Van life - calling it a day

[barryd]

Early last year we spent a huge amount on the van and Liz wanted to sell it but I put my foot down, it's the only holiday I enjoy, we go to our itinerary not some other jokers, it's not cheap, but Liz likes to go on cruise ships (YUK!!) but it's her thing and it's her money, the van has always been a joint thing so I just said you stop doing cruises & I'll sell the van and I'll use my half to buy a Harley.

It's an expensive hobby, and as the saying goes, if it has T**'s or wheels it's going to give you trouble, so you just pay up and enjoy what you paid for and save up for next time.

Imagine how much that month long UK tour would have cost you that you did earlier in the year had you been hotel or B&B hopping. Have you seen how much hotels are now? Even the little old B&Bs often seem north of £100 a night if you watch that four in a bed program.

you are right about the ongoing costs though. Always something needs doing. Its not about the money for me though, just the freedom.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

It’s just all
The usual things that go wrong with the vans however mine just all happened at once

It happens, how old is the van?

this one we have now is the worst we've ever had, but we really like the pain I think ECU best part of £1k to fix put us right off, the rest have been minor, fridge which has a mind of it's own but despite not actually been fixed is continuing to work when asked, we need two new batteries but with a little care they are still just about going, I had some clutch slip going up a hill in 5the gear, changed down and it's only slipped once since, engine light comes on if I gas it too hard when it's cold, goes out after a while or a few days, leaving that alone, got a OBD2 reader so could look but then I'd know what it is and be tempted to have it fixed so head in the sand on that one.

Even brand new vehicles have problems (so I'm told) this is 17 years old and if it has ******************** it'll give you trouble.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Of course, it'll not get sold unless I can't drive it anymore or start driving badly but there will be no B&B or hotels in my life if I can help it, nor cruises, If I can't drive I ain't bloody going and that includes the hearse.

 

[trevskoda]

Of course, it'll not get sold unless I can't drive it anymore or start driving badly but there will be no B&B or hotels in my life if I can help it, nor cruises, If I can't drive I ain't bloody going and that includes the hearse.

WE will give you a viking send off, bear that in mind.

 

[n brown]

You would love this. South East France. Lac st Croix and the Verdon Gorges. Gorgeous sunny warm weather. Kayak in the morning, swim then a ride round the French equivalent of the Grand Canyon in the afternoon on the bike. I remember this day well. Absolutely fabulous.

first time there we parked up on the edge of the lake for 10 days ,with loads of other self builds , police turfed us off ,drunk or sober ,at midnight . even that was quite exciting - first time i'd been ordered to do something at gunpoint !

 

[MadRssss]

We sold ours last week. Expensive problems all coming just after the warranty expired. Broke down in the summer in France. Got it back 13 weeks later. Expensive fix and engine warning lights still coming on, problems with fridge and other things . We are going to USA for 6 months in May and on our return going out to SE Asia for the winter. On our return, sometime next year, our plan is to get a new van. Hoping things have settled with prices and our love for it has returned

 

[trevskoda]

first time there we parked up on the edge of the lake for 10 days ,with loads of other self builds , police turfed us off ,drunk or sober ,at midnight . even that was quite exciting - first time i'd been ordered to do something at gunpoint !

Not a bit of wonder as you look like ned kelly in that tin outfit.

 

[Vinie]

Just the thought of an airport and the grief and stress it creates is enough to make an expensive A class worth every penny.

…
It will be good to see the family, especially for my wife who is very family oriented, me, I like children, but I couldn’t eat a whole one. So the trip is very double edged for me. If I could drive the van to Oz, I would.

Davy

I know what you mean Davy, my youngest is in Oz too, but the cost in my mental health and money is just too much. I live with terrible anxiety and going away on holiday nearly tips me over the edge - putting dog in a kennel, making sure you get to the airport on time, dealing with the gap in expectations of actual holiday, food (I’m coeliac) getting home, and then there’s the monetary cost. I’m not great with lots of people, so airports are just horrible.
I sound like a barrel of laughs don’t I
I’ve felt utterly fed up with my van not being ok, so am getting my van sorted at the moment so the solar/water/heat stuff works properly and am going to start doing little trips around the local area with my dog.
I actually looked at a cheap holiday this morning and thought that would pay for me to tour Scotland for a couple of months!

 

[n brown]

Not a bit of wonder as you look like ned kelly in that tin outfit.

the shooters didn't scare me ,but when one of them pulled this out ,i ran

 

[barryd]

first time there we parked up on the edge of the lake for 10 days ,with loads of other self builds , police turfed us off ,drunk or sober ,at midnight . even that was quite exciting - first time i'd been ordered to do something at gunpoint !

Yep. The rozzers I hear are a bit hot around the lake for wild camping. The Aire on the edge of St Croix village is ok though as long as you time it right and get one of the sideways on lake view spots. If you end up down the end near the boules court it can get a bit of a grim mashup in summer. Love it round there though. Usually stay a week or so.

 

[colinm]

Grand Canyon has always seemed like a place to go, 250 miles long, a mile deep in places, match that, always wanted to ride a Harley through there but I think you can't anymore

You can't drive anything 'through' the Grand Canyon, you can visit certain areas at top with vehicles, or hike, raft, in the canyon. It gets very busy with RV's let alone other visitors, and getting a pitch in park is difficult, but well worth a visit, and go just a few yards off the beaten track and nobody to be seen. Gf loved it and we ended up spending more time than expected, I prefer Monument Valley where you can (or could?) park overnight in the reserve carpark, but that's maybe because I was brought up watching cowboy films.
View in the morning out the back window of RV.

 

[trevskoda]

Years back you could do a horse ride along it, does this still happen.

 

[oppy]

Our tin tent is 25 years old and slowly decomposing, but yearly MoT test and a bit of welding sets us up for another year and at our age it's a case of which drops off first. Things have died so we think "can we manage without it?" if yes then it's ditched (hence no hot water on tap!!), but now the electricary has been sorted properly we are ready to re-invade Europe in a month or so

 

[Pudsey Bear]

You can't drive anything 'through' the Grand Canyon, you can visit certain areas at top with vehicles, or hike, raft, in the canyon. It gets very busy with RV's let alone other visitors, and getting a pitch in park is difficult, but well worth a visit, and go just a few yards off the beaten track and nobody to be seen. Gf loved it and we ended up spending more time than expected, I prefer Monument Valley where you can (or could?) park overnight in the reserve carpark, but that's maybe because I was brought up watching cowboy films.
View in the morning out the back window of RV.
View attachment 118370

Yes, anywhere around Moab is pretty spectacular, I watch and off road recovery channel on Youtube and he gets in a lot places that Google earth doesn't, stunning stuff.

 

[2cv]

Im just hoping to be able to regain enough mobility to get back out enjoying the van. Certainly wouldn’t give it up out of choice. Likewise our trips to the US will only stop when they are no longer physically possible, endless variety to explore there and certainly worth the horrors of airports.

 

[colinm]

Years back you could do a horse ride along it, does this still happen.

I think you can still hire rides from certain 'ranches' in the bottom of canyon, but I think trying to ride or walk along entire top would be at best challenging, and I don't think it's physically possible to do the bottom.

 

[caledonia]

the shooters didn't scare me ,but when one of them pulled this out ,i ran

Bully beef tin opener. Handy for getting into Motorhomes

 

[n brown]

i thought of these ,but not very scary looking

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Expensive but the best and easiest tin opener we've ever had totally effortless to use

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chefn-Opener-Squeeze-Black-White/dp/B002XUUSFC/ref=asc_df_B002XUUSFC/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=232056100513&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5369504647959387164&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006553&hvtargid=pla-321091855828&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

[Pudsey Bear]

This purports to be the same thing but I'm not sure.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/chefn-ezsqueeze-can-opener?istCompanyId=1e096408-041f-4238-994e-a7cf46bf9413&istFeedId=689af7a8-5842-4d88-be59-1ee5688a81b5&istItemId=iqamiiiqp&istBid=t&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=15436925491&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%257bsku%257d&utm_custom1=129897874709&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&gclid=Cj0KCQjwk7ugBhDIARIsAGuvgPYuPT-1aa4i58fcxgrDkcwXyD1exXB09JOVJCuZF5wUEaBLhnf8zOUaAj0WEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds