Living in a caravan

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Living in a caravan
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mechanicalmouse

Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 122

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 09 2:18 pm Post subject:

Caravan Living is the first part of my escape plan.

I was considering buying 4 cheap statics, arranging them into a square, butt joined. Think Roman manor house, with a central court.

A lot of the internals would be gutted, new partitions made and doors added to allow access between caravans. The central court could be covered with a tent of tarpaulin on a scaffolding frame, to give a communal area. I’ve seen a couple of successful joined statics, even a static joined to a normal caravan that looked impressive.

To be honest I don’t think I gave enough thought to the cold, I suppose the only time we’ve used statics is during the Summer. Something else to look into, the lovely Wife is not one for the cold.

I’m wondering how bad the weather would be in the Midlands as opposed to rural Wales or Scotland.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 09 2:31 pm Post subject:
When I went to collect my call ducks I was almost bowled over by the heat that came out when she opened the caravan door. I guess the disadvantage of the small space becomes an advantage when it comes to heating it.

TheGrange

Joined: 12 Apr 2009
Posts: 874

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 09 2:49 pm Post subject:

mechanicalmouse wrote:

I’m wondering how bad the weather would be in the Midlands as opposed to rural Wales or Scotland.

depends how exposed the site is, are you open to the north wind and how high up you are.

it can be perishing - waking up to the milk frozen and its inside the van on the side by the kettle, isnt funny.

We lived for 2 years on site in and out the van we've decamped to the house for the foreseeable until the roof comes off but as the gables have to go up on 3 further sides (complicated 'z' shaped house) and the speed bossman works at we'll be fine for a couple of years as yet

eta: i can say that as he never reads the site

...dissention in the ranks is never tolerated a sound good thrashing is a foot ... ooo game on

mechanicalmouse

Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 122

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 09 3:06 pm Post subject:
Well I'm only in the planning stages are the moment, so i'll will have to be something to think about when choosing the site. However I'll be needing some good wind for the turbine. Mmmm trade offs. And yes, theres the other problem of being an oven in the summer. Opening up the internal walls would help a bit. I'll add it to my investigation list.

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 09 4:34 pm Post subject:

Our caravan arrived on site at the end of May and we've stayed both weekends in it since then. So far it feels like a holiday and we love it, but we're obviously still in the honeymoon period. After all this time, it's amazing to be able to stay there and see the land at different times of the day. We spent the evenings listening to the radio and watching swallows and housemartins swoop over the yard to catch their dinner. We're getting a lot more done too.

Anyway, back to practicalities -
Poking in the exterior walls and ceilings seems to indicate room to add insulation. There's at least 13 cm in the ceiling at the points we checked and 3.5 cm in the external walls. If we splash out on sheep's wool insulation it might avoid moisture problems as well. Failing that, we were thinking of insulating all the external walls, on the inside with board. Anyone tried either of these options?

We're planning to add a covered veranda to the south side to give covered space for wet coats/boots, space to work in the dry and dry the washing. Hopefully it will give a bit of a buffer zone to help with winter cold (keep the wind off) and summer overheating by shading. The caravan is in a yard with the roof at the same level as with the surrounding ground on the north side, so hopefully that will give some protection from the north winds. The veranda will increase the living space as well, for when the honeymoon is over!

Other things we've noticed so far -
You can hear absolutely everything going on outside. Luckily, it's very quiet where we are but worth being aware that people outside can hear you talking about them

.

We took out the flushing toilet (which had spilled water all over the floor during transit

) and it looks as if there will be plenty space for a composting toilet and storage for soak material. We thought we would have to move the bathroom into one of the spare bedrooms else.

There's a few wee jobs to do before we can move, but it feels as if it's possible now, rather than a far fetched dream.

Best of luck with your planning mechanicalmouse!

TheGrange wrote:

it can be perishing - waking up to the milk frozen and its inside the van on the side by the kettle, isnt funny.

Oh, that doesn't sound good at all

. Must be the only time that you can be happy that things are not going speedliy. Will the sound thrashing help with warming up?

Ronnie

Joined: 11 Jun 2009
Posts: 73
Location: Highlands

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 3:30 pm Post subject:

Hi, new member here

Thanks for this thread, really useful information. I'm looking to do something very similar, up a glen near Elgin in the Scottish Grampians. We'll be in the van for at least a year and it's important that it's warm and dry. We'll be off grid. I plan to get a diesel genny for running a washing machine and recharging a battery bank (+ wind and possibly solar inputs). That will all be put in a utility shed.

So, back to the van. I reckon I need something with double glazing, an LPG combi boiler for water, and a solid fuel stove in the main living space for heat. I plan on getting a three bedroom static with the DG and combi boiler in place, then installing the wood stove.

Static caravans are new to me - any advice on this please?

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8651
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 3:32 pm Post subject:
croeso possibly you might think of insect screens so you can have fresh air without being devoured by the insects!!

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 4:08 pm Post subject:

Welcome!

I found it useful to go and see some different statics. I thought we could manage with a smaller one, but the price difference wasn't as big as I thought it would be, so we ended up with 35 ft x 12 ft.

There were adverts for suppliers (who seem to buy older models from the caravan parks) and hauliers in the local papers and I believe they sometimes come up on Freecycle. We were offered a free one (from a completed house build) a year ago but haulage was expensive and we had no where to keep it at that point but you might be able to get a cheap one that way.

One benefit of going to a company is that ours did a gas check, so that's a bit of added piece of mind.

If you want to sell it on once you've finished with it, you might want to think about what changes you make to it. Ours will have no resale value once we've finished with it so we can do what we like.

Best of luck with getting started! Ask away, I'm sure somebody will be able to help!

caravanwindowman

Joined: 26 Dec 2010
Posts: 1

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 3:13 pm Post subject:
maybe i can help, we double glaze caravans and also fit floor insulation www.skipseacaravanwindows.co.uk darren

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 4:57 pm Post subject:
You do know that this thread is over a year old dont you?

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 5:06 pm Post subject:
bless

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8651
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 7:48 pm Post subject:
It would still be nice to see how everyone is getting on with caravan living Their experiences could help others

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 8:13 pm Post subject:
An update would be very interesting.

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 9:14 pm Post subject:

Penny Outskirts wrote:

An update would be very interesting.

Now in our third winter.

Never got round to fitting a skirt which I would have had I known we would be in it for 3 winters.

Main problem is lack of running water due to external pipes to the van. I guess by now the vans pipes under are frozen too but I would have re routed them if there was any point. The shower & sink wastes have frozen but the kitchen sink is ok as it drops straight down. Comfort is ok as the wood stove keeps us warm enough & is providing most of the hot water via large saucepans (with lids).

The caravan itself is starting to self destruct due to moisture content. Luckily it wont be too long before we are out of it.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 10 9:18 pm Post subject:

gz wrote:

It would still be nice to see how everyone is getting on with caravan living

Their experiences could help others

Don't, it's b****y awful

Frozen pipes for a month is no fun, stove goes better now it's been cleaned, though.

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