Looking at a few jobs with a co. in Manchester, I am 70 miles away. WFH is possible 1 day a week but can’t face 4x 2 hour commutes home. Anyone ever done a few nights a week in a camper. I would ride my bike, go to the pub and having the ability to cook my own food is appealing, but in winter especially this way of life could get a bit crap I imagine…?

Er Jimmy Saville did. I’ve always preferred a hotel or rented room

edit to add that staying away from home can easily lead to eating badly and drinking every night. I’d prefer not to do it again

Your other issue is a camp site near Manchester without then having an hour’s commute from the camp site – traffic is chronic. Takes me 45 mins to an hour to do 10 miles on a good day.

It won’t be enjoyable over the winter. Lots of dark hours, low temperatures etc..
You’ll need to keep your leisure battery topped up somehow too.

Don’t see how it would be that miserable. Loads of ‘van life’ people doing it on YouTube. By the time you’ve got back from work, grabbed some dinner you’ve only got a few hours to kill each evening. Temperature over the winter is easily sorted with a diesel heater…you can even set it going via your smartphone so it’s nice and toasty by the time you arrive.

I’ve contemplated it if I were ever to leave my job and go contracting especially if you could wing it that you only needed to be in the office for 3 or 4 days each week. No issues with leisure battery if you’re at a campsite and on hook up.

A guy I worked with did it a few times in different locations. Spenty four nights a week parked opposite my work place when he was with us. He didn’t have any issues with it, just got on with it.

I can remember bumping into him in Tesco one night, he was just stood down the magazine aisle reading stuff coz he had nowt else to do.

We also dropped him back of at his van after a few nights out which felt a bit weird. He also suffered appendicitis whilst alone out there one night. But luckily we work in a hospital so he didn’t have far to stumble in the early hours!!

Yeah I’ve done my time in rented rooms and hotels, which was fine when someone else was paying 😄, I was basically planning on using the work car park 1/2 nights, commuting the others and trying to join local cycling club to hook up regular rides when I stay over.

Ive considered it to break the monotony of hotels, you would need a motorhome rather than a campervan otherwise youre sleeping with your bike and covered in winter night ride mud. Shower and a garage for the bike would be top of my list.

Ive done a fair ammount of working away from home and while some people drink a lot, no one is forcing it, after socialising on the first night with a beer or two I just drank soda water for the duration.

Advantage of a motorhome is you could just rock upto a different cycling clubs night ride every night of the week and get your socialising in that way.

My mate does it all the time. He has a good sized motorhome though. Hes currently camped out at Knaresboro and rides into Harrogate for work.

I’m looking at doing something similar-ish.
I work remotely doing It stuff 3 days a week.
Looking at getting something Sprinter sized and set up like a Racevan (i.e. Garage in the back with a raised bed above) and with a shower and toilet.

Then just **** off around the UK or Europe for weeks/months at a time and using my phone as a hotspot to work. Take bike and packraft in the back and go pedalling and paddling round all the best bits of the continent as well as visiting all the classic breweries.

Could just rent my flat out on AirBnB with a company managing it for extra £££s

I did it for 18 months. You save nothing financially over a room in a shared house.

If you are working at a fixed location. Then you have to decide whether the freedom a motorhome offer’s is worth the lose of the create comfort’s of 4 walls.

Personally, I would choose the room in a shared house every time and I’m an antisocial git.

Van is luxury – I spent a couple of years camping 3 nights a week. Loved it. Was going crazy staying in premier inns and camping was great. First year I had no heater but by the second winter I had got a small stove. Camping was 7.50 a night and I remain the only person in the company to have ever claimed firewood as a business expense 😃

Interesting cheers, looking also at renting a room, or potentially buy 2 bed flat and let 1 room.

Most of the geotechnical rope techs do it. Spend a week living out of your van on or near site whilst claiming your £60 a night sustenance suppliment.
if you’ve got an actual bed Ain the back instead of a kip mat and sleeping bag you’re streets ahead of most of them!

@db – you are full of win 🙂

Mate of mine does it – has done for three years now. He loves it – but drinks like a fish (but has done for 40 years).

How many of you guys are **** IT contractors ffs 🙂

Sounds like a great idea.
Join a gym nearby and boom, you’ll be shitting and showering in vodka flavoured clover.

How’s about a mistress? Could offer the same basic needs, flexible accomodation as needed, low cost & would help keep your work life separate from home life.

There’s a campsite that takes camper vans in Greenfield (Saddleworth) close to a station which goes straight to Manchester, also a couple of decent pubs nearby (one of which has a regular comedy night and a good selection of real ales), and great riding nearby at Dovestones.

Did it for about 4 months working away on sites. It was ok but summertime next to a beach and my van isn’t a camper so I blend in a bit more. Join a gym for showers, comedy night and riding above sounds good. If you could afford the flat I’d take that option as a better investment. In years to come it could pay your site fees in the South of France and leave rainy Manchester to others.

Have done for 5 years.Started because I was normally commuting 4 hrs a day so time I got home at night was missing out on rides and most family events.Currently spend on average 3 nights a week in the van. I’m pretty lucky that work has a big car park which I’m parked in and got a power lead plugged in. Only in a vivaro so need to be creative with storage but manage without much hassle.

As mentioned join a gym and easily spend an hour at night in there then shower and head back to the van.In the winter just get some good led lights and you can read and watch films at night.

Definitely doesn’t have to lead to lots of drinking as I don’t drink.