caravan living....where???

Latest Articles

caravan living....where???

Downsizer Forum Index -> Finance and Property

Author

Message

plounce

Joined: 09 Apr 2013
Posts: 2

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 13 9:34 pm Post subject: caravan living....where???

Okay, my partner and I live abroad, however we plan to move back to the UK next year. We are artisans who make and sell our own jewellery. moving back to the UK will involve a greater cost of living.

so we have been thinking to live in a caravan while we are in the UK for 3 years.

our question is to you good people, is as to how is this possible...i.e parking it somewhere and living in it. where would we put it when we are not driving it?

would we HAVE to go to a caravan park and pay all the site fees / year...and i guess we will only be able to live in it a 8 months of the year...depending on sites surely.

are there people willing to allow others to use their land to park on long term?

are there other options?

We are in a dilemma, as we have to go back to the uk for aleast 3 years, so that my fiancee can get residency....and i can see my family more often!

thanks to all who can help, kind regards.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 13 9:36 pm Post subject:
Hi Plounce, Welcome to the forum. Sorry not to have replied to your earlier post. I don't know the details you want, but if you are patient someonme will be along who will. Or at least will know where to to find them.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 13 9:44 pm Post subject:
I think that John B is probably the person who knows. ISTR that he lived in a campervan for quite a while. You could try PMing him if he doesn't turn up soon.

JohnB

Joined: 09 Jul 2005
Posts: 685
Location: Beautiful sunny West Wales!

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 13 10:07 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

I think that John B is probably the person who knows. ISTR that he lived in a campervan for quite a while. You could try PMing him if he doesn't turn up soon.

Being a bit of a wimp, I did it the easy, but not cheapest, way, by staying on camp sites! I'm a member of the Caravan Club, and during the summer stayed mostly on their CL (Certified Location) sites. These are private sites, mostly on farms and in large gardens, where up to 5 vans are allowed without planning permission, if they are certified by one of the big clubs. In winter I mainly stayed on Club sites with hardstandings and electric hookup. The rest of the time I parked in friend's fields and on their drives. I rarely stayed anywhere for more than a week, as I kept getting itchy feet. I was on my own, apart from my dog, and the Club sites charge a pitch fee, plus a charge per person. The rates vary with the season, so Club sites in the winter for one person weren't too bad, but for a family would be expensive. CLs are usually per van, and can be cheap, but more and more are going up market and getting more expensive.

Technically this is against the rules, as they are only supposed to be used for holiday use, but I never had any problems and it was pretty obvious I was fulltiming. If you're making and selling stuff, you'd have to be very discrete, and may well get caught out.

Many people with camper vans, especially the more discrete stealth ones, park up anywhere (there are web sites advising on good places), but this is generally illegal or breaks local byelaws. If you have a caravan, you'd stick out like a sore thumb! You can park up pretty much anywhere in Scotland though, although I never tried it.

The other option is to come to an arrangement to park up long term in someone's garden. Make sure you stay inside the curtilage of the house, and that you can use the facilities in the house. This may cause problems with the planners, but I've had an enforcement notice for a yurt at my place withdrawn, and its residents are still here. I'm not clear on all the legalities of this, but it's worked for me so far.

The system likes you to live in brick boxes, where they can keep track of you, so you need a permanent address where you can register your vehicle, insure it etc., and they can send letters to you. I was officially living with a friend, but only popped in for half an hour very occasionally.

I hope that's enough to get started!

plounce

Joined: 09 Apr 2013
Posts: 2

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 13 1:20 am Post subject:

Thanks so much John, i wasnt expecting a reply so quickly! yeah, that is what i had in mind from what i have been reading. friends, or family members driveway or garden would probably be the best bet. i hear that you are allowed to park in campsites for 28 days only at a time...then move on to others then come back, is this true...although looking at prices...between 10-20 quid a night that would be 3-500 a month....renting a small room for 2-300 may still be cheaper!

Again we will be moving around alot selling in fayres around the uk, but probably be static (that is not leaving a radius of 30miles) for 7-8 months of the year so it may pay off after all.

Thanks again and enjoy scratching those feet!

JohnB

Joined: 09 Jul 2005
Posts: 685
Location: Beautiful sunny West Wales!

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 13 12:02 pm Post subject:

plounce wrote:

The Caravan Club only allows 21 days (I think from memory), but the nice wardens are happy for you to go away for one night, and come back! The CLs I stayed on were generally �4-6 a night, and on my own in winter the Club sites were under �10. So over the year, with some free stays as well, the cost wasn't too bad. I think club site prices have gone up a bit much since I stopped travelling though.

bulworthy project

Joined: 27 Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Location: Rackenford, Devon

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 13 4:57 pm Post subject:

If a caravan is in the curtilage of a house and is being used as an extension of that house it does not require planning permission. If it is used as a seperate dwelling, it would be the equivilent of converting the house to multiple occupancy and would require planning permission.

You can stop on private land (eg farmers field etc..) for 28 days without planning permission. Farmers don't tend to charge much if they are up for it.

After travelling around for quite a while in our camper we decided that the expense of camp sites and the grief of trying to find quiet places to park up would best be avoided by buying a bit of land and setting up a compost toilet and a few basic facilities. Then we thought that we could park up and live an easy carefree life doing a minimum of work for a few basic necesities. The realities of the planning system and a change in attitude by us over the years has somehow warped this idea into us working bloody hard as charcoal makers. We sometimes look back at our rose coloured view of how this was going to work and laugh.

goldy1

Joined: 17 Sep 2006
Posts: 729

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 13 5:32 pm Post subject:
The camping and caravanning club run many weekend rallies and temporary holiday sites up to a month in places, through out the year. Only down side you need your own loo and power.

travellingoneills

Joined: 17 Jun 2013
Posts: 4
Location: carmarthenshire

Posted: Mon Jun 17, 13 3:47 pm Post subject:
Hi there, here is one a bit off the wall, met a couple the other week who were living in a canal barge. They too are artisans, and just tied up somewhere free every night and sold their wares quayside. Fab life ! Just food for thought

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Mon Jun 17, 13 7:48 pm Post subject:

travellingoneills wrote:

Hi there, here is one a bit off the wall, met a couple the other week who were living in a canal barge. They too are artisans, and just tied up somewhere free every night and sold their wares quayside. Fab life ! Just food for thought

Canal living is not free. You have licence fees for a start (oh & if selling they need a commercial licence too) & the running costs of a canal boat are crippling.

scartwright

Joined: 10 Nov 2013
Posts: 1

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 13 11:14 pm Post subject: Living in a campervan

Well I haven't really got an answer to this other to that Living in a campervan is my dream. Quite recently I have been looking into the concept of campervan living.
In my mind I would like to live on a camp site maybe a couple of nights a week to refill water, charge up batteries and such then Wild Camp for the other nights of the week.
If you wild camp which is free. The best places are sort of on the side of country roads in laybys. not on busy roads mind you as that is dangerous. But use your common sense. Although I have never lived in a camper van before I spent two weeks in one before with my father and we wild camped for a bit.
In the corner of a field, a layby in a carpark by a hill so it was unregulated. Generally campsites are about �10-15 a night which in a maybe 400 per month which you could rent a flat or small house for but if you wild camp a little bit of the time the amount you can save is worth it. It can be daunting at first and actually illegal in england, legal in scotland. But don't do anything stupid park in front of houses make loud noises don't draw unwanted attention.
I might be just hijacking this thread but i was wondering if anyone could help me to see if what I planned was viable.
I am 18 and I would love to travel around the UK and possibly europe whilst living in a campervan. I would use my money that i saved up and would hope to find work to help fund this lifestyle. I wouldn't be living off benifits as is the general assumption. I would try to live as cheaply as possible.
It has been a dream of mine to be an author. I don't expect to be successful but would like to use the time to write a novel.
However right now the cost of insurance for a young driver is incredibly high so I would wait a couple of years maybe and save up some money for this.
If anyone could comment to say if they think what i had planned sounded OK.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Mon Nov 11, 13 12:03 am Post subject:
What do you intend to eat? Or wear? Or buy diesel with? How much have you saved up over the last 18 years?

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Finance and Property	All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

View Latest Posts