My first time posting on this side of the Forum - normally I am on the 'tent' side.
My reason for being here is my plan to move permanently into a touring van and need as much help and advice as possible
I have seen various web pages which have offered some very useful advice but I still have a few questions. The threads on here that I can find about fulltiming seem very out of date.
I have a Nissan XTrail Aventura Auto which seems to limit the weight I can tow, although I see a lot of people recommending an auto for towing.
So my choice in van is limited - I was originally looking at the Bailey Vigo but this is about 100kg too heavy. I am now looking at the Lunar Quasar 544 as this appears to be in weight range. I want a fixed bed and end shower room which I understand increase the weight of the vans.
I will be buying new with the hope it will outlive me
I am happy if necessary to move every 28 days or get a seasonal pitch and have a few sites in mind down here in Cornwall. My concerns are:
How they will feel about me going off to work everyday?
At present I have a dog and have seen several comments from full timers that say they have dogs - how does this work with leaving them in the van - most sites say no pets to be left unattended and of course when it gets hot does a caravan heat up like a car even if you left the skylight open? I am new to caravans!
I am happy to purchase a mobile air con unit if I can have the dog with me - if not I will have to look at delaying my plan until, sadly my mutt is no longer with me.
I remember my father always being concerned about the underneath of his motorhome when he was not using it in relation to damp causing rust etc - are caravans protected these days from this as I imagine I will not be on hardstanding all the time? Are they ok to leave on grass pitches year round?
The reason I have decided on this plan is that I am in my early 50's, single - will, by the looks of it have to work until I drop, the way the pensions are going. I live in rented accommodation with no possibility of being able to afford a mortgage at this late stage and anyway, have no one to leave a property to when I am no longer here as I have no children and I resent paying someone elses mortgage, and even though I earn a reasonable amount there is very little left at the end of the month once all the bills have been paid, certainly nothing for anything not deemed essential. Even if I was to buy either of the above vans on finance I have calculated I would be saving at least £2500 a year, this increasing substantially once the van has been paid off.
I am staying local to where I live now so have no problems with GP's or postal address. Electoral register will have to be discussed with my postal address resident as they live alone and currently have the 25% discount which they would lose if I was to register there as well.
If I can get the issues with the dog sorted I would do it tomorrow - well maybe in the spring, may as well wait until I have the summer to look forward to
Any advice, opinions, experiences on anything to do with the latest fulltiming life would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
I think the 1st big issue to overcome. Is a lot of sites are only open March-end of October. So it might be a case of finding site open all year or moving around a little in the winter.
As it happens I had quiet a long chat to a guy who was living at a CL site and had done for the past 18months and he has having no issues with it.
Without sounding sexist or Ageist, you might want to look at a fully serviced pitch so you have a unlimited supply of water and drains to take grey waste away especially if your showering. I would imagine if its for the very long term is not something you want to be lugging around aquarolls and wastemasters every day.
The dog issue, all dogs are different, I think only you can make the judgement call on whether you dog would be happy in the caravan while you are working and a honest conversation with any site you look at.
I know of several sites around me that are open all year round so no problem there. I don't mind moving if I have to - a different view every now and then. I do know of a site that I could stay on permanently but it is a little too off the beaten track with me still having to work.
I have no issues with lugging the aquarolls around - not at the moment, but a good point to consider as and when my bones start getting on. For the time being I will use it as my daily workout seeing as I will have less walking to do around my new home!
My hound will happily sleep all day and once he knows the van will have no problems - my concern is if it was to get too hot or if I was not able to leave him due to site rules - if this was the case my plan will have to go on hold.
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Google our life in a caravan, its a blog that a couple did, they actually lived in a tourer for about 2 years in devon .
Should give you everything you'll need to know
My sister stores her van on a site where a few people have lived in there vans for years . But not with dogs. This site is open all year.
I think I would make a list .
Do you work full time .?
How big is the dog?
Will you cope in the winter?
Would there be a dog walking service you could contact so someone could take your dog out .?
The caravan would be fine ? You can have mobile services.
As for your caravan , a lot of caravan dealers would tow the van to a seasonal pitch for you if your car is too small.
Good luck .
I don't think you should be leaving your dog in a caravan all day. Don't bother with electoral register though, government does nothing for caravan dwellers. & don't buy a new caravan, save yourself money by buying one a couple of yrs old. If you buy new it might have warranty issues that require it returning to dealers or even factory which is not much good if you are living in it. A couple of yrs old & any issues should have been ironed out & if you are going to keep it indefinitely it won't matter anyway.
If you want to chop your X Trail in for a Mondeo it will not cost much & increase your caravan choice. Mondy can tow up to 1800kg, obviously not a good idea for a touring caravanner towing long distances but if you are only towing between sites very locally it won't matter if you are towing 100% or more provided your licence covers it.
Perhaps you could find a friendly farmer who could rent you a bit of land with electricity/water laid on that is not visible from road? I think quite a few people live like that in Cornwall & provided nobody knows you are there you will be ok.
I have read that blog from cover to cover! Some really interesting stuff on there. I have even tried to make contact with them via their email but they have not responded. I understand they are no longer living in the van.
Nora
I have a list - I have a lot of lists! I do work full time and the dog is a spaniel who, once he knows the van he will be more than happy to settle down like he does at home and when camping, my only concerns are the potential heat in the van on nice days and sites not allowing dogs to be left. I have never been in a van on a hot day so am not sure if they heat up like a car or not. He certainly would not be making any noise so no disturbing others - he frightens himself when he does bark, he does it so infrequently!
The van I choose would need to be towed as although I will be living in it full time I will also be using it for holidays. I have no issues with having to move every 28 days if that is what I have to do.
Ludovine
I was thinking about the possible warranty issues, having read a few things on various sites with people having to take vans back so that was a concern. As for buying a slightly older van - something to consider, I had written that idea off as I have issues about using soft furnishings that others have used, particularly mattresses, have not been on any other holiday than my tent for 10 years or more due to my inability to consider sleeping on a mattress that strangers have used - bizarre I know, fortunately I enjoy my camping and do not feel I am missing out - did loads of traveling in my younger years so got that out of my system. I suppose I could always replace all the soft furnishings which may well still work out cheaper.
As for the Xtrail - I love the car and would be loathe to part with it. My first choice in van would have been the Bailey Vigo but being 100kg over what I can tow, I am happy to go for the lighter choice to keep the truck!
I see conflicting views on being on the electoral register I need to look into that in more detail.
Thank you for all your advice to date - a lot of new things to consider and think about.
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Big Roy
Sorry I missed your comments!
Thank you for answering one of my main concerns.
I think I have two choices: check out these mobile air con units and how I could use one in a van or leave my plan until my hound is no longer here - that could be while - he is only 6 Could not part with him though, and will miss him when that time eventually comes around.
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Have a look for a daytime dog minder ?? the kennels that i take my dog to when we go abroad only charges £7 per night, its basically on an old farm and the woman spends all day walking dog,s all the locals think she's snooker loopy but in my eyes you cant get a better dog minder than her.
I'm sure if you asked about you'd find a minder like her ?? you never know it might be cheaper since you dog wont be staying over night ??
OH Sue, very very best of luck. It would be my dream to live in my carvan full time. To lose the house and be in a field somewhere full time would be bliss, cleaning done in approx 10 minutes, no worries about house maintenance.....but defo look into getting some activity for the dog in the day time. Caravans do get very hot. (always a bonus though for you as your heating bills will drop hugely). But too hot for a hairy dog I think. But hoping you can realise your dream soon. You will be free as a bird once you have your caravan all sorted and on a decent site.
I know the kennel near me does doggy day care, I see people dropping their dogs off, and by they way they are dressed I would say they are off to work. Check it out all the dogs seem happy to go in of a morning.
Best of luck I would be doing this if I was in your position.
We lived permanently in our twin axle caravan for 2 1/2 years and we had 4 Yorkshire terriers and a pussy cat living with us.
Biggest issue is winter and finding a suitable site. You need to make sure that the aquaroll, the pump and the waste water are all lagged otherwise they freeze up.
Your biggest issue will be insuring the caravan if you are living in it.
It must be remembered that if you stay on one site for more than 11 months you are regarded as permanent and will need to pay council tax.
We used my father's address for the electoral roll and we had no issues as we were not living with him. Driving licence and vehicles were registered to his address.
Unfortunately I developed an illness that forced us to give up living in a caravan and we had to live again under tiles.
I wouldn't leave a mobile air con unit running all day unattended, there are so many things that could go wrong, the main thing being that the electric trips out so easily on caravan sites leaving the van to heat up very quickly
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: FullTiming
Could not part with him though, and will miss him when that time eventually comes around.
