Planning your first motorhome tour: an honest checklist

A first motorhome tour rarely fails because of the vehicle and almost always because of the plan: too many kilometres, arriving too late, no plan B for the full site. This checklist sticks to what experienced motorhome travellers actually do differently from beginners.

Stages: shorter than you think

A motorhome drives differently from a car: taller, heavier, more sluggish, more sensitive to wind. Add breaks, refuelling, shopping and the time for setting up and packing down at the site. As a rule of thumb, 200 to 300 kilometres per travel day has proven itself, less on relaxed days. Plan 600 kilometres in one go and you arrive stressed and see nothing on the way.

Plan to arrive before dusk. Approaching an unknown site in the dark, manoeuvring and hooking up is no fun and the most common source of beginner mistakes.

Stopover or campsite?

Both have their place in a tour, and the mix is what works:

• Motorhome stopovers are uncomplicated and often cheap. There is usually water and waste disposal, sometimes electricity, rarely sanitary facilities. Ideal for transit nights and cities.
• Campsites offer showers, washing machines, often a bread roll service and room to stay. In high season at popular destinations, definitely reserve.

For a first tour, a campsite as base camp is a good choice: you get to know the vehicle without moving every day.

Water, electricity, disposal: the rhythm

Fresh water tank, grey water tank and toilet cassette set a pace for your tour. Depending on tank size and number of people, that means servicing roughly every two to three days. Plan those stops deliberately instead of leaving them to chance; many stopovers have service stations, and you find the symbols for them in the site details.

Plan B is part of the plan

Popular sites are full in summer, and not everyone takes reservations. For every overnight stay, note an alternative site within 20 to 30 minutes. In the planner this is quick: zoom into the destination area, look at the sites in the map view and set your favourite as a waypoint.

Plan the route with your dimensions

Low bridges, narrow village roads and weight limits are in no car sat nav. So enter the height, width, length and weight of your vehicle into the vehicle profile before you fix the route. What lies behind this is explained in the article on vehicle dimensions and routing.

The checklist in short

1. Plan at most 300 kilometres per travel day.
2. Aim to arrive before dusk.
3. Mix your nights: stopovers on the way, a campsite as your base.
4. Schedule water and waste servicing every two to three days.
5. Note one alternative site per night.
6. Enter your vehicle dimensions into the profile, then build the route.
7. Export the route as GPX so it sits offline in your sat nav on the road.