Motorhomes For Sale – Left-Hand Drive & UK Registered

On my motorhome travels in Europe, I have occasionally come across people with UK-registered, left-hand drive motorhomes. Especially Hymers, for some reason.

The logic behind this is simple – if almost all of your motorhome holidays are spent in continental Europe, driving on the right, then why not have a motorhome with the steering wheel on the right side for the conditions? Although driving a right-hand drive motorhome in Europe isn’t especially problematic, it’s certainly easier with the steering wheel on the left.

All of this made me wonder how easy it would be to buy a second hand, left-hand drive motorhome that’s already UK registered and in the UK. With that in mind, I bring you this week’s selection of used motorhomes, for sale on eBay. To give you an indicator of how small the market for LHD motorhomes is in the UK, at the time of writing, eBay has 26 LHD motorhomes for sale – against 969 motorhomes in total!

First up is this X-reg VW Westfalia conversion, imported in 2002. If you’re after one of these then Westfalia conversions are amongst the best – but bear in mind these old vans are more of a hobby than a convenience. At this age, they rust and require regular TLC, although devotees swear by them…

If you are looking for something larger and more modern, then for under £20,000 this Rimor Katano on a Ford Transit base can be yours. It’s well-specified for family/long-term touring and has a refillable Gaslow cylinder, which means you can top up with LPG at garages all over Europe without struggling with different bottle types (most European countries use different gas bottle fittings to the UK and to each other…). Also, as a 3,500kg Transit it is probably rear-wheel drive, giving better traction on slippery surfaces and a better drive.

This next van is definitely rear-wheel drive and highly desirable (to me, anyway). A German conversion of a high-top, long wheelbase Mercedes Sprinter. As the seller points out, you get the benefit of driving a van with a standard body plus a high quality conversion, although somewhat bizarrely he is including a battered old Ford Mondeo in the sale… The bed is transverse (across the van), too, which might make it too short for tall people (certainly if you’re 6ft or more and want to lie straight).

Finally, no discussion of LHD motorhomes would be complete with including an A-class Hymer. Hymers have a solid reputation with long-term tourers as good quality, well designed and properly winterised (unlike most British motorhomes) and are popular throughout Europe. This Hymer 534 is only 5.6m long but has all the features you expect in an A-class – drop-down double bed, lounge seating and proper kitchen and bathroom. It’s a 1993 model but probably has plenty of life in it – I’ve seen far older.

I did think about including American imports in this article – after all, they are all LHD. However, I ran out of space so I’ll save it for another week when I’ll look at US imports only – be prepared to widen your screen and purchase shares in an oil company…