Driver License Requirements

With the reforms surrounding driving licenses since 1999 There is often confusion about which driver's license is required for which vehicle. In addition to the driver's license issue date, the required driver's license class depends on the permissible total weight (GVWR) of the motorhome or caravan.

Driving license before 1999

Anyone who has their driving licence before 1999 With Class 3, you are allowed to drive vehicles up to 7,5 tonnes (t) GVW or motorhome-trailer combinations with a total combined weight of 18,5 tonnes. However, the latter is only valid until the age of 50; after that, only combinations with a total combined weight of 12 tonnes are permitted.

Driving license after 1999

For holders of a category B driving licence issued after 1999 was issued, stricter rules apply: here 3,5 t is the upper limit for the motorhome.

"Big Caravans"

The class B96: More equipment also means more weight: Cars and caravans have been getting heavier for years. Already 30% of newly registered caravans weigh over 1,6 t, and together with an average car, they weigh more than 3,5 t. Anyone who has their driver's license after 1999 Anyone who has acquired a new driver's license class B 96 will need the new license. The cost for the upgrade is approximately 300 euros. Many campsites offer a course for this upgrade.

 

"Large Motorhomes"

Truck driving licence category C1 : This licence entitles you to drive vehicles up to 7,5 t GVW and a trailer with a total weight of up to 750 kg. Driving schools offer intensive courses where you can complete the comprehensive training in 7 days. Cost: approximately 1800 euros.

Rent or buy?

A caravan or mobile home is a rather expensive purchase. On the used market, the selection of cheap and good vehicles is small due to the high demand. Therefore, most caravanning beginners will first rent a vehicle. Anyone who has been out and about in a mobile home a few times is also much better able to assess what the focus should be on when you have your own vehicle: air conditioning, shower, queen-size bed, longitudinal beds or would you prefer a practical alcove?

Once the camping fever has really taken hold, it's time to weigh up the options. Is buying your own vehicle worth it? The rule of thumb says: If you are on the road with a mobile home for more than six weeks a year, it is more worth buying it than renting it. With good maintenance and care, mobile homes often last for decades and fetch good prices even when sold in used condition.

Buying or renting – but that is only partly a financial question. When you own a motorhome, you simply know what you have. Camping chairs, favorite crockery and toilet paper: everything is always ready for use and ready to go. For many campers, caravanning is not just a way of travelling, but a hobby, a passion, a lifestyle. A lot of love, time and money goes into the constant improvement of the equipment. Over time, it becomes more and more the perfect home on wheels.

Flexible journeys are much easier to manage with your own vehicle. If you have planned a nice autumn trip for the beginning of October and a week of rainy weather is forecast, it is not so easy to postpone the trip with a rental vehicle.

However, many camping fans make a conscious decision not to buy their own vehicle. They don't want to commit themselves so strongly. Long-distance trips to other continents with your own mobile home are only possible with a lot of time and/or money. Australia, Canada and the USA are wonderful holiday destinations for caravanning trips. Holidaymakers with a flight and a rental vehicle are much less complicated here.

And if you have your own vehicle, you also need a parking space. A parking space often generates additional costs.
So whether it is better to buy or rent a motorhome is a question of both the holiday type and the budget.

Good and better places to sleep

Where can you actually stay overnight with the mobile home? The good news: Recreational breaks are tolerated in Germany wherever parking is not expressly forbidden. If you stay overnight with your car or mobile home on the side of the road or in public parking lots, you are usually on the safe side - unless, of course, caravans are expressly excluded from the basic rule with the sign “Only for cars”. Camping tables and chairs or extending the awning are not permitted in such sleeping places.

While similar rules to Germany apply in Belgium, Italy and Austria, the regulations in most European countries are stricter. In Portugal, Denmark and Greece, for example, overnight stays outside of campsites are not permitted. Depending on the travel destination or transit country, you should find out about the applicable laws in good time.

If you want to be on the safe side or simply appreciate the comfort of a campsite, you should expect to pay an average of around €23 per night (2 people) in Germany. Depending on the season, location, the number of people traveling with you and the facilities at the campsite, the prices can also be as high as €75 for stand and overnight charges.

 Caravan or mobile home?

In terms of price, there is a striking difference between caravans and motorhomes. With a comparable level of equipment, the mobile home is about four times more expensive. The caravan requires significantly less maintenance and is easier to care for.

A caravan is most suitable for couples and especially for families who want to stay at campsites and make trips by car from there.
A big advantage of the mobile home compared to the caravan is already in the name: With the mobile home you are more mobile. For round trips and for more distant travel destinations, the motorhome is the first choice.

There are definitely very luxurious caravans on the market that leave nothing to be desired. However, the usual caravan does not provide for showering in the mobile home: the fresh and waste water tanks are simply too small. As a caravan user, you shouldn't have any problems with public showers. If you value flexibility and want to be largely independent of the facilities at the campsite, you are better served with a mobile home.

Be careful when parking in public places or on the side of the road: caravans may not be parked there for longer than two weeks without a towing vehicle. Approved motorhomes can stay indefinitely.

Towing caravans – it depends on the load!

Everything in the caravan and off you go? Basically yes. When loading, however, a few important things must be observed, otherwise the caravan will start to sway dangerously at 90 km/h.

The basic rules are: light things in the caravan, heavy things in the car. Anything that has to be in the trailer for reasons of space should be placed as low as possible near the axle. You must absolutely comply with the permissible total weight of the caravan. At the same time, the maximum vertical load of the car and trailer should be reached, but not exceeded. You should tare the load before every journey with the help of a vertical load scale. It is best to exchange the existing jockey wheel for one with an integrated scale, this only costs a few euros and saves you having to take a load scale with you. The trailer hitch head must be free of rust, paint and grease and the anti-snaking hitch must be locked. Before setting off, also check the wear on the friction linings on the clutch.

Everything should be stored in the storage boxes provided in the caravan. Anti-slip mats in storage boxes are a blessing! Before setting off on a journey, every trailer driver should think carefully about what is really needed on the road. There should only be as much water in the water tanks as is absolutely necessary for the journey. Even small animals make a mess, and every saving in weight has a positive effect on handling and fuel consumption.