Hi all, its been a while since I've been around, but back now with the ludicrous idea of full-timing 
The Missus (Claira) and I have had motorhomes or campers for the last 10 years, 4 years ago I built our current van. Since then we have gotten away whenever we can.
I work online from home (e commerce) and built a couple of internet solutions into the van so I could work from the beach at times (have to love living in Cornwall). This has served us well for a couple of nights at a time whenever Claira has time off work, plus the odd week away.
Our plan was to get the business where it needed to be to give us a nice lifestyle, then save up to buy a house (we rent). That time is getting closer.
The thing is, I've realised I really don't want to buy a house. In fact the idea of working so hard just to be stuck in a house we own for years was really getting me down. For me a house isn't just where I relax, it's where I work as well. This has been fine whilst building the company, but doing the same for the next 20 years? Okay, Claira will no longer need her job soon, so we won't have to plan around that and could get away more often. Hardly living the dream though.
A few months ago I started dreaming about full-timing. I found myself floating around online motorhome dealers late at night and finding solutions to working from remote locations. I started looking at all of the places in the UK we hadn't been too, and imagined finishing work just in time for us to get out with the cameras (both into photography) to capture the sunset. I imagined the freedom of staying in an area for just long enough before moving on. That's a life.
Then last week, after quite a bit of wine, I suggested my idea to Claira. I just blurted it out "darling, how about instead of buying a house we buy a bigger van and live in it". There was a silent pause (she must have been breathing in ) and I prepared myself for my pipe dream to be crushed. Instead of a flat "no you fool", she asked how it would work, so I talked through some of my ideas. I finished with "It's just an idea hun for the future. Just give it some thought over the next few months".
By the next day she liked the idea. A few days later she loved the idea. Now she is spending more time online researching full-timing than me. It turns out she hates the idea of buying a house as well
So we are starting to form a plan. A plan that will cost a fortune and leave us homeless.
Our initial idea is to buy a new (or nearly new) A-Class. Something along the lines of a Hymer B534. We had a Pilote A-Class some years ago that had a similar layout and both loved it. We figure a new van should be more reliable, plus it will have a warranty. We like the Hymer as it's designed for two, has a rear lounge and a door that closes the bed/bathroom from the kitchen/lounge. It has plenty of room for the dog and is only 7m.
Then comes my work. I need a reliable internet service. Of course this will be easy when on most sites, but we have always liked wildcamping and would like the option to do this when we please. 4g and WiFi have served us well most of the time in our current van, but not always. I'm thinking satellite broadband could be the answer?
To power the van off grid I'm thinking lithium batteries of some description. Not sure which option yet, does anyone here use a lithium solution?
Also thinking about a couple of electric mountain bikes to get where a big A-Class can't - again a subject I know little about so could do with some help.
The plan at the moment is to buy a van next year, fit it out with what we need, then try it out for a few months before we let the house go. I'm sure there are 100's of things we haven't thought of yet.
I'd really appreciate any help on the subjects mentioned above, or anything else full-timing related. I'd especially appreciate advice from anyone working online from their van as this bit has to run smoothly.
Thanks for reading and it's nice to be back
David
The Missus (Claira) and I have had motorhomes or campers for the last 10 years, 4 years ago I built our current van. Since then we have gotten away whenever we can.
I work online from home (e commerce) and built a couple of internet solutions into the van so I could work from the beach at times (have to love living in Cornwall). This has served us well for a couple of nights at a time whenever Claira has time off work, plus the odd week away.
Our plan was to get the business where it needed to be to give us a nice lifestyle, then save up to buy a house (we rent). That time is getting closer.
The thing is, I've realised I really don't want to buy a house. In fact the idea of working so hard just to be stuck in a house we own for years was really getting me down. For me a house isn't just where I relax, it's where I work as well. This has been fine whilst building the company, but doing the same for the next 20 years? Okay, Claira will no longer need her job soon, so we won't have to plan around that and could get away more often. Hardly living the dream though.
A few months ago I started dreaming about full-timing. I found myself floating around online motorhome dealers late at night and finding solutions to working from remote locations. I started looking at all of the places in the UK we hadn't been too, and imagined finishing work just in time for us to get out with the cameras (both into photography) to capture the sunset. I imagined the freedom of staying in an area for just long enough before moving on. That's a life.
Then last week, after quite a bit of wine, I suggested my idea to Claira. I just blurted it out "darling, how about instead of buying a house we buy a bigger van and live in it". There was a silent pause (she must have been breathing in
) and I prepared myself for my pipe dream to be crushed. Instead of a flat "no you fool", she asked how it would work, so I talked through some of my ideas. I finished with "It's just an idea hun for the future. Just give it some thought over the next few months".By the next day she liked the idea. A few days later she loved the idea. Now she is spending more time online researching full-timing than me. It turns out she hates the idea of buying a house as well
So we are starting to form a plan. A plan that will cost a fortune and leave us homeless.
Our initial idea is to buy a new (or nearly new) A-Class. Something along the lines of a Hymer B534. We had a Pilote A-Class some years ago that had a similar layout and both loved it. We figure a new van should be more reliable, plus it will have a warranty. We like the Hymer as it's designed for two, has a rear lounge and a door that closes the bed/bathroom from the kitchen/lounge. It has plenty of room for the dog and is only 7m.
Then comes my work. I need a reliable internet service. Of course this will be easy when on most sites, but we have always liked wildcamping and would like the option to do this when we please. 4g and WiFi have served us well most of the time in our current van, but not always. I'm thinking satellite broadband could be the answer?
To power the van off grid I'm thinking lithium batteries of some description. Not sure which option yet, does anyone here use a lithium solution?
Also thinking about a couple of electric mountain bikes to get where a big A-Class can't - again a subject I know little about so could do with some help.
The plan at the moment is to buy a van next year, fit it out with what we need, then try it out for a few months before we let the house go. I'm sure there are 100's of things we haven't thought of yet.
I'd really appreciate any help on the subjects mentioned above, or anything else full-timing related. I'd especially appreciate advice from anyone working online from their van as this bit has to run smoothly.
Thanks for reading and it's nice to be back
David
