The Benefits of Full Timing

We agree fulltiming is a way of life (alternaive way of life). For us it's not a long holiday, may be it is for some, especially if retired.

We have been living in our fifth wheel now since June, been planning it for a couple of years. We rent our house out and at present are in between tennants and this weekend we have been to the house redecorating and getting it ready for new tennants.

Over the weekend, spending time at the house, we got no urge, whatsoever, to go back and live in one, in ours or any other. We have fulltimed previously for 6 years so have great experience. We know what the plus and minus points are and this is the way of life for us. We can't wait for the day when the business is sold so we can get our wheels in motion (more than we do now).

We abide by the law as much as is possible, but until 'the system' can accomodate people living this lifestyle, we will continue to accept grey areas.

It's easier to fulltime in a motorhome if you can be surrounded by your most treasured possessions and sensible everyday equipment. We know of some vans that only have a two burner cooker and no oven. This to us would be OK for a weekend away, but not as a lifestyle, so you need a vehicle that can accommodate the equipment that can make life comfortable and not something you have to put up with for a couple of months, such as making the bed up every night, this is one condition we insisted on with our new fulltiming life.

Once the kids are old enough to make their own lives it doesn't matter where they are or you are, you have wheels. You also have computers with web cams, mobile internet, etc.

Yes it is cold at this time of year, nothing different there then. As in a house, you just make sure you are warm, have sufficient heating for your living space. The previous house we were living in was a cold old place and we used to spend £45.00 per week trying to heat it on oil.

Where we are now, it costs us £49.00 rent per week, this includes our electric. When we get back to our fifth wheel and it's a bit cold, we blast it with the gas central heating and once up to temperature we use the electric for heating. Snug as a bug in a rug we are, especially when we get into bed after the electric blanket has been on. Do we want to change our lifestyle because it is cold? no way. Wait til the summer when we can live outdoors.

There are some downsides like having to fill up the water tanks and empty the toilet, but for us the upsides far outway the downsides.

WE LOVE IT.


Nigel and Pamala
 
Bulletguy said:
Regards the first two on your list i think you need to bear in mind costs of fees to site a m/h anywhere, whether it be for a couple of weeks or four or five months on a site (i know of at least one guy on here who is sited until March end 09). He cannot park up there for free.....it had to be paid for.

Site owners are not a charity....they are running a business, and that business like any other has to make profit or close down. When drawing up their site fees they are going to make sure that the charges not only cover amenities such as electricity, water, and local taxes, but will also return them a profit in order to live.

As for a TV licence, i doubt many bother about it but whats that? £140 a year?

Bad neighbours? I guess i've been fortunate judging from the stories i hear from one or two folk i work with. But they chose to live in areas with a reputation. I bought into a better area which meant higher initial costs, but then i don't have a plasma screen, Sky packages, or an expensive 4x4. Bad neighbours can easily be avoided if you set your priorities right and buy/rent in a decent area.
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Hi while I agree that these (Rates and water rates) will be part of pitch fees they will be very small in comparison to those for a house!

It costs me about £5000 per year for rates, water rates, gas and electricity plus various other costs TV, landline, internet etc, that works out at around £96 a week Nigel and Pamela are paying £49 a week which is roughly half!!!

Regards Pat
 
Have you incuded rent/mortage payments? Some have to pay this on top of the costs you mentioned.

Nigel and Pamala
 
Hi Nigel and Pamela

No I have not included these as in my case rightly or wrongly I struggled but managed to pay off my mortgage early and have not been tempted to tap into the equity of my property.

I don't really believe or like being in debt but unfortunately I nowadays seem to be in the minority! I feel very aggrieved when I hear of government hand outs to anyone, banks etc who have been extremely frivolous with their (and our) money. If people had been less greedy and a lot more careful we would not be in the mess we are now!:Angry::Angry:

Rant over! Sorry for going off thread.

Regards Pat

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We agree entirely. Don't get us started on that one though. It makes you wonder whether we've been doing it wrong all these years.

Nigel and Pamala
 
madbluemad said:
Agreed, thats the way its headed. I'm not a fulltimer and I dont think I ever will be. I would miss my home, children and granchildren too much and all of the memories that are tied up in my head.

That said, I have always been a rover and there is something in me that says "just let me get outa here"

Jim:Smile:
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ScotJimland said:
These are hard ties to break and there is no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't be happy leaving them all behind..

I think there is a 'rover' in all of us, but roving can be a lonely place without loved ones.. you can enjoy roving without going full time..

As I said before, full timing is not about benefits or drawbacks.. it's an ALTERNATIVE lifestyle ... not suited to everyone..

Jim
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When i was touring round East Germany this summer i met up with a couple from Australia who had hired a motorhome to tour Europe, Ireland, Scotland and then back down to Munich which is where they had to return the m/h before flying back to Australia. They were due to leave the next day so we had a few beers and a long chat.

The wife was Australian but he was a born 'n bred Scot from Glasgow now in his late 60's.

He had family but from what i gathered he had split with his previous wife when the children had grown up and simply told his own parents and children, "right.....i've done my bit, i have a life to live and i'm off now".....promptly emigrated out to Australia and never looked back!
 
ruffingitsmoothly said:
Hi while I agree that these (Rates and water rates) will be part of pitch fees they will be very small in comparison to those for a house!

It costs me about £5000 per year for rates, water rates, gas and electricity plus various other costs TV, landline, internet etc, that works out at around £96 a week Nigel and Pamela are paying £49 a week which is roughly half!!!

Regards Pat
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Yes, this is exactly the figures you have to look at when comparing. I'm in process of doing an annual budget myself in order to cross-compare. Utility costs have risen totally disproportionately to income levels over the past few years.

Slighty off topic here, but a guy i work with has been going out to Thailand for the past few years and has a circle of ex-pat Brit friends who now live there. A decent property there can be bought for as little as £25,000 but what many do is rent as the cost averages just £100 a month. Plus of course, living is dirt cheap.
 
ruffingitsmoothly said:
Hi Nigel and Pamela

No I have not included these as in my case rightly or wrongly I struggled but managed to pay off my mortgage early and have not been tempted to tap into the equity of my property.

I don't really believe or like being in debt but unfortunately I nowadays seem to be in the minority! I feel very aggrieved when I hear of government hand outs to anyone, banks etc who have been extremely frivolous with their (and our) money. If people had been less greedy and a lot more careful we would not be in the mess we are now!:Angry::Angry:

Rant over! Sorry for going off thread.

Regards Pat
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Hmmmm.....didn't spot this till just now!

Unfortunately i do still have a mortgage left to pay off but regards your second para, i couldn't agree with you more. I've always been careful with my money and avoided debt like the plague, but often think i'd have been better off living in rented property, hitting the credit cards, and not going to work.

That said.......i'm just off to do a night shift in below freezing temps! :Angry:

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After years and months of deliberation and many years of motorhoming, we sold up and opted out 18 months ago to full time. Not rich by any standards because neither of us is old enough to retire on our state pension BUT, currently on a C & CC winter seasonal pitch which includes water, electricty, showers and toilets etc, rubbish disposal and (paid in June to secure the booking) costing a little over £4/night. Even without a mortgage we couldn't live for that in our bungalow, plus we move around, see different places and enjoy so much.* Not for all I agree, getting rid of a lifetime of detrius ain't easy or for everyone, but suits us nicely and we're very happy. We have to hunt around carefully for cost effective sites to take a rig like us for bank holidays and school holidays, but we certainly love the life.Jan
 
We have given a lot of thought to going full time as against only 8 months a year and the thing that keeps coming back to me is: What will my wife do if I die before here (more than likely) and she has no house to live in?

I just dont like the idea of that.

Doug...
 
Do you need to sell the house, why not rent it out as we have? We sold up in a previous life mainly as we had intended to go a live in the States, but decided to do a trip around Europe for six months first, which turned into six years. It's a long story, we didn't get to live in the States, and when we arrived back in the UK, property prices had risen so much that if that were to happen now, at our age, it would be very difficult to get back into property again, one of the reasons for us not selling up this time. We know property prices are slowly coming down, but by past experience, we believe they will eventually go up again.

If you need some collateral from the house to assist with travel, maybe selling and buying a cheaper property to rent out would be another option.

Nigel and Pamala
 
Jan Pendreigh said:
After years and months of deliberation and many years of motorhoming, we sold up and opted out 18 months ago to full time. Not rich by any standards because neither of us is old enough to retire on our state pension BUT, currently on a C & CC winter seasonal pitch which includes water, electricty, showers and toilets etc, rubbish disposal and (paid in June to secure the booking) costing a little over £4/night. Even without a mortgage we couldn't live for that in our bungalow, plus we move around, see different places and enjoy so much.* Not for all I agree, getting rid of a lifetime of detrius ain't easy or for everyone, but suits us nicely and we're very happy. We have to hunt around carefully for cost effective sites to take a rig like us for bank holidays and school holidays, but we certainly love the life.Jan
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HAPPY DAYS JAN .....:thumb::thumb:
 
sundowner said:
Do you need to sell the house, why not rent it out as we have? We sold up in a previous life mainly as we had intended to go a live in the States, but decided to do a trip around Europe for six months first, which turned into six years. It's a long story, we didn't get to live in the States, and when we arrived back in the UK, property prices had risen so much that if that were to happen now, at our age, it would be very difficult to get back into property again, one of the reasons for us not selling up this time. We know property prices are slowly coming down, but by past experience, we believe they will eventually go up again.

If you need some collateral from the house to assist with travel, maybe selling and buying a cheaper property to rent out would be another option.

Nigel and Pamala
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Hi Nigel and Pam

This is something that June and I have discussed. Its not so much the money (although that would be handy) as knowing that we could return to our own place.

A house is often talked about as being just bricks and morter. Its a lot more to us than that, its over 20 years of happy memories and there is nowhere else that could rekindle that feeling.

I know that we could see the kids and grandkids almost any time and so when retirement comes renting our home will be a consideration.

Cheers Jim :Smile:

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Jan Pendreigh said:
......currently on a C & CC winter seasonal pitch which includes water, electricty, showers and toilets etc, rubbish disposal and (paid in June to secure the booking) costing a little over £4/night.
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If only you could get figures like that year round! :Smile:

Better still if in a warmer climate too!
 
If only you could get figures like that year round!

You can if you look. In reality lots of the sites want to charge more in the winter because of the electricity useage
 
dougcumiskey said:
We done that once and we had the house wrecked, It was so upsetting we decided not to do it again.

Doug...
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Difficult to do but look at the house as a business, brick and mortar are alway the best long term investment.

Trouble is if you don't like full timing you can be left behind financially when trying to re buy.
 
Bulletguy said:
Regards the first two on your list i think you need to bear in mind costs of fees to site a m/h anywhere, whether it be for a couple of weeks or four or five months on a site (i know of at least one guy on here who is sited until March end 09). He cannot park up there for free.....it had to be paid for.

Site owners are not a charity....they are running a business, and that business like any other has to make profit or close down. When drawing up their site fees they are going to make sure that the charges not only cover amenities such as electricity, water, and local taxes, but will also return them a profit in order to live.

As for a TV licence, i doubt many bother about it but whats that? £140 a year?

Bad neighbours? I guess i've been fortunate judging from the stories i hear from one or two folk i work with. But they chose to live in areas with a reputation. I bought into a better area which meant higher initial costs, but then i don't have a plasma screen, Sky packages, or an expensive 4x4. Bad neighbours can easily be avoided if you set your priorities right and buy/rent in a decent area.
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You seem to be under the strange misapprehension that fulltiming means paying to park on sites. I'm in my 4th year on the road and have never paid a penny to park, nor would I ever, autonomy is the greatest benefit of fulltiming :Smile:

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Road Runner said:
Difficult to do but look at the house as a business, brick and mortar are alway the best long term investment.

Trouble is if you don't like full timing you can be left behind financially when trying to re buy.
Click to expand...

Funnily enough we're at just that point.... Rented out for two years and came back to find our lovely home had been used as a maternity hospital for many cats, and their kittens, and their kittens..... Made the decision to sell, based not only on the mess we came back to but also the worry about interest rates rising and us haveing to come home to work to pay the mortgage.

Well, the house is all finished and guess what - we're going to rent again. Maybe not forever, but for now it suits us. Planning to fulltime for a couple of years and review the situation - unlesss the Bank of England has other ideas....

Anyhoo....... having just repaired, replastered and decorated the whole house from top to bottom I can truly say that one of the main pleasures of fulltiming is NONE OF THE ABOVE!
 
Living in motorhome/fifthwheel

Have just resigned up for "Motorhome Fun" and seen several chats on "fulltiming" and "Living in" . My partner and I have spent the past 2 years pondering the pros and cons of selling up and living in a fifth wheel unit in the UK, unlike a lot of people on the forum we have no plans to retire yet (at 35 & 42) but are just looking for an alternative lifestyle. We have been offered the opportunity of siting our 5th wheel on a local farm which would have all the services such as water and electric available. The farm is also run as CL for part of the year and also has fishing lakes so the idea would be that we would help run the CL and be added security on site whilst still holding down jobs in the area. However in my research I have come across several forums elsewhere where people being chucked off of land by the local council because of lack of planning permission. Any advise from anyone who may have come across such a situation would be helpful. I have heard things about 28 day rules for being sited on land and then 11 month rules on others. Sorry not being very clear as tryign to rush this and get out of work - Friday 5pm!!!


Sundowners said:
We agree fulltiming is a way of life (alternaive way of life). For us it's not a long holiday, may be it is for some, especially if retired.

We have been living in our fifth wheel now since June, been planning it for a couple of years. We rent our house out and at present are in between tennants and this weekend we have been to the house redecorating and getting it ready for new tennants.

Over the weekend, spending time at the house, we got no urge, whatsoever, to go back and live in one, in ours or any other. We have fulltimed previously for 6 years so have great experience. We know what the plus and minus points are and this is the way of life for us. We can't wait for the day when the business is sold so we can get our wheels in motion (more than we do now).

We abide by the law as much as is possible, but until 'the system' can accomodate people living this lifestyle, we will continue to accept grey areas.

It's easier to fulltime in a motorhome if you can be surrounded by your most treasured possessions and sensible everyday equipment. We know of some vans that only have a two burner cooker and no oven. This to us would be OK for a weekend away, but not as a lifestyle, so you need a vehicle that can accommodate the equipment that can make life comfortable and not something you have to put up with for a couple of months, such as making the bed up every night, this is one condition we insisted on with our new fulltiming life.

Once the kids are old enough to make their own lives it doesn't matter where they are or you are, you have wheels. You also have computers with web cams, mobile internet, etc.

Yes it is cold at this time of year, nothing different there then. As in a house, you just make sure you are warm, have sufficient heating for your living space. The previous house we were living in was a cold old place and we used to spend £45.00 per week trying to heat it on oil.

Where we are now, it costs us £49.00 rent per week, this includes our electric. When we get back to our fifth wheel and it's a bit cold, we blast it with the gas central heating and once up to temperature we use the electric for heating. Snug as a bug in a rug we are, especially when we get into bed after the electric blanket has been on. Do we want to change our lifestyle because it is cold? no way. Wait til the summer when we can live outdoors.

There are some downsides like having to fill up the water tanks and empty the toilet, but for us the upsides far outway the downsides.

WE LOVE IT.


Nigel and Pamala
Click to expand...
 
I have had my RV sited on a beach site in North Wales for most of the summer at £100 per month,admitedly there is no electric or shower block,but I have a perfectly adequate shower in the RV and solar pannels so no problem there.If I wanted to give up my home it would be a much cheaper way of living I agree,but at the moment I dont.
I prefer to long term in the summer in the UK close to home and then travel to warmer climes in the winter.
If you are paying silly money to live on luxurious campsites I can understand the financial burden of keeping your home on but if your sensible about where you park your MH it is feesable to have the best of both worlds.
 
A CL or maybe CFL is a certified site that can take 5 vans at a time, they must not stay longer than 28 days, so a trip down the road once a month is required, hee hee. If you are managing the cl from a van then only another 4 vans will be allowed on site. I hope that helps.
Basically you need planning permission to live in a van anywhere if you stay in one place.
 
We sort of full time, I am still working, hoping to retire soon, we drive down to London Monday morning park up in my employers car park, they kindly agreed to let us park there, then Friday night we either drive back to our static caravan in Great Bentley or we go somewhere for the weekend, like Savenake Forest in the west, Margate in the east, well anywhere really, to have a flat where we park the van would cost around £700 per month, so its paid for its already paid for its self on that score

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dougcumiskey said:
We have given a lot of thought to going full time as against only 8 months a year and the thing that keeps coming back to me is: What will my wife do if I die before here (more than likely) and she has no house to live in?

I just dont like the idea of that.

Doug...
Click to expand...

Seems quite probable Doug given Sand is under half your age... :Rofl1:

JJ:Wink:
 
Right now the benefits of full timing would be (to me) not having a nervous brakedown doing a job I no longer enjoy or wish to do any more which simply leaves me stressed and unhappy. I am self employed and work in IT but just dont cant hack it anymore. We can afford to full time but my wife just wont do it. Its becoming a major issue and frankly ive had enough.
 
Our advice, change your job until your wife is ready. We have said before, you must both be in for it 100% or it will not work.
 
J&J said:
Have just resigned up for "Motorhome Fun" and seen several chats on "fulltiming" and "Living in" . My partner and I have spent the past 2 years pondering the pros and cons of selling up and living in a fifth wheel unit in the UK, unlike a lot of people on the forum we have no plans to retire yet (at 35 & 42) but are just looking for an alternative lifestyle. We have been offered the opportunity of siting our 5th wheel on a local farm which would have all the services such as water and electric available. The farm is also run as CL for part of the year and also has fishing lakes so the idea would be that we would help run the CL and be added security on site whilst still holding down jobs in the area. However in my research I have come across several forums elsewhere where people being chucked off of land by the local council because of lack of planning permission. Any advise from anyone who may have come across such a situation would be helpful. I have heard things about 28 day rules for being sited on land and then 11 month rules on others. Sorry not being very clear as tryign to rush this and get out of work - Friday 5pm!!!
Click to expand...


The 11 month or other limit is set in the planning permission given to a caravan site. This requires the site to close, for human habitation, for a set period each year. It can be anything from end Sept to Easter, as one site I know, to the closure for 1 month. If you live in a carvan on site for 12 months then Council Tax is chargable.

The 28 day rule is in The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. This allows a landowner to site 1 caravan on his land for human habitation for a maximum of 28 days in any one calender year without needing planning permission or a site licence. If the holding is greater than 5 acres the rule is slightly different.

It is the local planning dept that enforce this and some are more proactive than others. It is the landowner that is responsible not the occupier of the caravan.

CLs allow up to 5 MEMBERS caravans to stay on a site for periods to a maximum of 28 days. These are exempted, from needing formal planning permission or a site licence, by a certificate issued by a properly consituted club to the landowner under paragraph 5 of part 2 the. 1960 Act The Act state that they are "primarily for use of members of the club" issuing the exemption certificate.

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