The husbear and I loved travelling Australia in a caravan with our young family back in 2001, and dream of doing it again …
But could we sell up everything and switch to living in a motorhome permanently? Could you?!
Today’s blog post was written by Lisa, and she’s done just that. Lisa and husband David have been living in a motorhome for a few years now, along with their boys.
So now it’s over to Lisa to share more of her story …
We get so many questions about our way of living. We’re living with less stuff to have more: more adventures, more experiences, more from life without living within the normal confines of what is expected from us.
It’s funny but we don’t see our way of living in our motorhome, traveling our way, living in a small confined space, as being anything different from how others live in their house or home.
Yet when I say to someone: “We live in an old school bus, that I bought sight unseen from eBay and which David converted into our home on wheels – our motorhome,” they stare at us as if we are from Mars!
Some of the questions I am frequently asked are:
“Where does everyone sleep?”
We have a huge bed at the back with enough space to walk down on each side, with our own wardrobe on each side.
And our boys have their own bunk beds.
“What do you do for showers?”
We have a shower which is needing to be upgraded but we use it every day so it’s a case of how can we renovate it when we need it!
“Where do you cook your meals?”
We do have a stove top that most of our meals are cooked on, but we don’t have an oven. This was the one thing that we took out when renovating, and didn’t end up putting another one in. David loves to cook so he really does miss his oven.
But we do have a Choofer which most of our meals are cooked on, especially when we have access to free firewood.
“What’s a Choofer?”
It’s an old gas bottle that is no longer in use, safely cut up and turned into a fire pit where David can use a wok or a plate on top. There is something magical about eating a meal that is wood-smoked and flame grilled!
“So, you have no door on your bedroom, what about your own privacy?”
That is one aspect of our motorhome that is lacking. We lack personal space, privacy and have to be extra crafty to have time for intimacy. I did write up about the idea a while ago and I still think that it would make sense to have hotels/motels around Australia where you can book a room by the hour instead of one flat rate over night! That way we could get our “alone time” for a few hours, without leaving our kids overnight.
“Would you ever move back into a house?!”
Nope. Not in a million years. A house takes up too much time and effort to keep clean all of the time. What a waste – the way I look at it.
You were born with nothing in this world, you can’t take anything with you when you leave this world, what is the point to owning so much stuff. It takes up so much time to keep a home clean and looking good. Whereas the motorhome takes such little time every day to keep on top of the jobs like vacuuming and mopping the floor, washing the shower, doing the dishes, and putting a load of washing on.
“What are the must have items in your motorhome?”
Here is a list of what we must have to live and travel our way:
- Washing Machine – David raised our bed base to be able to put a washing machine in the boot of the Motorhome. We always have so many dirty clothes (2 boys and 2 rescue dogs) that going to laundry mats would not have been ideal.
- Caravan Curtains – Yes, we have caravan curtains in our motorhome. David works in the caravan industry and we have a gorgeous set of grey fully-lined curtains. They are a must to keep out the cold in winter and the heat in summer.
- A Caravan Door with a Flyscreen – Our motorhome came with the old-style bus door and I would have loved to have kept it but it wasn’t able to be locked, and it didn’t have a fly screen. So David fitted a caravan door instead. It’s great because we can keep the main door open, but the flyscreen keeps the pest at bay.
- Lots of storage space – We have cupboards next to our bed for our clothes. Under the bed I have access to a storage compartment from inside our motorhome, and outside we have access to the rest of the under the bed space from a door in the boot. In the kitchen we have storage space overhead, as well as down the front of the motorhome. Even our boys have their own wardrobe.
- Shower – We have our own shower which is so handy when we are staying where there is no access to a bathroom. Mind you we have to watch water, so our showers are in and out. When we are hooked up to electricity and water we all take advantage and give ourselves a good scrub!
- The roof painted with insulation paint – This is a huge must have! We all helped to paint the roof with paint that reduces the heat in the summer time, and it made a big difference
“What are the disadvantages of living in motorhome full time?”
There is only one! Lack of privacy. We need a door on our bedroom area.
Actually, I lied. There’s two – we wish we had a toilet! (MAM: A toilet would be a must for me … my nickname since childhood has been Jolly Juicy Janet because I have to get up to go to the loo multiple times each night. Drives me bonkers!).
Now I have a question for you: Could You Live With Less To Have More?
Cheers, Lisa
New Life on the Road
Hey There! It’s David & Lisa Wood, along with our sons and two amazing rescue dogs. We love to travel, we love coffee, gluten-free and refined sugar-free treats. Always looking for the next adventure, hiking up hills, searching for waterfalls – living life!