NOT VAN-TASTIC
We’re happily married & live in a converted removals van – it’s like a cosy cottage.. but costs way more than you think
The pair have had to make a big decision after two years of travel
A COUPLE who've lived in a converted removals van for two years say it's like living in a cosy cottage - but costs way more than you think.
Liam Day, 38, currently lives full-time with wife Janine, 41, in a van named 'Morgan', which they use to drive around the UK and park overnight in campsites.
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The pair run YouTube channel @ThoseHappyDays in which they document their travels in the Citroen Relay Luton, which cost £15,000.
They have spoken before about the costs of running the vehicle, which replaced their first van, a Transit.
Liam said diesel costs £2 a litre, with a full tank - which they use every week - costing around £150.
While a diesel heater costs £15 per week, and parking in a campsite can cost up to £25 a night, and £20 a week on road tax and insurance - not to mention the groceries and other essentials they need.
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They also use two phone hotspots for the internet, which cost £80 a month, while trips to the launderettes are £12 a week.
Overall, everyday van life costs Liam and Janine £370 a week.
That doesn't even cover the repair work that their van often needs.
In a video posted just before Easter, Liam explained they had spent the last year travelling across India.
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They had to have a new engine installed and then reinstalled as it was done incorrectly, which Liam said cost "a hell of a lot of money".
He said: "Money isn’t our highest currency, freedom is our highest currency. But the money that we’ve spent on Morgan has limited our freedom somewhere, shall we say.
"And it’s also taken the fun out of what we’ve done.
"The funny thing about what is going on is Morgan is sat here with a brand new engine with a 12 months warranty, all new parts, including clutch and that sort of stuff…just been serviced yesterday.
"The back of him of him is like a cosy beach shack or cottage. It’s almost like we’ve spent two years working on him…and now he’s finished, so it feels weird and strange saying this but we spent the last two weeks living in Morgan.
"We now know we’ve made the right decision.
"We are going to be giving up Morgan. We love Morgan, he’s almost like a family member to us.
"We’ve put a lot of hard work, effort, hard times, good times, full British travels over the last two years, in Morgan and the reason being…the first one the money we have spent on Morgan and I know a lot of you have said do crowdfunding, we have never done that before…it’s something we don’t feel like we want to do yet.
"The other reason…we’ve got some big adventures planned and the only way to do those big adventures is if we don’t have Morgan anymore."
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