Discussion
Right so laying in bed tonight thinking(as you do) ive been thinking about giving the family more room in the house.
Currently my dad sleeps at my grandads as there is no room.
I have 2 brothers. One that has learning difficulties and needs to be in a routine and has the box room to hiself.
Myself and my youngest brother are sharing a room. And my mum has her own room.
I was wonder if it could be viable if i was to but a small caravan to sleep in at night and give myself some space.
Currently my dad sleeps at my grandads as there is no room.
I have 2 brothers. One that has learning difficulties and needs to be in a routine and has the box room to hiself.
Myself and my youngest brother are sharing a room. And my mum has her own room.
I was wonder if it could be viable if i was to but a small caravan to sleep in at night and give myself some space.
Just wondering if this could work? My dream would be to but a bus at somepoint. Tear the seats out and make it into a mini getaway and project but this is meerly a dream.
Could this work or is there any other options?
Ps. The garage on the back of our garden is shared by around 8/9 people and is only accessible via key or the gates on their garden if they have adapted their fences (which 80% havent)
Thanks greatly
Sam
Some friends of mine did something similar as they are building an extension on their house and had to move their teenage kids out of the bedrooms as the walls were being removed.
The bought very cheaply / were given (cannot remember which) an old office portakabin
They ran some electricity and Internet into it (cannot remember if it is also plumbed with a toilet) and put up some internal stud walls - voila 2 bedrooms and an office.
They did have to put a tarpaulin over the roof to make it fully water tight, but the kids love it and don't want to move back into the house now
The bought very cheaply / were given (cannot remember which) an old office portakabin
They ran some electricity and Internet into it (cannot remember if it is also plumbed with a toilet) and put up some internal stud walls - voila 2 bedrooms and an office.
They did have to put a tarpaulin over the roof to make it fully water tight, but the kids love it and don't want to move back into the house now
Edited by Burrow01 on Friday 31st January 14:11
thanks for the idea, unfortunately i dont think ide be able to get my hands on one of them^^
Ive seen a few 4 berth caravans but i was wondering if its ahrd to strip the default kitchen area and seating aera out and just board it up to give extra free space? all i really need is area for double bed, somewhere to sit and somewhere for my pc and tv! simples
Ive seen a few 4 berth caravans but i was wondering if its ahrd to strip the default kitchen area and seating aera out and just board it up to give extra free space? all i really need is area for double bed, somewhere to sit and somewhere for my pc and tv! simples
Its generally not too difficult to remove internal structures, but the hardest job is to make it look neat afterwards and weatherproof as well.
If you just rely on the on-board electrics, then simply plugging it into a standard household 13A socket, then this will give you about 3000 watts of power, so you may find being able to use a gas hob to boil a kettle and/or a gas heater to add some warmth that you should consider removing the kitchen after living with it as is for a while, especially during a cold spell.
If you just rely on the on-board electrics, then simply plugging it into a standard household 13A socket, then this will give you about 3000 watts of power, so you may find being able to use a gas hob to boil a kettle and/or a gas heater to add some warmth that you should consider removing the kitchen after living with it as is for a while, especially during a cold spell.
thanks for the insight norw, are most vans compatible with the normal house sockets or will i have to get the extenion lead in the van somehow and run everything off that?
also i would heat the van with a electric heater, bed with a electric blanket and usually just wrap up when im at home anyway
also i would heat the van with a electric heater, bed with a electric blanket and usually just wrap up when im at home anyway
You can get an adapter for the end of the mains lead to plug into a normal 3 pin socket in/outside the house.
3000w of power from that will run your plug in heater,tv etc ok.
Get an old 4 berth and you can leave the bed made up and still have a lounge.
Id leave the kitchen etc alone at least at first,it will look a mess without it,it will be a pain with electrics,gas pipes etc and will make the van worthless come resale time.
£500-£1000 buys you an olden from ebay/gumtree that will do a job of sorts.
3000w of power from that will run your plug in heater,tv etc ok.
Get an old 4 berth and you can leave the bed made up and still have a lounge.
Id leave the kitchen etc alone at least at first,it will look a mess without it,it will be a pain with electrics,gas pipes etc and will make the van worthless come resale time.
£500-£1000 buys you an olden from ebay/gumtree that will do a job of sorts.
nagsheadwarrior said:
You can get an adapter for the end of the mains lead to plug into a normal 3 pin socket in/outside the house.
3000w of power from that will run your plug in heater,tv etc ok.
Get an old 4 berth and you can leave the bed made up and still have a lounge.
Id leave the kitchen etc alone at least at first,it will look a mess without it,it will be a pain with electrics,gas pipes etc and will make the van worthless come resale time.
£500-£1000 buys you an olden from ebay/gumtree that will do a job of sorts.
i would but i hate the defult bed so would get rid of it and get as much space as possible this would allow me to fit my double bed in and a small area for tv computer and etc without the kitchen there, not too fussed about re selling it ide just scrap it3000w of power from that will run your plug in heater,tv etc ok.
Get an old 4 berth and you can leave the bed made up and still have a lounge.
Id leave the kitchen etc alone at least at first,it will look a mess without it,it will be a pain with electrics,gas pipes etc and will make the van worthless come resale time.
£500-£1000 buys you an olden from ebay/gumtree that will do a job of sorts.
A few years back we lived in a caravan for three months. We were on a budget as we were paying a mortgage on a house we were looking to sell. I had a new job 250 miles away so a cheap caravan was the option.
We bought one for £250. It was tiny, old but waterproof and provided a great cheap house for a few months. We eventually sold it for £225. We did stay in it during June/ July/ August - so lack of heat was not an issue.....
Brings back great memories - I would highly recommend it!!
We bought one for £250. It was tiny, old but waterproof and provided a great cheap house for a few months. We eventually sold it for £225. We did stay in it during June/ July/ August - so lack of heat was not an issue.....
Brings back great memories - I would highly recommend it!!
It's certainly doable...but it carries a number of risks. Running an extension lead from the house is not a great idea. It's just about ok if all you're running off it is a couple of lights and a phone charger, but electric fires? Kettles? You'll be tripping fuses all over the shop.
Your big enemy will be damp. Either as leaks (finding a cheap old van that doesn't leak is really hard) or as condensation which is worse. You can look forward to damp cold bedding, mould on your clothes and a hacking cough within a month.
Security on caravans is very weak. Got a laptop? You won't have soon....
Location makes a big difference. In your secure garden on a hard standing is fine. Round the back by the garages or sinking into the lawn, not so fine....
But in the summer time it could be really nice, so you might want to consider it as a summer retreat, and come back into the warm for the winter....
Your big enemy will be damp. Either as leaks (finding a cheap old van that doesn't leak is really hard) or as condensation which is worse. You can look forward to damp cold bedding, mould on your clothes and a hacking cough within a month.
Security on caravans is very weak. Got a laptop? You won't have soon....
Location makes a big difference. In your secure garden on a hard standing is fine. Round the back by the garages or sinking into the lawn, not so fine....
But in the summer time it could be really nice, so you might want to consider it as a summer retreat, and come back into the warm for the winter....
okay idea as my caravan doubles as the spare room on the drive, for the electrics you need an outdoor weatherproof socket like this http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Electrical/Industr... and run a supply to it from the consumer unit in the house, it is advisable to have this socket RCD protected. you will be able to draw 10 amps safely so run a fan heater at 2kw but if you want to switch on your kettle switch off the heater. most caravans will have 12v lights that run from a battery with charger or a transformer this draws little power. as regards gas for a kettle you will need to use propane (red cylinder) as butane (blue cylinder) is useless below 2 degrees celcius.
agree go for a 4 berth to have a bed and a dinette, dont bother with ripping out beds just get a memory foam topper... good bedding and you will be toasty
agree go for a 4 berth to have a bed and a dinette, dont bother with ripping out beds just get a memory foam topper... good bedding and you will be toasty
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