selling up

[ruff_374226742]

Hi Everyone

Can anyone give us some help or advise on caravanning full time.

We are taking early retirement and have sold our house and will start out about March of next year touring the coast line of England and any where else that takes our fancy..... just us and a westie called daisy, we intend to stay abroad for the winter months maybe looking after property for people somewhere warm. Would be grateful if anyone else has done or maybe thinking the same as us.

We also need advice on the caravan, we are looking for an island bed and a end bathroom has anyone come across this layout??

If you have opened this, many thanks for looking......

 

[CliveV]

Hi Ruff

You are doing what I often want to do! Well done for doing it.

As for caravan choice - certainly an end bathroom - we do not have this at the moment but are considering changing our van for one with this layout as it would suit us better with just the two of us and the dogs. Other than that it will depend upon personal choice - tow car etc.

Loads of people "overwinter" in places like Northern Portugal and Spain. We met some a few years back travelling on the Plymouth to Santander ferry. They loved it and did it every year.

Personally I cannot wait and am envious of you.

 

[Ogre]

The Bailey Wyoming has exactly this layout.

Depends on what size van you want though.

You can see a graphic of the layout here.

http://www.mendipcaravans.co.uk/caravans/bailey/senator/wyoming.html

 

[Guest]

Although this may be sacrilegeous, why a caravan?? Although there are very good models on the market I would never categorise them as suitable for full time living. Bluntly, the equipment is not man enough to last the course. To my mind if you wish to live...then an American RV is the only answer. It provides domestic equipment on a mobile frame. You are not travelling every day so the fuel consumption is much less of an issue. Plus if yu want to live a domestic life, you need space and the slide outs will give you that in buckets. Get a small runabout car as well, and you are quids in.

I am sorry to my fellow members, but go look at RV's before you make a decision. The number I saw on CC and C&CC sites with 30 plus footers indicated that many people had followed that route, and good luck to them.

 

[Tony A.]

ruff,

You lucky dog, just what I wanted to do but circumstances prohibit it.

I have a LMC 520hte full end bathroom and twin full size single beds, not an island bed , just a suggestion.

good luck mate I hope you enjoy every minute/

Tony A.

 

[Val & Frank]

Hi Ruff

Welcome to the world of the early retired. We have bought a Bessacarr Cameo with the island bed, but alas without the end bathroom. It's a big van for the two of us, and appears to be well made with an inboard tank, good insulation, and a wet central heating system. Which we will test out this winter probably here in the UK.

We also purchased a new Toyota Land Cruiser as we didn't want to be bothered with car repairs etc, and the Touota came highly recommended for reliability.

Looking at full time caravanning you will need to select sites well, as I think the CC only allow you so many days on a single site. I don't know about the C&CC, so you may need to look at commercial sites that would allow you a seasonal pitch.

If you worked on the basis of

 

[Val & Frank]

I must have hit my post key at the same time as Scotch Lad!!!! I thought about a large motorhome, but being quite new to caravanning I thought if we didn't like it we would lose a lot when trading it in. With the Car and Van option we would have kept the car and only traded the van. With the van costing around

 

[Guest]

Val and Frank,

Everything is relative in life. Motorhomes tend to depreciate less than caravans and certainly cars. It all depends on what you want. If you are keeping the thing for a long time, and I guess for full time living you are, then you need something that ain't going to break after a few years. One may ask why I go for RV's rather than say Hymers, but it is a question of space and long term living. The RV has a bathroom, with a bath, if you wish it. The fittings are to American standards, which means sometimes tastless, but built to last a lifetime. They have heating systems the size of a house. Hymers are excellent but I am not so sure if they are just rugged enough to stand everyday living for 20 years. They also tend to be cramped inside, and you are living in the damm thing. There is also the issue of where you wish to travel. Most RV fulltimers traverse Europe and winter on the southern coast of the Med, some even take the ferry to Tenerife. Although I enjoy my caravan very much I recognise that for fulltiming then it would have to be the RV. A caravan can last 10 or more years, an RV will last 30-40. All I can say to anyone considering it, is to go take a look. Plus for tips on fulltiming, our motorhome friends have a lot more information that can answer some of the questions one had not even thought of, such as post, medical, insurance, even bank accounts. A lot changes the minute you give up a home address.

 

[Val & Frank]

I listen to what you have said Scotch lad it's all personal choice at the end of the day. All I was giving was options. Early retired people have a lot more costs than fully retired people i.e. Health Care if your in say Spain, you need to be drawing a British Pension or a British Goverment Pension if your under 65 to qualify for total health care. I think the most relevant issue when you take early retirement is what can you afford. For how long do you intend to follow your chosen path, and most importantly what would you do if your spouse became ill or heaven forbid died.

If you have sold your home you have closed out a big option of returning to the life you had previously. We have friends in Australia who have lived in Aussie for 20 years. Now they can't return even if they wanted to because UK house prices exclude them. You need about

 

[Guest]

Fully agree with all you say.

I think we have all 'dreamed' of doing this at some stage in life, especially when bills come flooding through the letterbox. However, it is not a step to be taken lightly. Only in the late 80's has bank interest rates been a better bet than house price inflation, so as you say, leaving to go to Oz for instance will be a one way ticket, as my wife's family have found out. Personally i would rent the house for a year or so and evaluate the life I was following. If it all looked good and I really wanted it, then, and only with a lot of 'if's' would I sell the house. If however, you find divorce is looming because you and your spouse cannot live together in such a small space, then return and re-decorate.

Of course most people need the money from the house sale to fund the new lifestyle, so that may not always be possible.

 

[Guest]

Just a few more comments on this. To anyone thinking about it... be very, very, very careful. Houseprices in the Uk are rising at anything from 10-40% depending on where you live. Nothing except a good bit of insider knowledge is going to get you anything like that growth in any other market. So you could sell up today but in 3 years time be faced with a mortgage of 50 grand or more, just to get your old place back. Do your numbers. A lump sum of 150 grand will give you an annual income of maybe 8000 before tax. Plus if you want to use some of the capital to get that dream van combination, then it will be even less. If you really wish to do this then step 1 is to look at downsizing, if you can. You still have a home, which you can rent, and release some capital. But remember selling and buying will cost you in legal fees/moving/ decorating etc, expect to 'lose' 8-10% of the total transaction value.

There are an awful lot of older people living in Spain and France etc, who wished they hadn't done it. There are also a lot who have happily sold up, but at least all of these people have some property somewhere. To sell up totally is a very high risk strategy, unless you are rich in which case the issues are irrelevant.

 

[Rioja]

Very sound advice from Scotch Lad. Try before you buy everytime.

 

[JandP]

I agree that is excellent advice Scotch Lad. Its very easy to get carried away by the freedom offered by retirement but if you change your mind (the arrival of grandchildren is a classic example) it can be very difficult to get back what you had unless you have been careful in you arrangements. Will constant touring still seem so attractive as you get older (and everything starts to ache!) or will you want to just put your feet up for a while? Yes, good advice Scotch Lad but I am not so sure about the motorhome/RV idea. I have never tried one but they always seem to me to be best suited to constant touring i.e. stop for the night them move on next day and this is the opposite to what you would want for full time living. What do you do when you are nicely settled on site and want to go to the shops or the pub or just exploring the local area? I have seen them with cycles and even motor bikes but can they also carry a small car (or do they tow it perhaps)? Jim.

 

[Val & Frank]

I think what this thread has shown is that Planning is the most importamt aspect of Early Retirement. Like if your travelling around and you needed medical treatment. A Dr is simple to find, but if it progressed on to Hospital Treatment you would need a fixed address. Minor things I know but need careful consideration.

Val & Frank

 

[Guest]

J&P

Many motorhome users either tow a car on an A frame, or a small trailer. It may seem odd to us caravanners to have 2 vehicles, but the sense is there, especially for nipping to the shops, touring etc.

The other point I was making is that, as in all things, there are many types of motorhome ranging from campervans the size of a large car to RV's which can reach 36 feet in length. If you are fulltiming then my idea is to have as near as possible a house on wheels, and if you see what a 30-36 footer contains you would understand. With a slide out lounge you have a lounge area similar to the one you have at home and it has 3 piece (well actually 2) suite. As you say many motorhomers like to move on daily, and usually stick to the smaller sizes of motorhome. Others use it as a daily vehicle, so again smaller size is important. But living through summer and winter is another matter and to my mind you need the maximum space. Also you will be carrying literally everything you own, and it is amazing what even a prudent fulltimer will collect. So the large RV has basement lockers, similar to those on a coach. You can even lose your wife in there, oops sorry darling. Yes, the petrol ones are gruesome on fuel, unless you fit LPG, but the diesels will do mid teens, and you are not travelling every day in something that size. Just to put some numbers on it, a large caravan has a payload up to about 350 kg. A large RV has a payload of several tonnes.

 

[JandP]

Interesting that you mention coaches Scotch Lad. On a recent visit to New Zealnd we saw many old (usually very old!) coaches that had been converted into motor homes a bit like you used to see old ambulances over here (no disrepect to anyone who drives an old ambulance, I think its a great idea!). We saw one particular example, probably 40 years old, which had all the usual furniture you might find in the average small house and including an 80 year old wood burning stove with chimney. The owners were a British couple who had sold up at home and now spent their days (slowly) touring New Zealand. We had 7 weeks over there and its a beautiful country but if I had to spend all my time there I think I would go crazy. So my point is ? No matter how attractive it may seem make sure you can escape if you want to. Jim.

 

[Guest]

Agreed. Saw similar in Oz as well, however, they rarely moved as they usually had 'roofs' erected over them for shade, and a 'dunny' out the back. Mind you maybe just as well, do you know the fuel consumption of one of these things? 4 mpg is average.

Still, it is nice to drool over a Winnebago for instance.

 

[Steve L]

What realy inerest's me is a total change of life style.

We are contemplating selling up ourselves and going down the warden couple route. That way we will earn for upto 9 months of the year andhave a guaranteed pitch fully funded. Then we can have 28 days on a CC 5 van site (most these days have electric and basic toilet facilities) then a 6 week holiday in the med area for crimbo and back to blighty for another 28 days prior to starting the next 9 month stint.

Sure the cash is low at about 200 to 250 a week each, but we reckon to live for only

 

[Val & Frank]

Hi Steve

I'm sure you could go to see your Dr with your depression. Get yourself on the sick and still have all the time and money you need for caravanning. Tounge in Cheek, I don't know it's amazing how many people do it, just don't tell anyone.

Val & Frank

 

[Rioja]

Hi Steve

I'm sure you could go to see your Dr with your depression. Get yourself on the sick and still have all the time and money you need for caravanning. Tounge in Cheek, I don't know it's amazing how many people do it, just don't tell anyone.

Val & Frank

I feel sick now.

 

[Val & Frank]

Hi Steve

I'm sure you could go to see your Dr with your depression. Get yourself on the sick and still have all the time and money you need for caravanning. Tounge in Cheek, I don't know it's amazing how many people do it, just don't tell anyone.

Val & Frank

It wasn't meant as a personal comment.

Frank

 

[Guest]

Steve,

There has been a thread in the last couple of weeks on the very subject of becoming a warden, you may find some of the comments interesting, if you have not already seen them. There seemed to be more negative, than positive on the idea.

I think we have all wanted to 'sell up and sail away' at some stage, probably several times in life. I know I have. But do think long and very hard on the matter. A lot depends on your age. If you are young enough then you can change plans later on, if you are over 50, then it will be almost impossible to regain what you have given up. As has been mentioned already, try renting out for a year and try the 'gypsy' life before going the whole hog. Also make sure your family are 100% with you on the idea.

 

[Steve L]

Nice idea Frank.

A brother-in-law of mine fleeced the DHSS for a good ten years with the old bad back scam. They didn't even notice that he'd moved from the town to the country to a house with a 800 SQ FT garage. He was valeting cars and preping them for the forecourt of a friend in the car sales trade.

I for one (and I'm not alone on this) have realy got quite fed up of paying the tax man for no real returns. Just look at state pensions for instance.

Probably the negativity from the existing wardens is there to guard their positions. Sure it's a long day and often not pleasant having to slop out the loo's but look at the broader picture of spending your day with people who generally are good natured and at the end of season having a 12 week holiday yourself. Then there's the 9 months of free pitch fees and the free electirc/gas to consider.

I wouldn't expect to get rich on warden work, but being able to save enough money to holiday for 12 weeks and have a savings pot for contingencey seems achievable. A chap I met on the Isle of Wight does just this and can afford to fireup the RV and head to Spain for 10 weeks holiday each year. He was an insurance manager and his partner was a well paid office administrator before taking up warden work. They were fed up ofthe rat race too.

Steve.

 

[Guest]

Steve,

Just remember what you are looking at is Assistant Warden, not Warden, and there is a very big difference both in duties and money. Wardens jobs are very scarce and take a while to get. Also if you get allocated a site to yourself, then there is no time off, until a relief arrives. Talking with one C&CC warden, his relief was 3 weeks late and he was definitely not a happy chappie.

But go do the trial and see what you think. As has also been mentioned a job with ASDA does give 'granny leave' and you are usually inside.

 

[RogerL]

The major danger of property inflation while out the property market has been highlighted.

We met a lady full-timer who sold her luxury bungalow and bought a much cheaper apartment in a university town she liked. The apartment is rented out giving her extra income, after deducting management expenses. She knows she can change her mind at any point and move into her apartment, given six months notice. The difference in price between her luxury bungalow and the apartment is used to fund her touring - UK in summer, Portugal in winter.

Although we spend major parts of the year away, we can't full-time because of family commitments. When, eventually, we are able to, we shall follow the approach of of our lady aquaintance.

I've considered the motorhome solution but could only make that work if we towed a small car on a trailer which seems more expensive than a car and caravan!