Fulltiming in a motorhome - a blog
Discussion
The site we spent December on was mainly full timers. We were paying £15 a night and the owners said they do lower prices for longer stays. I expect on the right kind of site you could be getting under £70 a week, especially if you're not there the whole time.
There's a couple of Charismas on the site were at in Spain this week. They do look lovely, although I prefer the older ones like yours, then new ones have a bit of a mobile library look to them with the enormous windscreen and silly smiley grille. One seems to be on a iveco chassis. An odd choice when the mb is so much better in all the ways you'd think would matter to someone buying a new Concorde.
Seconded on the Dyson. We have an older handheld and I don't know how we'd manage without it, even with all hard floors.
Our other must have is a Bluetooth speaker. We have a little anker one that was about twenty quid. Sits wherever we are and the battery lasts forever. Sounds nice and doesn't project outside the van like the built in speakers do, and doesn't use any hab battery.
There's a couple of Charismas on the site were at in Spain this week. They do look lovely, although I prefer the older ones like yours, then new ones have a bit of a mobile library look to them with the enormous windscreen and silly smiley grille. One seems to be on a iveco chassis. An odd choice when the mb is so much better in all the ways you'd think would matter to someone buying a new Concorde.
Seconded on the Dyson. We have an older handheld and I don't know how we'd manage without it, even with all hard floors.
Our other must have is a Bluetooth speaker. We have a little anker one that was about twenty quid. Sits wherever we are and the battery lasts forever. Sounds nice and doesn't project outside the van like the built in speakers do, and doesn't use any hab battery.
Have to say Spuff the van looks properly bang tidy. Don’t know what you’re on about sprucing up the outside, it looks pretty good in the pics as it is. Always look forward to updates with this thread, best of luck with 2018 and hope you get to make your new start sooner rather than painfully later.
Hi Spuff,
Been a good few years since I worked in SW.
But if you go down Bowsers Lane, past Villiers (which used to be Tiny Costin's HGV workshop) there is a little farm and cottages that used to do caravan and motorhome storage and pitches at a knockdown rate.
We kept our caravan there.
They might be able to help you out.
Been a good few years since I worked in SW.
But if you go down Bowsers Lane, past Villiers (which used to be Tiny Costin's HGV workshop) there is a little farm and cottages that used to do caravan and motorhome storage and pitches at a knockdown rate.
We kept our caravan there.
They might be able to help you out.
Firstly, thanks again for all the compliments and support. Also very humbled at the idea that so many people are following the thread and supporting me on the way. Glad it's interesting for folk.
Touching on a few of the comments and apologies not to have spent more time quoting individuals replies, but here we go and I do value everyone's input.....
Hatches - yes, Concorde do this extremely well. The reason for a lot of them is so that you can get to the services and important parts without clambering under or taking up furniture or flooring. Most of the hatches on the nearside side are for the services. There's a locker to access the boiler, presumably actually to be able to service it as well as isolate and there's a valve for emptying the boiler itself. There's a gas locker and also access to the external gas tank below it. There's another locker for various water pipes and valve for emptying the grey tank and then on both sides at the front, there's lockers to access the winding mechanism and electric motor which lifts the cab floor to bring the cab seats to the same height as the main living area. Midships is a "ski locker" which runs the width of the van underfloor but is the full height of the floor to the base of sofa on the offside so that you can store either tall things or access from inside (which is where I keep the vac), and on the offside is the toilet hatch, some space under the shower tray for Service access and storage (where I keep toilet & grey waste tank chemicals) and then obviously the garage, which is accessible from both sides (offside is a larger door than the nearside). The other positive point from having all the services inboard is for winterizing - the valves are kept warm by the Alde heating systems as well as being insulated by the floor space and incredibly solid weather proofing (the hatches have double weather seals on them). The garage, for example, is very warm when the heating is on and a great place for hanging wet clothes and drying them, which I plan to test on a ski holiday in due course. One of the items on my shopping list is a Fiamma clothes rail to affix to the ceiling in the garage for hanging clothes properly rather than draping over bikes etc.
@Bikesalot - thank you so much for the kind offer of the mounting plate. I'll PM you.
As regards the Farmhouse - the plot is about 0.5acre and although the van fits perfectly at the bottom of the garden, it is a bit of an eyesore and I can't imagine anyone wanting to look out on it. Plus there would be a devaluation of the plot by reducing its size so I won't be retaining any land. I'm considering asking the farmer whether he has space in any of his barns for me to store it or nearby where I could keep it and stay when visiting my daughter - hopefully at mates rates.
@agent006 - thanks for the info on pricing. I'll check out what's around locally and see what I can sort out if the farm option doesn't work.
In terms of the exterior, thanks for all the compliments. She does look great when clean - some decent automotive shampoo (I use Chemical Guys Extra Gloss wax & wax) does do a good job, but I'm conscious she's had some pretty shoddy washing over the years and UV has damaged the paintwork too, so she needs a very light buff with some gentle polish and then a seal with some decent wax to minimize further weathering. The new wheeltrims definitely lift her and make her look well cared for, as with the Megs Extreme Tyre Gel too.
Once again, thanks for all the support. It really means a lot and I'll be happy to keep the thread going as lots will be happening over the next few months as the new constellation of living, property sale, divorce etc. goes through.
Touching on a few of the comments and apologies not to have spent more time quoting individuals replies, but here we go and I do value everyone's input.....
Hatches - yes, Concorde do this extremely well. The reason for a lot of them is so that you can get to the services and important parts without clambering under or taking up furniture or flooring. Most of the hatches on the nearside side are for the services. There's a locker to access the boiler, presumably actually to be able to service it as well as isolate and there's a valve for emptying the boiler itself. There's a gas locker and also access to the external gas tank below it. There's another locker for various water pipes and valve for emptying the grey tank and then on both sides at the front, there's lockers to access the winding mechanism and electric motor which lifts the cab floor to bring the cab seats to the same height as the main living area. Midships is a "ski locker" which runs the width of the van underfloor but is the full height of the floor to the base of sofa on the offside so that you can store either tall things or access from inside (which is where I keep the vac), and on the offside is the toilet hatch, some space under the shower tray for Service access and storage (where I keep toilet & grey waste tank chemicals) and then obviously the garage, which is accessible from both sides (offside is a larger door than the nearside). The other positive point from having all the services inboard is for winterizing - the valves are kept warm by the Alde heating systems as well as being insulated by the floor space and incredibly solid weather proofing (the hatches have double weather seals on them). The garage, for example, is very warm when the heating is on and a great place for hanging wet clothes and drying them, which I plan to test on a ski holiday in due course. One of the items on my shopping list is a Fiamma clothes rail to affix to the ceiling in the garage for hanging clothes properly rather than draping over bikes etc.
@Bikesalot - thank you so much for the kind offer of the mounting plate. I'll PM you.
As regards the Farmhouse - the plot is about 0.5acre and although the van fits perfectly at the bottom of the garden, it is a bit of an eyesore and I can't imagine anyone wanting to look out on it. Plus there would be a devaluation of the plot by reducing its size so I won't be retaining any land. I'm considering asking the farmer whether he has space in any of his barns for me to store it or nearby where I could keep it and stay when visiting my daughter - hopefully at mates rates.
@agent006 - thanks for the info on pricing. I'll check out what's around locally and see what I can sort out if the farm option doesn't work.
In terms of the exterior, thanks for all the compliments. She does look great when clean - some decent automotive shampoo (I use Chemical Guys Extra Gloss wax & wax) does do a good job, but I'm conscious she's had some pretty shoddy washing over the years and UV has damaged the paintwork too, so she needs a very light buff with some gentle polish and then a seal with some decent wax to minimize further weathering. The new wheeltrims definitely lift her and make her look well cared for, as with the Megs Extreme Tyre Gel too.
Once again, thanks for all the support. It really means a lot and I'll be happy to keep the thread going as lots will be happening over the next few months as the new constellation of living, property sale, divorce etc. goes through.
Nothing massive to update upon, other than the fact I spent last weekend at Rutland Water (well, the Caravan & Motorhome site near Greetham). I stayed there last a couple of years ago (nearly 3 now) after getting Harry and met with my Uncle and Aunt. It is a nice site, which is kiddy and dog friendly and although it looks isolated, it's only a 10min walk to the pretty village of Greetham where there are a couple of really nice pubs for food.
Reason for this trip was two-fold. I'd just come back from 10 days away in Germany and little one had missed me something chronic (and me, her too), so nice to get some real Daddy Daughter time - fresh air, outdoors and "on Holiday". Second reason was that my Uncle had just taken delivery of his new motorhome. A Morelo Loft - Morelo are a very small producer of luxury motorhomes - set up by a few former Concorde employees (Concorde normally considered top of the tree) who strive to build motorhomes better than even Concorde. The result is nothing short of stunning! My Uncle picked up the van from the dealer in Doncaster and around W Yorks before meeting us on Saturday.
Briefly - it's based on an Iveco 7.5t Chassis with air suspension all round. The engine is a 4-cylinder 2.0 litre diesel with 205bhp and mated to the latest 8-spd ZF auto gearbox. He had hydraulic levelling rams fitted. Dry it weighs around 5t. Has capacity for 150l diesel, 500litres of fresh water, 500litres of grey water and has a 200litre black waste tank for the ceramic toilet! Battery power is seen to by 2 x 235aH batteries!!!!!!!!!
By comparison, I have 2 x 110aH batteries in Carrie, which is big enough. The Morelo is 8.4m long (0.5m shorter than Carrie), 2.4m wide (same as Carrie) and 3.5m tall (0.20 taller than Carrie). All up, 1.5t heavier. And my what a machine - stunningly beautiful inside - Nespresso machine, sumptuous leather seats, fully bespoke cockpit with removable steering wheel to swivel seats easily, two-Zone heating & aircon for living room and bedroom, massive shower cubicle, heated towel rails - you name it, it's got it. Mind you - for 267k quid, it bloody well should do!!!
As you can imagine, the pair of us made for quite a spectacle on site. Carrie only just fitted on the plot. But both provided super homes for the Weekend and I was really pelased that although she felt old-fashioned in comparison, build-Quality and space wise - Carrie still felt every bit the part. In terms of value for money, she won it hands down. In terms of pure motorhome porn - the Morelo wiped the floor with Carrie!!!
Reason for this trip was two-fold. I'd just come back from 10 days away in Germany and little one had missed me something chronic (and me, her too), so nice to get some real Daddy Daughter time - fresh air, outdoors and "on Holiday". Second reason was that my Uncle had just taken delivery of his new motorhome. A Morelo Loft - Morelo are a very small producer of luxury motorhomes - set up by a few former Concorde employees (Concorde normally considered top of the tree) who strive to build motorhomes better than even Concorde. The result is nothing short of stunning! My Uncle picked up the van from the dealer in Doncaster and around W Yorks before meeting us on Saturday.
Briefly - it's based on an Iveco 7.5t Chassis with air suspension all round. The engine is a 4-cylinder 2.0 litre diesel with 205bhp and mated to the latest 8-spd ZF auto gearbox. He had hydraulic levelling rams fitted. Dry it weighs around 5t. Has capacity for 150l diesel, 500litres of fresh water, 500litres of grey water and has a 200litre black waste tank for the ceramic toilet! Battery power is seen to by 2 x 235aH batteries!!!!!!!!!
By comparison, I have 2 x 110aH batteries in Carrie, which is big enough. The Morelo is 8.4m long (0.5m shorter than Carrie), 2.4m wide (same as Carrie) and 3.5m tall (0.20 taller than Carrie). All up, 1.5t heavier. And my what a machine - stunningly beautiful inside - Nespresso machine, sumptuous leather seats, fully bespoke cockpit with removable steering wheel to swivel seats easily, two-Zone heating & aircon for living room and bedroom, massive shower cubicle, heated towel rails - you name it, it's got it. Mind you - for 267k quid, it bloody well should do!!!As you can imagine, the pair of us made for quite a spectacle on site. Carrie only just fitted on the plot. But both provided super homes for the Weekend and I was really pelased that although she felt old-fashioned in comparison, build-Quality and space wise - Carrie still felt every bit the part. In terms of value for money, she won it hands down. In terms of pure motorhome porn - the Morelo wiped the floor with Carrie!!!
Morello & Vario- mobil are my two favourite motorhome manufacturere
After we had the-original 12 mtr Neischmann- Bischoff before Hymer bought them out and then we sold & changed to The 9mtr Carthago after which we bought Carthagos again we did look at having a Vario-Mobil built and then Morelo came on the scene, lovely vehicles.
All great fun & comfort.
After we had the-original 12 mtr Neischmann- Bischoff before Hymer bought them out and then we sold & changed to The 9mtr Carthago after which we bought Carthagos again we did look at having a Vario-Mobil built and then Morelo came on the scene, lovely vehicles.
All great fun & comfort.
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