Hello to all you Happy Campers :o)

[broomstixx]

Hi everyone .. the name is dizzy and I guess my nature is a bit too!
Me and the children (all 3) are considering taking the plunge and living in a caravan for a year or so to escape the trappings of dubious landlords and £800 rents!! We are buying a 'van and having a trial run in the yard for a month and living in it permanently and see how we go from there .. luckily having a victorian house our bathroom is downstairs so we will class that as a shower block!

Everyone thinks I am mad for considering selling all our goods and chattels, but I am self employed, single and I need to take control and live a little, rather than society having control of me and struggling all the time .. soooo .. with a trial run and bit of good luck behind our sales we are hoping to be self sufficient and living in a caravan in the next few months ) well unless something happens me and the landlord then it might be sooner!

Have been a happy camper for 20 yrs now and gone from 2 man tent and a bucket all the way up to motorhome with a half bath in it .. not camped in the last 4 yrs so will have to get my old campers head back on!! lots of questions on my list to consider about it all with being on my own with the children but where there is a will there is a way!

I have my own tool kit, can do my electrics and wastes and waters, I can lower the legs and get a level van .. all I need is courage lol

Anyway, thats me (with the 3 kids and 2 tiny dogs) and now gathering stuff for a huge yard sale to start the ball rolling and clearing the house of our old belongings!

See you all in the forums!!!

 

[Parksy]

Hello Dizzy, welcome to the Practical Caravan forum and good luck with the yard sale.
We have one or two forum members who live in their tourers full time and who regularly contribute ideas and advice for those wishing to follow suit, Steve in Leo has been on the forum this morning and he's a seasoned full timer.
There is a forum topic about living in a tourer permanently which you are most welcome to add to
Click Here to go to the topic
I'm sure that Steve and other forum members will be happy to answer your questions and I hope that your trial run goes well.
Full timing is not for everybody, you certainly need to consider what effect if any full timing in a tourer would have on your children, and your decision is bound to attract some negative comments from your friends. It's for you to decide what to do after finding out as much as you can before taking the plunge and hopefully this forum will help you to make an informed decision.

 

[broomstixx]

Hello Parksy )
Yes, I have had a lot of negative comments (biggest one my mum!) but I have well travelled children in a way as we have had to move on a fair bit over the years so they always look to new adventures with an open mind .. theory being, wherever we lay our rug down is our home.

Have to confess on a personal level, be it tent, caravan, motorhome, trailer tent (had them all over 20 yrs) I've always been happiest when on a hide away camp site than in a house and luckily the children enjoy it too .. the promise of one year and then family decision lets them have some control too.

Luckily, when I was married I had **she coughs politely! a lazy hubby who happily let me do all the things as soon as pulled on a site .. his important role of plugging in the electrical socket (if we went on mains) was his sole job ) oh and the deck chair with a cry of "is the kettle on yet" .. so bless him, as lazy as he was it taught me well the basics and I'm handy with duck tape and will rely on a twinkle in the eye and a "excuse me, could you please help me" in a dire situation that a pump or something should go (beyond the manual)!

I've had a good look round the forum and started reading the long term living threads so to speak .. and taking a mental note for possible problems up ahead. Hopefully the trial run will iron a few things out, old experience and a bit of common sense is my fall back .. and a thread or 5 on here!

 

[Parksy]

Keep in touch and let us know how it goes, good luck.