AIBU to think we could happily live in a van?

[spiritofadventure]

My OH and I have been talking recently about buying a van and converting it into a self contained home to live in full time.

It started off as a joke when we had to change flats, yet again, as our landlord was selling up, but it is now something we are seriously considering.

We are in our early 30's, both work full time 50 hours a week and are still nowhere near close to saving a deposit to be able to buy in this area.

We've done the maths and think we could do this for less than £12k, including the van.

The van we would buy is a LWB Mercedes Sprinter, which would give us a living space of approx. 4.3m x 1.8m. Inside, we would have a double bed, small dining area, kitchen and a small shower/toilet room.

It would be cosy, for sure, but it would have everything we need.

We live in an area that has lots of places suitable to park up for the night so that wouldn't be an issue.

Monthly costs we think would be in the region of £3-400 excluding food costs

Obviously this wouldn't be a forever home, but we were thinking 2 or 3 years so we could build up our savings.

Are we crazy, or could this really work?

Look into a mobile home - a little more space and security but similar costs (I think).

Other than that - go for it!

Sounds grim to me but everyone is different so might be fine for you.

If it were me I would save on accommodation by considering

• Moving to a smaller/cheaper flat
• Moving in to a room in a share house/flat
• Moving to a cheaper area
• Taking in a lodger if you currently have a spare room
• Examine food and activities budget to see if savings could be made there
• Accept long term renting - nothing wrong with this. Yes, moving at the landlords whim is bloody annoying but there's pros and cons to everything.

12k sounds like at least a years rent. I would have thought you’d be better off to downsize like sycamore said to a studio flat or even a bedsit/double room in a shared house where your bills would be paid.

It sounds like a lovely idea but I’m not sure you’d save a lot of money in the long run and you’d have a major headache to set up the van. What if it goes over budget? Who is going to quality control the work? If it’s not done properly, it won’t be worth very much as an asset when it is time to sell.

As a pp stated, you won’t be able to get a mortgage with no fixed abode so you will have to go back into rental before buying anyway. And even if you move back into a flat, you will find your options limited because mortage companies ask for proof of address of at least 5 years, which you won’t have. In consequence, you will be labelled high risk and only certain lenders will be willing to deal with you. And they will charge much higher interest rates.

It sounds like a great fantasy. But in reality I don’t think you’ll save a bean and it is likely to cost you your long term future.

Whether you could do this really depends on exactly what sort of people you are. Be really honest with yourselves about what your minimum standards of living are. Living like this for a month will be fun. Two or three years not fun at all and fraught with all sorts of practical issues.

If you are the sort of person who wants to blow dry her hair and iron her clothes for work and have a large collection of shoes and clothes to choose from it will be just awful.

We would rent a very small unit to store a few things, but all large furniture, our cars etc would be sold.

Storage costs can get very expensive. Think carefully about that versus just selling stuff. Don't see both cars, keep one. Driving everywhere in a motorhome is inconvenient due to the size, difficult to park and expensive on petrol. You might find a great parking spot for the night and then find you've lost it due to needing to go somewhere. And you'll have to constantly keep packing away all your belongings before you drive, or they will fly around in the back of the van. That will become a tedious chore very very quickly.

Keep one small cheap car. Maybe just a smart car or a motor bike, but do keep something.

You will have to cut your wardrobe right down to capsule basics as there will be literally no space to store things, iron them etc. Where will you keep things like wellies and boots and winter coats?

The loos and showers in motorhomes are really only suitable for occasional or emergency use while on the road. Most people get to their campsite and use the shower and loo blocks on a daily basis. Trust me, you don't want to be showering every day before work in one of those motor home showers. And where will you sit to dry your hair properly and do your make up, when the little bathroom compartment is soaking wet everywhere?

You will spend much more on food because cooking options will be limited, fridge space limited etc. Factor that in.

For all sorts of reasons I suspect you'd end up spending money on overnight pitches far more often that you think you will, which would seriously eat into your budget.

ummmm okay I own a small travel trailer and while our new home was being built we lived in it for 30 days.
toilets (grey and black water) need to be dumped at a sani dump every 3-4 days depending on the size.
heating and cooking is usually propane which means co2 poisoning if your not careful.
boondocking (pulling up to a random parking spot) is fine if you have access to lots of vacant land (Canadian wilderness) or understanding neighbors (in the case of our builders putting on the finishing touches and meeting building code standards).
theft of the whole unit is problematic. insurance costs need to be factored in.

A van?

Like, a delivery van type thing? Like this???

Sounds fucking terrible. Awful. Exhausting. Don't do it.

Downsize. House share. Rent a room. Even a caravan or motor home that is designed and equip for living in. Not just a bloody van!

you're very vulnerable and i'm sure random people would knock on your trailer if parked in the local grocery store parking lot over night.

We have a Sprinter for transport and I cannot imagine living in it. We have a driver, so there is a partition wall between the front seats and the main cabin, and it’s lovely for transport, but I don’t know that it would be a good substitute for a home.

Go for it! But get a woodburner fitted, it will be much nicer than a diesel heater.

There's some really good FB groups for people in living vehicles - lots of practical advice there.

It's a great way to live, I think you'll be really happy.

Surely you could get a room in a flat share for £300-£400 a month?

There is a common near me that regularly has vans parked along the road with a generator running outside. Looks proper grim. Couldn't imagine anything worse.

I assume you have watched the 100's of videos on YouTube of the 1000's of people who do this?

It is becoming a real movement and you will find a thriving and supportive community out there.

It does mean significant changes in lifestyle- minimalist living etc but some people absolutes love it and do it for years.

I would suggest spending a bit on hiring a motor home for a couple of weeks and trying it - not the same as kitting out your own van and would not have the stealth element for more flexible parking up but would give you a real idea.

Most people living like this shower at the gym and do not waste the space. You will need emergency toilet though!!!

I was coming on to say look up the tiny house/RV living videos on Youtube like basecamp and I know I couldn't do it but I quite like those videos.

there's definitely a community in the states, I'm sure if you research there's one in the uk too.?

FIL has a Sprinter - there really isn't that much space, you'd be barely able to move around inside at all if you have a (tiny) double bed in there plus a toilet and shower.

I know I am probably hiring here, but what about your address? Electoral register, post, mail order deliveries, tax, NI etc

And to the pp who has a friend touring the US with kids for two years, how did they manage a visa for that? Or is your friend a US citizen?

gets back under the duvet and moves to another thread

*boring not hiring

I know 2 people that have done this,one a new age traveller type in the late 1980s and she ended up being very isolated etc and another recently a man in his 30s. He was mooching off everyone for showers, drinks, food etc.
Its very cold in those vans unless you insulate them, you can do this yourself you buy the panels.Also have you slept in one in the winter?. I have and you can keep warm with a decent down sleeping bag but its really freezing getting up and down to go to the loo etc.
Its dooable but people will get really fed up if your asking them for constant favours etc. Personally I'd buy a caravan and live in that on either a site or pay a farmer for a corner of his field etc.

What about clothes storage? At 50 hours a week do you do jobs where you need to look presentable?

And cooking proper meals under camping conditions night after night in the freezing cold and dark, with very little food storage? Long oven cooked dishes will be out, the condensation in the van horrendous.,.

I think it would be a very miserable experience in winter.

People do it. The lack of a permanent address is a practical problem but can’t be insurmountable.

A narrow boat or boat sounds ace but mooring fees can be high.

It's such a lot of money for such a poor quality of life. The novelty of it being an "adventure" would soon wear off and then you'd be fucked as you'd have wasted so much money.

You'd also end up relying on friends and family far too much, and that isn't acceptable or fair to them.

Consider a narrowboat instead. It has the same advantages in terms of economy, but you can moor for longer periods in places that are set up to deal with emptying toilet waste, receiving post etc.

You need to get on very well with someone to listen to them shitting into a bucket behind a flimsy wooden panel just inches from your head every morning. [Bitter experience].

You could just park up on a Travellers site?

But in seriousness - van - no fixed abode, how will you register to vote? But more importantly how will you pay your council tax? Please don't say without bricks and mortar yo shouldn't have to pay, you will still be using/have access to the same services that we all have. Where will you go to empty your chemical toilet etc? Where will you dump your rubbish?

No harm in trying it.