Caravan Versus Static Mobile Home

After a bit of a prod I thought it about time I did a bit of a comparison on living in a caravan full time and living in a static mobile home.

We moved into our static in the July of 2012, the reason behind this was purely financial. It worked out cheaper (just) to live in the static and not have the problems of moving every 28 days then it was to remain mobile.

The main differences were more space, running water, and a good sized bathroom with flush loo! All the things to take for granted before you live in a caravan!

Not having to worry about the awning blowing away or collapsing is also a bonus, every time it rained heavy I ended up getting up several times during the night to check to make sure everything was ok.

Emptying the loo and filling the aqua rolls is also a job I do not miss.

As it was the summer when we moved in, our electricity which is on a coin meter was very low, in fact we had to keep checking it to see if it was actually working!

However this winter it seems to be eating money like it is going out of fashion. At least in the caravan we did not have to worry about how much electric we used.

We are running a convector heater, an oil filled radiator to keep us warm, which it is just about doing. To boost the heat we managed to get hold of a modern gas fire running off butane which really does kick out some heat.

We were never cold in our caravan, even when the temperature dropped to -11 we were snug at a comfortable 22 degree's. I wish we could say the same for our static!

However we still seem to be suffering from damp in various places. Something we never had in the caravan. We have tried everything to try and cure it but I'm afraid that we are loosing the battle.

We have installed a dehumidifier which is pulling moisture out of the air, but even that does not seem to be curing the problem.

So our next only real solution is to think about moving!

I don't think that we will be going back to the caravan, as it was purely financial that we moved into it in the first place. With good wages coming in we have been looking at renting a small place around the Lymington area.

Ideally within walking or cycling distance for me to get into work without a car. We can then go down to just the one car and save ourselves the running expense.

I think it will be probably be towards the later part of the year that this happens, but with everything, you never know whats around the corner and anything can happen!

After re-reading this post it does make out that I did not enjoy our caravan experience. Far from it, it was a great experience and if needs must would do it again.

I personally could live in a caravan without a problem, but I do feel that "M" does miss her four walls.

We certainly feel that when retirement creeps up on us there is a good chance that we will be buying a motor home and heading for the hills, but that is a few years away yet!

So to sum up, there are pro's and con's to living in either. If I had to make a choice based on it just being me then I would choose the caravan, with a smaller awning. However "M" likes her four walls and a more settled way of life, so four walls it is.

Till later.....