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hi to all ....due to the high cost of living lately i was thinking of buying a touring caravan to live on campsites.i think i can only stay on a site for about a month then have to move on ....does anyone know when i can return to the site again

i love camping anyway & i thought i could camp & live in the same place

if anyone has done this before or can herlp me in anyway please help

• You cannot be the registered owner of a motor vehicle on the UK register unless you have a permanent, non-commercial address.
  You can get around this by using a friend's or relative's address (with their permission, of course). Alternatively, there is at least one mailing service that DVLA seem to find acceptable (see here).


• Insurance is hard to find. There are some (e.g. Comfort) who'll provide full-timer's insurance but it's expensive and you'll need supplementary "contents" insurance etc.


• Banking can be an issue because of anti-money-laundering legislation


• Likewise health care (which doctor do you register with)


• Without a permanent address you will be at risk from the various provisions of the Vagrancy Act. However, that Act requires only that you are able to "give good account of yourself" but it does mean that you can afford tussles with the law less than "normal" citizens. You could also lose your right to vote.


• You need to consider and plan for disasters. For example, what will you do if your towcar and/or trailer get written off? What will you do if taken ill; if you become unfit to drive; etc?


• Where will you store your stuff and where will you live while your 'van is being serviced?


• Touring caravans (at least, most UK 'vans) can be expected to return about ten years of "trouble-free" use at most under normal circumstances. However, you'll be living in yours full time and so subjecting them to much more wear and tear. So you'll either need to change your 'van every few years or be a dab hand at fixing stuff.

Some very goods points made by Pajaholic. We have considered the same idea as we too are fed up of all the bills associated with home owning. We met lots of interesting Brits who spend 6 months (Or just under for french Law) in France and  the winter months in Spain. They do not need to move every month. They use their ACSI cards and negotiate incredible deals with the campsite owners for long stay.Many either rent out their homes  or sell them using a relatives address for all other official purposes. They always get top sites for unde £10 per night. They only have their gas to pay- pretty cheap way of living! I am trying to convince my OH that I too want to be an old age traveller!

Quote: Originally posted by eajess on 21/7/2009

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we have a seasonal pitch is Wales which allows us to stay for 11 months and have to vacate in January. 

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Mortgage £650 per month

Gas & Electric £140 per month

Water rates £60 per month

Council Tax £120 per month

TV licence £13 per month

to name but a few Total = £983.00 per month thats without repairs - gardening etc etc etc

Seasonal Pitch £1650 for 8 months = £206.50per month.  What can you do with a spare £700 per month in your pocket - 4 months in spain for the Winter.

Go for it Live in a tourer stick your fingers upto the government life is for living and certainly not worth dying for trying to pay the bills.

We lived in our caravan for 2 and a half years before moving back under bricks and mortar however are now regretting it since I got made redundant.  My wife is really pushing me hard to put out stuff in storage and move back into the caravan as there was a lot less stress in our lives.  We have over the long weekedn foudna  site that is prepared to allow us to stay there for 11 months of the year and it has a laundry and a clubhouse on the rpemsies not that we woudl use the clubhouse.  Bonus is that we know some of the people already living there in statics.

Geoff has some valid points but none of them affected us as we used my father's address for everything.   Biggest problem was caravan insurance but we eventually found a way around it.

We have also since found that even though you are living in a touring caravan you can claim housing benefits in the event that your income is insufficient as the caravan park is treated as a private landlord.

We have now booked a seasonal site at a cost of £1450 for 12 months although you cna only stay on the site for 11 months.  The other month is for storage of the caravan on the site.  There is a warden there 24/7 along with CCTV.

We are moving the caravan onto the site next weekend all being well.  At the moment we have a large porch awning, but it will not take us long to save up for a full decent size awning like a Ventura.