Hello, I've landed a remote job and I don't need to work from home

[Uumode]

Currently contemplating hitting the road for most of the year and if I spend £80k on a space and storage compromised transit sized pop top camper van with toilet and shower. Discrete, looking like a van, is very mobile - under 2m high and around 5.3m long so can enter car parks, use car spaces and get to city centres, and MPG will be similar to a petrol car.

Or a motorhome just under 3m high, about 6.5m long so can't enter car parks but obviously more space and cheaper £65k with a lot more facilities, oven, garage, larger tank capacities, solar panel etc. But due to size and the fact it looks like a campervan complete with those decorative speed swish lines, will probably be limited to camping sites.

At the moment leaning towards the motorhome, since it's much better value for money with the extra storage and space, and the campervan may not serve as a 'home'. So in research mode, and trawling through the numerous archive of posts at motorhomefun.

One thing I have noticed for both, because of the pandemic and more people having the same idea as I with a move to 'van life', it's pushed up the price of vehicles.

 

[Phill D]

Hi and welcome

 

[David and Sally]

 

[CazPaul]

For living/working in it like you will be most if the time it has to be the Motorhome for me. Space, storage, room are important

 

[AndyPK]

Welcome from Ciren!

A Motorhome will be more comfortable in the long term…….

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[Guigsy]

We used to have a 5.4m van. On a couple of occasions we left for holiday on a Thursday night to get to the campsite late. She took the Friday off and I worked on the laptop on a table in the van for the day. Sitting at a semi dinette table for 8 hours was possible, but it was a killer on my back and bum.

We swapped our 5.4m van for a 6m motorhome. Much of the justification was that we can now both work remotely. The new moho is only 6m, but it's got a massive lounge with a large fixed table. It makes it possible for the two of us to work from laptops. It's far more comfortable than the van was. Ergonomics are not as good as my office chair at home, but who gets to work in the woods or seaside?

 

[Nanniemate]

When I work from mine I turn the swivel seats and use the drop down table or I sit in the lounge if the view is better .working outside I find only works if your away from people as stopping for a chat is too much of a distraction. You have to shut the door and be very focused .Good luck have a good look around at the panel vans avaliable to you. I think poptops could be cold in winter. But that is just a thought and I really would not know as I have no experience of one. You need space to stand up and stretch your legs in nothing else .enjoy if you can make it work it makes many people

 

[ManTheVan]

A MH would be much better insulated than a pop-top, more space, more storage. Nothing against PVCs but the pop-top is a different matter. They’re not at all happy in a storm, either.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[Littlewheels]

One thing I have noticed for both, because of the pandemic and more people having the same idea as I with a move to 'van life', it's pushed up the price of vehicles.

Many are including someone very close to me. l would just point out that “Van Life” is very different to Motorhome life or Campervan life.
If you search Vanlife on YouTube the difference is very obvious.
Good luck with your venture.

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[Uumode]

Thanks all.

main concerns and things I'm researching on the interweb, not expecting it to be answered here as I'm researching, just sharing what's on my mind.
- finding a location/facility for regular toilet cassette contents disposal every 2 days, or buying like 3 cassettes and storing in MH garage to extend intervals
- on board laundry, and clothes drying (assuming I can't pull up and park in the laundromat parking bay with a motorhome)
- acquiring fresh water supplies when not on a campsite - at fuel stations/buy bulk containers of water?
- having enough stored power (how long does power typically last without being hooked up, 2 to 3 days? with 1 solar panel)
- strong network signals in remote locations for video conferencing, probably needs signal amplification
- parking for MH in general, as in recent times I think councils have a dim view of traveller vehicles and have installed anti parking measures in open spaces for large vehicles, at least in my location. During my normal travels in a car, I don't think I've noticed a motorhome parked on the side of a road, but seen a few drive into supermarkets that don't have height barriers.

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

 

[Guigsy]

Thanks all.

main concerns and things I'm researching on the interweb, not expecting it to be answered here as I'm researching, just sharing what's on my mind.
- finding a location/facility for regular toilet cassette contents disposal every 2 days, or buying like 3 cassettes and storing in MH garage to extend intervals
- on board laundry, and clothes drying (assuming I can't pull up and park in the laundromat parking bay with a motorhome)
- acquiring fresh water supplies when not on a campsite - at fuel stations/buy bulk containers of water?
- having enough stored power (how long does power typically last without being hooked up, 2 to 3 days? with 1 solar panel)
- strong network signals in remote locations for video conferencing, probably needs signal amplification
- parking for MH in general, as in recent times I think councils have a dim view of traveller vehicles and have installed anti parking measures in open spaces for large vehicles, at least in my location. During my normal travels in a car, I don't think I've noticed a motorhome parked on the side of a road, but seen a few drive into supermarkets that don't have height barriers.

A lot of that stuff is easier in the summer than the winter. We went touring for 6 months in 2019. Summer cloths are less bulky, so it was easy to keep a week of washing for 2 in a 5.4m van and find a laundrette or a campsite with washing facilities one a week. We just hung the wet washing off the canopy. Didn't look classy, but it kept us going.

We used bottled water to drink. Showered every other day, ship-shower style (rinse, soap and wash hair with the shower off, rinse). We could go 4-5 days between grey water dumps, which was our smaller tank.

In the summer, 200w of solar can power most stuff. Most electronics are pretty low power these days.

For networking, in the panel van I had a Poynting antenna mounted on the roof to a 4G router. It gave me a pretty solid signal in most places that weren't the middle of nowhere. In my new motorhome, I've not bothered with an external antenna yet as the signal escapes better than the van's metal box. But I might change my mind at some point.

 

[ambulancekidd]

 

[jollyrodger]

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[Uumode]

A lot of that stuff is easier in the summer than the winter. We went touring for 6 months in 2019. Summer cloths are less bulky, so it was easy to keep a week of washing for 2 in a 5.4m van and find a laundrette or a campsite with washing facilities one a week. We just hung the wet washing off the canopy. Didn't look classy, but it kept us going.

We used bottled water to drink. Showered every other day, ship-shower style (rinse, soap and wash hair with the shower off, rinse). We could go 4-5 days between grey water dumps, which was our smaller tank.

In the summer, 200w of solar can power most stuff. Most electronics are pretty low power these days.

For networking, in the panel van I had a Poynting antenna mounted on the roof to a 4G router. It gave me a pretty solid signal in most places that weren't the middle of nowhere. In my new motorhome, I've not bothered with an external antenna yet as the signal escapes better than the van's metal box. But I might change my mind at some point.

Some really good tips there. Thanks.

The dream is I might retire in 5 years, and transition from mobile remote working to leisurely making my way across very slowly to end up in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea... - that's thousands and thousands of miles of land travel, but haven't got to the piece of research of how to get across the waters!

 

[Wack]

The one problem I found with a longer motorhome is finding places to park it if you want to go off site , the cotswolds was a nightmare , a few times we drove around for 30 minutes looking before giving up

So with a longer van you might want to consider a tow car

 

[TOT]

The more space you have the more you have to heat on cold nights and try to cool on hot nights.... if only a few in the UK.

Sods law if you go small you may find yourself migrating to larger ... or visa versa.

There is no wrong or right.... though takes a lot of guts to put up a pop top in a town centre car park at night.......

 

[Nanniemate]

Washing, leisure centres have showers so do all motorway services, as for toilet use it as little as possible, supermarkets ,mcd's and public loos to save your cassette.

 

[Guigsy]

It's far easier in most of Europe than the UK. Here in Blighty they want motorhomes to sit at campsites, which tend to be in the middle of nowhere. People living in motorhomes elsewhere are eyed with suspicion.

In Europe, there's lots more tolerance of parking your van in a car park and staying overnight, as long as you don't 'camp' (meaning get out your chairs and BBQ). There are lots of places to dump and refill. We stayed in dozens of urban 'aires'. You're crammed in like sardines on a patch of tarmac, but when you can walk down the road to the city centre to grab food and coffee, it's brilliant.

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[Tonks]

Welcome!
I love my campervan and I frequently work in it, but if I were planning to be on the road for most of the time I'd DEFINITELY go for the bigger option. Quite apart from the ergonomics of comfortable working, if I was spending most of my time living in my van I'd want a high top. It limits access to some places, but the wins in terms of greater comfort in day to day use would take priority.
All the best with your decision.

 

[Guigsy]

Welcome!
I love my campervan and I frequently work in it, but if I were planning to be on the road for most of the time I'd DEFINITELY go for the bigger option. Quite apart from the ergonomics of comfortable working, if I was spending most of my time living in my van I'd want a high top. It limits access to some places, but the wins in terms of greater comfort in day to day use would take priority.
All the best with your decision.

Agreed. Having actually tried to work on a laptop for a solid day in our old van and the new motorhome, a bit of space makes a massive difference. In our 6m a-class, I can get up and stretch and move about a bit. I've also got a choice of seating positions for when I get aches, or just because the sun is preventing me reading the screen... which is a big issue in a van with glass on several sides.

I think if you were to genuinely try doing laptop based remote work from a motorhome for extended periods, you'd probably spend a fair amount of your time in coffee shops.