IF YOU HAVE AN RV YOU CAN

WIDEN YOUR HORIZONS

THERE IS A WEBSITE TO HELP YOU SWAP YOUR
RV OR MOTOR CARAVAN HOLIDAY.

People who have tents, caravans or trailer tents must have at sometime envied those lucky enough to enjoy the luxury of a well equipped motor caravan.

I can think of two occassions. One was when, parked in line, enduring the long wait to board a ferry, the smell of delicious bacon rolls being prepared wafted over from the gally of a gleaming home on wheels.

Another was at the end of season in the south of France when the facilities on a perfect campsite beside the sea were being shut down and we lesser mortals had to move on but the owners of motor homes were able to stay. They were all self contained and could function independently.

Of course there can be no denying that they can be expensive to run and to get them to far flung countries must cost a lot in fuel and ferry charges. But there is a way around this and there is a scheme that enables you to swap your motor home for one in distant parts.


Christopher Farrow is a very keen motorhome enthusiast. Whilst away with his family he had a great idea of having a website that you could use to swap your motorhome with someone in another country.

"As it happens some friends moved to France, we exchanged with them. They came to visit family in the UK and we went on holiday to France swapping our vehicles. We had a brilliant time and the idea worked so well I had the website developed. We have been running for sixteen months with three people registering every day from all over the world and people swapping for holidays. We are getting 40,000 hits per month and growing all the time."



The website is running free at the moment so now is the time to register and have free holidays. Destinations available: USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Holland, UK, Spain, Germany, Hawaii, France, Sweden and South Africa.

The concept of exchanging is a fast growing market and trend. House exchanges are now huge business, and have been established internationally since the 1950s, with Intervac alone dealing with 12,000 families exchanging houses for holidays each season. Boat exchanges are now also commonplace.

The truth is that holidays are expensive, and so if you can save a large part of the cost of the holiday in this way, you might as well do so! It’s now the turn of the motorhome. And by exchanging motorhomes you save money on transport and accommodation in one fell swoop. It’s a great way to save money. And it works.

The arrival of a massive network of cheap flight operators has opened up Europe, and to some extent the world to millions of people. They are able to holiday in places which ten years ago they were only able to dream about.

With motorhome holiday swap you can have the savings, convenience comfort and flexibility that your motorhome has for many years provided you in your own country on trips many thousands of miles from home.

People are registering daily. The UK, and Australia are very popular, people have been going from America to Australia, also to New Zealand and Ireland is popular.

Every day there is an exchange going on and future plans for the website include a guide to help people target good campgrounds in each area, so they don’t arrive ‘blind’ not knowing where to go. It will be downloadable.

One motor caravanner did a double swap and after travelling in Australia arranged two weeks in New Zealand. Many have opted for a three a three or four week holiday but you can often fix up to have as long as you want to.

The people normally include with the vehicle everything that they themselves would take with them on holiday, so maps, bikes and duvets can add to the completeness of the experience.

There is a kindred feeling to it all, like a big family and unlike exchanging your home, the people you swap with will usually be there when you arrive. Often they will meet you at the airport and give local advice, sometimes offering an overnight stay in their house before you set off the next day.

The website provides detailed information about people and their motorhomes of like mind in various countries around the world, so that you can contact them and decide whether to exchange motorhomes (or R.V as they are known in America).

Each member completes an application form on-line which gives details of the region of the country where they live, and of course where their motorhome is sited, and the type of motorhomes they own and they are seeking. Thus you will be able to browse through the areas of the world that you want to holiday in, cross reference dates that they might be available for exchange, and look at photos of the vehicles and their owners. The only major cost for the holiday is then the cost of getting to the motorhome itself.

You will be asked which countries you would like to visit, whether you prefer a smoker or a non smoker motorhome, when you want to make your exchange, whether you would prefer your motorhome not to be used by small children, how many berths does it contain, and its age and mileage.

The prospective people who will be exchanging with you will be interested in details about you and your family before they come to drive and live in your motorhome, and vice versa and most people will strike up a relationship on the email and a phone call or two before the agreement takes place.

This site is perhaps a bit of a cut above the average free exchange web site, because people who care about their motorhomes will recognise that a small registration fee will act as a deterrent to the uncaring motorhome owner or user.

Cost and Savings

By exchanging motorhomes most motorhome owners will save significant sums of money. Motorhomes are expensive to hire, and saving this will mean you have much much more to spend on your holiday than you otherwise would have, or you will be able to holiday much further afield.

You will be obliged to insure the motorhome you are borrowing for yourself during the exchange period.

To participate you are obliged to pay £45 which is an annual fee.

For more information visit : http://www.motorhomeholidayswap.com

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Purchasing? check out ;
A Step by Step Guide to Test Driving a Motorhome
By : Ross Hinton