Motorhome Transport: Drive-Away, Towed or Low-Loader?

Motorhomes sit in an odd category: too big for a car transporter's standard deck, yet drivable in their own right. That gives you a choice — a trade-plate driver behind the wheel, or the whole vehicle carried on a low-loader — and Smart Taurus brings quotes for both to one place.

In short: A running motorhome is usually cheapest to move by drive-away — an insured professional driver takes it by road — while non-runners, unregistered imports and project vehicles travel on a low-loader or heavy transporter. Accurate dimensions decide everything: length, height including roof boxes and aerials, and gross weight determine which equipment can carry it. Smart Taurus is a transport marketplace where you post the motorhome job free, compare quotes from verified transporters and drivers, then book, track and pay securely in the app.

Should your motorhome be driven or carried?

Start from whether it runs and is road-legal. If yes, drive-away delivery is the straightforward option: a professional driver — trade-plated or insured on the vehicle — collects it and drives it to you, adding mileage but no lifting equipment. It suits dealer purchases, private sales and relocations, and quotes stay modest because the only real costs are driver time, fuel and the return journey. Transported delivery puts the motorhome on a low-loader or beavertail instead: zero added miles, no wear, and the only choice for anything unroadworthy. It costs more because a large motorhome occupies an entire specialist vehicle. A middle case exists for small campervans, which occasionally fit conventional car transporters — one reason exact dimensions matter so much. Compare this with our car transport and caravan transport pages if your vehicle sits nearer those categories.

Why do dimensions and weight dominate the quote?

Because they decide what can physically carry the vehicle. A 5.4-metre panel-van conversion and an 8.5-metre A-class are different jobs entirely. Measure and post all of these:

Measurement	Why transporters need it
Overall length	Determines trailer/deck fit, including rear bike racks and tow bars
Height inc. fittings	Loaded height governs bridges and routes — count aerials, air-con pods, satellite domes
Width inc. mirrors	Affects escort/notification rules on the widest coachbuilts
Gross weight (MTPLM)	Sets the transporter class required; many exceed 3.5 tonnes

Beyond size, quotes move with distance (long lanes cost less per mile than short ones), whether the vehicle runs, loading access at both ends, and season — spring, ahead of the touring year, is the busy period for motorhome movements.

Can you move a non-runner or project motorhome?

Yes — barn-find campers, conversion projects and MOT failures move every week, but the job must be described honestly. A transporter needs to know: does the engine start, do the wheels turn and steer, do the brakes release, and is there winch access at the front? A rolling non-runner winches up a beavertail fairly easily; one with seized brakes or flat tyres needs skates, extra time and sometimes a HIAB. Underquoting the problem is the classic cause of failed collections, so photograph the vehicle where it stands, including the approach a truck would use. If the vehicle broke down mid-trip rather than being planned freight, vehicle recovery is the faster-response service.

What about delivery to a storage site?

Plenty of motorhome moves end at secure storage compounds rather than home addresses, and these sites have quirks worth handling in advance: gate hours and booking-in procedures, height barriers that must be unlocked, named-contact access lists, and allocated pitch numbers. Give the transporter the site's rules and a contact number in the app chat, and check whether the site needs your pitch reserved before arrival. If the driver must position the vehicle on its pitch, say whether the pitch is reversed-in and how tight the aisles are — an 8-metre coachbuilt in a narrow compound lane is a job the driver should know about before quoting.

Before handover: shut off the gas at the bottles, latch every locker and roof vent, stow the step, secure the interior (cupboard doors, TV, cassette blinds) and note existing bodywork marks with photos. Habitation contents are the loose cargo people forget.

How does motorhome transport work on Smart Taurus?

Post the job free with make and model, all four measurements, runner status, both locations and photos from each side.
Receive competing quotes from verified transporters and trade-plate drivers — drive-away and low-loader options often arrive side by side, so you can compare methods on price.
Book the profile you trust, track the journey in real time, and pay securely in-app through Stripe.

Because transporters on the marketplace fill spare capacity on routes they already run, flexible dates frequently beat fixed ones on price. For background on how vehicle moves are priced, our guide how much does it cost to ship a car explains the distance and season effects that apply to motorhomes too, and popular corridors are listed on our routes hub.

Frequently asked questions

What is drive-away motorhome delivery?

An insured professional driver collects your motorhome and drives it to the destination by road. It is usually the cheapest method for a road-legal runner, with the trade-off that the vehicle gains mileage and normal road wear on the journey.

When does a motorhome need a low-loader instead?

When it is a non-runner, unregistered, uninsured, SORN-declared or otherwise not road-legal — or when the owner simply wants zero added miles. The vehicle is winched or driven onto a beavertail or low-loader and carried the whole way.

Which measurements do transporters need for a motorhome?

Overall length including bike racks, height including aerials and roof pods, width including mirrors, and gross weight (MTPLM). These decide which equipment can carry it and which routes are passable, so measure rather than guess.

Can a motorhome that has been off the road for years be transported?

Yes, if you describe its true state: whether it starts, rolls, steers and brakes, plus photos of where it stands and the access a truck would use. Seized brakes or flat tyres are solvable with skates and winches but must be priced in from the start.

Can my motorhome be delivered straight into a storage compound?

Yes — share the site's gate hours, booking-in procedure, height-barrier arrangements and your pitch number with the transporter beforehand, and make sure the driver is on the site's access list for that day.

Do I need to empty the motorhome before transport?

Secure rather than strip it: gas off at the bottles, lockers and vents latched, step stowed, interior items (TV, crockery, blinds) fastened. Remove valuables and documents, and note that habitation contents are generally not covered as freight.

Is a small campervan cheaper to move than a coachbuilt?

Generally yes. A VW-size campervan can sometimes ride a conventional car transporter or be driven cheaply, while a 7.5-metre-plus coachbuilt monopolises a specialist low-loader. Size and weight, along with distance, are the biggest quote drivers.

When is demand highest for motorhome transport?

Spring is the peak, as owners collect new purchases and retrieve vehicles from winter storage ahead of the touring season, with a smaller autumn wave going the other way. Post early and keep dates flexible in these windows for the best quotes.