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    Your Questions Answered- A Summer of VW Campervan Adventures



    Your Questions Answered- A Summer of VW Campervan Adventures

    Curious about what it’s like to spend an entire summer in a campervan? In this video, we answer all your burning questions about our recent Campervan summer road trip adventures to the SW of England, the high European Alps and Shetland and the Orkney Islands.

    From planning the perfect route, choosing campsites, toilets and overall costs, we cover all our subscribers questions. Whether you’re a seasoned campervan traveler or thinking of starting your own journey, we share tips, insights, and stories to help you make the most of your next road trip. Tune in and get inspired for your own summer adventure on wheels!

    We are Richard and Jackie and we live in the UK. We retired from teaching at the age of 51 in the summer of 2022. Our plans for early requirement include relocating to the Yorkshire Dales, developing our forever home and travelling the UK, Europe and eventually the world in our VW campervan Nelson.

    Please subscribe and like our videos if you like what you see.

    Check out our blog http://earlyretirementwanderlust.com

    Resources discussed in our videos can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/earlyretirementwanderlust

    Please be aware that by using this link, we may receive a small affiliate fee from Amazon to help support the channel. The price you pay to Amazon remains the same as the price if you were to search it directly from the Amazon store.

    Many thanks,

    Richard & Jackie

    00:00 Welcome to Early Retirement Wanderlust
    01:04 Q&A about our summer VW campervan adventures
    01:38 How easy is it to take a large motorhome to Shetland and the Orkney Isles?
    03:15 What do you bring back from adventures when less is more?
    04:22 How different are shorter trips to longer trips in a campervan?
    05:57 What Apps to use when travelling in a campervan?
    07:25 How necessary are solar panels in a campervan?
    08:24 What cameras do you use for taking photos?
    09:31 How do you use a toilet when in a VW campervan?
    11:08 Does a VW campervan feel claustrophobic in poor weather?
    12:08 What ideas do you have for your next campervan?
    15:15 What time of year did you travel to Shetland and the Orkney Islands?
    16:16 How do you plan your trips?
    18:22 How do you maintain your VW campervan for roadtrip adventures?
    20:56 How different are the Outer Hebrides to Shetland and the Orkney Islands?
    23:00 Would you have retired earlier knowing what you now know after 2 years of early retirement?
    25:20 What other VW campervan road trips do you have planned for the future?
    26:52 How do you budget for your campervan adventures?
    28:35 What are your favourite campervan meals?
    29:24 Did you have any problems with the Scottish Midge?
    30:20 How do you prebook campsites?
    32:00 How do you store things in a small VW campervan?
    32:55 How do you share the driving of your VW campervan?
    33:43 Our final thoughts and thanks for your Questions.

    35 Comments

    1. @richardayres2949 on

      Park4night is much better than Search for sites in places like Scandinavia as it seems to show many more of the pitches and sites but both have there place and it’s often worth comparing reviews. Both apps allow you to link to a mapping app like Google or Apple Maps so you can save possible destinations and use when you are planning or driving.

    2. @richardayres2949 on

      I had three months in Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway) from mid April to early July this year, superb, particularly Norway, but I wouldn’t go any earlier as the weather was still cold and had snow fall several times, did over 7,000 miles in my little Ford transit custom high top and it got me into all the major city centres when required and all the way to Nordkapp. You’ll love it.

    3. @se3059 on

      Brits do seem to have an obsession with toilets and carrying potties around in their vans 😂

      My 6M Duccato does have facilities (shower/toilet)….yet in 7 years have never once used!

      There's always facilities somewhere.

    5. @rebeccagreen692 on

      Thanks for answering my question.❤

      It seems like Richard reads a lot of the same books as I do. I've been listening to the Mad Fientist podcasts on walks lately, so he might enjoy them too.😊

    12. @susanmckee8946 on

      Sunday treat watching your Q and A session and thanks for the time you spent on my Hebrides/Shetland question!! Hoping to get to the Tiree Music Festival in July as part of a circuit of the Hebrides otherwise I agree it would be better to go out of season. You guys must come to Ireland and do the Wild Atlantic Way and some of the Islands off the West coast, as we think the coast is very reminiscent of wild Scotland. Keep up the videos..I absolutely love them! Enjoy Florida and Thailand.❤

    13. @Artamess on

      HI and thanks for the QnA video. I was surprised nobody asked what video camera, microphones, software and computer you use to make the videos. I would be interested since my wife and I have a Man SH van on order and its crossed my mind to make some videos and share experiences whilst learning from the wide campervan community. Hope you can answer the questions and enjoy Florida and Thailand. Andy

    14. @dieselbushcraft1299 on

      We have just come back from the Orkneys and only spent a few days on there due to time constraints as in work tomorrow so we have only just scratched the surface. We definitely want to go back and include the Shetland isles too. Thanks to your recent videos we did manage to cram more places in.
      I can honestly say that a lot of your views and thoughts about travel within the UK and living with a small VW are very similar to our own. I keep trying to find ways of fine tuning our van to make each trip that little bit easier.

    15. @jillchew-tetlaw3388 on

      Thanks for answer my question guys. Really enjoyed this Q & A session, I found it really interesting and glad you are thinking of doing some more. Have a super time in Florida and Thailand.

    16. @marcgransden1566 on

      Great vlog!
      Really interesting and information we can relate to and/or learn from. We retired early two years ago at 60 and in a couple of weeks we set off in our 7mtr motorhome to France/Spain for 4 weeks.

    18. @highwayman1769 on

      Thanks for the Q&A and for answering my question. Format works really well. One thought/suggestion for your new van – have you been, or considered going, to Abenteuer und Allrad in Bad Kissengen, Germany. Timing may not work as it’s held in June each year, but it is a huge overland vehicle show, featuring many small bespoke vehicle builders. We went in 2021 and got lots of ideas to how we wanted to design our own truck which is being built now and should be complete by the end of the year. Just a thought ……

    20. @cathblakeman8283 on

      Enjoyed your video. Just to let you know we have just returned from 6 days on Arran and walked up to the Library and found the picture you did. Took a photo and tried to send it to you via Instagram but didn't know how to do it 🤣

    25. @andersborgstrom7539 on

      This video had a very nice format and the information given was excellent and easily digested! We do not own an RV today but often enjoy roadtrips in our regular car. EV in fact. Which we had driven all the way from Sweden to Scotland and back (2500 miles). Two times. Charging infrastructure is surprisingly well rolled out today. If we decide to go for a campervan I’m really fuzzy about sustainable driving (EV, hybrid or green fuel of some kind). In your new prospect in stepping up for a larger vehicle, are you considering this? Sorry for another Q&A post too late. 😉 Cheers Anders

    28. @renea1966 on

      Enjoy watching your videos from America, especially seeing the puffins! I'm catching up on your last U.S. trip to the west and I can't wait to see your FL trip. if you are still in the planning stages– the northern panhandle: Mexico Beach, Panama City (but it can get crowded) area have the prettiest beaches in FL (IMO)- white sand and green water. Sanibel Island is definitely worth a day! The farther south the more crowded 🙂 but in the southeast- Vero Beach has become popular but was a nice place– Good luck and I am sure your family will have a wonderful time! Safe travels and thanks again for the great content!!

    29. @paulmartin4199 on

      Thanks for your thoughts on our transition question and lots of other very useful insights. We retire next April with a 8 week trip to France and Spain. Route tbc! Paul and Alex (in a MH called Avabel)

    31. @deborahgriggs891 on

      Thanks for answering my question. I was pondering this when watching your northern isles series then your Q&A popped up, perfect timing! Look forward to more of these 🙂

    33. @pantysaer on

      Great video, I’ve just ordered the Wild Alps book. You mentioned northern Spain it is a great destination stunning beaches and the Picos mountains and pretty quiet too but as an added bonus there is a total eclipse visible there is August 2026. I will be there in my van hopefully with clear skies. I’ve just had a quick two week trip away in August to France even in peak season I never book anything, there’s always another camp site and France has so many places you can wild camp it’s just so easy even with my kids.

    35. @FrugalMrB on

      Thanks for the answers to my questions Richard and Jackie. I'm going to Northern Ireland this weekend to collect a VW T6.1 campervan, so I'm sure that there will be lots more questions in the future from me – I'm also going to rewatch all your van-related videos!

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