Renting a campervan for work

[Pallet Fancier]

I've seen a lot of weird things discussed on here, so I thought why not ask? I'll be travelling for work, next year, to various sites in rural areas where accommodation may not be available (or desirable). At least three trips of four days each, probably starting in May, one or two in June or July and possibly one in September or October.

I'll need a toilet and preferably a shower onboard. Going to be outdoors getting grimy all day.

I've had a look at holiday rentals and nothing really suitable, so far. Is there a commercial rental sector? Who are the guys who supply building sites and similar projects?

Ideas welcome.

 

[brianc]

Ideas welcome.

A friend of mine owns Goat Roadtrip and has a large fleet of camper vans for hire...

 

[johna.clements]

If you are putting the motor home on site, assuming you are allowed will you have access to their electric. If you do you will need a long enough lead. You may also need a means of securing a window if that is where the lead comes from.

Many sites have showers and most have a microwave. May help if you do not have an electrical hook up.

A push bike carrier maybe good so that you can get to the nearest pub and shop with out moving the motor home. Or carry a motor bike.

I would be surprised if you could not find a B@B within ten miles of most places in the England. If the site is on a Scottish mountain you may have more difficulty.

On sites people who are there for a short time stay in the cheapest B&B they can find that takes contractors. I stayed in a 40 static caravan once but it was rented off a farmer stuck in his yard. I have known people buy second hand ex holiday camp caravans but you can only move them some many times till they leak.

On some sites they have provided bunkabin. But that is no good for such a short time.

Junior Deluxe Sleeper - Portable Accommodation from Bunkabin

 

[Tris]

You'll need to have means of emptying the toilet and grey water tanks, and filling the onboard water tanks. Proper motorhomes or campers will have an electrical hookup point built in, uses a 240v version of a 110v site lead.

We saw some guys working on a school down the road when we stayed on a camping and caravanning club site on the Isle of Wight this summer, that way you have a shower block and everything there. Most of them had tents or caravans

 

[Jameshow]

Most vans will be expensive from £100 a day for a T6 or £200 for a roller team coachbuilt.

Bumble campers or one of the import van converter rental vans will be cheapest.

How about getting a welfare van and converting it? A simple ply toilet, kitchen unit and bed aren't hard to make and when you come to sell it you make your money with ease.

 

[Southdownswolf]

Take a look at Quirky Campers, there may be something suitable and a deal to be made..
https://www.quirkycampers.com/uk/

 

[Richard_C]

Assuming you travel from home very early on day 1 and to home late on day 4, you are looking for 3x3 nights accommodation. How complicated do you want to make it for 9 nights. OK, perhaps 12 if there is a 4th trip.

By the time you rent a camper van, pay site fees if you have to stay on a holiday site, pay for gas etc, kit yourself out with bits and pieces and pay the inevitably higher fuel cost because they do fewer miles per gallon you might find it better and no more expensive to do a daily commute to the nearest B&B or even better self catering place. Modern boxes, Ibis, travel inn or similar, might not be too expensive if there is one nearby and you book in advance. If it's a holiday area you might struggle in those months, school hols. I occasionally stay in an Ibis in Yorkshire and there are loads of contractors vans in the car park Mon to Thurs. I wondered why they were always having work done then I twigged.

 

[baldkev]

Id just look for air b and b

 

[Jones]

Travelodge

 

[ey_tony]

I own a sited caravan so I know a little about motorhomes and according to what I can find out, renting a campervan can cost anything between £300-1200 per week depending upon time of year and model so it's not cheap and as already suggested, it may be more practical and cheaper to look for local accommodation in the areas you will be visiting.

 

[Jacob]

A caravan makes more sense. Much cheaper to buy than a camper van, bigger and better fitted out and once on site you just leave it behind for the day. There are a lot more campsites around than there used to be, with all the facilities.
I seem to know a lot of people who have or had camping vans. A lot of them get pineappled off with them very quickly - basically because once having got sorted out on a site somewhere they can't then take a trip to the shop/beach/pub without packing everything up again and taking it all with you. Tents or caravans make more sense - you can it all behind during the day.

 

[clogs]

for quite I while I had to do the same.......bought a nice caravan to stay on site then for some reason they stopped letting caravans stop over....
I sold mine on at a loss.....
then bought a LWB van and kitted it out and plenty of insulation.....they allowed tool vans on site, which was 24x7x365x 4years.........

 

[dickm]

Daughter and husband have the same requirement as the OP, in the wilder parts of Scotland. They decided years ago to buy an old VW T25 and convert it for holiday use, then when they went self-employed found it invaluable as site accommodation/office. Upgraded to a T5, which they also converted themselves (with help from me!) and then to a professionally converted T6. Real problems with the professional conversion, which they HOPE are currently being sorted at the n-th attempt. They use the van all the time, so the highish up-front cost is probably worth it compared to buying a car and doing AirBnB.

 

[johnwalls26]

I would think renting would not be economic. A friend lived in a works compound in her van and took weekends off in the area. The important thing is heat, diesel or gas heater. The shower requirement can be easily met with a product called Nilaqua in a handspray, derived from a spacestation requirement. The workplace should have at least a toilet available. Plenty of used caravans available cheaply. Caravan sites have become very expensive. A panel van with insulation and electrics has the advantage of stealth camping.

 

[niall Y]

What the OP is proposing, is a pretty sound idea. After all, one can't always find a B/B to stay in. I remember not being able to find a place to stay, when working out in the sticks. It isn't that places don't exist, but when faced with a couple of guys, grubby from a days building work in a field, there is suddenly 'no room at the inn.'

As someone who has been involved with running a small B&B, renting out a room for short periods is not a financially attractive proposition. And those with fewer rooms can often have minimum periods of stay.

 

[Argus]

If you are employed or in sub-contracted work, run the idea of using a recreational vehicle in a support of your business through your insurance company for their approval.

They may be supportive, but there's nothing worse than unintentionally giving them a reason to cancel your cover if anything happens if they do not approve and they find out.

 

[Sideways]

During a stint of work in the loft of an old property, I used to pop along to the swimming pool in a nearbye town. They did a £2 ticket just for use of the showers. Sheer bliss after a long and grimy day !
Once upon a time, many people relied on public baths.