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*waves back*

Hello!  What van do you have?  I too will be taking my little dog with me when I eventually get a van sorted!  I will definitely be adding solar panels too, I don't want to have to rely on the engine to charge my batteries in case I want to be parked up for a week or something.

Hello real person!  I agree, we all need to get a bit more active to make the forum work.  I think the limited number of sections for people to post in has something to do with people posting once and then not coming back on.  Maybe a new section simply called 'Show of your van' would get people posting and create more conversation. 

I have just sold my van as I was hoping to copy Mikes layout but when I measured up I was going to struggle.  The van I had was originally big enough for my ideas, until I saw that Mike had installed a shower and toilet in his!  I didn't know that was possible, and now I've seen it I want the same!  So I'm on the look out for a van again!

Looking forward to seeing yours and reading about what Mods and repairs you are doing.  Make sure you post some pictures of your trip to Italy too! (Theres another forum section - "Tell us about your latest trip")

Mine is currently insured with Adrian Flux also.  I have cover for 365 days European driving, as well as full breakdown cover for the UK and Europe.  This is with a low mileage though, only 5000 miles a year.  I paid somewhere in the region of £300 for this cover.

You're right there, something cheap and easy to maintain is the ideal - however we all know how things can sometimes work out!  I think as you say, buying an expensive van doesn't necessarily mean that won't be without its problems.  Unfortunately, a lot of people only decide to sell when things start going wrong!

I'm like you in so far as, I can get by with simple maintenance. Bigger jobs though and I'm stuck. Fitting out the interior I think I would be able to do, there are so many 'how to' type guides on the internet.  But vehicle mechanics I think are sometimes best left to those who know what they are doing!

A section on here where people can post technical questions I think would be great.

Welcome aboard Rich!

I'm just at the planning stages too really.  I did already buy a van but the head gasket blew and now I've decided I want something a little bigger anyway so I'm going to move it on as it is if I can and then start looking for a bigger van.

Good luck on your journey!

Jimmy.

Hi guys,

Just wondering what people do about insurance when living/travelling full time in the van?  At the moment my van is insured at my home address, but when it is ready I will be handing the keys to the house back to my landlord.  I will therefore essentially be of No Fixed Abode. 

Are there insurance companies who offer full time live-in insurance?  Or maybe there are companies who will insure a vehicle even if you are of no fixed abode?  But then there is the question of address on driving licence etc too.  I'm pretty sure I will be able to just use a family members address for my licence and bank so that I can still get mail, however I would really prefer the insurance to be for full time travelling, so will not have an address to give them?

What are peoples experience of this? 

The problems you describe are the very reasons I chose against a 7.5t vehicle!  I think the newer Jumbo vans are a great option as you suggest, however not cheap!  For me personally budget did unfortunately play a big part in my choice. 

I had considered getting something like a 7.5t box vehicle but in the end decided against it, mainly because of ease of parking.  I think once I've been out in my van for a while and found the right spots I will then know for sure if I want to progress onto a bigger live in vehicle.  I think if you have a permanent or semi permanent park up that you can rely on then its worth getting the bigger vehicle, but for me personally, I want to know that I will always find parking particularly in cities etc...

Just thought I'd add for the younger drivers among us, a 7.5t vehicle can not be driven on a normal car licence.  The car licence is the category B on the back of your photocard.  In order to drive a 7.5t vehicle you need cat C1.  If you passed your test before 1997 you will automatically have been given the cat C1 entitlement, however if you passed your driving test after 1997 you will need to take further training and a separate driving test to attain cat C1 and therefore be able to legally drive a 7.5t vehicle. Anything bigger and you are looking at Cat C or for articulated vehicles C+E. 

Mike, Glad to see more posts on the forum already!  If you build it, they will come!

treevorb - did yours also have the big windows?  Did you keep them or block them out?  You're right though, they are huge inside which is what attracted me to it!  I wish I had your skills!  The parts only come to £300 so the rest is labour and VAT to take it to £800 and that's just an estimate - I'm sure they will "run into problems" and end up charging more labour..!

Hi Mike,

The van is still sitting outside feeling sorry for itself.  I am still waiting on two quotes for the head gasket.  The quotes I already have differ hugely so I want to wait until all the quotes are in before choosing a garage.  Hopefully I'll have it booked in within the next week or so.  Underneath is completely solid apart from one small square where it looks like the previous owners missed when undersealing it!  It is only about 10 x 20 cms so I will get that cut out and have fresh metal welded in.  There are some suspect areas on the sides of the van, particularly around the windows which I may yet remove. As you can see the van has huge windows which pose two potential problems - insulation, and cupboard/shelving space... 



I'd go ahead and spread the word about the forum sooner rather than later if I were you.  Forums only work with regular visitors really... I didn't have any problems registering or posting, very simple to edit preferences and profile etc.  Any teething problems would be easily sorted out in the early days I would imagine.  You could do with some more categories perhaps, but to begin with it is fine as it is.  You will get to know what other sections would be worth adding as the forum picks up - I'm sure people will suggest categories they would like to see in the future.  If it gets busy and you want any help give me a heads up.

I'll go first then...

Firstly, thanks to Mike for inviting me to join the forum. 

I found Mikes' blog after buying a van myself and looking for ideas.  I bought myself a mk1 Renault Master with the intention of gutting it and rebuilding the interior to a standard that would be comfortable and functional enough to live in full time.  I've already reached my first major hurdle when the head gasket blew just a month after buying it... I'd rather it happened now as opposed to being halfway across Spain in the middle of nowhere though!

That's all for now, look forward to sharing ideas and meeting like minded people as the forum gets more visitors...

Jimmy.