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Winter checks
7 December 2018, 08:56,
#11
RE: Winter checks
Yes indeed I do live rural and have a septic tank Pete ,I was thinking more of a BO situation really plus we are thinking more and more of buying a camper for a variety of reasons, we have owned caravans and campers in the past so we know the crack.
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7 December 2018, 19:42,
#12
RE: Winter checks
(7 December 2018, 08:56)Straight Shooter Wrote: Yes indeed I do live rural and have a septic tank Pete ,I was thinking more of a BO situation really plus we are thinking more and more of buying a camper for a variety of reasons, we have owned caravans and campers in the past so we know the crack.

If you do buy a camper it’s nice to be able to pull up anywhere and make a brew.

Our camper as you know would be our BOV and as i have said before is always set up for a two week vacation or in a BO situation i have crates of extra supplies made up ready to load up (newbies please note)
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7 December 2018, 21:28,
#13
RE: Winter checks
Well there lays the conflict Pete.....4x4 and trailer or campervan ? For bugging out ....at present we plan to bug in but should the circumstances change we would have to bug out .....by that choice we have made means the probability will hold a very dangerous set of problems .....timing ...and high visibility no matter what we drive ,we will advertise We Have Food and stuff = easy target ....the only option to counter would be to ship out early to a BOL affording water shelter and food supply plus seclusion to have any hope of survival ,also tools ,seeds and long term stuff will need to be on-board ,albeit basics , the reasons I have the 4x4 and trailer are I am not committed to main roads I can off road which will give me more options and more cover plus most roads would be grid locked anyway .

Although I have a BOL sorted and stocked ,leaving late and hanging on here where I have everything could well prove my undoing ....there again that's the same for most who are bent on bugging in especially given my age .....another factor that looms large .....but survival knows no bounds on age in fact I would say I may well have some advantages .

In conclusion a campervan offers good opportunities also if you'r early or ahead in the timing ,and ready made comforts that could be camouflaged at some secluded spot ...my only reason for contemplating getting one if I am honest .....would be to enjoy the time I have left and see more of this country and share it with my best pal .
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8 December 2018, 01:03,
#14
RE: Winter checks
(7 December 2018, 21:28)Straight Shooter Wrote: In conclusion a campervan offers good opportunities.....my only reason for contemplating getting one if I am honest .....would be to enjoy the time I have left and see more of this country and share it with my best pal .

I can’t think of a better reason from getting one, so start lookingSmile.
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8 December 2018, 19:22,
#15
RE: Winter checks
OK SS do some math.

Take your age and subtract the number of active years you have left which contain the ability to drive a van or pull a caravan behind a vehicle.

Now subtract the number of vacation days you will actually take.

Now take the cost of the vehicle of trailer and divide it by that number.

Lets say you are 75 so you probably have 6 years of van pulling or camper driving left. Lets say 30 days of the year to really get out and about.

That is 180 days use total for the remainder of your lifetime, unless you want to live in the caravan like someone on a BBC report on elderly poverty.

Cost of a van or trailer is possibly 15k pounds for a usable one at the least. Probably closer to 20K if you get a nice one. You could get a cheap one and spend the difference fixing it up to usable condition.

My calculations show that each night spent in the camper or van costing 15K will set you back 83 pounds. Not counting maintenance, insurance, fuel, damage to a vehicle pulling a caravan always causes...

Take Wild thing to a good hotel and let someone else keep house and cook for her.

She'll love you mate and it will be cheaper!

Or just do like the rest of us and say you have the bug for a new toy!

BTW, I have a 27 foot "pull behind" that has not been out of the back garden parking area for 6 years! It is used as a guest house.
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Without it you can not tell who the idiots are.
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9 December 2018, 13:40,
#16
RE: Winter checks
Let me be more clear MB ....campervan = motorhome =you drive them unlike the caravan that you have to tow , I know we have different terms to you yanks ,so that should make things clear.

I note your methodical maths and (common sense application ) the fatal flaw is you assume I possess Spock like logical mindset .

Now with all the shit over the past six years (and continues) coupled with the fact that age is a sly sneaky bastard ! Plus the thoughts us old buggers contemplate as we head down hill and the brakes are failing ...we won't go quietly , freedom to go where we please And when we please is enough reason to follow through and get one ,common sense zero freedom and dreams ten ,besides this is completely in line with our prepper mindset with some build in comforts .....only once we pass this way mate ,make the most of what's left ...wins .
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9 December 2018, 19:05,
#17
RE: Winter checks
Yes we have slightly different terms but not that much.

The "Caravan" thing would put most yanks off since we do not use that term normally for anything except a line of some sort.

Over here we use the blanket term of "recreational vehicle", or RV, to cover all of the genre.

Motorhomes are the big boys, lots of them around and clogging the roadways in the summer. You guys often call things motor homes that we would class as camper vans. Unless it is built on a full sized lorry or bus chassis we do not consider it a motor home.

Renting them rather than buying them has become the current trend due to the expense of upkeep and the initial cost which starts at around $100K US. for one with a good engine and solid floor. You can get them cheaper but they will need intense attention and expensive alterations as a rule.

Camper vans are something that went out of vogue in the 1970s-1980s due to rising gas prices. There are only a couple of firms in the US that do the conversions these days, which is probably why there are so many You-tube videos about doing them yourself. Then there is the cost of a camper van which will begin at $50K-$60K, new, for the vehicle and another $40K-$50K for the custom alterations. Drive it off the lot and it is worth $15K instantly since their depreciation is astounding!

I always found them too big as a daily driver and too small to be comfortable as a camper. I have always thought that in a SHTF situation most are big enough to get you into trouble but not big or tough enough to get you out of that trouble.

The average "caravan" over here is probably larger than what is normally on your roads due to the average size of the vehicles used to pull them. We do not see as many of the small teardrop or 2-3 meter campers being pulled by small cars as we have 8-10 meter units pulled by C20 and C30 trucks.

I have noticed that in GB people will pull caravans using small vehicles that would have them arrested and taken off the road over here! Our vehicles do not get class 2 rating to pull full frontal trailers (more than 1.5M tall) over 500K until they are into vehicles such as the Land Rover class or American Cherokee size. Even those are limited to 2000K pull weight.

My late wife used to tow a small utility trailer loaded with 1/2 ton of camping gear behind a Ford Escort 2L estate. Although the engine held up well she blew three clutches in her first 100K miles. She finally stepped up to a Ford F150. It was really a futile effort since she only increased her load weight to the legal limit. Truck with 8 foot bed completely full pulling a 4M long box trailer completely full.

I told her that seeing her whole camp loaded in that rig was what gave me my first heart attack! She had over 200K in cast iron cookware!
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Every person should view freedom of speech as an essential right.
Without it you can not tell who the idiots are.
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