01422 396 769 
quotePOLL NOW CLOSED – Thanks to all who entered – Check out the results here
Plug-in cars are on the rise, and more so since the UK Government announced it was to bring forward the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035. But what about electric motorhomes?
We’ve already taken a look at electric motorhomes and the work been done by base vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat with their e-Ducato and Mercedes with their eSprinter and eVito.
Plus there are campervan converters like Wellhouse, who are building their first all-electric Vauxhall Vivaro Blighty “E” camper and the Ford Custom Misano 2 PHEV (Petrol Hybrid Electric Vehicle) campervan.
In our new community poll, we’d like to know if you’d consider buying an electric campervan or motorhome in the future? Or maybe you already have a hybrid electric camper? Or is it just too soon to start thinking about?
We’d love to hear your views about the future of electric motorhomes in the comments box below.
EV prices are rapidly coming down as mass production moves from internal combustion to electric. There is very little price disparity between a Mercedes Vito and eVito for example. The cost per mile of electric is a fraction of that of diesel or petrol, so with financing, the total cost of ownership is comparable or lower than with petrol engines. As to what charging will be like once on site, campsites already have sufficient charging facilities – commando sockets are already fine for charging using a convertor cable on most EVs.
Definitely the way to go. Most of the UK charging stations in motorway service stations will have been converted to rapid (50KW+) and ultra-fast (150KW+) by the end of summer 2021. Europe has generally good EV charging infrastructure. The new Mercedes eVans have up to 350 miles range and other manufacturers are racing to production. Battery technology is getting better on a yearly basis, with more capacity, faster charging and better safety.
As an EV driver for 4 years who has suffered poor UK charging infrastructure, I am delighted that GridServe has now solved the biggest single issue with EV range anxiety by upgrading service stations. Having said that, I did manage a 2,500 mile tour of Great Britain in my iPace in 2018 with only a few hitches. If you have kids or a weak bladder, you’re going to have to stop every c. 200 miles anyway, so no issue combining the stop with a charge.
With all the congestion charging and ULEZ being set up, and manufacturers switching away from internal combustion engines due to government climate commitments and new laws, it’s inevitable that campervans and motorhomes will all be electric within 5-10 years. Hydrogen is not the way to go because it’s energy intensive to produce, relatively expensive, and not the safest thing to drive down a motorway with your loved ones.
Change is inevitable, so we need to accept it when it’s evidently good for the planet.
Electric simply does not have the necessary range fro touring and where is the power to charge going to come from. We had Mercedes call us at work trying to sell electric vans as service vehicles with 80 miles range at best? Total waste of time, we need better batteries produced cleaner that can give range but we also need the charging infrastructure. A long way off I think.
i think hydrogen is the future but that seems to be some way off and we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels before they run out.
In the meantime I’d like an electric campervan that will (really) cover 300 miles on a charge and I’d like to see a big increase in fast charging points.
What worries me is that we will be turning half the world over to find all the things (eg rare earths) to make everything needed – and that’s including the things needed to produce green electricity to charge all our batteries.
On a political level we would also be putting ourselves in the pockets of countries that have money to invest, have these resources, and can produce them cheaply. (Just as we have with oil.) We would be the dumping ground for whatever is left after useage.
You’re right – hydrogen is a much more sensible, and greener option.
Everything is against electric mobile homes. The initial cost, the added weight, the shorter range, difficulty accessing roadside and forecourt charging, the onboard space required. This is all without considering the fact that with the massive increase in large battery production (and consequent disposal issues) the whole plan may not even be as eco-friendly as imagined.
Very unlikely to go down the electric route.
Firstly, it is doubtful if I could justify the cost.
Range would also be an issue – most of our travels in the past have been within Europe covering 250+ miles a day.
When we are allowed, it would be great to continue our retirement in the manner we have over the last 10 years.
electric vehicles are useless for going long distances on holiday. How long would it take to drive from Birmingham, England to Seville, Spain, with all the stops needed for recharging? By the time you got there it would be time to come back again!
Quite simply, I will ignore electric and wait until hydrogen vehicles are available.
I agree with all the comments made above regards range, charging infrastructure, additional weight, cost, battery life and recycling implications.
Also fitting a large battery pack under the floor will leave less room for water, waste and gas tanks and underfloor space and water heaters.
There needs to be a lot more detail in the body of this question or at least some links to articles explaining things a bit more. The majority of comments here clearly show the confusion with EVs and the facts surrounding them. I have owned EVs for 7 years now and whilst it is still early days, there is a strong case for EV motorhomes. There are many companies manufacturing electric vans coming to market and I’m sure they will be converted to motorhomes in time.
Hydrogen is always my favourite, unfortunately, this will not work with the dozen or so stations dotted around the country, whereas sites mostly have electric hookup and we are on holiday, so there is no hurry to fuel while we enjoy our stay. It might mean less 1 night stays but that’s not a bad thing. as for the mass of motorhomes, this is always an issue, personally I have a 4.5tonne MH, but the 3.5tonne limit does present some issues and maybe the license laws might change. That said, my current Tesla EV is 100kg lighter than my mates Focus RS! When you take out the engine, exhaust (and it’s very precious materials), gearbox etc… the difference is not massive. The only issue people can’t get over is range, but that’s in the planning and what better way to spend taking your time planning a trip that in a motorhome on holiday.
Problem is, without the information at hand for people to read and understand all the facts, articles like this will only bring negative comments due to the ‘not wanting to change things’ brigade. We all have negatives about this ‘new’, EV change that is happening around us, but when petrol driven cars came about, people had to stop at chemists to get fuel and everyone with a horse and cart said it was stupid. Change happens for a reason.
Give the people the facts rather than fuel for ranting please.
Thanks Simon, we weren’t aiming to incite negative comments, just trying to gain an understanding of owners’ thoughts on electric motorhomes and give an update on how the industry is progressing with the development of EVs – https://www.caravanguard.co.uk/news/a-look-at-electric-motorhomes-24474/
Thanks for sharing your comments and we hope to explore this subject in more detail in the future.
The focus on climate change and responding in a positive way to saving the planet is crucial to future generations. However if we are to respond in a positive way the government must play a leading role in providing the infrastructure is in place for the public to give an informed opinion. At the moment it seems that the level of provision for charging vehicles is inadequate and that is deterring people from changing, at the same time the cost of electric vehicles and battery weights are issues that need addressing.
Hydrogen power is the sensible answer. Fill up like diesel or petrol. Can be retrofitted and unlike a battery powered vehicle there is no built in obsolescence due to the short life of a battery.
A smal van may be ok electric, but anything biger will definatly Not work electric, the technology is not yet available for large electric vehicles, the power ,range, are not available,. You would need a trailer to carry the battery pack, and charging would take days. Batterys last on average 5 years, a new replacement battery would cost around £10,000.
Electric vehicles fome with a long history of reliability problems.
Driving long distance from scotland to Spain would be a definite impossible for electric vans and the extra weight of the batteries would mean most car licenses are no longer valid.
I have a 2012 fiat ducato 2.3 when i take it for it`s m o t on the certificate it say`s emission`s not triggered when i asked what this meant he said your engine is so clean it wont trigger the machine and this apply`s to most modern diesel engines .
Unless the price of all electric vehicles is drastically reduced there is no way we could afford to go electric. Our motorhome is only 2 years old and we hope to keep it as long as we kept our last one – I will be over 80 by then! Would we be able to trade it in, even if we could afford to change????
Questions are too simplistic.
Should query views on infrastructure for charging and castings etc.
When there is enough electric to power without material extra weight.
Electric motor homes will be available when battery technology improves. Present lithium ion batteries present a social and environmental problem in South America and Central African Republic. They are also difficult to recycle and would pose a weight problem in present vehicles. At present they are better suited to use in commercial vehicles used for local deliveries e.g. Supermarkets. The longer range required by motor home owners would be better served at present by self charging hybrids.
For an electric motorhome to be viable the size of the battery would cut your payload to something ridiculous.
The network for charging would need to far better than it is now and then the time and costs recharge would need to be considered.
Then the unladen weight would be a factor as it would be over 3500kgs which now comes into the class 2 type licence so that would mean taking a test to drive C1. so after 45 a medical every 5 years and after 65 every year. The government would need to sort this out.
As usual there is no lee way on the answers, the answer I would put forward is not yet. The reason being that any one who thinks they are driving within the weight laws with a 3.5t motorhome is kidding themselves. Take this problem and put it against an electric vehicle and its extra weight ie:- batteries and you have a need for weight increase to the vehicle class. It is only my opinion but with all the latest technology and safeguards, this could easily be achieved to 4t with no compromise to safety. Another point electric vehicles bring to mind is the recycling of spent batteries, I also presume these will be of the Li-ion type which have there own problems.
Regards Paul Cruttenden.
Sorry about that Paul. Would the “maybe” answer be an option for you?
There are various issues which would need to be solved before I would even consider an electric Motorhome. Firstly the range issue, most certainly would need a minimum of 350 miles between charges. Further on a motorhome, weight is critical with the size and weight of batteries at present I think we would need to have major developments in battery technology to reduce weight.
Finally charging, camp sites would need to invest in charging stations to ensure we would not need to spend too much time at filling stations / charging stations.
I’ve been driving electric cars since 2014 and would love an electric van conversion (Ducato) – I believe 300 mile range is the sweet spot
I doubt I could afford one, bearing in mind how much e-cars cost in comparison to their liquid fuel contemporaries. I also believe there will not be the choice of layouts available, so how many compromises would there have to be just to be able to run electric?