I'm losing my spot in my caravan that I've had for 4 years... ive been considering getting a house (reluctantly) but boy your helping push me away from that nonsense 😂
I'm also 5 years fulltiming I don't miss a house in the slightest. But I do have a fully self sufficient 8 metre motorhome for just me and my 3 dogs so I've loads of space.
I've often wondered, what on earth we are doing, living in these big houses. We don't use half of the space available. It's just space. There's tons of ways to crate light, inndoors. So it's bonkers to me, after seeing what you easily can live with in a van. The only thing I would want spaceous, is the kitchen, and bedroom.
We did a self build house in a nice village ten years ago, seven years to get planning, two years to build it, pretty big, three very big bedrooms could have had four, but that puts the council tax up. Youngest son 22 still lives with us ,but I'd be happy to downsize. We've just bought a 2019 swift Bessacarr, so it's going to be interesting to see what SWMBO thinks over the next year. The Bessacarr has the full width rear toilet and shower and two long singles that make a double, full kitchen facilities so it's big for the two of us, we're going to be rattling around in the house in a couple of years when youngest son flies the best. Interesting times ahead I think.
Your right about the boredom,I live alone and in a flat or house I got bored and felt alone.ive been living I a van now for 4 years I never get bored or lonely.everday is an adventure.
I get what you mean about the noise. I work early shift and sometimes need a nap. Anytime the suns out some guy bangs and drills every day without fail in his garden. The neighbours dog barks non stop and doesn’t get told to shut up. Children screeching and balls thudding (basketballs and footballs). Obviously people can and should live there life as they want but the majority of people are selfish. Your only days off being woken at 8am every week. I’ve started to love the rain seeing that it stops all this.
I've been living in a motorhome for 4 years - things I miss are a bath, a garden, a bigger kitchen (I've only got a 3 burner hob, nothing else), more space. I'd also really like a cat but I don't think it would work in a mh. Laundrettes are not common where I am (Cumbria) and will probably be even less so as their energy bills go up 80%. Long term, my main worry is that diesel MHs will be legislated out of existence.
There are a number of motorhomers and vanners who have cats on board. Some cats can travel, some can't. The same with some dogs, really. Dogs are much happier on a harness to be fair, although they are trained from birth to walk on a lead. Kittens are happy to adapt.
Good video Darren, I'm 100% behind you on this one, At the moment we are renting and its costing us £1000 just in rent, council tax electric, lucky we get our water from a bore hole so it free and our neighbour pays the electric for that, our nearest food shop shop is over one and a half miles away in a tourist area so we are paying tourist prices. I do have a small van conversion which I use for work so just can't wait to escape this living in a box life 😊 hopefully in 5ys time 🤞
I agree you do need to go to a site for your mental health just to chill, but I think you should do a couple of days a week…look after yourself loving your videos
Can't wait the 5 days until your mate returns and you can start van life again? Why not back the van out of the driveway and park up in front of the house for a night? It would be like a magical little getaway from your house sitting.
Good video Darren. As a house dweller myself I struggle to see how I could live in a van full time. There's a security of knowing where I'll be sleeping and I have a van for adventures.
nice one, wish i had a motorhome but dont at the moment, but i would say in london i lived in a 4 bedroom semi house, but now i live in a 2 bedroom bungalow which is probably the size of downstairs in the old house, so there are smaller options out there, i am working on getting a van/motorhome but will still keep the bricks and mortar for the winter months, bit warmer with room to stretch out. great video though
Great idea ..you need a break use campsites..some are really cheap especially autumn and winter ..even pub stops are great 15 pouns and sometimes get that back on food bought in pub ..
Different angle Daz 🤣🤣 I travel 13 miles to work and as you know it’s all about what time of day you drive it , With flexi working it can take me 15 mins rush hour and school run can be over 1hr . And don’t even talk about getting off the retail park we both work on 🤬 it’s grid lock some days 👍🏻😎 Long live the night truckers 🤩😎😎
We did van life for a year. Moved into a nice apartment about two months ago . . . We hate it. I hate doing all the extra chores. I hate paying the rent/utilities. It's just a lot of work for no reason. We are going to upgrade our rig a little and am going straight back to van life.
I have to agree with you although we tend to head to the more rural park ups. We Like the quiet. 2.5 years vanlife now and still very happy without a house, oh and neighbours 😡😆
1:25 "par carps" 😂love the channel but just reminded me of my wife saying exactly the same thing, been a running joke now for a few years! legend bro keep up the videos!
Know what you mean about chilling out on a campsite occasionally, normally I hate them getting treated like you at school with all the rules. But have done one, Willows Fields. For 3 nights not a bad place.
Some of the free park ups like vineyards, farmshops etc where you can stay a few nights and set up an outdoor seat and stuff would be a good way for less on the move without cutting into your savings too much. Think going forward would be good to decide what to get rid off/have no need, either now or in new home, eg TV! Think freezer in garage is excellent idea both for extra food and saving on time and money cooking/preparing multiple meals and freeze some. Might eat few more veg that way 😂😎
Hiya buddy hope your ok and well great Vids buddy as always I'm all caught up again as had a nasty accident had a fall and broke my left leg in 4 places and had an operation now the long healing of 6 months 😥 well you take care all the best and can't wait to see what you got in store for the channel
Fair play to you Daz! It ain’t no fun living in an house with the way things are going up! More people will be turning to Vanlife. Great video matey….. Smithy
really interesting to listen to the pros and cons 🤣 I've never lived in a van and I'm 60 plus now but still like the idea. is 60 plus to old for van life in the UK 🤔
Not at all. There's a lot of us already in our 50's and 60's. It's by no means a young person's thing. You could rent a van for a weekend, throw in a mattress and suitcase and just rock up at a van meet. 😎
Lots of motorhomes are pitched at retirees. My aunt moved onto her boat in her 60s, lived aboard it for 15 years. Better to do something and regret it than not do something and regret it 🙂
My hubby is 61 and I am 59. We have been full time for 18m. Last year was amazing if a little stressful at times but we wouldn't have changed it for the world. This year is different. You still need money, just not as much, but you need fuel, heating, food, clothes etc. So we have been on campsites where hubby has gone back to work. And its been hard. I am riddled with arthritis and van life is hard when the bed and seating is uncomfortable, no bathing, and getting in and out. And of course our adventuring has halted. Would we go back into a house?? Not on your nelly. We know its getting harder especially with the amount of people now taking the option of van life, parks up are getting hard, people in general sometimes make it hard for us. Officials are making it hard to park up as well. But we will continue for as long as we can. Besides once you give up a house you can't afford to go back. Its a big commitment. We have no safety net. Yeah sure, try it for a week. You will love it. But you have to do it day in and day out. There are too many people selling a dream and not enough of the realities!! But you are never too old to try something new. Just have a safety net and money behind you.
I understand the to much space thing and all the stuff in it. and I think what makes it feel weird is everything we have in are vans serves a purpose and in house it's just filled with stuff to look nice but serves no other purpose
Hi. I am in the process of trying to start van life simply because my mother left me a house when she died which has caused me so many problems. I was her full time carer but once I was alone everything fell apart being in a huge un-modernised 3 storey house and because of the location It isnt worth a great deal and i cant afford to modernise it and im now disabled so cant do it anyway. I have always wanted to go wild living but I have been told you cant by law if you dont have a home address and having no family where do i go from here. Insurance and doctors and all the things you normaly need but the more i think about it the more I realise i need to get out of house life and travel the country so im going to sell up and buy a mobile home. Was going to do a V dub but I dont think they are suitable for living in long term. Anyway i cant do it until ive had an operation on my back and fully recovered but its really depressing me by the month. I have a new12 month puppy which is small and will stay small and is all i need for company, not really into big friend groups, too much pressure. Looking forward to 2024 when i will be well enough to live my dream and drive around the voast of the UK but until then i am just going to follow your adventures. Still not sure how im going to get past the home address side of things but I cant afford a van and a home so the house will have to go. VAN IS MY WAY FORWARD. Keep it up and hopefully will shake your hand one day. Adrian
Hey there. Daz made a video about having a "chosen" address for all the legal side. Had you considered renting a room in a houseshare or from a friend? I do just that. You may be able to negotiate a low price as you won't be there much, if at all. Maybe store some things? Maybe pick up water when you're local? Respect for caring for your late mother. I have met some of the kindest, most supportive people in Vanlife. It sounds like you'd fit right in. 😎👍
Hi. Great video.Thank you to share your thoughts. Would be great to have informative videoclip about the payload.I think many motorhome ovners doesn't know about it and most of the motorhome is overweighted. Happy camping...everyone
We are not far into being full time in the van but so far have missed zero things from living in a house. 100% can't see us going back to bricks at any point.
Just recently found your videos and I’m hooked. I love the idea of van life but I have 3 kids and a wife so it will be something I look to do when the kids move out. Can I ask, are you a hgv driver? I’m looking to do my hgv licence soon.
The space thing is interesting, in reality while Im happy to holiday in my campervan, it's too small to live in. That being said, it does make you look around your house thinking, we have sh#t all over filling spaces for the sake.of filling spaces that we pay for because we want to have it.... In order to fill it with sh#t we buy ... In order to have something in that space and stop it feeling empty... A bit of an expensive waste of space/money really.
Some of us use a family or friend address with their permission. Some rent a room and travel with the peace of mind of a emergency stopover. You need a genuine address for all the legalities of life, plus GP, dentist, etc.
@@Mevi Very hard to not be part of the system, wait until the new digital currency and ID comes about, when the world economy has crashed. True off grid and isolation will be the only way out.
Wooden barrels. We like the rustic life. We even bathe in them like cowboys of the Wild West.😉 Yes, hot and cold running water in a motorhome from the onboard tank. 😁👍
I'm losing my spot in my caravan that I've had for 4 years... ive been considering getting a house (reluctantly) but boy your helping push me away from that nonsense 😂
Cons cons and cons of living in a house, electric, water, gas and council tax bills.
I`m in a Flat and on a Water Meter.The saying with regards to Loo flushing= "If it`s Yellow let it Mellow, if it`s Brown flush it down". lol
I'm also 5 years fulltiming I don't miss a house in the slightest. But I do have a fully self sufficient 8 metre motorhome for just me and my 3 dogs so I've loads of space.
I've often wondered, what on earth we are doing, living in these big houses. We don't use half of the space available. It's just space. There's tons of ways to crate light, inndoors. So it's bonkers to me, after seeing what you easily can live with in a van. The only thing I would want spaceous, is the kitchen, and bedroom.
Your a lot more active in your Bedroom than I am Kennneth. lol cos I`d go Kitchen,Lounge.
We did a self build house in a nice village ten years ago, seven years to get planning, two years to build it, pretty big, three very big bedrooms could have had four, but that puts the council tax up.
Youngest son 22 still lives with us ,but I'd be happy to downsize.
We've just bought a 2019 swift Bessacarr, so it's going to be interesting to see what SWMBO thinks over the next year.
The Bessacarr has the full width rear toilet and shower and two long singles that make a double, full kitchen facilities so it's big for the two of us, we're going to be rattling around in the house in a couple of years when youngest son flies the best.
Interesting times ahead I think.
I dunno, Im not sure I could convert 😆
Your right about the boredom,I live alone and in a flat or house I got bored and felt alone.ive been living I a van now for 4 years I never get bored or lonely.everday is an adventure.
Is the microphone inside your beard? 😂😂😂😂
I think it is. 😁👍
I get what you mean about the noise. I work early shift and sometimes need a nap. Anytime the suns out some guy bangs and drills every day without fail in his garden. The neighbours dog barks non stop and doesn’t get told to shut up. Children screeching and balls thudding (basketballs and footballs). Obviously people can and should live there life as they want but the majority of people are selfish. Your only days off being woken at 8am every week. I’ve started to love the rain seeing that it stops all this.
I've been living in a motorhome for 4 years - things I miss are a bath, a garden, a bigger kitchen (I've only got a 3 burner hob, nothing else), more space. I'd also really like a cat but I don't think it would work in a mh. Laundrettes are not common where I am (Cumbria) and will probably be even less so as their energy bills go up 80%. Long term, my main worry is that diesel MHs will be legislated out of existence.
I know they will lose some custom but surely most people who use a Laundrette do so as they have limited options??
There are a number of motorhomers and vanners who have cats on board. Some cats can travel, some can't. The same with some dogs, really.
Dogs are much happier on a harness to be fair, although they are trained from birth to walk on a lead. Kittens are happy to adapt.
That "legislate diesel out of existence" is my main worry about starting this.
Interesting video mate love the channel. Keep them coming 🤝
Good video Darren, I'm 100% behind you on this one, At the moment we are renting and its costing us £1000 just in rent, council tax electric, lucky we get our water from a bore hole so it free and our neighbour pays the electric for that, our nearest food shop shop is over one and a half miles away in a tourist area so we are paying tourist prices. I do have a small van conversion which I use for work so just can't wait to escape this living in a box life 😊 hopefully in 5ys time 🤞
I agree you do need to go to a site for your mental health just to chill, but I think you should do a couple of days a week…look after yourself loving your videos
Can't wait the 5 days until your mate returns and you can start van life again?
Why not back the van out of the driveway and park up in front of the house for a night?
It would be like a magical little getaway from your house sitting.
Good video Darren. As a house dweller myself I struggle to see how I could live in a van full time. There's a security of knowing where I'll be sleeping and I have a van for adventures.
Pros
A toilet you can flush & not worry about it
nice one, wish i had a motorhome but dont at the moment, but i would say in london i lived in a 4 bedroom semi house, but now i live in a 2 bedroom bungalow which is probably the size of downstairs in the old house, so there are smaller options out there, i am working on getting a van/motorhome but will still keep the bricks and mortar for the winter months, bit warmer with room to stretch out. great video though
If I’m honest it might be less stressful if you were on camp sites , but you are the urban man
Great idea ..you need a break use campsites..some are really cheap especially autumn and winter ..even pub stops are great 15 pouns and sometimes get that back on food bought in pub ..
Different angle Daz 🤣🤣
I travel 13 miles to work and as you know it’s all about what time of day you drive it ,
With flexi working it can take me 15 mins rush hour and school run can be over 1hr .
And don’t even talk about getting off the retail park we both work on 🤬 it’s grid lock some days 👍🏻😎
Long live the night truckers 🤩😎😎
Miss Right, first name Always.
We did van life for a year. Moved into a nice apartment about two months ago . . . We hate it. I hate doing all the extra chores. I hate paying the rent/utilities. It's just a lot of work for no reason.
We are going to upgrade our rig a little and am going straight back to van life.
Stick with the van, its my dream and one day i hope to be living the van life
I crave silence, it's too noisy where I park up apart from on a Sunday lol
Hey Daz, you forgot to tell us about the take aways mate, you said you'd tell us about the take aways..!
New subscriber here. I like your reasoning.😃
I have to agree with you although we tend to head to the more rural park ups. We Like the quiet.
2.5 years vanlife now and still very happy without a house, oh and neighbours 😡😆
your brilliant. very clever. good to listen to. great vids. all in all a great guy.
1:25 "par carps" 😂love the channel but just reminded me of my wife saying exactly the same thing, been a running joke now for a few years! legend bro keep up the videos!
Brilliant, my plan is to get a van in the nxt yr and a half and get freedom!
❤️👍
Love a bit of introspection
Thanks for sharing :) and really to hear what you plan to learn from this moving forward!
hi mate, Tesco have great freezers for storage
but what if you fancy a choc-ice at 10:30? 😁
Know what you mean about chilling out on a campsite occasionally, normally I hate them getting treated like you at school with all the rules. But have done one, Willows Fields. For 3 nights not a bad place.
We all love Willow Fields.
Awesome video thank you Darran
Some of the free park ups like vineyards, farmshops etc where you can stay a few nights and set up an outdoor seat and stuff would be a good way for less on the move without cutting into your savings too much. Think going forward would be good to decide what to get rid off/have no need, either now or in new home, eg TV! Think freezer in garage is excellent idea both for extra food and saving on time and money cooking/preparing multiple meals and freeze some. Might eat few more veg that way 😂😎
Hiya buddy hope your ok and well great Vids buddy as always I'm all caught up again as had a nasty accident had a fall and broke my left leg in 4 places and had an operation now the long healing of 6 months 😥 well you take care all the best and can't wait to see what you got in store for the channel
@@joline2730 thank you and I hope so lol I'm normally on the go doing something lol
ouch. speedy recovery. ❤
Fair play to you Daz! It ain’t no fun living in an house with the way things are going up! More people will be turning to Vanlife. Great video matey….. Smithy
really interesting to listen to the pros and cons 🤣 I've never lived in a van and I'm 60 plus now but still like the idea. is 60 plus to old for van life in the UK 🤔
Not at all. There's a lot of us already in our 50's and 60's. It's by no means a young person's thing. You could rent a van for a weekend, throw in a mattress and suitcase and just rock up at a van meet. 😎
@@Mevi I would be interested to try a weekend rent. Any recomandation? UK South East
Lots of motorhomes are pitched at retirees. My aunt moved onto her boat in her 60s, lived aboard it for 15 years. Better to do something and regret it than not do something and regret it 🙂
My hubby is 61 and I am 59. We have been full time for 18m. Last year was amazing if a little stressful at times but we wouldn't have changed it for the world. This year is different. You still need money, just not as much, but you need fuel, heating, food, clothes etc. So we have been on campsites where hubby has gone back to work. And its been hard. I am riddled with arthritis and van life is hard when the bed and seating is uncomfortable, no bathing, and getting in and out. And of course our adventuring has halted. Would we go back into a house?? Not on your nelly. We know its getting harder especially with the amount of people now taking the option of van life, parks up are getting hard, people in general sometimes make it hard for us. Officials are making it hard to park up as well. But we will continue for as long as we can. Besides once you give up a house you can't afford to go back. Its a big commitment. We have no safety net. Yeah sure, try it for a week. You will love it. But you have to do it day in and day out. There are too many people selling a dream and not enough of the realities!! But you are never too old to try something new. Just have a safety net and money behind you.
@@ArianneAvalon Thank you for the advice and as you say it may be difficult some times and not all roses 😉
Your looking at someone else’s home, like a van you would buy a home for your needs, 1 bed,2 bed,3 bed large kitchen small kitchen garden etc.
Excellent considerations 👍💙❤️
Love this vlog!! I find peace at meet ups (Vanlife big picnic atm) other wise wild camping and chillin.
“Bring on the doughnuts”
I understand the to much space thing and all the stuff in it. and I think what makes it feel weird is everything we have in are vans serves a purpose and in house it's just filled with stuff to look nice but serves no other purpose
Hi.
I am in the process of trying to start van life simply because my mother left me a house when she died which has caused me so many problems.
I was her full time carer but once I was alone everything fell apart being in a huge un-modernised 3 storey house and because of the location It isnt worth a great deal and i cant afford to modernise it and im now disabled so cant do it anyway.
I have always wanted to go wild living but I have been told you cant by law if you dont have a home address and having no family where do i go from here.
Insurance and doctors and all the things you normaly need but the more i think about it the more I realise i need to get out of house life and travel the country so im going to sell up and buy a mobile home.
Was going to do a V dub but I dont think they are suitable for living in long term.
Anyway i cant do it until ive had an operation on my back and fully recovered but its really depressing me by the month.
I have a new12 month puppy which is small and will stay small and is all i need for company, not really into big friend groups, too much pressure.
Looking forward to 2024 when i will be well enough to live my dream and drive around the voast of the UK but until then i am just going to follow your adventures.
Still not sure how im going to get past the home address side of things but I cant afford a van and a home so the house will have to go.
VAN IS MY WAY FORWARD.
Keep it up and hopefully will shake your hand one day.
Adrian
Hey there. Daz made a video about having a "chosen" address for all the legal side.
Had you considered renting a room in a houseshare or from a friend? I do just that. You may be able to negotiate a low price as you won't be there much, if at all. Maybe store some things? Maybe pick up water when you're local?
Respect for caring for your late mother. I have met some of the kindest, most supportive people in Vanlife. It sounds like you'd fit right in.
😎👍
Will be really intresting seeing the change to doing a campsite every so often and how much it costs 👍
Hi.
Great video.Thank you to share your thoughts.
Would be great to have informative videoclip about the payload.I think many motorhome ovners doesn't know about it and most of the motorhome is overweighted.
Happy camping...everyone
Great video, certainly lots of food for thought, thank you. Love your channel.
Those coutertop dishwashers are great but the sprayer arms keep jaming up on mine
thanks for the warning!
We are not far into being full time in the van but so far have missed zero things from living in a house. 100% can't see us going back to bricks at any point.
I get this feeling your mate might be a pilot! Have you tried the bike in the corner yet.
That was fun😊
Another great video
I'm 24 and I do all the laundry in our house
I'll drop my laundry round later. ❤️
Great show what is the best free thing to do
Just recently found your videos and I’m hooked. I love the idea of van life but I have 3 kids and a wife so it will be something I look to do when the kids move out. Can I ask, are you a hgv driver? I’m looking to do my hgv licence soon.
I`m hgv Paul (Class 2/C Hi-Ab driver) and personally recommend getting your Truck license.
Cheers Chris, one day I will swap wife life for van life 😂
If you meet Mrs Right and she wants to live in a brick house then she is my friend Mrs WRONG for you.
The space thing is interesting, in reality while Im happy to holiday in my campervan, it's too small to live in.
That being said, it does make you look around your house thinking, we have sh#t all over filling spaces for the sake.of filling spaces that we pay for because we want to have it.... In order to fill it with sh#t we buy ... In order to have something in that space and stop it feeling empty... A bit of an expensive waste of space/money really.
@@markcooke5270 there's 2 people and 4 midsize dogs, not really ideal in a transit custom 😅
Have you ever considered a self build van , even if you got someone to do it , or is your next van going to be the same as you have
He's looking for another motorhome. He's got his heart set on an A-class.
Would you like something like a one bed roomed flat?
Serious question or idea for a video, how do you manage keeping your driving documents valid with full time van life? Loving the vids by the way 👍👍
Some of us use a family or friend address with their permission. Some rent a room and travel with the peace of mind of a emergency stopover. You need a genuine address for all the legalities of life, plus GP, dentist, etc.
@@Mevi Very hard to not be part of the system, wait until the new digital currency and ID comes about, when the world economy has crashed. True off grid and isolation will be the only way out.
@@mmwaashumslowww7167 haha
Digital Fish Tank!!🐟🦑🐡🦀
Hi Daz thinking of getting same van as yours can you tell me average mpg thankyou
The more space you have the more irrelevant rubbish you fill it with 😆
Tell me about it, went from a van to a caravan and now im going back to a van... I have so much crap!
What a great video! Very philosophical. Modern living is so wasteful, no wonder our planet is sinking into the abyss.
I reckon you're using more water simply because it's on tap! 😂
ba-dum tish!
Shit in peace? 🤔🤣👍👍👍
I always shit in peace, 6am in the morning when everyone's asleep.
@@mmwaashumslowww7167 🤣🤣🤣👍💩🤫
No problems with that over here. It´s other people that complain about the whole fire and brimstone and the screams of the damned thing.
Totally agree with all your thoughts, good video, thank you for sharing.
4-6lts per flush in the house
do uk motorhomes have on board water or do they have those weird barrel things like the caravans
Wooden barrels. We like the rustic life.
We even bathe in them like cowboys of the Wild West.😉
Yes, hot and cold running water in a motorhome from the onboard tank. 😁👍
Hows the gym sessions going??? hope house sitting has not stopped getting your lycro on
6l let flush sorry to say on full flush 3l half flush
10:34 " this one's wierd" . Really? on this channel !!
😂😂😂😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
your on holiday.................. lol
Own home capital gains tax free.
I house sit too but still stay in my van lol
You need a dish washer???for one person
Rhysxxxx😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀