nightrider Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 I have often read of people going full timing in their vans, so what do they do? sell their houses to buy a suitable van and where do they stay? do they go abroad for the warmer climes, stay over here on a camp site or wild camp? and what do they do to occupy themselves? just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Hi Malc We have been fulltiming for almost two years wouldn't change for anything.Doesn't mean you have to stop working . We set up our own house and pet sitting business which has been flying up to now whether this downturn will have any effect remains to be seen.Doing what we do means we live in other peoples houses,plug the van into their electric which keeps it well charged up so when we do have a break we dont have to go on sites for a while.What fulltiming also means is that you can sell your house, perhaps not this moment though unless you are desparate,which gets rid of all those running costs and having to pay the government for owning it.Bear in mind however if you are intending buying a large M.H. that you said you are I think 67 and at 70 unless you can extend your licence you have to downsize to a much smaller van, that is unless you have a co driver who is much younger.Man y more tips will come from other sources so good luck if you do it,P.S please dont take any remarks I post as personal I have a warped sense of humour. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Noticed you had 'drained' the van the other day Mick and would have thought a full timer like yourself have come up with a solution to this cold weather problem. Read up on a lot of threads concerning this but still nothing that i,ve found that would give me 100% confidence. Not to much of a problem for fine weather campers like me, and to be honest, no problem either going without running hot and cold when we do, but for a full timer such as yourself would have thought full 'winterising' would all been sorted by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 howie - 2008-11-02 7:17 PM Noticed you had 'drained' the van the other day Mick and would have thought a full timer like yourself have come up with a solution to this cold weather problem. Read up on a lot of threads concerning this but still nothing that i,ve found that would give me 100% confidence. Not to much of a problem for fine weather campers like me, and to be honest, no problem either going without running hot and cold when we do, but for a full timer such as yourself would have thought full 'winterising' would all been sorted by now. We've got the answer lined up for not draining the water Howie,at the moment our hot water boiler runs on the gas, so when we are in a house the gas has to be on. However Truma make a boiler that has electric rods in and the boiler and the central heating can when plugged into electric be run purely on electric..If you get my drift.This system is quite expensive and having bought Smartie and we need a trailer we have to hang fire for a while, but not too long. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Wouldn't it be best to rent your house out if you go fulltiming ? What happens in years ahead if you are not in good health and can't keep travelling ? I've never thought of 'fulltiming' myself, but those are the sort of things that would worry me. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 And me Malc. Always at the back of your mind would be that lack of security if and when things go pear shaped. Not a criticism of Mick,s chosen lifestyle, but still something that would stop me going the full hog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 if you sell your house and go full timing, technically you are homeless Ie; without a fixed abode and as I understand it you cannot get insurence if you dont have a fixed abode therefore you cannot tax your vehicle. Gypsies because they lived an itinerant life style could not get tax and insurence and if pulled over by the police who then realised that they had no fixed abode used to send them on their way, no point it pursuing the matter. But all that has now changed with this number plate recognition business and the link up between insurence companies and the DVLC and also vehicles with no tax and insurence are now impounded. Gyppos now get round that by registering their motors with one of their kind who live on registered gyppo camps, so therefore they now have tax and insurence etc because there is no way round having their vehicles impounded. In the old days when the cops pulled them over basically they told them to hook up and hit the road to the next county and let their cops do the worrying. So if I were to sell up and go full timing I would have to register my motor at one of my kids houses, there is of course the possibility of falling sick and being hospitalised, what would one do then? then there is the problem of where do you stay? on a camp site? a friendly farmers field? Or stay somewhere out in the rural backwoods? And as everyone will probably know there are height barriers all over the show and signs saying, no stopping, no parking, no turning, no fires, no cooking, no over night stopping, no caravans and no campervans, in other words no this, that or the other but having said that I would like to go out for a month or so stopping on campsites and a bit of wild camping here and there in a safe spot, what do others think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Malc " Going out for a month or so " is not the same thing as full timing though , is it. Once retired, plenty of people go away for a month ( or two, or three ), and very nice it is too. Best to do it in other, 'camping friendly' countries though, I would think. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Am I a full timer ????,I have a bungalow which is our base,we haven't slept in it for 10 years now as we travell for about 7 Months of a year,Spain France portugal Greece etc, and when in England we return "home " cut the grass etc etc and then wander round England doing Camping Club rallies weeks here and there.When at the Bungalow we park the van in the garden,hook up to electric and live in the van in the garden till we go off again.Was going to let the Bungalow but deceided it was too much hassle, It works for us . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 My short answer to a lot of the worries is you could also drop dead tomorrow and not have had any enjoyment because you were too worried.I have spent 50 years working and worrying and it has I suppose got me Archie but life aint getting any longer,and theres still a lot to do and see. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 I am intrigued by full timing and would like to know more about the practical side, what do you do for filling up with fresh water, emptying waste tanks, or being off the road for repairs or servicing, earning a living etc? I am thinking more along the lines of full timing over here rather than abroad? the problem of full timing over here as I see it is the fact that you are not conforming to this control freak, politically correct governments norm, in this present economic climate we are now seeing dispossessed people starting to live in cars, there are two reported cases this week in my local paper, I have got to admit that full timing appeals to my spirit of adventure, but unfortunately circumstances make it just a wistful dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Whether I am a dreamer I dont know, but full timing does appeal to me, to get far from the madding crowd, high up in the hills where one can commune with nature and do your own thing, who wants to be a part of the rat race? I dont. I would just love to spend my time doing my painting, my kind of painting is the Roses & Castles style, the type you see on canal barges, buckets, watering cans painting up any old stuff that I pick up on my travels, the American equivelent is called "Tole Painting" or traditional folk art, done some good pieces and better still sold them. Would love to buy an older type VW camper and paint it up, think I must be an old type hippy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Mick H. - 2008-11-03 3:50 PM My short answer to a lot of the worries is you could also drop dead tomorrow and not have had any enjoyment because you were too worried.I have spent 50 years working and worrying and it has I suppose got me Archie but life aint getting any longer,and theres still a lot to do and see. Mick. I applaud your optimism Mick, but you may also NOT drop dead tomorrow - in fact you may live until you are 95 ( or longer ). I just think that anyone thinking of selling up and going full time should allow for that possibility, and plan accordingly. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi Knight of the Road, we met a couple in Spain and became good friends with them ,they have a narrow boat in England where they spend the summer months and winter in their van in Spain or wherever. He is like you an artist and makes lots of money painting Castles ,Names etc on narrow boats both at the Marina where their boat is berthed and on the canals in general,so it does not have to be a dream,it can be made a reality, Good luck. *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Having looked into this because we are seriously planning to do it next year, you can get insurance for your van from a few companies. It is more expensive than "standard van insurance but you can get it. You can have a relatives address to register the vehicle and tax it on line. loads of people do it and get along just fine. With online banking, mobile phones and broadband you can keep in contact reasonably ok. We are going round Western Europe for 6 months from January to "test the theory", so watch this space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 In fact there's a web log of people doing it. Go to "magbaz travels" and read their, and others, tales of travel and you'll be itching to get out there! On MHF web site there's a whole thread in their forum lists of fulltiming, so many of your questions can be answered by people already living the dream! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catinou Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Before we became motorhomers we had planned, when sailing, to retire then sail in the Med in the winter with summers back in the UK. A few years ago we went on a sailing holiday in Greece and met up with some sailing fulltimers. One couple had sold their house and bought a 34ft yacht to live on - they had only had small dinghies before so it seemd huge to them (at first!). The husband was fairly happy with his lot but his wife was far from happy. Apparently, the sailing season in Greece shuts in the winter and in the summer they have to buy all their food, water etc. ( at tourist prices) from Marinas and tourist spots as they have no other transport. In the winter, they are stored on dry land in a Marina (still living aboard) and reading all the magazines and books they have been given by tourists during the season. Their daughter wanted them to go and live near her when she moved to Canada but: 1 - they couldn't afford to buy a property there as all their money was tied up in a depreciating boat. 2 - they were living on their state pensions and if they moved to a non EU country the pensions would not be liable to the annual rise. 3 - they couldn't afford to buy back in the UK as prices had rocketed after they sold their house. They were therefore tied into sailing around for the forseeable future. I still feel sad thinking of them...... This changed our retirement plans in a matter of hours. I know motorhoming is different but if we decided to go fulltiming we would definitely keep a base in the UK, albeit smaller than at present. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Having read all of the replies to this string that I started, I am of the opinion that you do not go into full timing without a great deal of thought and do not sell your bricks and mortar to finance a dream. Selling your house is to me the equivelent of setting your boats on fire when you reach the safety of a desert island, a few years down the line after living the idyll, circumstances could change, age, illness and running out of money, no chance of getting back on the housing ladder, a great deal of caution is the name of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Malc, the price of houses is not going to improve that much over the next couple of years, anywhere! So if you put your cash where it's safe and secure but you can get your hands on it if you need to settle down again there shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's what we plan to do, hopefully next year, and travel around and see the world for a year or two. We seem to be fixated on holding on to a house in this country. Many European countries cope fine with renting, and to be honest is that such a bad thing? A big reason for this whole crisis seems to have been brought on because everyone fell for the myth that property can't fail to increase. The last thing I want to do when I'm 80 and drooling in my chair in some home is to be thinking "I wish I'd given it a go when I had the chance". The thought of having put my life off now just because of the future is enough to make me drive off now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Hi Tommo SALUTAY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Tomo3090 - 2008-11-08 5:39 PM Malc, the price of houses is not going to improve that much over the next couple of years, anywhere! So if you put your cash where it's safe and secure but you can get your hands on it if you need to settle down again there shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's what we plan to do, hopefully next year, and travel around and see the world for a year or two. We seem to be fixated on holding on to a house in this country. Many European countries cope fine with renting, and to be honest is that such a bad thing? A big reason for this whole crisis seems to have been brought on because everyone fell for the myth that property can't fail to increase. The last thing I want to do when I'm 80 and drooling in my chair in some home is to be thinking "I wish I'd given it a go when I had the chance". The thought of having put my life off now just because of the future is enough to make me drive off now! Tomo, I quite agree with you, owning a house can at times be like a millstone round your neck, you are forced to be static, and like you say we in Britain are fixated with bricks and mortar unlike on the continant where renting a place is more of the norm and you are free to up anchor and drift on the tide, good luck on your future travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Same to you Mick! Do we know each other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 knight of the road - 2008-11-08 9:12 PM Tomo3090 - 2008-11-08 5:39 PM Tomo, I quite agree with you, owning a house can at times be like a millstone round your neck, you are forced to be static, and like you say we in Britain are fixated with bricks and mortar unlike on the continant where renting a place is more of the norm and you are free to up anchor and drift on the tide, good luck on your future travels. Growing up in rented accomodation owning your own home was always the ultimate goal in life and perhaps this is to ingrained for me to even think of selling up and hitting the road. Would still love to do extended tours and do envy those who commit themselves to full timing, but fixated or not, i,ll stick with those 'bricks and mortar'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 If you have someone reliable to look after your house while on extended trips out, you have I think, the best of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Tomo3090 - 2008-11-09 11:55 AM Same to you Mick! Do we know each other? Salutay to your last comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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