Static Caravan V Low Cost Rental Accomodation

[Appleco]

2 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

As a recent 18 month caravan dweller, let me share some of our experiences. Our 38x12ft van had a surprising amount of storage, lots of nooks and crannies but it's still tight and you need to keep tidy otherwise you're tip toeing through piles of junk. We were in there with our two kids (9 and 11 at that time) and the cat. I removed the twin beds in the kids room and replaced with caravan bunks to allow more space for furniture.

 

You do need to pay council tax but only when the van is habitable - we notified the council of the demolition of the existing house in order to stop paying CT on that and they put us on the A rate for the van.

 

Now we're in the new house, the local assessor popped in and we've been put on full tax for the house (backdated to our move in date) but 50% for the van (unoccupied rate) which we're going to challenge as we killed the power and water to the van when we moved out.

 

Van was situated behind the old house so was private until it got demolished and then felt quite exposed! We used privacy netting on the Heras fencing which helped, although it made it more liable to blow over in the wind. Once the new frame went up we got our privacy back.

 

We had a top tip to make the van comfortable in winter - a dehumidifier. As vans are inherently well ventilated (they have holes in the floor and walls covered in mesh) they can also get a bit damp in winter, especially if you're using LPG for heat and cooking as this generates a lot of moisture which then condenses out on the floor making it feel cold underfoot. 

 

We bought a cheap dehumidifier the first November and it made a massive difference, not only did it solve the cold floor issue, it also kicks out a reasonable amount of heat to keep the van warm. Once we got that we never used the LPG fire again - it was running pretty much 24/7 so ran up the electricity bill a bit but worth it for the comfort. We had an electric oil heater in our bedroom to take the chill off that and also an electric blanket - all worked fine.

 

I found the van most uncomfortable in summer - as the long side sat east /west it got a lot of solar gain in the morning and got quite stuffy.

 

Make sure you have a co2 alarm outside the hot water heater, for peace of mind if nothing else.

 

We also terminated our phone line to a site office (converted container) and squirted it over to the van using powerline plugs. 

 

Friends who did similar built a deck around the van for additional space, we didn't bother with that due to cost but did build a raised walkway on pallets to give us a mud free way in and out. Laundry facilities are the main challenge - we put the washing machine and tumble in a greenhouse that had a water supply and ran an extension when we needed to use. As soon as the house was weather tight and had basic power, we moved them into the basement. 

 

Living in the SE, it saved us a fortune in rental and it's very useful to live on site - makes the build go much more smoothly. Can't say it was always fun but we managed, as you do. Now looking to sell the van and hopefully recoup what I paid for it!

 

Many thanks Bitpipe.  Great info.  The laundry facilities are a worry as our site is undeveloped woodland in the middle of nowhere so no buildings to put the machine in and closest laundrette a 40 minute drive away.  If you could have got cheap rent nearby (in the region of £500 per month) would you have done this or do you think being on site is more important?

[Bitpipe]

23 minutes ago, Appleco said:

 

Many thanks Bitpipe.  Great info.  The laundry facilities are a worry as our site is undeveloped woodland in the middle of nowhere so no buildings to put the machine in and closest laundrette a 40 minute drive away.  If you could have got cheap rent nearby (in the region of £500 per month) would you have done this or do you think being on site is more important?

 

If you're at all involved in the build then being on or very close to site is invaluable. If you've got a great main contractor that you trust and he has good subs, there is absolute clarity in the drawings etc then perhaps you could let them get on with it, otherwise you need to be there at least every morning and evening and the odd day each week.

 

I found it invaluable to be there and we prevented a few situations where a trade would not have done something the way I wanted or as described. As long as you're not breathing down their necks or nit picking then the trades don't mind you being there as most want to do something the right way first time. I'm lucky in that I work from home mostly so there would be a regular knock on the caravan door to 'just have a look at something'.

 

I also photographed everything at every opportunity for future reference (and probably not enough)  - continually comes in handy, like last week when I was putting up a shelf in the kids room and realised that my initial location would have risked driving a fixing though a pipe in the bathroom next door!

 

On the laundry, get a cheap garden shed from B&Q and stick it in there. Or get an even cheaper one berth caravan that can act as site toilet / office / tea room and a laundry at the weekend - these often change hands for a few hundred.

[ProDave]

2 hours ago, Appleco said:

 

This sounds truly grim.  Did your van have double glazing or are they all cold and damp?

The last one was very ancient and single glazed. No insulation under the floor and very thing walls.  Keeping it warm was not the issue, but with so many cold surfaces condensation was the issue. If you put clothes in the wardrobe and shut the door, it gets so cold in there that the clothes get damp with condensation.

 

The one we have for the new build, that we are not yet living in, is still only single glazed, but hopefully there is a bit more insulation in the walls, and there is insulation under the floor.

 

Don't forget we are in the Highlands and we get proper winters here with snow and stuff.

 

I would actually say the biggest issue in the last one was the bedrooms were to small. The new one that is not so bad but they are hardly palatial.

 

[Appleco]

1 hour ago, Bitpipe said:

 

If you're at all involved in the build then being on or very close to site is invaluable. If you've got a great main contractor that you trust and he has good subs, there is absolute clarity in the drawings etc then perhaps you could let them get on with it, otherwise you need to be there at least every morning and evening and the odd day each week.

 

I found it invaluable to be there and we prevented a few situations where a trade would not have done something the way I wanted or as described. As long as you're not breathing down their necks or nit picking then the trades don't mind you being there as most want to do something the right way first time. I'm lucky in that I work from home mostly so there would be a regular knock on the caravan door to 'just have a look at something'.

 

I also photographed everything at every opportunity for future reference (and probably not enough)  - continually comes in handy, like last week when I was putting up a shelf in the kids room and realised that my initial location would have risked driving a fixing though a pipe in the bathroom next door!

 

On the laundry, get a cheap garden shed from B&Q and stick it in there. Or get an even cheaper one berth caravan that can act as site toilet / office / tea room and a laundry at the weekend - these often change hands for a few hundred.

 

Ok sounds like I need to be on site.  I definitely want to avoid having to pay for them to re-do things to my liking.

[Appleco]

32 minutes ago, ProDave said:

The last one was very ancient and single glazed. No insulation under the floor and very thing walls.  Keeping it warm was not the issue, but with so many cold surfaces condensation was the issue. If you put clothes in the wardrobe and shut the door, it gets so cold in there that the clothes get damp with condensation.

 

The one we have for the new build, that we are not yet living in, is still only single glazed, but hopefully there is a bit more insulation in the walls, and there is insulation under the floor.

 

Don't forget we are in the Highlands and we get proper winters here with snow and stuff.

 

I would actually say the biggest issue in the last one was the bedrooms were to small. The new one that is not so bad but they are hardly palatial.

 

 

I'm on the North East of Scotland - weather probably not quite as bad as yours but its pretty exposed here and weather tends to get pretty wild.  I think double glazing is going to be a must.  I have heard that putting a skirt around the bottom of the caravan helps significantly.

[Crofter]

Yes, you want to box in around the base of the caravan to help stop wind scrubbing and taking away all your precious heat. Something like sarking timber would be perfect for this, I've also seen people scavenge some concrete blocks if they have them on site already.

 

I've spent a fair bit of time living on my boat, and a caravan would be pretty luxurious compared to that. Especially if y have mains electricity and can whack on a bit of heating and maybe a dehumidifier. Prodave is spot on about condensation though- try not to leave things packed away at the back of cupboards where it will get damp. On the boat, we've used those vaccum bags for clothes storage, where you suck all the air out with a hoover. Saves spacea nd stops them from getting damp.

[Ferdinand]

This is the time of year when people on holiday caravan sites sell off their caravans when they upgrade or when the site operator declare their holiday rental static vans to be too old.

 

So talk to the people on your nearest holiday rental static van sites.

 

Also bear in mind that the operators pay very poor prices when they tenants sell to them, so talk direct if you can.

 

Look for people advertising new static vans for next year and ask them what about the old one or put an ad in the local shop.

 

Ferdinand

Edited January 11, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Appleco]

19 minutes ago, Crofter said:

Yes, you want to box in around the base of the caravan to help stop wind scrubbing and taking away all your precious heat. Something like sarking timber would be perfect for this, I've also seen people scavenge some concrete blocks if they have them on site already.

 

I've spent a fair bit of time living on my boat, and a caravan would be pretty luxurious compared to that. Especially if y have mains electricity and can whack on a bit of heating and maybe a dehumidifier. Prodave is spot on about condensation though- try not to leave things packed away at the back of cupboards where it will get damp. On the boat, we've used those vaccum bags for clothes storage, where you suck all the air out with a hoover. Saves spacea nd stops them from getting damp.

 

Excellent idea with the vaccum bags.  Will have to invest in some of those.

[Appleco]

5 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

This is the time of year when people on holiday caravan sites sell off their caravans when they upgrade or when the site operator declare their holiday rental static vans to be too old.

 

So talk to the people on your nearest holiday rental static van sites.

 

Also bear in mind that the operators pay very poor prices when they tenants sell to them, so talk direct if you can.

 

Look for people advertising new static vans for next year and ask them what about the old one.

 

Ferdinand

 

Good advice - many thanks.

[Bitpipe]

I'm just about to put mine on ebay or similar - it was bought off a local site from the owners who felt it was a bit chinzy for rentals.

[Ferdinand]

3 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

I'm just about to put mine on ebay or similar - it was bought off a local site from the owners who felt it was a bit chinzy for rentals.

 

@Bitpipe

 

One of my Ts is going into rental caravans as a semi-retirement job, and picked up her first caravan when she was down on a site chatting with a friend already doing it and a 7x couple were selling their holiday van.

 

The site owners really make some of their money at entry and exit from the scene.

 

@Appleco

But at present many are mothballed for the winter :-), so an ad somewhere may be the best way to find someone planning to sell.

 

Ferdinand