and dreaming we are finally off…can you believe it? Thank you so much for all your support as always 🙂
Exciting adventures ahead! I think you did pretty well for a maiden voyage and it sounds like you’re all set for the trip. Your motorhome sounds perfect for exploring Europe, hope to see you pass through Portugal!
Amy, for a first trip it wasn’t too bad. Few silly mistakes that could have been avoided if we had remembered to go through the checklist hahaha. We will look forward to seeing you when we pass through the Algarve 🙂
Congratulations! Your maiden voyage seems to have been a success. You were very smart to go for a test run before heading over to France. I am sure you will enjoy your first big trip, and all the freedom of your beautiful new motor home.
Thank you Joe, we do feel better prepared now 🙂 We have just arrived in France and so far things are going well 🙂
Going on a small trip close to home sounds like a really good idea for a first outing. Glad there were no major disasters and that you enjoyed yourself!
We are glad for the lessons learned on our recent trip near home. We are now in France and feeling a lot more confident 🙂
Well you are nearly off! We have a check list ourselves, and you will find that yours increases over time. I’ll see if I can find ours and send you a copy.
Basically, the first things you need to do is check the outside. So after stowing the electricity cable (and water hose, if hooked up) and turning off the gas, you need to go around the motorhome checking the lockers, tv antenna lowered, tyres, levelling blocks. Then move away a couple of metres and stow the levelling blocks. Finally check all lockers are locked. Then you have all the inside to check!
You will find that they drive on the wrong side of the road in Europe. Foreigners! Well, that means the passenger has to be more attentive when overtaking, entering main roads, joining motorways etc. This CAN be tricky.
We hope that you both have a great trip!
David, we are getting a lot more diligent with our checklist. There is a lot to remember, but it is all good fun. Thanks for all your support 🙂
There’s so much to remember Gilda but the mistakes and lessons learned are very effective teachers. Looks like you have some great times ahead of you. Bon Voyage! Anita
Thank you Anita, we arrived in France yesterday and are already loving the sense of freedom we are experiencing. We just need to remember the “check list” before we move on 🙂
‘Nice one Gilda!
Motorhomes are very popular at the moment, and one can see why!
It says a lot about you that you pre-tested your vehicle and the problems it might encounter. It’s a good thing too. Whoops!
However, now that you know the pitfalls so to speak and how it feels indoors, you’re ready to go. And without any “I’ve-really-got-to-get-back on your shoulders, you really can have a jolly good time driving wherever and whenever you feel like it!
p.s. We’re going to France in a few weeks too, but first to Greece!
Victoria, we are super excited about the freedom of the open road taking our home with us. We hope to see a lot of Europe taking the slow roads. We are now in France, but will be heading for Spain soon. Sounds like you have some great travel plans yourself? Enjoy Greece and France 🙂
Good that you got through the test run ok Gilda and hope the cross channel jaunt goes well for you in France. Look forward to reading all about it! 🙂
Thank you, we managed to survive our maiden voyage reasonably well 🙂 We are now in France and fingers crossed all going well so far 🙂
Yay! Congratulations on a successful maiden voyage! We’ve often heard reports of people leaving their top hatches open and them ripping off. Practice makes perfect.
That being said, we had a little “accident” in our little van yesterday. We parked somewhere for the night and I got the kitchen area “settled”. I put the sponges and the dish soap out, opened the cover for the sink, and slid the top cupboard with food and dishes open as well. Then, we discovered we weren’t allowed to camp in this particular spot, but needed to move up 400 meters or so. We got in the van and drove off on this bumpy dirt road in the middle of nowhere. You guessed it! A ruckus had Mark hit the brakes immediately. Luckily, none of the glass bottles with condiments broke as they hit the floor; our glass with water had slid to the edge of the counter. Disaster averted! And, yes, we could be called “experts” when it comes to camper life.:-)
You must be in France right now. Enjoy the trip and I hope you’ll find warmer weather soon. If Europe is anything like the US this winter, it has been much colder and wetter than usual. Three winters in a row, Mark have been unsuccessful at finding warm weather. I think we either have to go to Florida or back to the tropics!
Thank you Liesbet and yes practice should hopefully eventually make it perfect…or almost perfect, sounds like mistakes will happen even when you are “expert” motohomer’s hey? I am glad your sudden stop did not cause any damage and disaster was averted. Our moving site/leaving checklist is now our best friend and we have been using it without fail 🙂 Yes we are now in France, we lucked out with the weather and have been experiencing gorgeous sunshine and mild temperatures 🙂 I hope you will also get a spot of warm sunshine soon 🙂
What a fabulous idea to have the trial run. It’s likely good that some things went wrong as it will make you more meticulous in preparation. I see via Facebook you are on the road and with those big smiles in the photo it seems like all is well!
Congratulations! It looks to be just the right size. You have so many adventures waiting for you.
Patti, thank you. Choosing the right size can make or break life in a van. If too big it can be hard to find places to park it in Europe. Larger sizes are also more expensive for ferries, toll roads, fuel etc. So there is a lot to think about, but we are now very happy with our choice 🙂