Budgeting to Live in a Campervan in the UK for an Extended Holiday

Taking an extended holiday in a campervan to travel the UK is a great way to experience a little bit of the ‘vanlife’ phenomenon of recent years, where people spend time traveling from place to place in their campervans, visiting new destinations on and off the beaten track. This is a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to live in a campervan in the UK without all the commitment of full time van life.

This is a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to live in a campervan in the UK without all the commitment of full-time van life and allows you more freedom than a break in a traditional hotel.

In the UK, this is a great type of holiday to take if you have time over the long school summer holidays, your work commitments allow for extended breaks, or you want to begin your retirement by switching off for a few weeks and enjoying everything your campervan has to offer on the open road.

If you enjoy the experience and choose to take it a step further it’s also perfect for international travelers looking for unique accommodations and unique experiences beyond the usual tourist trail.

One of the considerations with life on the road as you tour from place to place is that your cost of living will look a bit different from how it usually is at home. Some things will remain the same, but you’ll likely be cooking differently, thinking about pitch fees, parking spots, fuel, and car parks a lot more, and considering how to manage other practicalities like doing laundry.

In this guide, you’ll read about the costs of living in a campervan you might encounter while living the van life on your trip and ideas on how to make your money go that little bit further.

Living the Van Life in a Bailey Endeavour

Before we get into the cost of living in a campervan for an extended holiday, what sort of campervan would you choose to travel in?

The Endeavour range from Bailey of Bristol is Bailey’s first campervan conversion range and comes with a range of features that make your base for your trip feel like a real home away from home. Whether you plan to live in a van for a few days or a few weeks, choosing the right campervan is essential.

Across the Endeavour range, you will find:

A Ford Transit base vehicle. All Endeavours are converted from a Ford Transit with a 2.0-litre 165bph engine and 8-speed automatic gearbox. The Ford Transit is one of the UK’s bestselling commercial vehicles, so you can expect a campervan that’s been converted from a trusted vehicle. Bailey of Bristol also holds Ford Pro Converter status, ensuring that Bailey’s products adhere to the highest manufacturing guidelines and offer robust customer support.

Four choices of layout. There’s plenty of flexibility in the layout that you choose for your campervan adventure. With two 2-berth options including beds that make up from the seating area and two 4-berth options, which include a pop-top double bed alongside the beds that can be made from the seating area, you’ll be able to find a layout that works for you. Every Endeavour also includes a kitchen with a hob, oven and grill, sink and fridge freezer, and a fully equipped washroom with a shower, sink, and toilet.

Off-grid readiness. Each Endeavour includes a 100-watt solar panel and 105 Ah AGM leisure battery. This means you don’t always need to stay on a campsite with an electric hook-up and can choose an off-grid campsite if you would prefer to. The Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club both have sites that are off-grid and off the beaten track available to their members.

Easy to drive. Each Endeavour has a fully equipped cab with air conditioning, cruise control, and a 12” touchscreen to help make your driving experience as comfortable as possible. All Endeavours weigh in at 3500kg, meaning they can all be driven on a standard full UK driving license without the need to take any additional tests.

All-season friendly. Endeavours are designed and built for all-weather and all-season touring. For the colder months, the bodyshell insulation and Truma Diesel Combi D4E heating combine to keep you warm up to Grade III Classification – confirmed by cold chamber testing to keep an internal temperature of 20 degrees inside while the temperature outside is minus 15 degrees.

See the full Endeavour range here

Life on the Road – Costs and Top Tips

Below we’ll look at some of the top tips we have for planning and managing life on the road on a longer trip.

Remember though that if you are touring the UK, you’re never going to be far from facilities you are familiar with and if the worst comes to the worst, having good breakdown cover will always give you peace of mind that you can return home in an emergency.

This knowledge should help you enjoy your first experience of an extended tour.

Buying food

Food is one of the most significant costs in life and when living in a vehicle for your holidays, this is a big consideration.

Your Bailey campervan kitchen will be a great asset to help you cook meals in the van and avoid too much eating out and buying takeaways. Here are some little tips and tricks to ensure your meals go further:

Meal Planning: You may not be able to get to a shop or supermarket as often as you do at home, so plan to eat fresher food first and save tinned or dried food for later in the week.
Plan meals around tinned food: Stocking up on non-perishables is essential when you live in a camper for your holidays. Make sure you keep a couple of easy meals available like tinned soup or chilli and packet rice in case you can’t get to a shop when you’ve planned to.
Using freezer bags: If you pre-cook meals and freeze them flat, you can take up less space and have some homemade ready meals waiting for you when you need them. Don’t forget to label them with the date and name of the meal!)

Fuel, Parking, Clean Air Zones, and Campsites

This section is likely to be the one that is most different from what you would regularly need to pay for at home.

Compare Fuel Prices: You can compare petrol prices online to find the nearest fuel station to where you are. Try the Petrol Prices website which also has an app you can download to your phone.

Consider free stopovers: If you are looking for alternative parking spots to spend a night, check Park4Night which lists a variety of places you can stop for the night and BritStops which is a network of independent farm shops, pubs, vineyards and other locations that host motorhomes and caravans for free based on the possibility that you will buy some produce or eat a meal at their business.

Plan Routes: Make sure you use a route planning app like Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze to help you avoid tolls and driving charges in advance.

Join the Clubs: As a member of The Caravan and Motorhome Club or the Camping and Caravanning Club, you can book and stay on club campsites for a cheaper price than non-members. Membership costs around £50-£70 per year and also opens up other discounts for ferries, insurance and breakdown cover products, and access to help and advice when you need it.

Road Tax, Breakdown Cover, and Insurance

Another standard item you can’t avoid is road tax, breakdown cover and insurance. There are a few ways to make these costs cheaper:

Pay annually: This often provides a discount.

Use comparison websites: Sites like Compare the Market can help you find the best deals.

Check with the clubs: As mentioned above, the clubs often have access to cheaper rates on insurance and breakdown cover so it is worth seeing what their costs would be.

WiFi and Phone

Thankfully nowadays mobile phones come with a heathy amount of data that you can use when out and about but there may be times that you would prefer to use WiFi or you cannot get a mobile signal.

All of the models in the Endeavour range come pre-wired for WiFi which means that the wiring to install WiFi is already present in the van and you just need to buy an Avtex WiFi kit from PRIMA Leisure in order to use it. Your Retailer can help you to purchase and install the right kit for you.

Heating and Cooking

The Endeavour range of campervans have a Truma Combi Diesel heating system installed. This system can run off of the diesel in your tank, electricity, or a combination of both. You can find out more about how to use this in our beginners guides here.

If you choose to use the diesel then there is a reserve tank that will always hold back enough fuel to allow you to get to a fuel station in the morning, so there is no worry about running your tank dry overnight.

If you want to conserve your diesel and run the heating on electricity only, staying on campsites is a great way to make the most of your pitch fees.

Laundry

One thing you’re certain not to have in your campervan is your washing machine, so you’ll need to plan in some laundry days into your trip. If you plan ahead, you can incorporate these into some slower days where you might like to relax with a book or enjoy the facilities of a particular campsite so you don’t feel you’re wasting holiday time.

Research the campsites you might want to stay at with entertainment and things like swimming pools and water parks, or find a local laundrette in a town you’d like to spend some time in and combine chores with sightseeing.

Don’t forget to make sure you have some coins and a basket or bag to carry laundry in to hand. Keep your costs down and use the products you prefer by making sure you have a supply of washing powder, capsules or gel and fabric conditioner in the van to avoid having to purchase this at the laundrette.

Address and Post

If you are planning on an extended trip, you might want to make some arrangements for your post.

Consider having a friend or family member collect your post for you and contact you if anything looks like it requires your immediate attention while you are away.

For anything you might need to order, make use of Amazon and InPost lockers so you can pick items up easily.

Switch over all bills that you can to paperless billing so that you can receive all of these details by email.