We have been full time in our 7m motorhome since 2009. We gave up the house in Feb 2010 as we had no need for bricks and mortar. We use our daughter as a contact address. There are also agencies that the boating community use to handle their post. You cannot use a PO box for legal documents.
We have
insurance with Comfort
insurance that allows us 365 days a year travel with a limit of 6 months in any one country other than the UK in a calendar year. This complies as you say with the regulations that you have to register as a resident if you remain in any one country for more than 6 months in a year. This is accumulated periods as well as continuous stay. This
insurance is not cheap and is about 3 to 4 times the amount you would pay as a holiday user. You must not leave the vehicle unoccupied for more than 48 hours without it being in secure storage approved by the insurer. True full timing
insurance does not have trip limits.
Your vehicle must remain UK registered, taxed and insured. You need a UK contact address for the
insurance but also for the vehicle documents and your driving licence. You cannot SORN the vehicle while it is in use even if this is outside of the UK otherwise your
insurance becomes invalid. Breakdown
insurance is provided by Comfort in the policy and is well worth it.
You must return to the UK for an MOT each year as this can only be done in the UK.
You will need to use Aires, campsites or CLs for disposing of your waste about once per week. It is the urine that creates smells in your toilet so limiting that input will extend the use period from every other day to a week. We use a bidet in the toilet bowl. This makes it easier to control the liquid input and is dual purpose for hygiene purposes as well saving using to much toilet paper. We also carry a nappy bucket with a tight lid.
We use the local water wherever we go using the tank water for everything, but bottled water is available from most supermarkets at home or abroad cheaply. Abroad I also carry an extra 3 x 15 litre water containers. It is easier to fill these smaller container, then transferee them to the tank. They also act as a reserve when wilding. I also carry a cassette hose for use where a threaded tap is available. We also have a watering can.
If you plan on using CLs then budget for at least £15 per night. This also applies to many Aires and Stopover abroad though in the winter many abroad are free.
We find it is cheaper to spend our winter in Southern Spain.
LPG is available but not in CALOR bottles you either need a Gas Tank or be prepared to buy bottles for whichever country you are in. The tank allowed us to use the gas locker to hold 3 x 110Ah batteries. We also fitted a B2B and 2 x 120w
Solar panels.
Even in Southern Spain in winter we struggle with
solar power from late November to Early February. We find we need to drive or run the engine for at least an hour each day. In summer we have abundant electrical power. We have an
inverter 2Kw but have now gone over to running everything from Gas or 12v. The only things that need Mains are my shaver charger and Joan's Hair Dryer.
Watch your payload. You need less than you think at first to enjoy this life. WE now have a shed at our daughters that we leave the surplus in and that way we van have summer or winter gear with us without going over on weight.
You are still able to be counted in the census. We were counted last time with our registration number as our address. It is proposed for later this year that you will also be able to be on the Electoral Roll. Community Charge is only applicable if you stay on one site for more than 28 days or return to the same site regularly.
You need a TV licence for the van if it is your sole residence. Again ours had the registration number as the address.
I hope this has been helpful.
