LIVING IN THE MOTORHOME FULL TIME

[tom rocks]

Me and her indoors are thinking of selling up and living the good life in the motorhome full time can any one give us any advice on the ins an outs

do we still need a base address over here or can we just pack up and go aboard we have talked about this and want to make it happen

Any advice from fellow motorhomers thanks

[johnnerontheroad]

Ask your questions on here http://www.motorhome365.com/forum/ also read this site http://www.magbaztravels.com/

 

Dave

[art338]

I've only one comment Tom, buy the biggest M/H you can,you have to have some free space each to survive.

 

art

 

[cheetahdavie]

I Re echo.a previous reply .buy the BIGGEST..12 Berth 48 foot long??as if.

I go away in my "van"..for a week..and oh. the joy of getting back!!.

Back in a large comfy bed..lying on the floor..sleeping on the floor in the evening

as i like to.being able to have a real shower.a real shave shampoo and s... .watch tele..Sky sports...mow the lawn..

I love to go away in my motor"home"..but it aint really a home..but I am also glad to get back..washing the bedding..cleaning the van..washing our clothes..

My `so called 5 berth` is overcrowded ..when the wife and i take our 7 year old great Grand daughter with us..with just the 2 of us it still leaves us feeling claustrophobic?

As a good example of enjoying "travelling"

this coming week we are going to the Isle of Wight..5 days..5* hotel? coach pick up..obvious ferry..3 excursions.1/2 board..£230 for three of us?

Yes I love my MH ..full time..why???Cost of fuel..ferry and site ?Get the BIggest

 

[KD1]

Hi.

Go fot it. I have been motorhoming for 15 years, and for the last 8 years have been full-timing,but I also have a home address in the Uk-I use my mum,s , with no problems.

I own a Frankia tag -axle with a garage for our Scooter, and also to carry our bikes-which you need if you have a biog motorhome. Ours is 8.5m long.

I have no regrets,and we are both very happy travelling full time. We spend 10 months abroad in various countries, and return to the UK twice a year to catch up with various things .

We have all the comforts of a house, and divide our time between sites and wild camping.Our Winter destination is mostly Spain-which suits us .

Obviously different people have different needs and views-but personally, it,s the best thing that I could have done.

Don,t wait too long, as time goes very quick.If you need more info,then please ask.

[ips]

Im jealous. Its ok for those lucky peeps who can afford to bum around, some of us poor souls have to work (lol)

[tom rocks]

thanks for the advice might come back to you if thats ok

[tom rocks]

took your advice on board I know where your coming from but the wifes still in love with me and dog but I dont know in which order thanks

[Brian Kirby]

tom rocks - 2010-11-01 9:40 PM Me and her indoors are thinking of selling up and living the good life in the motorhome full time can any one give us any advice on the ins an outs do we still need a base address over here or can we just pack up and go aboard we have talked about this and want to make it happen Any advice from fellow motorhomers thanks

Just on the question of maintaining a UK base, yes you will need to do this.  To be legal outside the UK, your van must be maintained MoT tested, taxed, and insured.  While you remain a UK resident your van must be registered, and therefore tested, taxed, and insured, in UK, and for these purposes you will need a UK address.  Tests carried out on UK registered vans while abroad are invalid for UK legal purposes.  If you wish to change your residency to another country, I'm pretty sure all require you to have a permanent address in that country, and you would then have to re-register the van, and tax and insure it, in that country.

Technically, if you leave UK for more than 3 months, you become de-registered with your GP, and must re-register on return.  No-one has yet quite worked out how the GP gets to know, :-) but if either of you needs regular medication, and you try asking for 12 months supply in advance, expect a dusty reply from both GP and pharmacist - even assuming the medication can be stored for that length of time.  Some prescription drugs in UK can be bought over the counter abroad, but check prices before you assume this will work for you - the dear old NHS hands out some very high priced stuff at times!

I would suggest you will need health, and probably vehicle breakdown/recovery insurance.  Both will require a UK address to obtain, and you may have difficulty with extended cover, especially if either of you has any pre-existing medical conditions.

I would add that size of vehicle is secondary to quality.  No motorhome is really built for full time occupation, but some are more robust that others.  You will need to choose your future full time home on wheels very carefully.  It seems you already have a van, so will know some of the problems, but remember that any serious mechanical breakdown puts you home in a garage, and any serious breakdown of services to the habitation element, invariably on a Sunday morning, in a remote spot, during a monumental hail storm, will demand you deploy your DIY skills to the maximum under difficult circumstances.

[campingmaggie]

We have just settled into a flat after 4 years of full timing. We started with a Hobby 750 tag axel. changed to a 28ft twinslide RV (which I hated) then to a Hymer caravan. We are now back to a small coach built van. First of all you do need an address for insurance and everything else that comes through the mail. We used our daughters address having cut down to a minimum we collected mail when we were close. We sold our house and made a run for it with the money. We have not changed our lifestyle even though we now have a base its just that my wife likes to keep close contact with our family and that means being in England at xmas. The few weeks before xmas on a site in England are not worth the pain as far as I am concerned so think about getting out before the bad weather. We always go to Spain Portugal after xmas for 3/4 months. a few weeks at home then off again. Last summer we spent 2 months in Scandinavia going all the way up to North Cape.best trip ever.

As to van. You do need some space. think about it with care then buy the smallest van you can manage with. We thought it important to have a fixed bed. What if one of you is ill for a few days, dont think it wont happen. Bathroom is less important as long as you have what you need you can use site showers when available. Remember you are not on holiday.

I can go on all day but I wont. Go ahead and do it,lots of us do

[mondo]

We full timed for just over 2 years..we only sold up and moved abroad (Tenerife) when a property became available..We used my sisters address for legal purposes ie Insurance..Licences..Banking etc..We did the thing of selling all up house car the whole nine yards and bought the van and did The Dream..we travelled all over France did the Snowbird down to Spain thingy..I would echo what others have said get the largest van you can we had an Eldiss Autoquest Suntor 140...big U shaped lounge and it made a big bed too nice and comfy..we had sat TV fitted she loves her soaps and I like me nature documentaries

Feel free to PM me any time on any subject!!

[tof]

ips - 2010-11-02 10:33 AM

 

Im jealous. Its ok for those lucky peeps who can afford to bum around, some of us poor souls have to work (lol)

 

Just an answer first of all to ips..

 

This is Mrs tof (tof's finer half) tof works and we have been living in our van for 3 years now. Personally I could not be doing with a house and all the unnecessary belongings and dusting etc. We do have a rather large van but that is because we have a 6 year old with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My advice to you is put your 18 year old in a flat, rent out the second room to a student (thus avoiding council tax, covering the cost of mortgage and having an address for post etc) and bugger off yonder with a small car to get whoever to work. Go off every weekend and every holiday possible. Or alternatively do all of the above, but also give up work and do full time volunteering to cover your pitch and food www.Wwoof.org.uk

 

 

And now to tom rocks...

 

We are still loved up also, and can't spend enough time together, we usually find that it is the third party that is the trouble causer. We use our son's address and sometimes tof's sister's. Unless you are planning on doing hook ups all the time I would suggest that you spend lots of the money from selling/renting your house on good gadgets. We have a van which has bunks, one bunk only is necessary so you'll never guess what we did with the space where the other was...... we installed a mini tumble dryer and a washing machine fully automatic zanussi. We have an efoy, pure sine wave 230v inverter and huge solar panel. We have a 4 rack bike rack, even if you don't have 4 bikes the space is useful. We also beleive it or not have a very innovative fold up solid polypropelene rowing boat that is slung underneath our van in summer (we had great fun on lakes in Austria this year) Our van is very well insulated (at the moment we are snowed in and there are 4 foot long icicles on the outside) We are currently planning on going full-time full-time ( that is tof not working) we are not rich, but also not huge retail junkies (the little one would like to be) The only thing we haven't got is a decent set of snow chains (bone of contention) we got some jeko but they are not good for heavy vans. I could go on forever about the advantages of living in a motorhome (especially if you don't work and haven't got kids with you) but I will shut up now. If you have any questions pm us and we will answer anything you throw to the best of our knowledge/experience. I would also suggest that you get gaslow fitted so that you can fill up lpg at the petrol stations, it is much cheaper and more convenient.

[ips]

Its a nice thought ..... but I dont think I would do full time unless I could afford not to work, cant see the point otherwise. And I definately wouldnt spend oct - april in blighty, would have to bo somewere a darned sight warmer. it was -8 this morning at home and our cold water to the house froze. :-(

[snailsontour]

Hi Ya Tom Rocks - Fortune favours the brave so they say.

 

Since 2004 we have lived in our mh half the year, spending winter and summer at home, and spring and autumn away/abroad. 2010 saw us in Greece, France and Germany.

 

Advice is so very hard to give as what suits one is a no no for another. Others in this thread have advised you to get the biggest mh you can, our advice would be to get the smallest you can live in. I guess the bottom line is it all depends upon your lifestyle, your wants, needs and where you want to go. Our mh enables us to be totally self-sufficient; we have no need of camp-sites.

 

But to full time, as others have said, having a UK address is helpful.