Long Term Motorhome Hire: Everything You Need to Know

Most people think of motorhome hire as a weekend break or a week's holiday, but some of the best trips we arrange at Heath's are the longer ones. A fortnight exploring Scotland. A month touring France and Spain. Three months for a retired couple tracing the Mediterranean coast. Long term motorhome hire uk opens up a different kind of travel - slower, deeper, and genuinely life-changing for some people.

If you have been thinking about an extended hire, this guide covers who does it, why it works, what to consider, and how to make the most of it.

Who Hires a Motorhome Long Term?

The answer is more varied than you might think. The most common groups we see are:

Retirees with time to travel. This is the classic long-term hirer. Couples who have finished work, sold or rented out the house, and decided to spend three or six months touring Europe. They are experienced travellers who have often done motorhome holidays before and know exactly what they want. Many plan detailed routes; others set off with nothing more than a vague intention to head south and follow the sun.

People between houses. More common than you would expect. When there is a gap between selling one property and moving into another - or during a renovation - a motorhome provides comfortable, flexible accommodation. You can stay at a campsite near your workplace, visit family, or simply take the opportunity to travel while your house is being rebuilt. We have had families live in our motorhomes for two or three months quite happily.

European tour planners. The classic European motorhome tour - two to four weeks covering France, Spain, Italy, or Scandinavia - is one of the most rewarding holidays you can take. The continent is purpose-built for motorhome travel, with thousands of campsites, stellplatz, and aires designed specifically for touring vehicles.

Contract workers and digital nomads. People on temporary work contracts - particularly in construction, events, or seasonal industries - find that a motorhome near their work site is cheaper and more comfortable than rented digs. And the rise of remote working means that some people genuinely work from a motorhome, moving between locations with a laptop and a decent mobile signal.

The Cost Advantage

Long term motorhome hire is significantly cheaper per day than short-term booking. Our standard weekly rate drops substantially for bookings of two weeks or more, and for monthly motorhome hire the daily cost falls further still. The exact figures depend on the vehicle and the season, but as a rough guide, motorhome hire 4 weeks or longer costs considerably less than four separate weekly bookings.

When you factor in the alternative costs - hotels, Airbnb, eating out every night - a motorhome often works out cheaper even before you account for the flexibility and freedom. A couple spending a month in France, cooking their own meals and staying at campsites averaging 20-25 euros per night, will spend a fraction of what the same trip would cost in hotels and restaurants.

Check our fleet page for the vehicles available for long-term hire, or get in touch directly to discuss your plans and get an accurate quote.

Practical Considerations

Mail and correspondence. If you are away for more than a couple of weeks, arrange mail forwarding or ask a trusted friend to collect and open anything important. Royal Mail's Keepsafe service will hold your post for up to 100 days. Most banks and utilities can switch to paperless communication. Make sure all your direct debits and standing orders are set up properly before you leave - you do not want to be chasing missed payments from a campsite in Portugal.

Vehicle maintenance. Our motorhomes are serviced before every hire, and for short trips there is nothing you need to worry about. For longer hires, we will talk you through the basics: checking oil and coolant levels, tyre pressures, and habitation battery condition. If anything goes wrong while you are away, you have our contact number and we will help you find a solution - whether that is a local mechanic or a recovery service. European breakdown cover is essential for continental trips; we can advise on the best options.

Gas resupply. Our motorhomes use LPG or propane bottles. In the UK, Calor Gas exchanges are available at most campsites and many petrol stations. In Europe, the situation is more complicated because gas fittings vary by country. The simplest solution for European touring is a refillable LPG system or a set of adaptors that fit the different European filling points. We will discuss the best option for your specific trip when you book.

Insurance and documentation. Our standard hire insurance covers UK travel. For European trips, we arrange extended cover that includes breakdown assistance and roadside recovery across the continent. You will need your driving licence, passport, and the vehicle documents we provide. We handle the paperwork - you just need to make sure your personal documents are in order.

Best Routes for Long-Term Motorhome Travel

If you have two weeks or more, the possibilities expand enormously. Here are three of the most popular extended routes our hirers take:

The NC500 and Scottish Highlands (2-3 weeks). The North Coast 500 has become Britain's most famous road trip, and it genuinely deserves the hype. The 516-mile loop around the Scottish Highlands takes in some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Europe - Applecross pass, Durness, John O'Groats, the Caithness coast. Most people rush it in a week, but two or three weeks lets you explore the side roads, walk in the mountains, and spend rest days in places like Ullapool and Torridon. Combined with the Outer Hebrides (accessible by CalMac ferry from Ullapool), this is a month's holiday that many people describe as the best they have ever taken.

The European Grand Tour (3-6 weeks). Ferry to France, drive south through the Loire Valley, cross into Spain via the Basque Country, follow the Mediterranean coast through Catalonia and the south of France, cut into Italy via the Riviera, and return through Switzerland and the Rhine Valley. This is the classic continental motorhome tour, covering 4,000-5,000 kilometres over a month or more. Every day brings a different landscape, a different cuisine, a different language. It is the trip that converts people from holidaymakers into motorhome travellers.

The Slow British Tour (2-4 weeks). Sometimes the best long trips are close to home. Two weeks following the coast of Wales and south-west England - Pembrokeshire, the Gower, North Devon, Cornwall, Dorset - covers landscapes as beautiful as anything in Europe, without the ferry crossings and foreign paperwork. Add in the Cotswolds, the Peak District, and the Yorkshire coast and you have a month-long circuit of England and Wales that most people never take the time to do.

Making It Work

The key to successful long term motorhome hire is planning the big things and improvising the small ones. Book your ferry crossings, your first night's campsite, and any attractions that require advance reservation. After that, keep your plans loose. The best moments on a long motorhome trip are the unplanned ones - the campsite recommended by a fellow traveller, the village market you stumble across, the coastal road you take on a whim.

Pace yourself. It is tempting to try to see everything, but covering too many miles each day turns a holiday into a driving marathon. Aim for no more than 200 miles between stops, and build in rest days - at least one day in three where you do not move the vehicle at all. This is when you explore on foot, catch up on laundry, and remember why you are doing this in the first place.

Long term motorhome hire is not for everyone. Some people miss their own bed after a week. But for those who take to it - and most do - it is a way of travelling that nothing else quite matches. You carry your home with you, you go where the mood takes you, and you come back with stories rather than souvenirs. For more, see our cost guide.