New member introduction

Thanks for letting me join the forum.  After many years of camping, we are looking at buying a motor home for use in our retirement.  Having never used one before, we have lots of questions and hopefully the posts in the forum will answer a lot of them now we have access.
 
We were planning on a van conversion - easier to navigate down narrow lanes in Devon and Cornwall, and less worries with damp making its way in.  However, after a trip to the caravan and motorhome show it became clear that at 6' 2" I'm just too tall for them.  Our current favourite is therefore the Nuevo EK - plenty of headroom, short enough to make parking easier (even with an additional bike rack) and the layout seems to make the most of the size to give a very spacious living area.
 
Main reading topics are around the following, so any links to existing forum topics will be appreciated:
 
Storage - Most magazines seem to make a big deal about 'garage space' and the Nuevo only seems to have a relatively small external locker.  There is only the two of us, but with outside chairs and table, cycling gear, walking boots etc things soon start to mount up (and that's before you factor in the wine!).  Neuvo - how’d you organise? seems to have some useful information now we can see the pictures.   
 
Damp - having stayed in some ageing caravans we know how quickly things can escalate once seals go.  Regular habitation checks seems to be the only option - are these costly, and is there a link to your motorhome insurance?  Any suggested reading welcomed.
 
Rear overhang - for a relatively short motorhome, the rear overhang seems pretty big.  I guess this helps make the layout work, but does it become a problem - especially once an additional cycle carrier is added? We've already noted that adding a cycle carrier may have implications on ferry costs thanks to the Reinforced area for bike rack mounting discussion.   
 
All suggestions and guidance welcomed.
 
Roy

Hi Roy
Welcome to the forum from Bridington,lots of info and recommendations,if you search through various posts added over the years.
Boaby

An ES model will give you much more storage space in the over cab bed area. Just make sure it is in the folded away position or you will be banging your head.

Second hand models seem very overpriced at the moment (including my old high millage van) but this is true for PVCs as well.

From my own experience rear overhang is a problem when pulling out from the kerb if there is a tree on the edge but they do have smaller turning circles.

Definitely a PVC wins for use in Devon and Cornwall. Other than when moving from cab to the rear and back again, headroom has never been an issue for us. In fact, I think the roof line in PVCs tends to be higher than in coach built vans and, thus, the roof lockers have more height to them.

Welcome to the forum from S.Yorkshire. I visit Cornwall to see my son and his family every year. I also find the roads, with some exceptions, relatively easy to drive down with my Kemerton-van conversion. Also I am 6'1'' and have no problem with height of the van interior, although I accept another extra inch or two might cause a problem.

The Nuevo is a very good choice for a couple, not too big and not too small.  I see your point on PVCs, we changed for the same reason, narrow roads in Wales and Scotland, our Windsor was wider than the Warwick. Storage initially was an issue when we downsized but quickly learned what we really needed and didnt.  The back Box helped too.

The rear overhang on the Nuevo is withing the legal build  requirements