Question regarding living in a van while working away..

bob72

Guest
Hi Guys,

I am currently on a longish term contract working away from home. I live in Bristol but during the week am working west of London. I currently have to rent a bedsit but since we have just got a van (its still undergoing camper conversion at the moment) I was wondering about the possiblity to use it during the week while in London. Outside the office there are typically a few campers parked up so I presume other contractors here are doing it but I wonder how comfortable its going to be? These are just parked up outside the office on the industrial estate, the road is busy during the day but I would think its mostly quiet at night.

The other option is to find a cheapish campsite and stay there during the week. I am however struggling to find any that would be close enough or have a decent transport connection that would still keep the cost reasonable (if its costing too much I may as well continue to rent the bedsit!)

Any thoughts on this? Have any of you guys done this sort of thing?

Advice appreciated!

James
 
hi street parking or industrial site parking is easy .london or any big city is even easier . nobody cares or their life is too busy to bother about you. just do it. park sensibly as to not obstruct anybody and i,m sure you qwill be quids in. done it loads of times and never had a prob. even better if you get a night out alowance . keeps you in beer money and fish and chips .
 
I worked like that for a couple of years, mainly staying on CL's and CS's with the odd wildcamp. One of the jobs was at Tilbury Docks and I managed to get on a CS after ringing round for ages. This was due to all the construction work for the Olympics (which will be tailing off now). If your contract is long term then I would recommend a small site with basic amenities. You should get a reduction for weekly rates.

You will need to keep your leisure battery topped up and unless you have a solar panel on the roof, then you will struggle. Commuting to work and back will not put in enough charge.
 
Be careful Bob72. If you have an older van and your work or resting place is in the LEZ it could cost you Big Bucks.
Check both first before you give up your bed sit.
 
Hi James,

If you are outside LEZ then its got to be worth it. If you move the van around a bit to shops, pub, chippie, work etc. then the battery will be charged up. If you want to use a lot of electricity then a leisure battery and a solar panel would be good. However if you are parking outside your office work ,any chance of a hookup.
Why not just go down and chat to the van owners outside your office. They may well enjoy you taking an interest in their vans. They will also have loads of local knowledge, water supply, sewage disposal and the like.

Richard
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I do keep meaning to talk to the guys outside the office but they never seem to be in the vans!

There's not much chance of hookup from work, although I did notice the other day they seem to have an electric car charge point on the actual site :ninja:

Regarding the LEZ I actually thought of this before I bought my van and it was one of the reasons I went (way) over budget and got an 07 van (fiat ducato).

Do the Caravan Club sites like contrators/workers using their sites? I figured they may not be so open to people not just using them for leisure...
 
The clubs don't mind as long as you turn up in a motorhome not a contractors van. If you use a cl or cs then you have more chance of playing the grey area between the two. Plus the fact that Cl's cost 5 or 10 pounds a night and club sites cost three times that and can be a lot less friendly and relaxed
 
Why not do one night in three on a cl to charge batteries, top up water, empty sewage and wild the other two. Cheap easy and little travelling.
 
You may as well use a bedsit if you go for club sites, they are £20-25 a night!

As for how comfortable it will be, only you can answer that. Everyone has their own tolerance zones. Some like it dead quiet at night and absolutely must shower 3 times a day with gallons of hot water!

But I have lived away from home numerous times and even camped in a car next to a busy highway. Set against that, a van is luxury. Depending on the size of you van and your comfort zones, you may want to set aside Wed night for a site to get charged up and empty stuff, as well as have access to more hot water etc. Or you could find a local leisure centre for that.
 
I was thinking the same about maybe one night on a site. Wasn't sure if it was worth joining either (or both) of the clubs. Will look into those a bit more.

Will probably 'trial run' staying in the van outside work for a week or so before I give up the bedsit :juggle:
 
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