Everything you need to know BEFORE you hire a campervan, RV or motorhome for a touring holiday
Hiring a motorhome, RV or campervan in Scotland is an amazing adventure with so many incredible places to explore. The beauty of hiring a campervan, RV or motorhome in Scotland is the diverse landscape meaning that you can experience a great variety of landscapes in one day! From stunning white beaches, to magnificent craggy mountains, to ancient pine forests and deep mountain hugging lochs – Scotland has it all! Scotland is the perfect place to explore in a campervan, RV or motorhome due to it’s small size meaning that, as one of our customers’ once said, “Scotland has epic view this corner, then epic view the next corner, and then the next. The scenery is quite simply amazing!!”
However there are a number of things you should consider before you book your campervan, RV or motorhome holiday in Scotland to ensure that you have a relaxed and stress free road trip and can just enjoy the history, the food and drink, the people and of course the amazing scenery!!
1. Choose the right size of vehicle
- Much of Scotland’s road network is single track, windy and narrow and unsuitable for motorhomes and RVs or even the larger long wheelbase campervans. You are likely to scratch your vehicle or loose a wing mirror because your large vehicle is simply too big for the infrastructure. Not only will you find you are unable to get down some roads but you will also have problems parking and turning your vehicle around. It is wise to consider how important the extra space is to the stresses you will incur when you rent a motorhome or larger campervan. Much of the road network will require you to reverse up hills around corners when you meet oncoming traffic even in popular spots like the road down to Achmelvic on the NC500.
- With this in mind, I would also suggest that you choose a motorhome, RV or campervan to hire that has parking cameras and sensors to ensure that you don’t bump into anything. If you decide to hire a larger vehicle such as a motorhome,RV or a large campervan you will certainly need to have someone standing outside the motorhome when you reverse as there will be blind spots and it is difficult to see the height of the terrain with cameras. The weather may not always be dry so ensure if you choose a motorhome or RV to hire rather than a smaller campervan that you have wet weather gear to hand in the front cab.
2. Check your pricing carefully before you book your motorhome or campervan
- Many companies, particularly the larger companies have headline pricing to grab your attention. You then realise through the process that this price is for mileage up to 50 miles and there are hefty additional mileage charges.
- Also check if there is an additional insurance price added onto this which is charged per night.
- Further to this, check to see how many drivers are included in your insurance. Is there an additional charge per night/day for an additional driver? The minimum cost you are paying for your vehicle spirals quickly.
- Companies such as Four Seasons Campers have a policy of transparent pricing which means you can see the weekly and nightly price right at the beginning of your booking journey and also included unlimited mileage and unlimited drivers.
- Some motorhome or campervan companies will add on a compulsory cleaning or service charge in addition to the basic price which you must take.
3.Think about the height of your motorhome, RV or campervan
- It would seem obvious that there is more height in an RV, motorhome or larger campervan rather than the smaller campervans with pop top roofs…but you would be mistaken. Depending on the motorhome or larger campervan configuration, you may find that if the bed is hanging over the living area or cab that you have less space than you think you will. Conversely a pop top roof campervan with the pop top roof up gives you much more head height than you would think. We have customers up to around 6ft4 that can stand up with plenty of room with the roof up.
4. Consider the cost of fuel and ferries when choosing your RV, motorhome or campervan
- A motorhome, RV or larger campervan will give you approximately 25 to 35 mpg whereas a standard size campervan will give you approximately 43mpg making it a much more cost-effective option
- In Scotland Motorhomes and Campervans are charged according to the length so you will incur extra charges when travelling on the ferry around Scotland the larger your motorhome or campervan is.
- There are charging points around Scotland for electric campervans and motorhomes to save on cost of fuel but the infrastructure is not in place yet for this to be a stress free option. Many of the charging points do not work and the distance between charging points can be vast meaning you could break down.
5. Check what equipment is included in your hire and the quality of it – camping does not have to mean roughing it!
- Most motorhome, RV and campervan hire companies will charge you for your bedding with many of them only providing sleeping bags which can be fairly basic and uncomfortable. Companies such as Four Seasons Campers provide quality duvets and pillows, towels and a cosy blanket in the winter all included in the price of your hire.
- Your campervan, RV or motorhome rental company should provide you with an inventory of what is included in their website and pictures of your equipment so that you know the standard. Companies such as Four Seasons Campers provide top quality kitchen equipment which includes wine glasses, cafetieres and quality pots and pans to ensure you can enjoy cooking whilst you are away. Four Seasons Campers include all essential equipment in the price saving you money on extras.
- If you are travelling by plane or train you will have to buy all your basic food items such as oil, salt and pepper for your trip unless your motorhome or campervan rental company provides this. Four Seasons Campers provide a FREE Starter pack by request which includes oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, flaked chilli’s and mixed herbs, tea, coffee and sugar to save cost and waste for our customers.
6. Is it necessary to have a toilet and shower included when you hire a motorhome, RV or campervan?
- Whilst it may seem like a necessity to many people, the question of whether or not you need a toilet and shower in your campervan is one to be considered carefully. Where are you planning to camp on your trip and what are you planning to do?
- If you are booking into campsites each night with toilets and showers available to you the negatives should be considered.
- Do you want to have to lug around a toilet in the campervan adding extra weight and fuel costs? Do you want to have to clean your campervan throughout the trip? Do you want toilet smells in such a small space where you are going to be eating and sleeping? Having started Four Seasons Campers with a larger motorhome that had a toilet and shower, I quickly realised the downside of carrying around a shower room on wheels and switched our fleet to the smaller short wheelbase vehicles. We hire out porta loos and tents to our customers but 95% of those that take them return to us and say that they did not use them as used the campsite facilities
7. Check the features of your motorhome, RV or campervan and whether your motorhome, RV or campervan has a manual gearbox (stick shift) or automatic gearbox
- Whilst you might drive a car with a manual gearbox, you will undoubtedly find driving a motorhome or a larger campervan a different experience with a manual gearbox due to the weight of the vehicle. I started Four Seasons Campers with a manual motorhome and quickly moved the fleet to automatic campervans with the ability to switch to manual on steep gradient roads. The benefit of an automatic campervan, automatic RV or motorhome means that you can focus on driving and enjoy the view.
8. Consider the length, width and comfort of your beds
- It is worth considering, especially for a longer campervan, RV or motorhome hire what your bed sits on. Is it the traditional bed slats or does it have individual springs? Four Seasons Campers fleet have VW California Ocean campervans with an upper bed which is much more comfortable than other roof beds due to the individual plastic springs giving it a softer feel that wont transfer movement.
- A good motorhome, RV or campervan rental company will have all the bed measurements on display. A thing to note is the difference between the converted campervans and the factory campervans. The converted campervans tend to use a smaller bed than the factory-built campervans such as VW who have their own bespoke bed.
- For longer road trips we recommend hiring an extra mattress topper for the rear convertible bed for extra comfort.
9. Check to see what storage your campervan, RV or motorhome has as well as the size of the water tank and the waste tank
- Storage and space will be limited in comparison to a larger holiday home when you hire your RV, motorhome or campervan. Motorhomes will have more storage than a smaller campervan but you should consider whether the need for space outweighs the negative of driving a larger vehicle around.
- Consider how much storage you will need for food. Are you planning on eating out or cooking all your meals?
- Make sure you check the size of the water tank in your motorhome or campervan. 30lt is standard size for both and depending use will last you 3 to 4 days before you need to fill up or empty.
- Remember to take bottled water as drinking from the water tank is not advisable -preferably in a reusable container to save on waste. Four Seasons Campers provide a water container with tap for you to fill up drinking water at your campsite and save money and waste.
10.Consider the impact your RV, motorhome or campervan is having on the environment and what your motorhome hire or campervan hire company is doing to offset their carbon impact
- Motorhomes and larger campervans have a higher impact on the environment unless they are electric vehicles
- Check that your campervan or motorhome complies with the latest Euro 6 emissions – not only is it better for the environment but you will be charged for entering certain areas in Scotland such as Glasgow if you do not comply.
- Hire a new campervan or motorhome so that it has features such as start-stop engines, regenerative braking and aerodynamic enhancements to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions
- At Four Seasons Campers we plant a Caledonian pine tree for every hire in our grove in beautiful Glen Affric as well as using eco-friendly cleaning products.
- Four Seasons Campers also provides all our campers a list of waste disposal locations and recycling bags for rubbish with every hire.