A VAN life expert who’s lived in a camper conversion for two years has revealed that life on the road costs far more than you think.
Liam Day, 37, lives full-time with his wife Janine, 40, in a converted camper van which they drive around the UK, parking overnight in campsites.
4
4
He said: “You may have heard that living in a van in the UK saves you lots of money – but it cost us an absolute fortune.
“One cost that everyone who goes into van life has to pay is the cost of the van.
“You can spend £2,000 on an empty shell of a rusty old van or you can spend £200,000 on a coach-built motorhome.
“The first van that we got was a Transit which cost us £9,000. Getting it professionally converted cost us over £7,500.
“The second van we got, which is the van we have now, is a Citroen Relay Luton that cost us £15,000.
“Because it’s twice the size, it cost us twice as much to convert.”
Once your van is on the road, there are still many daily costs to meet.
He said: “The first cost to factor in is fuel. Diesel is skyrocketing at the moment, it’s costing about £2 a litre.
“We use a full tank of diesel every week which costs us about £150.”
The rising cost of fuel has forced Liam and Janine to adapt by parking in each campsite for two nights at a time, rather than spending every evening in a new location.
He and Janine also use a diesel heater keep warm during cold evenings on the road, costing them £15 a week.
The couple also have to pay up to £25 every night they park in a campsite, and their weekly groceries bill is no different from that paid by residents of a flat or house.
They also pay as much as £20 a week on road tax and insurance.
Janine added: “We have two phone hotspots we use for internet which cost us £80 in all every month.
“Another cost which we have is laundry – we tend to use launderettes which tend to cost around £12 a week.”
Overall, everyday van life costs Liam and Janine £370 a week – but another massive expense means life on the road is actually much more expensive than stationary existence.
Liam said: “We have had some extremely bad luck recently.
“Over the last few months we have had numerous repairs inside and out.
“Recently we got the worst news possible and found out after breaking down on the side of the road that our 2015 vehicle needed a new engine and ancillary parts.
“We wanted to let you know that. You do need to factor it in because you could end up like us.
“This is our home. All of our eggs are in one basket.”
It comes after a woman who lives in a converted van with her partner revealed how they’re able to live a lifestyle spending hardly any money.
4
4
For all the latest Automobiles News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
