Living in a vehicle full time... serious replies please :)

[Joffey]

he even trained himself to sh1t in a plastic bag without peeing.

My lord that is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages I can't stop laughing

 

[matticus]

My lord that is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages I can't stop laughing

Someone has probably put their training sessions for this on Youtube [Rule 34 applies]

 

[Electric_Andy]

Always looks lovely doesn't it, set against the mountain backdrop.

Yes. And then you realise that in the UK you can't really live very freely unless you fully embrace the populist living culture ie. a bricks and mortar house. And even then that's not always easy. 2 sets of families I know in the village have worked really hard to do barn conversions. I'm assuming they did their research first and got planning permissions but I don't know for sure. Then when it's all finished, they've been told they can only live in it for 3 months of the year becasue it's only permitted to be a holiday home. They might have been silly and not checked the regulations, but I would doubt it.

But the other end of the coin is perhaps that people in the past have flouted rules and ruined it for everyone. Like going into the woods and making habitations, leaving mess, living dangerously and/or causing an eye sore. I suppose we have to have these rules to protect uninhabited areas from being overun with people looking for cheap and basic lifestyles. Or it could be that you can only live here if you agree to pay all your taxes even if it means not using any of the public services you're paying for. I don't know.

Back to the car, even if the insurance issue is sorted out, I can't see it lasting very long. It would only take one Policeman who asked the chap to move on, to find him there again, and to make sure it doesn't happen again. In fact, my rmabled thoughts above will probably still apply. It would soon spark the council's interest if people started living in their cars everywhere and I would bet they wouldn't want this sort of "behaviour" to continue.

 

[matticus]

But the other end of the coin is perhaps that people in the past have flouted rules and ruined it for everyone. Like going into the woods and making habitations, leaving mess, living dangerously and/or causing an eye sore. I suppose we have to have these rules to protect uninhabited areas from being overun with people looking for cheap and basic lifestyles. Or it could be that you can only live here if you agree to pay all your taxes even if it means not using any of the public services you're paying for. I don't know.

It's an interesting issue. Bit like the travellers/gypsies problem. :-/

I think the Uk is just too highly populated now for this sort of lifestyle, unless you are happy to hide in the crevices, always on the move. You could look at denser nations to see the problem - imagine trying to find a space to doss in the Vatican. :P

 

[mudsticks]

I think most of them will own a van, they just happen to be transporting some furniture around, one bed, a table, a stove a bit of clothing etc.

Convincing the DVLA that what was a van and is now a motorhome or campervan is now notoriously difficult, and being made harder each year.
It is not just a case of sending in photos of the motorhome, complete with windows, shower, loo, kitchen, bed etc.
The DVLA now want it to have suitable decals on the outside.

Basically what the DVLA are trying to stop is 'stealth campers', vans that from a quick glance look like any other white van with a couple of extra windows. They want them to look, very obviously, inside and out like a Motorhome or a Campervan.

On the van conversion pages there are loads of discussions about this subject, even some of the recognised manufacturers have fallen foul of these new enforcement of the laws.

View attachment 568423 View attachment 568422

Guess which one of these Motorhomes is not a Motorhome ?

Answer:
The Black one, as it's black, it does not have an awning and it does not have 'suitable decals'
(Therefore for the UK market, black is not available and the awning is not an optional extra)

Edit:
I see Hymer now have the following text on their English language site
HYMER ML-T 570 4x4 Crossover
The HYMER ML-T 570 4×4 is a special edition model with comprehensive “Crossover” package including exterior graphics and a range of factory fitted options aiming to increase your off grid potential

It's interesting isn't it, that the DVLA..
And by extension our Lords and masters are trying to clamp down on this kind of almost self sufficient lifestyle.

Yet are they correspondingly planning on providing lots of solid, single person accomodation to house all these people who are currently providing for themselves??

If so, I haven't heard much about it..

 

[matticus]

What is the DVLA's agenda here? IAMFI!

(i assumed they were just a bureaucratic body, not caring how people live their lives! Gotta driving licence? Right, you're good to go.)

 

[Electric_Andy]

Yes, and lots of hidden away places are owned by people, or the national trust or national park or the highways agency etc etc. You'd always be tresspassing I suppose. There were smaller groups of travellers who had a horse and cart, they used to park up on a public verge somewhere for 30 days and move on. Never heard them getting any grief, but they left no mess.

 

[mudsticks]

Yes. And then you realise that in the UK you can't really live very freely unless you fully embrace the populist living culture ie. a bricks and mortar house. And even then that's not always easy. 2 sets of families I know in the village have worked really hard to do barn conversions. I'm assuming they did their research first and got planning permissions but I don't know for sure. Then when it's all finished, they've been told they can only live in it for 3 months of the year becasue it's only permitted to be a holiday home. They might have been silly and not checked the regulations, but I would doubt it.

But the other end of the coin is perhaps that people in the past have flouted rules and ruined it for everyone. Like going into the woods and making habitations, leaving mess, living dangerously and/or causing an eye sore. I suppose we have to have these rules to protect uninhabited areas from being overun with people looking for cheap and basic lifestyles. Or it could be that you can only live here if you agree to pay all your taxes even if it means not using any of the public services you're paying for. I don't know.

Back to the car, even if the insurance issue is sorted out, I can't see it lasting very long. It would only take one Policeman who asked the chap to move on, to find him there again, and to make sure it doesn't happen again. In fact, my rmabled thoughts above will probably still apply. It would soon spark the council's interest if people started living in their cars everywhere and I would bet they wouldn't want this sort of "behaviour" to continue.

Don't get me started on the vagaries of the 'one rule for us, one rule for them' planning system.

Now that I could write reams about..

 

[Electric_Andy]

our Lords and masters are trying to clamp down on this kind of almost self sufficient lifestyle

Makes me chuckle when I see that in Hollywood movies. An ex-marine builds a cabin in the woods and lives on his own, drinking his troubles away, cashing fish to eat and chopping timber with a home made axe. yeah, try that in Milton Keynes mate

 

[BoldonLad]

What is the DVLA's agenda here? IAMFI!

(i assumed they were just a bureaucratic body, not caring how people live their lives! Gotta driving licence? Right, you're good to go.)

If you mean over the registering of vehicles (vans) as Motorhomes/Campervans, I assume it is because Motorhomes (if less than 3.5Tonne) occupy a sort of niche, similar to a car. This impacts the VED, speed limits, MOT Regime and probably other things I have forgotten. I assume it is to prevent "smart" commercial van owners "exploiting" this niche.

 

[MontyVeda]

It's an interesting issue. Bit like the travellers/gypsies problem. :-/

...

Back in the 90s there was TV series called Living With The Enemy... one episode, Anne (bloody) Widdicombe spent a week living with some new age travellers (her 'enemy'), and whilst their little camp had it's challenges, they lived a nice enough off-grid lifestyle, which she felt was totally abhorrent and must be stopped. It would have been interesting for her to spend another week living on the sort of estate they'd have likely been rehoused to.

 

[keithmac]

A mate of mine now has a large fitted out van but up to a couple of years ago he lived in a estate car sized one for several years, I never understood how he put up with it, he even trained himself to sh1t in a plastic bag without peeing.

I know a Painter/ Decorator that's had a dump in paint tins in the back of his van a few times..

 

[mudsticks]

I know a Painter/ Decorator that's had a dump in paint tins in the back of his van a few times..

'Tradesmans relief'

That's probs on the Farrow and Ball colour chart...

 

[the_mikey]

Homelessness and affordable rent and property are a huge problem, in Bristol there are many people living in Vans, parked on residential streets, it's happening right now, councils know about it but aren't doing anything to help. I hope your friend finds a way out of his difficult situation soon.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/residents-van-dwellers-clifton-down-4715645

https://www.vice.com/en/article/d3nebk/van-living-van-life-uk

 

[Brains]

There were smaller groups of travellers who had a horse and cart, they used to park up on a public verge somewhere for 30 days and move on. Never heard them getting any grief, but they left no mess.

I assure you, back when gypsies were gypsies they got every bit as much grief then, as they do today.
(A horse makes a very big pile of poo in 30 days!)
Back in the 1920's (or maybe 30's) my grandfather famously sent in the Army to drive gypsies off Odiham Common, he became very popular locally.