If you had said to us 8 years ago that we would have sold our house and would be living in a motorhome, we wouldn’t have believed you. Well, Jon probably would have, but me not so much. Now we can’t imagine anything different.
So how did we get to this point exactly? Here we’ll tell you about all the vans we have had over the last 8 years and some background about how we got to this point
It started with the ‘try it and see’ purchase, made on a whim – the VW T4. A 1999 van that had a DIY conversion (not done by us).
It needed a little TLC but we loved this van. We spent some time getting it up together and after initially using it to attend mountain bike & motorsport events, we got a taster of the sort of the flexibility it could offer us and how that fitted in with our hobbies and interests.
We quickly realised, however, that we wanted more than a day van. We wanted a proper little home on wheels that we could take away and not have to rely on external amenities. Oh and something we could stand up in.
We talked about purchasing motorhome and Jon had seen a couple online that he mentioned but at this point, I didn’t think anything more of it. Then one evening he pulled up at home with one, very casually. To be fair, if you know us and you know Jon, this isn’t actually that strange (he used to change his cars more frequently than his socks).
It was a 2004 Swift Carrera, a right little beauty! It felt like a palace to us with its fancy toilet on board and bags of headroom. We had some fab getaways in it, venturing as far as Fort William and enjoying every bit of it. But again, we thought about a few things we would like to change, like having a fixed bed rather than one you have to make up and a garage to keep any outdoor or non essential equipment in.
Jon made a spreadsheet (the most organised he has ever been) and we narrowed it down to pretty much one that was in our modest budget but they were not that easy to come by. We did find one at a dealer in Halifax (bearing in mind we were living down near Portsmouth). It just so happened we were going on holiday anyway to the Lake District so we made a small (!) 100 mile detour to see it and after some deliberation, we put the deposit down.
A few weeks later we went and picked up our 2016 Sun Living S35 SP. This van became an integral part of our lives, we used it for everything from day trips to holidays. We only had the one car now to enable us to have this motorhome so Jon used this as his vehicle as well.
We had fallen in love so much with this lifestyle that weekend breaks were not enough anymore, we wanted to go away for longer. We talked about how awesome it must be to go away for 2,3 even 6 months or more at a time and would look at social media accounts and YouTube channels of people doing just that. But there was one important factor to consider before we even dreamt of long term touring – Our 3 cats. They absolutely had to come with us, re-homing them was not an option.
So we started practising taking them away, it wasn’t easy, naturally, but we persevered! We would always do things at their pace and never rush them or push them too far. During this process, we did realise that we needed to look at the space and how all of us fit in to it, thinking about what configurations world work best. For example, a personal preference was that for longer touring, we wanted an A class because we wanted the benefit of a lounge space that used the whole width of the van (turns out this was a winner all round as the girls love nothing more than lounging on the dash, its like their own personal chaise lounge). So once again, Jon put his spreadsheet skills to good use and found another van that fit the bill.
We seem to have a knack for wanting vans that are not as easy to come by but he did find one and this time, it was a bit closer (in Somerset). So we went and looked one weekend and we absolutely loved it. Now we were trying to work out how we could make this happen in terms of purchasing, touring long term and still supporting ourselves. Plus what do we do with the house?
And then sadly, Jons Mum passed away. She did have some ongoing health issues but it was still unexpected. Suddenly things were shifted in to focus and we knew that we had to make it happen if it’s what we really wanted because, as cliche as it sounds, life really is too short. So it was decided, we would sell our house, take a sabbatical from full time employment and go long term touring around England, Scotland and Wales.
We went back to see the Van again, took it for a test drive and put a deposit down a few weeks later. Then the following month we picked up our Adria Sonic! We couldn’t believe it, this beautiful A Class, that would become our full-time home on wheels, was ours!
Alongside organising Jon’s Mum’s affairs, we began the process of clearing our own house ready to put on the market. This all takes time and with not wanting to delay things anymore than we had to, we decided I would leave my job and focus solely on emptying both houses down, room by room. We didn’t just want to sell and everything, up and leave as people sometimes think is the case in a situation like this, we wanted to make sure we did it properly. Each room was sorted through and items were either to keep, sell or donate. This way as well, we could maximise on any money to go towards our travels (or at this time, as a top up to Jon’s wage). It seems scary but its amazing what you can adjust to and its also amazing how much stuff you have that you don’t need or use (what is with the need to have spares? like a back up microwave or 6 pans but you use the same 2 to cook)
During this time, We saw a post on Instagram from Dethleffs asking ‘Could you be our next blogger?’, advertising the opportunity to travel in one of their motorhomes for a year. Even though we already had our plans in place we replied; what a fab opportunity it would be! We were torn at first because we already had our Adria Sonic and were so excited to live and travel in it but we also knew that it would be silly not to grab this opportunity with both hands. We knew of Dethleffs from our extensive research when we were looking for ‘vans and knew what beautiful motorhomes they had. We got a reply from Erwin Hymer Group, which we weren’t expecting, and after chatting over email, we travelled over 300 miles to meet them. Obviously it went well!
When our house sale eventually completed in March, the Dethleffs Pulse wasn’t quite ready and so we did actually end up moving in to our Sonic for the first few weeks after we moved out of the house. It felt incredible and natural, not scary or upsetting – we knew we had done the right thing.
We are grateful to have been offered the opportunity we have but we have also worked hard over the years to get to this point – if you want something enough you will make it happen! Do what is right for you, not for other people
As far as the travelling goes, there is no set plan. We just want to enjoy the journey and see as much of our country as we can. Then after that, we will do what we have done best thus far and make it up as we go along!
I do understand why people do it,,mainly people who are new to it ,I know how I felt when I first got a van,Its like sex at first, you wish you could eat it, after that you wish you had,,, Ive been doing it for 30yrs and I know the probs,,,Cabin fever can take over when you get used to the confined space,,Im quite happy to spend time in my van as and when, Ill never give it up just coudnt full time in it…..happy days to all of you out there,,,,regard Pete,,,,
Hi Pete, thanks for taking the time to read our post! Yes it is addictive isn’t it, once you taste that freedom! One of the things we love most about is meeting people who do it for different reasons and in a variety of leisure vehicles but who all have a shared passion for the hobby/lifestyle, just like yourself!