Campervan living

[Harvestman]

This is just idle wondering, but after seeing a few posts about campervan conversions and personally coveting a camper van myself, I got to wondering how practical it is to live in a campervan all year round in the UK rather than a house. The appeal is of course the versatility and ability to change sites, and the not inconsiderable fact that a campervan is about a tenth of the price of a mortgage. Leave aside the bureaucratic issues like being no fixed abode and having no post etc, I am more interested in the practicalities of mobile living, particularly in winter. How do you heat the vehicle, how do you dry wet clothes, and deal without having a washing machine/dryer/dishwasher or whatever. Is a woodburner a practical item in a vehicle? How do you manage good hygiene unless you have a shower in the vehicle? Power? Water?

If I was a younger, single man, I might be considering it seriously, but I have neither the means nor the opportunity. Nevertheless I'm sure there are folk on here with experience of living like this, and I would love to hear about it.

 

[Bishop]

Keeping warm. These radiators are plumbed directly into engine coolant system.

I've also seen copper tube coils wrapped around exhaust systems on both the vehicle and portable generators to heat hot water tanks.

 

[didicoy]

I have a Pinzguaer 6x6 motorhome. It does have a shower room/pump out toilet. For one person or a very close loving couple it's fine. You tend to live outside the vehicle as much as possible. Tat personnel items you can only carry a few. I also have a 34 foot static caravan that I would now call home. A woodburner is ideal for cooking, heating and it's the travelers entertainment system. In summer though it's not always a welcome heat. There are loads of folk living 24/7 in converted vehicles in the UK you can shower at local swimming pools, use laundrettes, basically use the vehicle for transport and o sleep. It's getting harder to find safe free park ups in the UK but there's always more to find.

 

[didicoy]

Keeping warm. These radiators are plumbed directly into engine coolant system.

I've also seen copper tube coils wrapped around exhaust systems on both the vehicle and portable generators to heat hot water tanks.

I have those same radiators in my Pinzguaer motorhome, also a short one in the bathroom along with a small heated towel rail. Mine can be heated up from the engine or from a Alde LPG water and central heating boiler.

 

[santaman2000]

I'm assuming you're talking about a small van as opposed to a full sized Rv? Obviously a full sized Rv with more featires and appliances would make it easier BUT!!! But, the problems you mentioned shouldn't be insurmountable. Doing laundry couls be as simple as a regular trip to a coin laundry (perhaps at a commercial campsite?) Showering depends: our long distance truckers have access to showers at truckstops (they're also available for ANY customer) for a fee that's much cheaper than a motel room (for the truckers it's often free with a minimum fuel purchase) Do you have anything similar?

 

[Gaudette]

I have a colleague that lives in a converted Ducato. He tends to go away for the winter months but the can is cosy. Washing and showering are no problem as he joined a health spa at a local hotel where he also does his wAshing in the laundry room. It wouldn't be for me but for several years he's been fine but recently he's been making noises to settle down in a flat. It's certainly doable and it doesn't have to be a miserable existence


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[TeeDee]

I have a Pinzguaer 6x6 motorhome. It does have a shower room/pump out toilet. For one person or a very close loving couple it's fine. You tend to live outside the vehicle as much as possible. Tat personnel items you can only carry a few. I also have a 34 foot static caravan that I would now call home. A woodburner is ideal for cooking, heating and it's the travelers entertainment system. In summer though it's not always a welcome heat. There are loads of folk living 24/7 in converted vehicles in the UK you can shower at local swimming pools, use laundrettes, basically use the vehicle for transport and o sleep. It's getting harder to find safe free park ups in the UK but there's always more to find.

I'd love top see that please.

Lucky man!!!


Good Thread. Interested in this.

 

[mrcharly]

I've not lived in a camper van but I have lived in a boat.

Laundry - find a laundrette. You don't want to be trying to dry clothes in a really small space. If you have a woodburning stove it is possible but it isn't ideal. If you are living in one area, then find a friend in a house who will let you use their washing machine and drier or pay them to run your laundry through for you.

Ventilation is key. Get some low and high level ventilation, especially if you have a gas cooker or any sort of stove.

 

[didicoy]

I'd love top see that please.

Lucky man!!!


Good Thread. Interested in this.

I'll be paying for it for the rest of my life, just had a quot to fix one axel oil seal leak £1500 there's two leaking and potentially all 6 could be ready for changing. £500 to change the timing belt. But your right, by all accounts the most versatile all wheel drive vehicle out there and big enough to stand up in, lay down in and small enough to park in a disabled parking bay. It can tow 5 tone on the highway and four ton off road. Wade through a meter of mud/water and climb near verticale if pushed.

 

[Fraxinus]

It is possible to do year round motorhome living, many people do. Most stay on commercial sites though so you would need to take into account camping fees. The upside of the sites is access to laundry and washing facilities (including chemical loo waste).
The hard part is that the UK is a million years behind France in acceptance of Motorhomes. In France there are places in most villages/towns where one can park up free of charge and sometimes the water/electric and waste disposal points are free or very cheap to use (the same goes for barges/pleasure boats on the canal system, I have used both and been very impressed)
My motorhome uses gas for cooking, heating and refrigeration as a primary source ( I have Gaslow bottles installed so can fill up at any garage selling automotive gas) When on hook up to electric the heating and fridge can run on it.
The Truma unit provides hot water and warm air heating that served us well in Germany at -8°c one christmas, we had icicles hanging off the gas flue in the morning.
Full time living usually needs a larger unit, these are often A class designs, a bit like a stretched out minibus but some manage in "Luton van" style,(sometimes referred to as "built in sun visors") depends on your needs and number of inhabitants. A good awning and tent arrangement can almost double your living space, which gives you somewhere to chill out in good weather and somewhere to dry off raincoats etc in poor weather.
HTH, Rob.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Just pulled these off the net.

Wow, it's a beast.

 

[oldtimer]

I have owned several VW campervans and have lived for longish periods in them, often in the mountains of France. We have a PortaPotti and a shovel which makes disposal easy and eco-friendly if the right fluid is used. We found the washing clothes/personal hygiene problem surmountable by going onto a commercial site every once in a while to wash clothes and selves and combined this with a shopping trip.

I have also used a camper van as a travelling office/living space when my work took me all round the UK. It was very cold in the winter so I spent as much time as possible at work on other peoples heated premises! I spent many night on motorway service station and found the price of a night's stay included a shower and a hot breakfast: excellent value for money in my view, but this was back in the last millenium before I retired so things may have changed.

Younger son also uses his van a a work-place and to live in longish periods and agrees with the cold problem. We both seem to have spent long times tucked up in bed reading on cold winter nights.

Fraxinus in his post makes good points about how much easier life is in France for the itinerant mobile home dweller. I used to think that this was because there were more travelling workers in France, but came to realise from my experience in England that there are more people on the road for work than I had realised: they just aren't catered for so well.

 

[Tantalus]

Can be pricey but it might be worth investing in heating.

Off the top of my head Webasto and Eberspaecher are 2 companies that make them.

Most continental HGVs have them fitted, not sure about UK trucks. I guess you could try for second hand ones from the scrappy?

They run off the fuel in the fuel tank, most of them have a control panel where you can set a few things like a timer and a thermostat.

If you are going to live in a vehicle full time, they seem a good investment to me.

Tant

 

[didicoy]

I think the most important thing to consider especially in the UK. Is to fit good quality insulation in the vehicle.
There's never really been a easier time to adapt, convert and utilise as accommodation. With LED lighting and solar pannels, modern low voltage appliances like 12 volt TV's and even microwave ovens. Internet and mobile phones, makes living and working from a vehicle much more viable these days. I chose my vehicle is I don't really want to stay on campsites and the alternative is to park close to or just off the highway. Councils have over the years dug ditches or installed barriers to prevent illegal camping or restrict vehicles. The ability to drive to the remote spot you wish to camp up and more important to drive out again brings peace of mind. What I save on campsite fees goes into the fuel tank for the next day's traveling.

 

[moocher]

There was a self build forum sbmcc and also uk hippy and tribal living had sections for vehicles for living in.
i wish I had done it when I was younger.

 

[woodstock]

Fi and I are thinking about trading for a 4x4 Bongo, also got my eye on a hi-top LDV fully converted for under £2000 I have lived in small vans for a year one with log burner one without the log burner one I lived in throughout the winter and it was still Baltic some nights.

 

[moocher]

Bongos don't seem to have strong engines.

 

[Big G]

Bongos don't seem to have strong engines.

Imho the Japanese made engines are reliable.. esp the diesel engines.

My old roofing works van.. a diesel nissan cabstar.. never missed a beat.. real work horse.

 

[moocher]

I see a lot of bongos for sale,where engine needs replacing,same with the Toyota Previa/lucidas where the heads gone,the engines slung in underneath the seats.they tend to overheat where the heat builds up around them.

 

[nic a char]

"fit good quality insulation in the vehicle" = it's not rocket science...
I lived in an old 28' caravan for a while - it had good headroom so I fitted new deep roof crossbeams, deep insulation between, and pine-panelled it.
Then added a raised floor with deep insulation, and lined the walls with insulation boards.
A tiny woodburner heated it all up in minutes & also provided cooking heat and hot water.
All materials from skips - the woodburner was £20, and I made up an insulated chimney from a drainpipe surrounded by heat-resistant insulation, covered by ally pipe - as the then price for a pre-made stainless chimney was £2 per inch...