Pros and Cons of Fulltiming

[Nesting Zombie]

Like the baskets over the cab area. I'm guessing ther'e wicker so don't slip about. Look really neat.

Hi Ya, Thanks
Yep Wicker Baskets from Argos, I think they was called 'Washing Hampers'. From Left to right I have
Dirty Washing Light item's (Socks, Pants, T Shirts & Pillow Cases Etc)
Clean Duvet Covers, Pillow Cases, Towels, Flannels,
First Aid Box, Dressings & Medications,
Bits n Bobs Basket,
Dirty Washing Heavy Item's (Towels, Sweat Shirts & Duvet Covers Etc)
No they don't Slide about as they are up against the Lip of the Overcab Bed Mattress (Never used as a bed).
I find them Useful, Light, & Better to look at than a plastic box.
I don't know if you can make it out on this Pix -
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I have some smaller Wicker Baskets at high level over the side access door to put Carrier bags, Clean Tea Towels, Clean Flannels, Dish Clothes Etc in. as well.
STILL haven't put any of the finishing trims on though, But HAVE put a new floor in since that last pic was taken !
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[Deleted member 64209]

Hi ya,
To be Fair, I haven't really had to much of a problem regarding the Length, Ok yeah you have to Find Two Bays at Supermarkets, & Plan your Park ups & Timing for Shopping or Town/City visits But I'm in Little Hurry & No Timescales. So Not been a Problem to date.
Pixxes below are From Behind CAB seats Looking Aft. Toilet as viewd on Left Amidships, Side access & Egress Door Opposite. Then Sink with Fridge underneath beyond Toilet running aft, & Full Cooker Opposite. Then Permanent Bedroom Bulkhead with Central acsess leading to Perminant Double as Viewed on Left, With Hanging Wardrobe & Full Shower Opposite. Not Huge, But Practical & Works for My Lifestyle.
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Wow, now that is some wonderful piece of kit! Can you feel the envy? ;-) Enjoy!

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Hi Ya,
Thanks, As I said, it suits me fine, But I think that ANYONES live in vehicle of whatever size is ultimately their own bit of Heaven, I would suggest however that The more its used The more Practical, Functional & Comfortable it becomes simply because it HAS to be !. People that use their vehicles a Cpl of times a year as more of a Leisure vehicle tend to treat their time in it as a 'Camping' trip & are happy to Put up with things for the few days / week they are on board as most of us can do without things like No way to Wash Clothes, Shower, Limited Storage, 230v Power, OR Not being able to Stand up on Board or whatever it is as 'Its only for a few days' & they can sort it out when they get home. & hey if that works then that's fine. BUT The Nest IS my home!
Would I have a smaller Vehicle ?
Well I DID actually consider a smaller vehicle with an add on option of a Possible Trailer if needed. But FOR ME & my Lifestyle choice common sense kicked in & as I was now staying in the UK, intent on 95% wilding & not worried about using Truckstops n Laybys for an overnight as I Travel a lot of the time. Leaving the Better out the way & More interesting wild places for my Mid week stop over locations, Besides with me being Big, Fat, Old n Smelly I need the space.

'Use & Enjoy what you Have, Then Make it MORE usable as you Enjoy it'

 

[jagmanx]

Sounds good to me

Hi Ya,
Thanks, As I said, it suits me fine, But I think that ANYONES live in vehicle of whatever size is ultimately their own bit of Heaven, I would suggest however that The more its used The more Practical, Functional & Comfortable it becomes simply because it HAS to be !. People that use their vehicles a Cpl of times a year as more a Leisure vehicle tend to treat it as a 'Camping' trip & are happy to Put up with things for the few days / week they are on board as most of us can do without things like No way to Wash Clothes, Shower, Limited Storage, 230v Power, OR Not being able to Stand up on Board or whatever as 'Its only for a few days'. & hey if that works then that's fine.
Would I have a smaller Vehicle ?
Well I DID actually consider a smaller vehicle with an add on option of a Possible Trailer if needed. But FOR ME & my Lifestyle choice common sense kicked in & as I was now staying in the UK, intent on 98% wilding & not worried about using Truckstops n Laybys for an overnight as I Travel a lot of the time. Leaving the Better out the way & More interesting wild places for my Mid week stop over locations, Besides with me being Big, Fat, Old n Smelly I need the space.

'Use & Enjoy what you Have, Then Make it MORE usable as you Enjoy it'

Trailer....No Way too much hassle x n (where n is a large number)

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Yes, I Personally have the same view as regard Trailers.
Not for me...

 

[Channa]

I started off full timing with "Marylyn" my Land Rover 110 csw 3.5 v8 tent and trailer !

The day my marital home was sold, That was it 4 bed detached to the above. I put a lot of things in storage which upon reflection was a big mistake, And off I set.

Partly the reason I spent more on the MH than I wanted is after the novelty of a few days, Comfort was high on the agenda.

I badgered my Pal Kev Hymers at Danum Motor Company who are dealers, part exchange at trade be good, or underwrite a px a bit stronger so that someone got a deal. I.e the customer Kev and myself ( I like that business everyone wins)

Anyway my van in the end he had taken in px and not comfortable retailing, previous owner I think got bored on a Sunday afternoon and started fitting sockets everywhere. That would have been ok if he had known what he was doing.

So my van came about as accidental destiny really. I did look at a few I fancied the old Autotrails on Mercs but frankly all I found were rubbish.
( I still like them)

I had tugged for a while so had a bit of an idea. But NZ is absolutely on the money note. Fulltiming is totally different, truth be known a lot of the vans aren't built to a standard for it. Flimsy draws etc general quality.

I have said before two years down the line you will have a wish list I don't think there is a perfect van off the shelf, although one or two seem to come close.

Living with the van is part of the process, and at some stage you realise what is necessary , ideal and wishful thinking.

If I did it again which I would love too, In an ideal world I would buy a ex library bus. As a rule they are well maintained and often well insulated have the solar power gennys and inverters. Also the cab area is isolated that is important more heat lost through cabs


I would strip bare, go for a fixed bed, and use mainly domestic appliances. Electrics I would struggle with I only understand the basics, Gas to anyone that knows me is not a problem .

I have not seen it in the metal but the best home conversion I have seen if only for inspiration is FullTimers ex prison truck. A wonderful conversion

Channa

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Maybe another thing to 'Understand' is Exactly what Style of Full Timing 'YOU' intend doing.
What % of your time is going to be spent say In Laybys, Proper Sites, Track or Lane Wilding, Stationary, Towns, Cities, Carparks and alike. as to my mind & for my lifestyle and park up choices it would actually make VERY little difference in me having a smaller vehicle than the one I've got. As a Transit Connect type van size 'MAY' have the same problem with height restrictions when it comes to some height barriers than my 11ft Nest does. So why not get a vehicle you can Properly Stand up in !, making my choice a big PRO for me.
Then there is the whole Stealth or Not Options.

 

[ScoTTyBEEE]

When it comes to stealth it all depends on your intended locations to be honest:

Urban: Stealth works best as a panel van is very inconspicuous. Everyone knows what you're doing in a campervan (lowering the tone of our area, don't you know).
Rural: A panel van raises suspicions in rural areas, are they thieves, what are they up to? Campervan, oh they're just on a jolly.

 

[Robmac]

.........If I did it again which I would love too, In an ideal world I would buy a ex library bus. As a rule they are well maintained and often well insulated have the solar power gennys and inverters. Also the cab area is isolated that is important more heat lost through cabs


I would strip bare, go for a fixed bed, and use mainly domestic appliances. Electrics I would struggle with I only understand the basics, Gas to anyone that knows me is not a problem .

I have not seen it in the metal but the best home conversion I have seen if only for inspiration is FullTimers ex prison truck. A wonderful conversion

Channa

I would love to do a library van Andy, as you say, a lot of the work already done, well maintained and plenty of room.

As for Mark's van. I have been in it many times and it really is the business, feels more like a small house than a van, with a proper lounge, bedroom and bathroom. Fantastic conversion.

(There's usually beer in the fridge too!)

 

[Robmac]

When it comes to stealth it all depends on your intended locations to be honest:

Urban: Stealth works best as a panel van is very inconspicuous. Everyone knows what you're doing in a campervan (lowering the tone of our area, don't you know).
Rural: A panel van raises suspicions in rural areas, are they thieves, what are they up to? Campervan, oh they're just on a jolly.

My only problem with stealth vans is they can be a target for thieves.

If a van looks like a plumbers or sparky's van, they may think that it is full of tools which are easy to sell on.

 

[molly 2]

My only problem with stealth vans is they can be a target for thieves.

If a van looks like a plumbers or sparky's van, they may think that it is full of tools which are easy to sell on.

. Or they may nick your beer tokens

 

[Robmac]

. Or they may nick your beer tokens

They can try Bazz, they can try!

 

[rugbyken]

saw marks van at the ram very impressive replacing a house , but like so much of motorhoming there are more answers than questions , i have been on tolerated camping in spain where a big RV has taken up 70' of parking with his van trailer and unloaded car and another guy with a 6.8mtr hymer b544 is fulltiming , loved a trailer that a german guy had got with 4solar panels a bank of fork truck batteries and an inverter running 230 volt into his motorhome , and a quad bike in the trailer seriously thinking of towing that set up behind my 544 , but i have 1x100amp solar panel on my roof and 2x110 amp batteries and have never needed EHU in 6 months , but that is portugal & spain,
heard a guy talking to a newbie admittedly after a few beers and the newbie was saying what's the best layout the guy said if there was a BEST there would only be one layout!!!

 

[bentleysontour]

Great post,

I would go for a dog,they're much easier to train and do as they are told.:lol-053:



hard hat on awaiting incoming from half of our members :scared:

Id opt for the dog too !!! Lol ! Well i did !!!

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Id opt for the dog too !!! Lol ! Well i did !!!

Well I'm STILL at it, Still Loving it, Still Smiling, Still Haven't got a Dog, & It seems Women are VERY Complicated !. So unless I can Write n Sing like ED Sheeran, Act & Look like Shaun Bean or Will Smith Then I think a Dog is BY FAR the easier option !.

 

[bentleysontour]

Well I'm STILL at it, Still Loving it, Still Smiling, Still Haven't got a Dog, & It seems Women are VERY Complicated !. So unless I can Write n Sing like ED Sheeran, Act & Look like Shaun Bean or Will Smith Then I think a Dog is BY FAR the easier option !.

You forgot tom hardy and ray whinston!

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Oh stop,,,,
the pressure & Competition is already hard enough !.

 

[bentleysontour]

yes, as far as Drying the washing goes for me, its easy I fill one of these with up to 9 - 10 hr burn Tea Lights.

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Then place it in front of my Washing machine in the Shower cubicle on the Metal floor.

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Pull down the Folding Clothes Dryer that is Fixed to the Side wall of the Shower Cubicle, & pop my clothes on it to dry, It EASILY dries them Taking the warmer Moist air out the ceiling vent. I HAVE left it to do its thing over night, But Prefer to Light the candles as soon as I park up then blow out when going to bed, Re Lighting in the Morning after turning the clothes if necessary to Finnish them off for a Cpl oh hrs while I Have Breakfast & Square away before moving off.

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Ive bought exactly the same washing machine from amazon !

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Have you, Well so long as you don't expect it to do what a Domestic one does, & Don't over Load it I find it Brilliant,,Mine is used a Cpl of times a week when I have the water available or I know where I can fill up. It's Fine.

Can I ask,,,,Why did you get one ?. Are you going to Fulltime or down Extended time aboard your Motorhome ?.
& Where does yours Live when not in use ?.

 

[Nesting Zombie]

SOOOO,
As some might know, I’m a Full Time Livaboard & Have Been for many years now.
& as such, I don’t really view ‘The Nest’ as hopefully making any money for me if & when we part company or even retaining it’s value if I’m honest, Being in & Using a Live in vehicle has probably de valued it !,,,
No, For me it’s all about the The partnership being Safe, Practical & Comfortable while I am the custodian enabling me to go about my Zombie business on a daily basis, So with that in mind -
Since July last year I TRULY haven’t used my Gas Hob, & it’s been EVEN LONGER since using my Oven!, & as some may recall I haven’t used my Gas fire for YEARS now & toyed with taking that out bigining of last year !. So am asking myself ‘Do I actually need them?, & Why am I dedicating such a big valuable space & Payload in The Nest to items that I just don’t use !. So I’m seriously back to the ‘Shall I get rid’ quandary !.




It’s funny what you think about when it’s Literally Blowing a Gale outside with exceptional Gusts, Raining & I’m Sat Snug n Warm on The Nest Having just finished eating my Toasted Minuite steak & Mushroom Crusty Doorstop Sandwich & am enjoying my Hot Filter Coffee while looking at the appliances that DIDNT contribute to making or creating my current Contentment & Snugness, it’s a bit like Having a Dog & Barking yourself !.

So,
When was the last time YOU used YOUR Oven or is there anything else that you have,,,& DONT use ?.