Why People Think Of Living In A Caravan

Thinking of living in a caravan.? Well, people live in caravans for many reasons. Some are just sick of living like ants in the standard council or housing estates all over the world. They pressure us into thinking we must abide by the norm. Which is leaving school getting, going to college and university, leaving with debt that you’re never gonna pay back. Get a job, then comes an even bigger debt machine and the biggest of all a mortgage.

You can be stuck in a mortgage for 30-plus years and potentially working a job you no longer want to. But if you don’t, then you cannot pay the mortgage or debt back, which means you lose your home, car even belongings in some cases.

Well, choosing to downsize and live in something that you can purchase for as little as a couple of grand maybe you have this in savings.

A. couple of grand can get you a decent caravan, not a brand new model or even a top of the range second-hand one. But it will get you started and allow you to save more of your income to purchase a better one, later on down the line.

But I’m getting off-topic here or am I…? many people choose to live in a caravan to get rid of those long-lasting debts and be a little freer.

I mean, we have enough rules that we have to live by, so if we can get rid of a few of those, then we free ourselves from some burdens of life.

Also, most people who choose to live in a caravan want to downsize and get rid of the materialistic crap we acquire that we never use. One of the best days of my life was freeing myself of all that crap. I just gave it away or left it for someone else. I took what was dearest to me and that was it.

What Type Of People Live In Caravans

This is always the one that gets me the most. Soon as you say you live in a caravan, people automatically think that you are a traveller, which by the way, there is nothing wrong with. But they will get certain rights, rights that you won’t get. If there are enough travellers, then they will even find land for them to live on. You try doing this with a bunch of friends, see how far that gets you..?

But many of those people who choose to live in caravans, are people who work full-time jobs, small farmers living on their land, people living in residential parks because they like the perks that come with living there, clean-cut lawns, maybe an onsite gym. Some residential parks have the lot, but it comes at a price.

We will talk about the costs I face choosing to live in my static on my own land later on in the article.

There is no one type of person who lives in a caravan. It is no different to living in a brick and mortar home except you can pick your home up and move it. Yes, they may be a little smaller, but that’s what most people want and the freedom that goes with it. In fact, there is a small house revolution going on as you are reading this.

People are downsizing for so many reasons, whether to save money or they hate living alone in a large home. I know I hated it and now I’m living in a small home; it feels cosier and all my friends are envious of me living how I do.

It would be simple to just say that it’s these types or these types, but in fact, there is no one type of person who lives in a caravan.

Types Of Caravans To Live In

If you choose to live in a caravan, then you’re spoilt for choice: so many sizes, different colours, interiors and so on. It all depends on how much you want to spend, the size you want to live want and so on. Many factors will dictate your choice. If you want to move around, then you may choose a caravan that you tow behind your vehicle. Like the touring caravan below.

There’s a long history of Caravaning but mainly in the Uk and Europe in the US it’s mainly Motorhomes

But there was one caravan that became a piece of history and to this day, if you see one you’ll either already know what it is or you will want to know and that the AirStream they are stunning to look at and have been turned into some awesome things throughout the years.

Choosing a touring caravan, then the world is your oyster pardon the pun. But it literally is if you choose one city one day and another the next, you can do it. If you want to nip through the tunnel or across the sea to Europe, then you can. You can live where ever you want.

Now, if you choose to live in a touring caravan, you will have to stay in a caravan or camping park overnight. Unless you have plenty of friends all over the country, that would be happy for you to stay on their drive.

Caravan Parks can cost you a small price to park up, but you also get to use onsite facilities. Depending on where you choose to stay will dictate the price you pay.

Staying in caravan parks every night will cost you a good chunk of your income per month, probably more than it would to rent a home. You may get a discount if you choose to stay in a park for a certain amount of time and become a regular.

If you choose to travel around staying on friends and families driveways. If you use the caravan as a spare room to the home, taking one meal inside of the home, then there is no need for planning permission.

If you stay there for a long time and use the caravan as a separate dwelling, then you will need planning permission to do so and pay council tax.

Are You Allowed To Live In A Caravan

People always ask me this question when I say I live in a caravan “Are You Allowed? “. The answer is not as simple as it may seem. It all depends on where you choose to live in a caravan in one.

If you want to drive around the country pulling up in car parks and lay-bys to stay overnight or for a week, then the answer is “No”. The local council will not allow that and you will be visited and asked to move on.

If you choose to live in a residential caravan park, then the answer is yes, but some are only open for 9 months a year. Then you have others that a year-round so you can live in your caravan all year. You can buy your own caravan to live in or rent one from the site owner.

I think this is the worst type of living in a caravan. You have to keep your caravan updated, so replace them to meet new codes and standards. Then you have to pay ground rents and other fees. All this can mount up to a pretty penny.

These caravans have to be kept in good condition and habitable, with all the relevant fire and smoke detectors checked regularly.

Plus, there are rules to abide by when living on these residential sites. There are also benefits, what type of benefits depends on the site itself, but the better the benefits, the more expensive it will be to live there.

Can You Live On Your Own Land In A Caravan

Then there is the question most people want to know, and that’s can you live in a caravan on your own land..? Well if you do, then you need planning permission to do so and getting planning permission to live on your own land in a caravan will never happen.

You may get temporary permission if you are doing a self-build and already have planning permission to build the home. Many people do this when building their own home live in a caravan while you complete the build. Then the caravan goes once they build the main dwelling.

Some of these caravans, which are mainly statics can be a great buy. Most people who choose to live in a static caravan while building their dream home have double glazing, log burners, etc put in, regular sofas and so on. They mostly sell them fully furnished as well. This makes for a great buy if you can find one for sale, that is.

You still have to apply for planning permission to live in the caravan temporarily while building your main dwelling, even if you have planning permission to build the house.

But if you want to live on your own agricultural land and may have purchased for this specific reason. Then you better get your caravan on the land first and ask second.

The council or local planning departments all over the UK will never grant you planning permission to live on agricultural land, no matter where it is. Not that there aren’t people doing just that. Some people hide away and hope for the best going for 10 years 1 day and then claiming the right of lawfulness.

I know a couple that did just that and now have a huge caravan. It is classed as a caravan but is the size of a large bungalow and is built of 4 sections. Stunning home and in the area where they live, there are around 20 more families and people doing the same, not being bothered by anyone.

If you ask for planning permission to move onto agricultural land, it will be refused outright. Yes, you can go down the route of lawfulness but in a caravan that takes 10 years. You can get the right a lot faster than that, but you must in all instances, move onto the land first and ask second. You will not be looked down on. Planning departments are used to people doing things without permission.

What’s It Like To Live In A Caravan

It’s hard to describe what life is like living in a caravan. I mean, it all depends on many factors. Factors such as how big is the caravan, how many people live in the caravan, is the caravan on the move or is it stationery?

But many people have this idyllic idea of caravan life. Now I’m going to concentrate on life living in a two-bed static 35ft x 12ft wide, which is what mine is and I’m living on my own with 2 labradors. So one bedroom for them and one for me, the bigger one lol.

As you can see from the images, it all looks cosy. I had to do some alterations to the caravan to get it to be more homely. But some people think they can live in a caravan, no problem. They spent a week in one at the Lakes in the summer. That wasn’t bad. In fact, it was great. We had an awesome time.

Well living in one year-round is a little different than staying in one on a caravan park that’s for sure.

It may be fun at the beginning, but after a while, if there are too many of you, it could be a literal prison. When you have a 3 bedroom home with plenty of rooms, well, you can disappear to another part of the home where no one can hear you. In a caravan well, everyone can hear what you are doing and that can get on your nerves a bit.

Saying that if you are a close family and you love to spend every minute of the day together, then you may find the togetherness great. Now, if let’s say I was sharing this caravan with a partner and the dogs, then it would be enough space. But remember that being with a partner is not always bliss.

So there will be times when you want your own space and if I didn’t have workshops and other parts of the land to disappear to when things got a little heated. Then I think I would get a little stressed, so to speak.

Heating Your Caravan

Heating a static caravan, and this could be said for a touring caravan as well. The summer times may be warm. In fact, I think my static is too warm; it has a lot of glass which makes it a greenhouse when the sun is bright, so I am one for keeping the blinds closed.

Now for winter, I have that covered I use a log burner. I installed it myself and purchased it from Facebook Marketplace, my favourite online selling platform. The log burner keeps the caravan warm and toasty. Sometimes, to warm you need just the right amount of wood burning. Tip: Leave the bedroom doors open so that the heat can travel around the caravan easily.

If you don’t leave the bedroom doors open, then it will get really, really cool in there in the wintertime, but once you’re under the quilt, then you’re warm enough. But it’s when you need to pop to the toilet that you feel the cold air and I mean cold, not chilly but cold. That’s when you wish you installed a log burner.

I am lucky enough to be connected to mains electricity on my land, which cost a small fortune to get connected to the grid. But I dislike using expensive, outdated electric heaters. So when I am ready for bed, I place a couple of hardwood logs on the wood burner which last all night once you figure out how to use your log burner properly.

I don’t think putting expensive double glazing would make any difference to how warm the place gets. If you install a log burner and have a double-layered carpet on the floor, then you will be warm alright.

The couple of changes I made removing the fixed seating that comes with a static yes it may be ok for a week, but for living in not a chance. I purchased a more comfortable sofa like you would have in a normal home. Trust me, this makes a massive difference to how comfortable it is when living in a caravan.

Then I ripped out the fixed bed and purchased a quality bed. I mean, if you are going to be living in a caravan all year round, then you want some comforts, right?

I could talk all day about what it’s like to live in a caravan, but for you, well, you could find it totally different from what I do. You may want more space or be happy sharing what little space is on offer. This caravan is fine for me because it’s a means to an end. The end being, converting my stable block into a small bungalow.

Where Will You Choose To Live In Your Caravan

As I have mentioned above, there are many places you could choose to live in a caravan. You could choose residential sites. It may be an all year round site or it could be a part-time residential site, these sorts of sites don’t have full residential status or licenses but only for 10 – 11 months of the year so you have to find somewhere else to live for a couple of months. You could use this time to spend with family or friends.

If you were living in a touring caravan, you could spend a couple of months on a friend’s driveway or garden, then move back to the site when it reopens.

Also, if you are living in a touring caravan, you may choose to spend your time in different sites travelling around seeing different towns and cities, sometimes countries, but this would be the most expensive way to live in a caravan.

It would be great to spend the wintertime in Spain there are plenty of caravan sites out there.

If you are looking to live in a caravan because there is no room in your mother’s home or you just want your own space. Then you can live in any size caravan on your parents or even friends’ land, which could be a driveway. As long as the land we are talking about is in the garden’s curtilage of the house, meaning the garden, driveway etc.

But to do this, you need to take one meal inside the main house, not that anyone would know if you did or didn’t.

What you cannot do is use the caravan, whether it be touring or static, like a separate home or dwelling. If you do this, then you would need planning permission. If you got planning, which is very doubtful, then you would have to pay council tax.

Another thing you might think, you could just park up, leave the touring caravan attached to the vehicle, and sleep in it. Well, you could, but if the police are called, they will move you on and if you have been drinking and the vehicle’s keys are in the caravan they can get you for drink driving.?

There are lots of different opinions on this, but mostly, it is not workable to live in a caravan this way. You need to have a base no matter what caravan you choose to live in.?

Why Not Work On A Farm

Now, if you’re not working and you want to live in a static or touring caravan and you’re willing to work, then you could go around local farmers and look for some. Many farms have several static caravans scattered around their land for farm workers and seasonal workers. I know plenty of farms that let the workers stay in the caravans all year round and they never get bothered by anyone.

If you’re touring the country and want to earn some money in the process, then this is perfect for you. Also great for meeting new people from all over the world, farmworkers in the UK come from all over the place.

You probably be given a small patch of land or should I say allowed to use a small bit of land to set up home, so to speak.

Living In A Caravan On Your Own Land

You will need to start some sort of business to get the right to live in the caravan on your own land, and this will only be temporary permission for 3 – 5 years while you prove your business is viable. Plus, you need to prove a functional need to be there 24/7 – 365 days per year.

This is what the council or local planning departments will want you to prove to them. These are old and outdated rules and they should not use them, but they still do. Instead, they should judge on a need for a rural workers’ dwelling, but they still use the old rules to see if you need that dwelling is needed. You need to prove –

• Functional Need To Be There
• Prove The Business Is Viable
• Show Your Financials

If you are thinking of buying land to live on in a caravan, then I would advise against it. Unless you’re starting some sort of rural business and want to make that business work. If that is the case, go for it, but make sure you have everything ready for the business to start straight away. You only have 3 – 5 years to prove the business is going to work. It’s hard enough with a normal business, never mind a rural one.

This way, you are not messing around tidying the land and putting up fences, you can concentrate solely on the business itself.

There are plenty of small plots of land where sitting static and touring caravans would be appropriate for families wanting to live a country lifestyle.

This is what most people have probably come to read, and that’s can you live in a caravan on your own land. The answer is a resounding “NO” not unless you get granted planning permission. Your land will probably be agricultural or equine and as such, you would need to get a change of use to residential.

If you do not have the money or should I say savings available to buy yourself some land try and Claim Land.

Planning permission would never be granted, not for you to just move onto land in a caravan and live there. Councils are not in the business of letting anyone live on agricultural land or any land that they do not designate as residential. Then your only choice is to rent or purchase a property that is not what you want to do.

I have always said this in my videos. If you have been to my YouTube channel, The Small Farmer Life you have to find agricultural land think of a business idea. Get the land into a good state of repair so that when you move onto the land you are ready to go. Make sure you have a good business idea. It does not have to make you millions.

Trust me when I say that there are thousands, tens of thousands of people living on agricultural land all over the UK.

Now there is one thing that 99.9% of these people have in common and that’s they moved their caravan on first and ask second. Do not ask first, then be refused as they will refuse you, even if you have a fully functioning farm or business. They will just say well if it’s doing so good and you’re not there, then why do you need to be there now.?

They are more than willing to say no if you ask, but find it hard to evict you once you’re on the land. But you need to start some sort of business and it doesn’t have to be a huge farming operation. I know a guy who lives on an 8th of an acre plot and has a dog grooming business. That’s as far from farming as you can get. But it’s a business in a rural area and the local councils have to support rural businesses and the need for rural workers’ dwellings.

Heres A List Of Rural Business Ideas

• Dog Kennels or Cattery 
• Pet Hotel – People have lots of different pets, all of which may need hotel
• Petting Zoo
• Clamping Site or Tiny Home Site
• Farming Workshop Good Mechanic – Mobile Fix Farm Machines
• Rural Garden Centre + Nursery
• Composting Site + Mulching, etc
• Different Rural Business or Combine A Couple
• Countryside Wedding Venue
• Aquaponics Farm
• Fish Nursery + Breeding Site, etc
• Stud Farm – Horse Delivery – Horse Box Hire – Sell Horse Tack & Feed
• Tree Farm + Speciality Trees Different, Japanese Acres, Japanese Maples
• Lama + Donkey Trekking
• Grow Micro Greens & Mushrooms

• Country Joinery Shop – Chicken Coops, Rabbit Hutches,
• Sell Hardware To Local Villages 
• Small Rural Shipping Warehouse & Last Mile Delivery

This is the best shot you have got to live on agricultural land in a caravan. This way, they weed out the potential property developers. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But trust me when I say this once you’re in your new home, the caravan in this case, and have your own land.

The debt machine does not saddle you. There is no better feeling than living on your own land with acres of space. Running your own small business breathing in that fresh air.

Yes, you will still have to pay council tax as does everyone else, but it’s pennies compared to the costs associated with living in a 3 bed home.

Is It Cheaper To Live In A Caravan

The cost of living in a caravan is minimal if you are living on your own land. Now, as I have said, if you’re living on a residential site or travelling or touring as it is known, then it’s going to cost you a lot of money.

But if you purchase a piece of agricultural land and tidy it up, start a small rural business doing something like raising hens or breeding them to sell fertile hatching eggs like me. I get £20 per half dozen, so 6 eggs, with a profit of around £12 after costs are taken into account.

Personaly this is how I got the right to keep my caravan on my land.

This takes minimal time to do and is guaranteed less stressful than your old 9 – 5 job because we are not just talking in monetary terms here. We are talking about the costs of everything from income to mental health. These are all costs we pay in life to live how we do in homes that are too big for us, buying needless things to fill them and all on debt.

The best thing I ever did was get rid of all the junk I had acquired over the years and I never sold it. i just left it and told them to give it to the next tenant or charity.

Now all I pay is £40 per month electric, £2000 per year council tax, £20 per month internet and food bill which to be honest is not that much. Also, when I grow my salad and vegetables, it will be next to nothing for food.

I get my wood for the burner from a local tree surgeon who tells me when he is cutting certain trees down and he just dumps the chopped logs and chippings which I used for paths on my land.

He even cuts them to a size I can split them by axe. You may choose a log splitter, but I like the exercise and I don’t even let them dry. I use dry ones and leave the freshly cut ones at the side of the fire as you see in the images to be dried. It takes around a couple of hours for them to dry to a point where they are ready.

But I can honestly say that moving into a caravan on my land that I owe “NO DEBT ON” is one of the best things I have ever done for me, my health, and my bank account.

You cannot just look at the monetary costs of living on your own land, etc. You have to also take into consideration the joy of breathing fresh air well, as fresh as you’re going to get. The joy of the peace and silence, no more children playing outside your door unless they’re your own, that is.

The joys of growing your own food, picking apples from an orchard that you planted and collecting fresh eggs daily. These things are not just saving you your money, but also your health. Living as we do in this modern way of life is not how we’re supposed to live, not all of us anyway.

Yes, some people love it, but a lot of others don’t and it hurts not just their wallets but also their health. There is 92% of the UK that is open countryside and there are plenty of small parcels of land out of the way. Which could never be farmed in a way as we think of modern farming.

But they could be farmed on a smaller scale by people and families wanting to live the smallholder’s life.

It’s cheaper for you and for the country. The countryside is taken care of the land is managed in a better way. No more man-made fertilisers but natural manure. Mental health problems are sorted for people who don’t or dare not leave their own front doors because of what society has done.

They should not reserve the land or countryside for wealthy individuals. But all wealth classes and types of individuals should occupy it. Yes, this may be idealistic, but it is what most people want. Maybe not the top 10% but the vast majority of this country would like the opportunity to live in the countryside if they so please.

Bills That Come With Caravan Life

The bills that come with living in a caravan. In my case its a static caravan so that I can only testify to the bills I pay.

• Gas Bottle £40 per 3 – 4 months
• Food Bill £150 per month
• Council Tax £2000 per year
• Internet 4G Unlimited Data Three Mobile, £20

So not that bad, but this is just to live in the caravan. It is not for taking care of the land. But that’s all part and parcel of starting a smallholding. You are going to have to build certain things that will also add value to your land and now home.

How Do I Get Internet To My Rural Caravan

Yes, this is one thing we cannot do without and that’s the internet. We learn so much from it and it will be in daily use once you move onto your land and start living in your caravan. You will learn so many things to do around your farm from YouTube etc,

I use the internet a lot as you can see from my setup below. People think you need super-fast broadband. But from someone who does everything online from writing this blog to YouTube videos, streaming movies on a night time. The best service I have found is 4G Unlimited Data By Three Mobile.