Where to people "park / live" when full timing and remaining employed??

[PaulC70]

Is this doable? I'm curious as there's a big part of me would love to go full time and rent out the house to maintain income, but we are both full time nurses too? So, in my situation we'd need to be close to the wifes work as she doesn't drive.
Anyone here full timing but also working in a job where you actually have to go to work ie something physical and not remote working?

 

[irnbru]

I guess it depends on how much you would have to pay to park the van, use gas etc.

 

[PaulC70]

I guess it depends on how much you would have to pay to park the van, use gas etc.

yes, though I should have been much clearer lol, Im not at this point thinking of running costs as such.

I'm specifically wondering about the logistics of finding somewhere to stay, ie do full timers (that have a local job) look for somewhere to stay all year or say 2 places and split between them over the year? surely they can't be moving every few nights?

 

[MalcMc]

we had a full timer parking locally, he used to move about, but did show a key worker sign, local council got wind of him, now signage everywhere no sleeping in vehicles, ruined for us all.

 

[Spriddler]

For at least the past 7 years a couple working full time who post on another website have been moving around Cl's/CS's where I think you can stop only for a certain length of time - I think it's max one or three months at a stretch. They did achieve an 'arrangement' with one of the Club CL's/CS's for an entire winter.
There may not be enough sites to do that in your area and they are probably too far apart for your wife to use an electric bicycle to get to work.

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[monzer]

I fulltime but am lucky enough to have permission to park on the land next to our workshop. I get on well with the farmer who owns all the land here.

I have often wondered how I would get on if I couldn't park here and had to move around, commuting to work each day. If I'm honest I'd probably just go long term at the local site.

 

[PaulC70]

For at least the past 7 years a couple working full time who post on another website have been moving around Cl's/CS's where I think you can stop only for a certain length of time - I think it's max one or three months at a stretch. They did achieve an 'arrangement' with one of the Club CL's/CS's for an entire winter.
There may not be enough sites to do that in your area and they are probably too far apart for your wife to use an electric bicycle to get to work.

Yeah that's the issue really, she needs decent transport links for the days our shifts clash and I cant give her a lift.

I fulltime but am lucky enough to have permission to park on the land next to our workshop. I get on well with the farmer who owns all the land here.

I have often wondered how I would get on if I couldn't park here and had to move around, commuting to work each day. If I'm honest I'd probably just go long term at the local site.

Yes, that's the thing, if I was to use a local site it's likely to cost quite a bit anyway :-(

 

[Ivory55]

I know some that work for parking firms that do big events and race meeting etc and just stay on the job moving between jobs all season , is a change of jobs an option

 

[Spriddler]

Yeah that's the issue really, she needs decent transport links for the days our shifts clash and I cant give her a lift.

Obviously a site within walking distance of public transport but even then the scarce services for night or very early/late shifts might be problematic.

Yes, that's the thing, if I was to use a local site it's likely to cost quite a bit anyway :-(

Yep, an official site at say £600 a month (assuming £20 a night) would make a hole in the (taxable) income from letting the house.

( I had a pal on a low income who lived on a boat in Brighton marina and the local authority paid the mooring fees).

 

[Rosemary1]

yes, though I should have been much clearer lol, Im not at this point thinking of running costs as such.

I'm specifically wondering about the logistics of finding somewhere to stay, ie do full timers (that have a local job) look for somewhere to stay all year or say 2 places and split between them over the year? surely they can't be moving every few nights?

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[Lenny HB]

For at least the past 7 years a couple working full time who post on another website have been moving around Cl's/CS's where I think you can stop only for a certain length of time - I think it's max one or three months at a stretch. They did achieve an 'arrangement' with one of the Club CL's/CS's for an entire winter.
There may not be enough sites to do that in your area and they are probably too far apart for your wife to use an electric bicycle to get to work.

28 days is the legal max on a CL/CS.

 

[Rosemary1]

I still work and when full timing (6 months between houses) we mainly stopped at a camp site that allowed a rolling month booking at a especially rate). It was during the start of covid and after having been asked to leave one site as closing even spent a few days on the works car park! Wasn’t late those days

 

[PaulC70]

I know some that work for parking firms that do big events and race meeting etc and just stay on the job moving between jobs all season , is a change of jobs an option

no afraid not, I think Im looking to have my cake and eat it as it's quickly becoming apparant we'd never be able to find another job at our income level that we could move about with :-/

Obviously a site within walking distance of public transport but even then the scarce services for night or very early/late shifts might be problematic.


Yep, an official site at say £600 a month (assuming £20 a night) would make a hole in the (taxable) income from letting the house.

( I had a pal on a low income who lived on a boat in Brighton marina and the local authority paid the mooring fees).

yeah, £600 is more than we currently pay on the mortgage (7 years left)

I still work and when full timing (6 months between houses) we mainly stopped at a camp site that allowed a rolling month booking at a especially rate). It was during the start of covid and after having been asked to leave one site as closing even spent a few days on the works car park! Wasn’t late those days

Dont think the hospital would be happy letting us stay on the car park somehow lol.

 

[Badknee]

Try to find a friendly farmer near work if you can. Google earth and a phone is all you need so you can ring round likely places. Good luck

 

[autorouter]

I have sometimes done this, staying on a CL or campsite, and moving from one to the other every couple of weeks or so. I have a small 125cc bike, and this meant I could commute every day, even from a distance. The bike went on a rack at the back, or in the garage. I think it would be feasible to put two small bikes in a garage, but not much room/payload left for anything else.

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[CamperJack]

I was semi full time for a few months, based near a major city up north for uni. I used to park in rural places and drive the van a commuting station and get the train into the city.

Move about alot. Arrive late. Leave early.

 

[adonisito]

We used a farm cl for 18 months. Paid upfront. I worked full time from there. Many club sites ask you to move every month for 24 hours, so I’d avoid those.

 

[PaulOH]

Am in a position where I'm considering this myself at the moment. Because I have kids and there is a family dynamic involving being around, I'd have to stay within a 5km radius of here.

This gives me access to one official parking area with water/drainage and an unofficial permitted site. At both of these, you wouldn't be winding out your awning or putting out tables and chairs, but there would be no hassle regarding the parking provided it was discreet.

There are many and varied unoffical parking areas but these would be entirely dependent on the goodwill of local people not to get annoyed by the presence of a van and the local police turning a blind eye - which is harder when it's a coachbuilt. Blacking out and being quiet are options, as are arriving late and leaving early like Camperjack suggests.

I would have to maintain my home address for bank, insurance and tax purposes - though could also use my work address for certain things. My van lacks solar at the moment so with small miles between parkups, I'd have to plug into my home address or pay to go to a campsite for the weekend where I could get an EHU.

Solar would be an important investment once money can be found.

 

[GMLS]

Have a dig into the Urban Motorhomer on Youtube. He has done a few basic flogs on finding park ups, water, doing laundry etc which might help you.

 

[Swifter]

Solar great in the summer but need to think about other options in the the winter . A chat with a local farmer may be worth it

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[MaidinDevon]

I have been long terming snd working for a number of years now. I do temporary contracts, and try and find a site close by. Caravan club summer seasonal pitches cam be cost effective. Usually you have to leave for one night in 28, but the vehicle doesn't have to move. As I needed a car fie woek, I would visit a friend, or family for a weekend, or overnight.
Exeter racecourse was good value, and I rhink was as little as £6 pn, without hook up.
So it is possible, but can be a pain as well. Without a home base, chores like laundry, are more difficult. Being cooped up in a van in the rain, or bitter cold, is less comfortable than being at home.
I have also alternated between two sites,a month at a time, to solve the length of stay restriction, but as I am solo, I have to organise moving car and van. It can be a faff tbh.
Overall a seasonal pitch, where the van can be left, and you move, is simplest. And of vourse you may have to factor in taxis to work at unsocial hours, for your wife.

 

[MisterB]

PaulC70
PaulOH


Have you considered letting your home out as an Airbnb - you could set the calendar for bookings to only be available when you're both off for a couple of days or during periods of holiday?
It's similar to what we have been doing for the last 12 months, though we limit our bookings to keep under the £7500 per annum declarable but not taxable limit.
We originally set out to do it while we were out of the country for long periods in the summer, using someone to manage our property (family friend) but have now started looking at doing it all ourselves (pre and post cleaning, laundry, gardens etc) and using our 'escape pod' during the 'let' period at a very local CL.
We stand to make more money for letting our our own home for 12 nights per year than we do on some of our long term tenanted rental properties. Plus we don't get some of the problems that come with letting out a property 12 months of the year, but of course this is our home, so managing bookings and expectations is more critical.
We have permission from our mortgage company and additional insurance in place.
It might be worth you looking on AirBnB to see if anyone local to you is offering accommodation, to see if there is a market for it and what they are charging, and to consider if it's a viable option, rather than moving out of your home permanently.
You should try to identify a local 'need', for instance, although we are in a holiday location, we don't and won't cater for holidaymakers, we keep our maximum length of stay to 2 nights. We only accept bookings of wedding guests at a very local 'up market' wedding venue (who are happy to recommend us).
Do some research and it MIGHT be something that works for you, it certainly doesn't work for everyone!!

 

[Jo662]

PaulC70
There is a guy on YouTube who is a lorry driver and lives in a motorhome. He has done a few videos of how he finds parkups not using campsites.

 

[Stonemags76]

MisterB can I ask what you do with your personal “bits & bobs” when you let out your home? Thanks!

 

[MisterB]

Stonemags76

we have a large loft (with stairs up to it) an outside utility (where we can decant all our food etc from the fridge and freezer) and a storage shed where we can put other bits and bobs, we dont have lots of personal stuff around the house, no photos, ornaments, art work etc so that makes it easier.

it takes my wife three days to get the house ready - we do a full house let - but it gets easier and quicker each time we do it.
i know a lot of people (99.9%) wouldnt want to do it, but the amount we end up with makes us think its worthwhile.

as we have previously done it when we go away, the cleaning etc and emptying fridge/freezer is only what we would have done anyway prior to going on holiday, so direct work for the airbnb is probably only a couple of days. We usually have someone who manages it for us, but we did it all ourselves last time, so basically all the fees came direct to us (less airbnb fees) - We used a local launderette for all the bedding and towels from 5 bedrooms/9 guests - which worked out at less than £30 and it was ready the next day!

we have decided to look at only doing it while we are in the UK (and staying local) - it means we dont have to pay out for cleaners etc or a manager and will do it all ourselves. it makes us feel a bit more comfortable knowing we can sort any small issues (last time they couldnt get the oven to work and needed somewhere to dispose of cigarette ends in the garden - we dont allow smoking in the house) - i sorted eveything within an hour !!

i am happy to pm with any further details inc the fees we charge - i am not sure it would be appropriate for me to post on here (although of course anyone looking to book can see them on line)

just to say, we are NOT experts, we are doing what suits us at this time in our life

i have produced a spreadsheet that works out all the calculations - its not perfect but is more indicative and allows you to adjust figures to make sure you get your bottom line after deductions etc. if youre looking to play with some figures. all i ask is that you make donation to the UK Firefighters Charity if you think its helpful (you choose the amount !!)

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[Stonemags76]

Thanks so much for your extensive reply! It’s something we have thought about doing, as we live in a tourist area. I was interested to see how you managed your stuff! Thanks for the offer of more information- I have book marked this in case we think about it more seriously in the future!

 

[Puddleduck]

We used a farm cl for 18 months. Paid upfront. I worked full time from there. Many club sites ask you to move every month for 24 hours, so I’d avoid those.

I think you are liable for council tax if you are in one place for over 28 days which is one reason why the clubs have the limit on length of stay.

 

[PaulOH]

PaulC70
PaulOH


Have you considered letting your home out as an Airbnb - it certainly doesn't work for everyone!!

And it certainly doesn't because my current address is a rental property where my kids are going to live as part of the settlement dictated by the big-D, and I'll be paying for them to live there too.

I currently reside in the spare room and pay for everything (except the TV and internet), so I think I can hook up from time to time - though it mightn't be part of the settlement.

Maybe we need a different forum for MH in divorce!!!

 

[ChrisL]

Caravan club summer seasonal pitches cam be cost effective. Usually you have to leave for one night in 28, but the vehicle doesn't have to move.

From the 1st of July CCC are no longer permitting single overnight storage, so you will have to move the van off site for one night and return the next day.

 

[Swifter]

From the 1st of July CCC are no longer permitting single overnight storage, so you will have to move the van off site for one night and return the next day.

On a seasonal pitch ?

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