EH52ARH said:Tombo46 said:
Pretty obvious, but the Prof always likes to have the last call. No mention of a Fire bucket outside though.
Isn't a fire bucket one of those things at petrol stations that people use to put their fags out in?
Isn't a fire bucket one of those things at petrol stations that people use to put their fags out in?
Yes, they are , just before saying, bye to a mate on a mobile phone, before filling up at the highly explosive fuel station.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Tombo46 said:
TOMBO, a site near us in Bucks, even though its not a Cl/cs states it will only allow 30 days on site and only 3 trips a year, I can only think because the motorway workers permanent pitches were putting off the " recreational " caravanners .
Tombo, maybe the Caravan living is not the way to go, looking back on my life, 45 years,ago a bedsit, where after cooking fried rice, and washing up,all,from the bed, I could have saved a lot of money. Unfortunately you have a good friend in a dog, whom you have to think about (I have two) and would not be without, I think maybe you could find another solution for a few years, look around for a a small rough but nice But an Ben place,
Just a thought.
Caravanning is not cheap.
Just a thought.
Caravanning is not cheap.
EH52ARH said:Tombo, maybe the Caravan living is not the way to go, looking back on my life, 45 years,ago a bedsit, where after cooking fried rice, and washing up,all,from the bed, I could have saved a lot of money. Unfortunately you have a good friend in a dog, whom you have to think about (I have two) and would not be without, I think maybe you could find another solution for a few years, look around for a a small rough but nice But an Ben place,
Just a thought.
Caravanning is not cheap.
If I was working in a job where I didn't spend all day with my dog I would agree that it wouldn't be fair. Where I'm looking at right now is much cheaper than any CL I've seen and also would give me access to a whole field for him to run about on. While in the evening space would be limited he does have an amazing life outside of it. His days are spent playing with 30+ dogs so his evenings are usually spent fast asleep anyway (including me!).
Maybe none of this will work out but the thought of not at least trying does bother me. I don't like having absolutely no control over my life and even with the cheapest rent I can find I would still always be waiting for that one large expense to come and wipe me out with having no disposable income. Finding a property will be near impossible with me not only having a dog but also being bankrupt. Landlords look down on people who have had financial difficulty as they believe they are unreliable when the truth of it is that I had a very successful business and never once missed a rent payment. One EU referendum later and my whole world is turned upside down.
Trying at least wouldn't hurt. At the very worst it will give me the time I need to find another property and I can always sell the 'van further down the line. It could end up being something I really enjoy but I don't think I will really know until I try. I will be finding out tomorrow how I'm fixed in terms of a site but it is looking quite promising so far.
Big thanks for the information either way and also the honesty. It's important to stay grounded as I know this is going to be difficult, especially coming in to Winter.
Well, as the song says " All ways look on the bright side of life " think positive, and keep posting.
Hutch
Hutch
EH52ARH said:Tombo, maybe the Caravan living is not the way to go, looking back on my life, 45 years,ago a bedsit, where after cooking fried rice, and washing up,all,from the bed, I could have saved a lot of money. Unfortunately you have a good friend in a dog, whom you have to think about (I have two) and would not be without, I think maybe you could find another solution for a few years, look around for a a small rough but nice But an Ben place,
Just a thought.
Caravanning is not cheap.
I know what he means, Bless Ya Hutch :cheer:
Tombo46,
all good wishes and here's hoping you will be able to find a good solution to living in a caravan full time without spending too much each week/month.
Some thoughts for you,
1 most CLs are set up to accommodate touring caravans whose owners value peace and quiet and who are not necessarily looking for "facilities" that maybe other touring folk seek when choosing a holiday type campsite. A lot of Cls these days are providing more than the basics and do indeed include electric hook up ( EHU) The CL owners however are not looking for or seeking " residential type customers and whilst it may be possible to negotiate favourable terms I would definitely not bank on it!
Some users have been known to leave a fan heater on in the caravan/awning all day even when unoccupied, on the basis that
" I've paid for electric in my £10 or £12 per night pitch fee, so I'll jolly well use it"
This type of approach does not endear itself to the Cl's owners!
2 Your posts often mention ehu, so this is obviously important to you.... you also mention charging a laptop computer, mobile phone and use of a TV and the amount of electricity you will use will depend to a great extent on how much you use them and the other electrical equipment in the caravan. However don't forget that if you use your car to drive to and from work then the 12V "Cigar" type socket can provide an excellent source of charge for phones/laptops etc. The TV can tend to use quite a bit of power to run and on an inverter ( converts 12V to 230 V or so) can account for a draw of around 4Amps so you can do your own calculations of how much TV time you can justify for the consumption required. 12V TV's are available (so don't need an inverter) and you may find that your existing TV is 12v running from a power supply " brick" that reduces the mains electric down to 12v from the 230V supply .
If your caravan interior lights can be fitted with LED " bulbs" then this will minimise the power consumed but still provide good light output. ( A 3 or 4 Watt LED will provide sufficient light for reading etc)
To sum up on matters electrical it's quite possible to be fairly frugal with power usage, by giving it a little thought and with the purchase of some pretty inexpensive kit
2 If your farmer friends will let you stay free in a corner of their land then the outlook is good, a great saving over the £10 or £12 per night on a CL........ the £300 to £360 per month saved could buy quite a bit of Propane Gas for heating and Cooking, running the fridge etc and if you can figure out a way to get fresh water fairly easily, and empting your casette toilet properly, then I reckon you and your dog will have cracked it!
All best and of course Happy Caravanning!
paws
PS if you are an expert on 12v electrics then there's no need to look at the video here:
https://cruisingthecut.co.uk/2018/06/24/vlog-136-drawing-current/
But otherwise its worth a look!
all good wishes and here's hoping you will be able to find a good solution to living in a caravan full time without spending too much each week/month.
Some thoughts for you,
1 most CLs are set up to accommodate touring caravans whose owners value peace and quiet and who are not necessarily looking for "facilities" that maybe other touring folk seek when choosing a holiday type campsite. A lot of Cls these days are providing more than the basics and do indeed include electric hook up ( EHU) The CL owners however are not looking for or seeking " residential type customers and whilst it may be possible to negotiate favourable terms I would definitely not bank on it!
Some users have been known to leave a fan heater on in the caravan/awning all day even when unoccupied, on the basis that
" I've paid for electric in my £10 or £12 per night pitch fee, so I'll jolly well use it"
This type of approach does not endear itself to the Cl's owners!
2 Your posts often mention ehu, so this is obviously important to you.... you also mention charging a laptop computer, mobile phone and use of a TV and the amount of electricity you will use will depend to a great extent on how much you use them and the other electrical equipment in the caravan. However don't forget that if you use your car to drive to and from work then the 12V "Cigar" type socket can provide an excellent source of charge for phones/laptops etc. The TV can tend to use quite a bit of power to run and on an inverter ( converts 12V to 230 V or so) can account for a draw of around 4Amps so you can do your own calculations of how much TV time you can justify for the consumption required. 12V TV's are available (so don't need an inverter) and you may find that your existing TV is 12v running from a power supply " brick" that reduces the mains electric down to 12v from the 230V supply .
If your caravan interior lights can be fitted with LED " bulbs" then this will minimise the power consumed but still provide good light output. ( A 3 or 4 Watt LED will provide sufficient light for reading etc)
To sum up on matters electrical it's quite possible to be fairly frugal with power usage, by giving it a little thought and with the purchase of some pretty inexpensive kit
2 If your farmer friends will let you stay free in a corner of their land then the outlook is good, a great saving over the £10 or £12 per night on a CL........ the £300 to £360 per month saved could buy quite a bit of Propane Gas for heating and Cooking, running the fridge etc and if you can figure out a way to get fresh water fairly easily, and empting your casette toilet properly, then I reckon you and your dog will have cracked it!
All best and of course Happy Caravanning!
paws
PS if you are an expert on 12v electrics then there's no need to look at the video here:
https://cruisingthecut.co.uk/2018/06/24/vlog-136-drawing-current/
But otherwise its worth a look!
paws said:
Brilliant. Thanks very much for the information. Since yesterday's run of failed chats with CL owners I have spoken to a friend who has agree'd to set me up in a nice and sheltered/private spot. It's also a very secure farm with big electric gates etc. We have worked out a price that is more favourable than the CL's were offering and includes electric etc. I'm assuming everything can run off electric barring the hob and oven? If so, how long could I expect a 45kg gas bottle to last if used just for cooking? I realise this is a very subjective question but I'm only after a very rough guesstimate. Going off how long my gas BBQ used to take to get down 5kg of propane I'm assuming, if just used for cooking, a 45kg bottle would last quite a long time.
So the plan is coming together nicely. While I wait for everything I own to sell my focus needs to shift towards finding somewhere temporary to stay for a month or so after my tenancy comes to an end. The last thing I need to do is rush in to buying a caravan out of desperation. I think that would end in tears unless I got lucky. I've also got a tonne more research to do but at the end of the day, the major hurdle of having somewhere to place the 'van is tackled. At the very worst I could do this for a few months and decide I was an idiot and put it down to experience. Good or bad I think the whole experience will be a learning one which is never a bad thing really. I have very mixed emotions about it all. Very anxious but also very excited.
As for my dog, this place couldn't be better really. There's another dog lives on the farm that he would get on great with and plenty of fields for him to frolic in.
The space in front of the van will be limited. I was hoping to put some sort of awning up for a bit of storage outside and to have somewhere to take my shoes off etc. Do awnings have different depths? The few I've seen are 2.5m deep which I think will be cutting it a bit fine and possibly not doable.
Thanks again for the input everyone. If by some miracle this all takes off I'll make sure to keep you all posted. I'm going to see if there is any one in Sheffield willing to show me around the ins and outs of a caravan soon so I have a good idea of what challenges I may face as time goes on.
Tombo46 said:
Most UK vans have awning rails both sides so one option might be to see if a 2.5m fits on the offside. Useful for storage but less convenient for sitting out in. Need to check out any caravan that your are thinking of.
Thanks. I wasn't aware of that! Looking at it I think an awning is going to be too much of a squeeze. I think I may see about just putting a small shed behind the Caravan for storage and work out some sort of system so not too much crap drags in to my living space. One thing at a time though really. The main focus needs to be getting the best caravan I can for my money. Everything else can wait.
Mel
Moderator
Hi Tombo. All the best with your plan. If you can store your stuff in a shed, then an awning on the side of the van with a good base ( wooden pallets if you can lay your hands on them covered with a groundsheet) will be great to stop muck getting dragged into the van. It will also keep a layer of warmer air next to the van and reduce drafts.
Once you have your van and know the awning size; then you can pick up a second hand awning on eBay etc. TBH many vanners have an awning lurking in their sheds that they have been "meaning to sell" for ages. If you ask on local preloved, free cycle or social media, you may be lucky.
Mel
Once you have your van and know the awning size; then you can pick up a second hand awning on eBay etc. TBH many vanners have an awning lurking in their sheds that they have been "meaning to sell" for ages. If you ask on local preloved, free cycle or social media, you may be lucky.
Mel
Mel said:
Thanks a lot Mel. I'll take a looksy and see what I can find. Are there such awnings that can stand up to snow? I'd hate to wake up and find it's all caved in haha
Mel
Moderator
Curiously, yes there are awnings that can stand up to snow. Get one with steel poles and quality canvas. Sweep off the previous nights fall in the morning. Job a good 'un. B)
Mel
Mel
Mel said:
I would like an awning that could stand up to snow, doesn't matter how much they cost, it must come included with the "Mel, Sweep the Snow in the Morning" attachment (provided that it is not too noisy
).Could be the prompt sound for putting the kettle and toaster on
Mel said:
Happy days if I can get one to fit! I think I could if the caravan was flush up against the wall but on most designs I wouldn't be able to get to my cassette etc so I think an awning might be a no go. Not the end of the world though. I can construct something as an entryway and pop a small shed behind for some storage if needed.
EH52ARH said:
The next night we had about a 1/2 a meter of snow, Northen France. 2013.
Incredible
hmy:Are there any manufacturers that do shallow awnings that don't stick out so far?
Tombo46 said:EH52ARH said:
The next night we had about a 1/2 a meter of snow, Northen France. 2013.
Incredible
Are there any manufacturers that do shallow awnings that don't stick out so far?
The little Capri Snow maybe:
https://www.isabella.net/uk/porches/details/winter
Anseo said:Tombo46 said:EH52ARH said:
The next night we had about a 1/2 a meter of snow, Northen France. 2013.
Incredible
Are there any manufacturers that do shallow awnings that don't stick out so far?
The little Capri Snow maybe:
https://www.isabella.net/uk/porches/details/winter
That actually might just fit. It depends on how much space I need behind the caravan for the cassette to come out. Can anyone inform me of this? The awning has side entry so I think, at a push it might work. Thanks very much for bringing this to my attention.
Parksy
Moderator
The toilet cassette is more often than not located on the opposite side of the caravan to the awning and entrance door. Look for porch awnings, not as big as full awnings but with enough room for shoes and a bit of storage.
Parksy said:
Cheers Parksy. Do you know the approximate length of a casette? I've got about 16 - 17ft to work with (didn't have a tape measure so used my actual feet haha). I'm trying to figure out if there's enough room for a caravan + winter porch along with leaving enough room behind for removing the cassette etc. I estimate I'll have about 3 - 4ft left behind the 'van to work with if I got the Isabella Winter Porch. Does that sound like enough?
My van is tucked between my garage and green house, giving me about one foot ten inches room and I can remove the cassette easy, plenty of room. My van is a two berth and maybe cassette is a smaller than, say, a four berth? My cassette is about eighteen inches long, still be ale to remove on a biy less than that
Cheers Dave. I suppose the type of caravan will make a difference. Probably just going to have to suck it and see. There may be some jiggery pokery I can do with the angle of the van that will work if I'm short a few inches. Where there's a will there's a way!
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