Відео

We had it built for us by a company called 'Tiny Eco Homes UK'. We initially had an online consultation and then we went to visit their workshop in Northumberland. We had a look around, got some ideas based on other houses they were in the process of building and some show homes they had, we then chose a rough design and made some tweaks to suit what we wanted, paid a deposit and they built it for us. They delivered it to us initially which I think was factored into the cost but you wouldn't need to worrying about picking it up. We have moved the house four times now though and we used Tiny Eco Homes to move it for us the second time when they were next down South but the third and fourth time we used a towing company which is based in Southampton. The main reason for that was Tiny Eco Homes in 350 miles away from us so unless they were down this way it would cost about £1000 whereas a more local company is obviously much cheaper as it's less miles. You could always hire a vehicle and tow it yourself if it's under 3,500kg but initially they will deliver it to you.

Our van is a 2017 L3H2 Peugeot Boxer, it's not the longest or tallest so an L4H3 is the biggest one, 'L' being length and 'H' being height. It's the same van as a citroen relay or fiat ducato just different badges. The benefit of not having the biggest is of course being able to park in more places and just being smaller is easier, but also it weighs slightly less so you have a higher payload, I think the L3H2 weighs about 2 tonnes empty and can go up to 3.5 tonnes (some models I think can only got to 3 tonnes depending on the engine so make sure you check that!) but 1.5 tonnes payload is loads, handy if you want a bigger water tank etc. :) I'm pretty sure all these vans come with Air Con from factory which to be honest is a bit of a deal breaker, sprinters and crafters often don't have AC which is bizarre, we had a VW van before with no air con and never again, long drives in the heat with no AC isn't fun. They're also front wheel drive which means the back of the van is lower to the ground because these no driveshaft under the van driving the rear wheels, sprinters crafters and transits I think are rear wheel drive so they're higher off the ground which means less headroom, a bigger step up into the van and also they're taller. To be honest they're just really good vans and I'd get another one, never had any mechanical issues or anything but we did get a low mileage one so not sure about long term reliability.

I got the carpet from Ebay, if you search 'van carpet' there's loads of options. I think we got the 'vandalised' one if I remember and we got the colour anthracite.

It was really nice to get away for a couple of days, would definitely go back!

Haha, it really is quite heavy but like you said stainless is really expensive and the plastic ones are rubbish!

We're currently renting a plot on land that has residential permission so we just pay a monthly fee to the owners and everything is included, we're all hooked up to the mains water, electricity and get our bins collected by the council etc. I'm not sure how they got the permission but it used to be a nursery years ago so maybe they got the permission for workers to live here in caravans I'm not sure though.

I used the 19 x 38mm batten from Wickes

The leisure batteries are connected to both chargers all the time so they charge automatically whenever the engine is running or we plug into the mains. They’re both 30amp chargers so our 300amp hour leisure batteries take 10 hours to charge from zero. Sometimes we go off-grid for a few days of up to a week the swing into a campsite for one night and recharge everything, fill up water etc. and off we go again. We have a backup gas stove so if we cook on that and ration the power we can last quite a while off-grid before we need a proper recharge, it makes solar panels a bit pointless really and I don’t think we’ll ever bother getting any, after a week off grid we tend to run out of water anyway. The mains battery charger is also connected to the engine battery so when we’re on the hookup at a campsite the engine battery is also being charged which is really useful, you can have the ignition on and play the radio, blast the fans in the cab if it’s hot and it’s great for drying some clothes too, as the engine battery is being charged you never have to worry about a flat battery. All the grounds basically go to the negative terminal of the engine battery which is connected to the chassis, that way you don’t need to connect anything to the chassis in the back, I basically have a cable from the negative terminal that runs to the back and anything that needs grounding like the inverter just connects to that cable. Everything works great though charging wise, we’ve never had any issues at all and with the Victron stuff and the shunt you can see everything on an app on your phone which is so easy.

It’s been 2 years since we finished the build and it’s as good as the day I installed it. I just wish it wasn’t so heavy 😂

@paul2241xx It's silent.

@AlexanderSabate I did actually think of having the bathroom behind the drivers seat too but I decided not to in the end as i felt it restricted the space by the sliding door too much for getting in and out etc. I’m not sure if it would fit with the swivel it might be too wide, I’d have to check. What you could do if you wanted the bathroom there and the swivel is perhaps using a shower curtain instead of a solid wall? Or come up with some part-wall / part-curtain creation. The shower tray itself won’t interfere with the swivel seat as it’s too low so it’s only the wall that would be the problem. I can measure it if you’d like me to though.

When we were at the campsite we were on a meter which was just starting to get really expensive, especially just before we left as the prices went shooting up back then in late 2022, it was a commercial rate as well so there wasn’t an energy price cap and it was about double the price of capped residential rates at the time. Where we are now we don’t have a meter and we just pay a set fee for our rent and utilities and they haven’t charged us anymore since we moved 18 months ago so it hasn’t changed at all really. For a bit of perspective the winter of 22/23 when prices went up we were anticipating our electricity bill at the campsite to be up to about £80-100 a week in the winter as the rates were so high which was terrifying and that was on top of £150 a week rent, so almost £1,000 a month which was ridiculous for living on a campsite. Where we are now we just pay £600 a month all in all year round and don’t have a meter so I suppose fortunately the energy crisis if you like hasn’t really affected us, in a home sense anyway, we’ve still been affected by fuel prices and everything else.

Thanks for reply

hello thats a good idea , i dont fancy using screws on mine either ! what brand did you use ? did they stay on ? thanks

@@paulfletcher4331 I can't remember the brand. I got it from AAA in Liverpool. You will have to have something pressing against the batton your glueing if it's vertical, anything on the floor and just lay it on the gripper overnight. If you misalign it use a spade to take it off. I put my battons on at 6 pm and fixed to them at 2 pm next day

Thanks so much! 🚐 😊

Hey, we bought it from 'Tiny Eco Homes UK'.

The white pipe is just standard push-fit pipe or PEX pipe, you can buy it pretty much anywhere in straight lengths or in coils. You could use copper pipe but it’s more expensive.

Haha yes! Everyone buys an umbrella when it rains so you can charge so much for them 😂

I totally agree. We do have a few caravan parks, where I live there’s about half a dozen scattered around, but they’re all for over 50’s. Not sure why that is, as you rightly said many vulnerable people need affordable housing especially as social housing doesn’t really exist anymore.

I used metal screws to fix the batten to the metal of the van, all screws are metal but I mean screws for fixing to metal, they’re harder so they don’t snap, or less likely to but you need to predrill the hole first, you could get self tapping screws also. My idea was if I fix battens to the metal and create a kind skeleton then everything else I can fix to the battens easily. Be careful you don’t pre drill or screw all the way through to the outside of the van though. Check the length of your screws and drill bit, I cut down my drill bit for the roof I think just to be safe. 👍

@@LivingTheTinyLife Thanks so much for your response. I will look in to this option. 👍👍

I’m pretty sure it was from BES. Just type in ‘10mm stainless steel elbow’ into Google and it should come up.

Woohoo! What is your alternative?

When we first got the house our underfloor heating broke and we actually looked into getting a wood burner. I seem to remember a local fitter said our roof was too steep but we could go out the wall. We got the heating fixed anyway so abandoned the idea but there’s no reason why you couldn’t have one. I think it would get too hot with a wood burner though and then they burn out in the night and you’d get cold or have to relight it so you’d probably need another heat source. I think it would take up quite a bit of room too, I have always wanted one though.

We got it from custom shop designs. If you Google them you’ll find it :)

Hey, thats amazing! We’re not off grid unfortunately, still connected to the mains and renting a spot. I think one day we’ll make our way onto our own place but all in good time. Becky is an academic and works at a university. She works from home half the time but also has to go in for a few days every week during term time. We have a camper van that she commutes and sleeps in when she’s away. That is off grid so it’s quite cost effective. I don’t work anymore as her income covers our expenses, I stay at home and look after the dogs, house and take my son to school etc. I’m currently studying for a degree as well so keeping busy.

London is a tricky one because there’s not many places that I know of in London at all. I think it’s probably the same for most cities. When we first moved into the house we just called around and emailed all the local campsites or caravan parks near us and asked about seasonal pitches or if they accommodate full timers. A lot of people live in caravans and park up for longer periods on campsites, it is a bit tricker being in something that isn’t conventional though. We enquired at one place and they said they only accept branded touring caravans or motorhomes. There is a place called thriftwood country park, it’s just to the south east of London and out a bit, near Dartford / Orpington way, I know people stay there long term in caravans and we always had it as a possibility but we’re never given a definite yes. You’ll have an easier time if you go down the caravan route than getting a tiny house but you just need to ask around really. Hope that helps.

Thanks Christine 🐶