Selling up, planning to full-time (1 Viewer)

MoKa

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Hi

We are a pair of potters, in the process of selling up so we can ditch the mortgage and live a simpler life. We've down-sized our life in the last few years, jumping out of the rat race to a degree, but still live in our too-big 3-Bed cottage in rural Stirlingshire.

We had been looking at buying a flat near our pottery with the equity in the house , but have now returned to plans we started making 5 years ago and are giving serious thought to full-timing in a motor home. This would give us the freedom to travel in the UK to ceramics fairs (there's only 1 in the whole of Scotland annually) and also not have to worry about house/cat-sitting while we are away. Also, with no mortgage, rent or council tax, we could easily leave the part-time bill-paying job behind and concentrate on the pottery full time. We're not afraid of wildcamping so can save a bit by not shelling out for site fees too much (except maybe laundry days).

We have a tiny camper (really a converted people carrier) that is clearly no use for full timing so we will be looking for info on decent motorhomes and setting up for full self containment in power etc.

Looking forward to getting to know some of you and benefiting from your hard-earned experience in motorhome living.

Kath & Mo
 

Jim

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We have plenty of full timers here. It certainly can be much cheaper to live in a van than in a house, but that does depend a few things, like the van, the mileage and the type of sites you use. If your honest with your insurers , and you should be, your insurance will go up somewhat too. But the freedom you'll enjoy will outweigh most things. Exciting times, keep us posted and welcome to the fun (y)

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Kool Kroozer

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Welcome and good luck - its the life i often dream of, something i personally would do tomorrow but Mrs KK likes her home too much - as long as your both committed to the cause it should be a great life - all the best (y)
 

Carol

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Hello Welcome to fun, many Full Timers out there enjoying their freedom, just wondering where you would do your pottering or would you still keep the base for that but live and travel to fairs in the motorhome :welcomesign:

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Jan 10, 2013
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welcome animated smiley.gif
 

Shrimp

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It is a fantastic way of life, does have its downsides-everything does.
Most of my hobbies have been ousted-'cos of space, and not sure where you're going to keep the clay or put the kiln!
Have fun tho.
 

DBK

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Welcome, it sounds as if your pottery is a separate building you own/rent, if so this can be useful as an address for correspondence. You can full time without a permanent address but it makes it easier if you have one. Alternatively, there are companies which offer you an address for a small fee, it was described on here somewhere last year I think.

You are fine wilding in most of Scotland but it gets more difficult in England, especially, as it sounds like, you are planning on buying a bigger MH. But it can be done.

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Hollyberry

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Take your time choosing the right motorhome for you. You'll need good storage but need to watch the weight you'll be carrying.
Do you want to build a bed every night? Fixed bed takes up floor space but does save effort in the evenings.
You do have to consider that you'll be giving up your foothold on the property ladder. If you can at all downsize and rent out a property you will always have that to go back to if things change in the future.
 
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MoKa

MoKa

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Thanks for all your lovely replies. We have a very generous 1660 sq ft workshop and showroom for the pottery, and it will have a very nice 'staff area' once we move some of our furniture in from home ;)

We plan to fit a hook up point at the back door so we can live in comfort those times when we work late at the studio and don't want to drive away to find a spot to camp. We can probably get away with that a few nights in the week, but don't think we could stay there permanently. There are some great wilding spots nearby though, so still a short commute, and three fully serviced campsites within a 5 mile radius of the pottery.

We will mostly be based around the area of the workshop but once we're settled in the van who knows where we could end up! We do a lot of hand building and flat decorative carved pieces so if we were travelling for a show we could still be making on the road, we'd just have to set up some 'work-in-progress' storage with good padding as dry unfired clay is very delicate! We could also bring some first-fired pieces for intricate design decoration, but we'd leave the firing till we were back at base.

We are definitely looking for a fixed bed, and an over-cab bed as guest accommodation, which in reality will be the cats' bedroom :LOL:

We've already looked at a lot of vans online, and have slightly fallen in love with a (relatively short 26ft) RV with pop-outs! Very luxurious space-wise but left hand drive, over 10 years old and based on what I've read here, insurance could be tricky so we will keep looking.

We do know that we'd be jumping off the property ladder, but over the last few years our whole outlook on life has changed massively, and we learned the hard way that health and happiness are far more important than possessions. We now do what we love, and love what we do, and are so much happier. Being a mortgage slave is one of the last few aspects of our old life we want to ditch. We don't have offspring to inherit a house, so really we only have to consider how we want to live our lives, for us. This move will leave us mortgage and debt free, with a low-running-cost home and a chunk of change in the bank (not to mention financing a nice new big kiln to allow business expansion).

Wow... What a lengthy post this turned out to be! :talking: Sometimes there's just no shutting me up! I see a van-blog in my future :active:

Really excited to be making our plans, and learning loads on here. What a great community you all are!

K
 

vwalan

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convert a truck. .use a 7.5ton with a nice box . possibly easier to wild in as well. small windows and look a bit business like blends in on ind estates etc . 20ft box or even an 18ft box can give all you need .
bed over garage, shower ,sink unit cooker then dinette area roof cupboards loads of space . .
plus you dont have to spend a fortune.

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MoKa

MoKa

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convert a truck. .use a 7.5ton with a nice box .
We did consider self build but after researching, we agreed that for now, a more conventional home would be our best bet, and if we want to self build at later date, we'll have lots more ideas of what we want/need in our van.
 

SMB

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Welcome! I've been full-timing for over three years now, still loving it. In fact, it gets better all the time! I have a 27 foot MH with rear lounge and overhead cab, I do get jealous of those large garages but wanted living space. It's great that you have your pottery and the freedom to travel, enjoy (y)
 
Oct 29, 2008
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Welcome to the fun.
We are selling our van, it may be of interest to you. If you are fulltiming in a van it needs to be of a good build quality. Some vans are very poor quality and are ok for a couple of weeks use a year but would not cope with full timing. Frankia vans are vey good build quality.

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MoKa

MoKa

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Jun 22, 2016
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Welcome to the fun.
We are selling our van, it may be of interest to you. If you are fulltiming in a van it needs to be of a good build quality. Some vans are very poor quality and are ok for a couple of weeks use a year but would not cope with full timing. Frankia vans are vey good build quality.
Thanks for the look at your van. We are currently researching vans, starting with our preferred layout, then looking at what's available in our price range, and then checking out lots of reviews (official and - more importantly - user-based).

We can't make a purchase until we have the equity from our house sale, and no offersyet, so we have plenty of time to look.
 
Oct 29, 2008
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Thanks for the look at your van. We are currently researching vans, starting with our preferred layout, then looking at what's available in our price range, and then checking out lots of reviews (official and - more importantly - user-based).

We can't make a purchase until we have the equity from our house sale, and no offersyet, so we have plenty of time to look.
Im not in a hurry to sell and I would rather change van at the end of the season. Inh fact looking around Im struggling to decide on a replacement. I think Ive found one then decide its not for us.

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MoKa

MoKa

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Jun 22, 2016
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Im not in a hurry to sell and I would rather change van at the end of the season. Inh fact looking around Im struggling to decide on a replacement. I think Ive found one then decide its not for us.
I know the feeling. I have looked at so many vans already, they're all starting to blur into each other! I've started a spreadsheet comparison, so we can remember what models we saw that we liked.
 
Oct 29, 2008
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The trouble is I know too much! I see a van at £60 and see a cheap nasty handle made of plastic on the loo door and it puts me off.
Anyhow, if you are passing Leeds on the A1 or M1 we are easy to get to if you want a no obligation viewing.
 
Oct 29, 2008
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The trouble is I know too much! I see a van at £60K and see a cheap nasty handle made of plastic on the loo door and it puts me off.
Anyhow, if you are passing Leeds on the A1 or M1 we are easy to get to if you want a no obligation viewing.

Not £60 lol

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