Motorhome Classes Explained

Your Home on Wheels: Navigating the UK Motorhome Classes

Choosing the right motorhome is the first great adventure, and understanding the core differences between Class A, B, and C vehicles is essential to finding your perfect fit. While these classifications originated in the US, they are widely used in the UK to distinguish motorhomes based on their construction, size, features, and ultimately, their ideal touring life.

Class A: The King of the Road

The Class A motorhome represents the pinnacle of luxury and scale in the UK market. Forget the term "van"—these vehicles are more akin to custom-built coaches or small buses.

Defining Features:

• Integrated Cab: They are built on a heavy-duty, purpose-built chassis (often truck or coach-based), with the driver's cab fully integrated into the living space. This flat-fronted design is instantly recognisable and maximizes every inch of interior width.

• Luxury Living: Class As offer the most space and the highest level of amenities, often boasting a spacious kitchen with residential-style appliances, a private master bedroom, and a full bathroom with a separate shower enclosure. Storage is plentiful, both inside and in the under-floor 'basement' lockers.

Best For:

These are the ideal choice for full-time living, extended touring, or for large families and groups who refuse to compromise on comfort. However, their size can make navigating narrow UK country lanes, busy town centres, and smaller campsite pitches a challenge. Critically, their weight (often over 3.5 tonnes MAM) usually requires the driver to hold a specific C1 or Category C licence entitlement.

Class B: The Nimble Campervan

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Class B motorhome, often simply known as a campervan. These are the vehicles of maximum freedom and spontaneity.

Defining Features:

• Van Conversion: A Class B is constructed using the original body shell and cab of a commercial panel van (such as a VW Transporter or a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter). They are essentially a van that has been expertly converted.

• Compact Efficiency: Space is at a premium, demanding clever, convertible layouts. While they will typically include a kitchenette and a sleeping area, full facilities like a dedicated shower or toilet may be minimal or omitted entirely. Their key advantage is their size, fitting into a standard parking space and remaining easy to drive and manoeuvre.

Best For:

Class Bs appeal to solo travellers or couples seeking maximum flexibility, fuel economy, and ease of parking. They are perfect for weekend getaways, urban explorations, or for those who want to use their leisure vehicle as a second daily car. They almost always fall under the 3.5-tonne MAM limit, allowing them to be driven on a standard car licence.

Class C: The Family All-Rounder

The Class C motorhome is sometimes referred to as coachbuilt and is the beloved middle ground, offering a fantastic balance between space and usability.

Defining Features:

• Distinctive Over-Cab: The defining visual characteristic is the fixed, protruding section situated directly above the driver’s cab. This area is typically used to house an extra double bed or serve as spacious storage.

• Semi-Integrated Build: They are built on a cutaway van chassis, meaning they retain the original van cab section, but a purpose-built 'coach' body is added to the rear. This construction method keeps the price and weight lower than an integrated Class A.

• Mid-Range Comfort: Class Cs successfully provide a good level of domestic comfort, including fixed beds, proper washrooms, and separate dining/lounge areas, making them significantly more spacious than a Class B, while being easier to handle and park than a Class A.

Best For:

This class is a favourite for families and multi-person groups who need flexible sleeping arrangements and decent living space for longer trips. They provide a high level of amenity and insulation suitable for longer tours without the bulk or potentially specialised licence requirements of the largest vehicles.

To help you narrow down your search, are you prioritising maximum comfort and space or maximum manoeuvrability and fuel efficiency for your trips?