4-berth peak: 800-1,100: off-peak: 500-700
sites ~GBP 30/night + diesel at 25mpg
Advanced options
The hire-vs-buy maths is brutal for buying: a GBP 55,000 motorhome loses GBP 4,000-6,000/yr in depreciation + GBP 1,500+ in insurance, storage, MOT, habitation checks BEFORE it goes anywhere: that funds 6-8 weeks of hiring the same van annually. Buy when you'll genuinely use it 8+ weeks a year or retire into it: hire for the fortnight family experiment. Most hire firms: 25+ age minimum, GBP 1,000-1,500 deposit held, mileage caps on cheap deals.
What The Motorhome Hire Calculator Works Out
- Holiday total: (weekly hire rate + weekly running costs) x weeks hired. A family four-berth runs GBP 800 to GBP 1,100 a week in peak season and GBP 500 to GBP 700 in the shoulder, with sites at GBP 30 or so a night and diesel on top, so the fortnight typically lands at GBP 2,200 to GBP 2,600.
- vs buying one: a GBP 55,000 van sheds GBP 4,000 to GBP 6,000 a year in depreciation plus GBP 1,500 or more in insurance, storage, MOT and the habitation check before it goes anywhere. The card shows how many weeks of this exact holiday that money buys each year.
- Hire small print: mileage caps on bargain rates, the GBP 1,000 to GBP 1,500 deposit held against the excess, inclusion lists (bedding, gas, awning) and the handover hour where first-timers collect their door dents.
- Diesel for the miles (advanced): miles driven divided by mpg, converted to litres (4.546 per gallon) and priced at the pump. Motorhomes manage 22 to 30 mpg; the default diesel price is the latest RAC Fuel Watch figure and is editable.
- Excess-reduction cover (advanced): the counter will offer to cut the damage excess for GBP 10 to GBP 30 a day. A standalone excess policy or some travel insurance does the same job for far less, so enter whichever you will actually buy.
- Ferry, tolls, bedding and kit hire (advanced): one-off trip costs. The continental leap prices surprisingly gently against the fuel saved on slower roads.
- Per person per night (advanced): the holiday total divided by people and nights, which is the figure to compare with a cottage, a hotel or a tent pitch.
- Owning costs (advanced): edit the annual depreciation and standing costs to match the van you are considering. A two-to-four-year-old van has already eaten its steepest depreciation, which changes the crossover.
- Weeks a year where buying wins (advanced): the owning costs divided by the cost of one hired week. Below that figure the hire fleet stores, services and depreciates the dream for you; above it, or in retirement, the drive earns its van.