MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Like actually live in it?
Over the past couple of years I've kept seeing a motorhome parked up in a layby on occasions. I thought it was maybe someone who stops off after visiting someone or similar but I started a new job last week & travel a totally different route. I saw the same vehicle in another layby again this week then again in a church car park later that day.
I feel like knocking on the door & asking if they live in it all the time.
Apart from the lack of space inside, why not?
Why not indeed. Something I've been thinking about a lot. No wife/kids to tie me down. No desire to shackle myself to a colossal mortgage. I have a unit/mancave to keep all my toys in, so could easily live in a van/boat. Get a gym membership for showers etc and you're good to go.
Apart from the lack of space inside, why not?
The cold
Small-minded fear of the unknown/getting lynched/tarred with the gypsy brush.
Wheres the logburner going to go?
Lots of people do op.
Something I've looked into a little.
They're called "full timers", those that live in motor homes all year.
Loads of good forums about the subject looking into insulation, heating, stopping the on board water freezing etc.
I was looking at doing something similar across Europe in the winter months and uk for the summer... In the years to come.
Brexit has probably messed part of that plan up though...
Don't you need a bank account for your wages to be paid in? You'd need a permanent address for that wouldn't you?
It's def possible, I have seen the same thing with one always around and about. I think it may be a working away from/home at the weekend thing. I did vaguely no a guy who lived in a people carrier all the time, pretty hardcore. He did the gym,/sauna membership thing. I know another who lives in a T5 but not full time.
It could get a bit difficult endlessly finding somewhere to move to I reckon though, that would stress me I think. There's too many curtain twitching retired folk who've got nothing better to do than complain about camper vans or Sainsbury's steak pies (My mum's other half did exactly that, the twit)
PO Box?
Don't you need a bank account for your wages to be paid in? You'd need a permanent address for that wouldn't you?
PO Box?
RAGGATIP - Member
Don't you need a bank account for your wages to be paid in? You'd need a permanent address for that wouldn't you?
People have it sent to family address etc. Or their own home if they still keep it/rent it out.
Where to park is an issue. Sort of.
Most park in laybys, residential roads, 24HR car parks etc.
Most have membership of the caravan club (think that's the right name? ) so can park at their sites for charging the van, emptying septic tanks etc.
If staying on the roads best not to stay parked in one place too long. A few days then move etc.
All totally doable.
A lovely life if you ask me.
yes done it about 4 years = much easier to do on a boat IMHO
You need an address for insurance and licence etc most folk used either family or a friend
As noted caravan and camping club for cheap sites
Issue is long term parking and the reaction of locals to your presence in lay bys
You need some form of heating for winter and a source of water /toilet emptying.
I can see the appeal if you've got places to stay, and have enough things to occupy all your evenings.
But the idea of sleeping in suburban laybys with truckers sounds like hell.
Can't imagine it'd be much fun at this time of year.
Can't you move somewhere where houses are more affordable? Still plenty of areas round here with sub 100k houses and non of them are criminal infested dumps. Leeds, Bradford, Manchester etc are commutable if work takes you to a city. I'd much prefer bricks and mortar to a van, especially as even pretty basic ones are not cheap.
I've thought about it a great deal but my job doesn't lend itself to it so easily without a second vehicle. What I think I will do in the not too distant future is live here and work for six months of the year (summer/better months) then spend the other six months abroad living out of a campervan/motorhome/RV. I think I could finance that on six months salary each year.
Km79spend the other six months abroad
Might not be possible post Brexit, isn't the EU visa a max of 90 days within 6 months? 🙁
I did two years in (near) Middleborough. Considered a van to save money but in the end just rented a house. I got a 2-3 bed terraced cottage with garage and garden in the NYM's for £500 a month, the house next door sold for 65k!
By plan if things go tits up is to buy a house there and maybe get a van for working away durning the week.
No idea, hope not!Might not be possible post Brexit, isn't the EU visa a max of 90 days within 6 months?
km79 - Member
Might not be possible post Brexit, isn't the EU visa a max of 90 days within 6 months?
No idea, hope not!
It's ok the politicians know.... Oh, hold on.. 🙁 😉
How about a Fiat Panda?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/pensioner-who-lived-car-a9-11522099.amp
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I could slum it in this I reckon.
I work in a factory and four guy who I work with,hot bed a mobile home that lives just outside the factory.
The council have tried to move them on a few times, but as there seemed to be someone always asleep in the van at all times and it’s taxed and insured, they don’t seem to be able to do much about it.
Nice bunch of lads, hard workers and kill me at poker and vodka, been that way for the past four to five years, must have saved a fortune in rent
ski - Member
I work in a factory and four guy who I work with,[b]hot bed[/b]
Where do you work again? Hhmmm? 🙂
Address is no hassle use a friend's. Lived on boat for 3 years bank manager very understanding when I explained situation. Car taxed insured at mates house it was parked outside. Saved a wedge bought a house, well most of one. Loads of FB groups about this.
Mate and his wife have been doing this since 2013.
But they are both retired, and been doing it around the western states of the USA. He's got a bike with him so spends his days walking and riding.
I'm not jealous at all.
I think it would be easier with a large van converted "Stealth style" just because you would hopefully have less attention. I would want a shower inside though but perfectly possible. Not bad for one person I think. Anymore long term and I think you would need a really large vehicle that in the UK would be a pain.
I would like to do it but more for long term travel or working away than hanging around the same town full time.
I lived in one for nearly two years, stayed on a couple of different sites outside Manchester so I had electric hook-up. Winters were cold at night, but two quilts and a very small oil-filled radiator left on all the time made it bearable, although getting up for a wee in the middle of the night was something I put off til I was desperate!!
I'm hoping I get made redundant early this year so we can move into our van and rent out the house.......
I don't fancy it with a factory built motor home as most of them are poorly built with poor quality materials and designed to be lived in for a week or two at a time with poor storage......
[url= http://www.letsbenomads.com ]If you fancy giving it a go, you can pay for the privilege [/url]
Have to say some of it appeals, but I moan about going to the bits of the house that the heating doesn’t go to so I’m not sure it would work for me.
Retired and somewhere warmer though...
Vans can be heated easily though.....
Mines a nice toasty 20 when I want it to be...
Truma e2400 does the job nicely and it's thermostatically controlled so stays on all night kicking in as required
You can have good heating...
I have seen that nomad bus before. Looks cool bus but very expensive for a bunk bed per night.
A well converted bus would be easy to live in but finding places to park in the UK would be a pita I recon and you would need a second vehicle for day to day stuff.
Plenty of YouTube videos of people living in vans and motor homes.
I've got a lwb transit minibus I had converted a year ago, if i didn't own and house and was by myself I'd happily live in it
got fridge, cooker, sound bar, blu ray and 40" TV inside
would find a few location i could use, mind you I could just park it at work in the field I guess
diesel night heater keeps it plenty warm enough
either hook it up to mains or use 12 v / solar power
I don't get why posters think it would be cold.
I drive artics & used to do long distance trucking,out all week all over Britain.The Trucks are fitted with night heaters,they're warmer than my house!
Try doing your laundry.
Van life is OK for short periods or if you have an escape bolt hole. But it gets very small, very quickly. And smelly. It's bearable if you have nice weather so you can live outside, not much fun this last week with the cold and snow and wet clothes and boots hanging around stinking.
If it was just me and the missus I'd be doing this. We rented a motorhome for a tour around Scotland with the kids a couple of years ago and it was brilliant. Such freedom! So cheap!
Have mate's who have done similar and lived in boats. Yes there is some hardship involved, but you can work around that and I think the freedom makes up for it.
I lived in a toyota hiace with the missus for 4 or 5 months, but in Australia, so not much rain. You soon get used to it, I couldn't stand being back in a flat afterwards, couldn't sleep and felt like prison. Probably the happiest and most care free I've ever been.
I've lived in a converted coach and I've also owned a motorhome.
The coach was in Australia and I had access to a house where I could do my laundry, empty out the loo etc, so that was easy living.
The motorhome we had was £7500 and you get something old (tatty) and slow for that money. However, we did it up inside for not a lot of cash and had various holidays with kids on board throughout the winter. A decent heater, makes all the difference. We had a shower and toilet on board. Cosy but eminently do-able especially if there's only one of you. You'll need access to a tap and sometimes electricity top up. But if you're driving most days you can keep the electricity topped up. A 3-way fridge is great and uses up minimal gas. Damp is generally the worst issue that you'll have - parking it to get sun and heat inside actually makes a difference! Drying clothes , showering etc doesn't help but if there's only one of you, damp shouldn't be an issue. Just keep it tidy or it will turn into a festering pit that won't feel like a nice home very quickly.
If you bought a motorhome now and wanted to sell it in 5 months as the summer kicks in, you'll probably make a profit... Do it, what have you got to lose?
My brother”s friend sold his house ,bought a motor home and went off to tour Europe and be “free”.
The first winter we were awash with pictures of them in the sunshine in southern Spain.
A year later they came home and ended up living on a campsite where he cleans the toilets to pay for their pitch.
His wife is not a happy bunny.
Seen quite a few around our way recently. Thankfully it looks like the Police/someone moves them on every so often.
Why ? Because if more people started doing it the countryside would be full of motor homes!
I see a few guys who work in the factory who do Mon-fri (Or whatever shift pattern they do) in a motor home. Then home for the weekend. Use the showers at work and the car park is in use 24/7 so no one cares. They have a little enclave of bad parking in one corner so they have some space, security and privacy.
There's also a Polish guy i work with sometimes and his German partner who live in a camper semi permanently. They just fly off every now and again for a long weekend somewhere.
They've just left for a month in Germany over Christmas/New year.
We've already had a few nights of -10 and there's still 4 or 5 campers in the car park. We had -20 last year and no one died......
It's some inconvenie so you can save big and not waste your life with a 25 year mortgage. Not for everyone thankfully.
What if you bought a field for a horse which understandably has running water and you "kept" your motorhome there?
Illegal - 28 days camping max
Will get away with it if no one complains
What you need to do is sell the land in small parcels the size of a van, to your mates, and then get evicted from them one by one by the council.
You will still get evicted though.
How about buying a field then splitting it in 2 and selling half of it to someone else? You then alternate between the halves of the field every 27 days.
What you need to do is sell the land in small parcels the size of a van, to your mates, and then get evicted from them one by one by the council.
Genius! 😀
I've seen a few people recently buy an old ruined factory for next to nothing then park a campervan inside and live there. It's private, sheltered, has electric and water, even a toilet/hole but they don't pay rates but use all the same services. They get a shock when they are hit with a huge back dated bill.
[quote=zippykona ]How about buying a field then splitting it in 2 and selling half of it to someone else? You then alternate between the halves of the field every 27 days.
not allowed as its 28 days per year
Not sure of the current law 20 years since i did this sort of thing
But where would all the bikes go?
[whispers] I was a roadie and I only needed one[/whispers]
In the garage underthe rear bed? Can get 5 in there without too much hassle
Quite f few around here too (Bristol) on the Downs there are a few “stealth” vans and a caravan!
It seems like the council are not doing anything about it. Which could open them up to a bit of a problem. As soon as the professional type travellers arrive with their transit vans full of rubbish they will hav a difficult time explaining why they are being treated differently.
Also often a “stealth” one parked up near Leigh woods, the chimney is a bit of a giveaway though.
What you need to do is sell the land in small parcels the size of a van, to your mates, and then get evicted from them one by one by the council.
You will still get evicted though.
😀
trail_rat - MemberIn the garage under the rear bed? Can get 5 in there without too much hassle
You are talking about bikes right, not illegals?
I’m going to say it.... I love my house, lounge with TV, and power shower with underfloor heating when I step out...
Am I odd 😉
DrP
[i]What if you bought a field for a horse which understandably has running water and you "kept" your motorhome there?[/i]
Have you seen the prices of fields?!!!
What you need is an old Oakley or other prestige horsebox...some of them are amazing inside...literally a garage at the back for as many bikes as you like, elevated 'terrace' when you drop the ramp halfway, toilet, often a bedroom above the toilet, big diner/kitchen, huge overcab bed, built in gennys, coach style storage under the floor. You could sell your mortage free house and still need a loan to buy a new one 🙂
There's a Facebook group called self build campervans... very active and worth joining if you are looking at this.