Which mog? Pics please!!!!

With ours, if we were forced to buy our tyres new they're about 10p per mile. Fuel in the UK is about 50p per mile. If you did stay in the UK £500 won't be enough to drive around, and since theres no wildcamping in England you can't afford to stay still either . France is better with free aires and cheaper diesel, Morocco cheaper again and maybe possible there. You may have to use a campsite in some places to fill with water, empty waste or just where they won't let you park where you want? Will you never need to recharge the camper batteries?

Is the £500 the total income, or just what you know you will always get? Our house was managed by the rental agency for 10% on top of what we asked for and was no hassle, but the occasional requirements of the tenants were unforeseen expenditure. Some friends who ran a rental agency reckoned the industry average was you would get 8 months rent in your pocket out of 12.

What it may boil down to is you can't actually afford to go where you want just because starting her up will cost you, so detours are a no-no, just shortest route please Mr GPS. Maybe work out your cost per mile, and see what your plan will roughly break down to, 150 euros per tank fill is no fun for tarmac bashing.

Personally I think I would save a bit more until I was sure I could do it? If you could pick it up and plonk it somewhere cheap then maybe?

Have you looked at the Mog bit of Benzworld too? Motorhome Facts for general Euro camper travel? Vicarious Books for Euro Aires guides? May get some info on those?

Good luck

How many People think just that ? then never do it !

so cool oh i wish i could do the same i am 46 and mad to go. Don't wait of you go and enjoy every minute and the best of luck to you

I'd pay close attention to Grizzly10 above. It's obvious that what you're describing is theoretically possible.....but it's a rare individual who could actually pull it off, whether possible or not. Rarer still: the individual who could sustain it over time. Maybe you're that person, but the overwhelming majority of us are not.

I'm not, for example. I've spent more than that on every extended trip I've ever taken, even those without a vehicle. With a bike there are lots of added expenses; with a Mog, more so. How will you get the Mog from India onwards? Not via China, and not shipping it to SE Asia or Australia either on that sort of budget. You're really talking about a trip through Europe and the Stans into India then?

I'd pay less attention to those who say that's their dream too, therefore you should do it (even though they can't). That's not the voice of experience in any sense; it's the voice of people who want you to live out their dreams. You've got enough on your plate figuring out how to live out your own dreams.

On the other hand if you've got a backup plan--also known as an escape hatch--then why not try? Throwing off a secure job and situation in order to travel for a while is not as big a deal as it sometimes seems--I've done it several times. But you might want to find a way to dip your toe in the water without risking a whole lot before you fully commit.

I'd think carefully about cutting things too close with your rental income: as indicated, things sometimes go off the rails in a hurry if you're not there to keep tabs on it. I've traveled all over the world relying on rental income, with and without motorcycles; when it works, it's great. The idea is to have a plan for what to do when it all falls apart.

Hope that's helpful. Good luck!

Mark

You could always try pm'ing Maja (Mike), I know he covers a respectable distance every year for up to 10months of the year while his house is rented out so he would have good info on monthly costs...especially

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Mike


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My little Vid: India/Pakistan

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been leasing houses for 20+ years in USA. laws are different but principles are the same.

for instance it's much better to find tenants that are not helpless. state up front you are looking for tenants that are able to fix minor issues like leaking faucets, etc. in return lease house for a bit less than market value.

write it into the lease that tenant is responsible for the first $75 of every repair. major repairs will costs you no matter what. most can be taken care of before you leave. drawback is tenant gets lazy and maintenance gets deferred until you get back. leasing at below market value means tenant are more likely to stay long term.

think about this... if house goes empty, not only are you paying to put house back into lease-able condition. you are losing rents while it's being repaired. then add down time until a suitable tenant is found. average downtime could be 1-3 months rents lost forever. makes giving a good tenant a break in rents look down right cheap.

besides not losing any rents from being empty... another huge advantage of receiving a 90 day paid notice. one is able to show the house before current tenant moves out. an occupied house if it's not torn up will almost always show better and be easier to lease. another tactic is to have new tenant take house in "AS IS" or with a limit list for you to take care of. keeping in mind that you are leasing house for market rates, so you are expecting a few things in return. New tenant will LOVE it, because house is offered at below market rates.

be very careful at only offering above to a quality tenant that you have thoroughly checked references on.

all my leases contain a requirement that tenant give a 90 day paid notice before moving. otherwise lease will auto renew under same terms and conditions. this takes the work out of renewing leases. since house is being leased at below market value. highly likely they will stay anyways.

only use lease forms that an attorney specializing in real estate has given blessings to. feel free to PM if you have questions that need to be off line.

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R90S, R80G/S PD

Thanks for all the input and advice from everyone; I love to hear people’s opinions, that is the wonder of this and similar sites.
I have toured many tens of thousands of miles by motorcycle and loved every minute but for a trip with no end date I have decided the Mog and small motor bike option is the one for me. I hope to set off when the time is right, but the date depends on selling a house etc. I have a house which is rented and has been by the same family for 4 years without issue, they look like they are staying put with 3 small children in local schools etc. My sister manages it for me along with her own properties as I work away a lot (currently in the stans) I have done 2 round the world trips before as a hitch hiker, first setting off in 1980 which lasted about 11 months and again for 2 years in 89-90. At that time I used hostels and camping, as well as renting while based in Aus for a while.
I understand the comments which say an objective is important, and I agree, if an end to the adventure is factored in.
My objective would be to live life, and feel free, without and end date or goal. I can’t imagine a single person on this site who has not dreamed of the opportunity to just travel. To set an objective is to set a limit or an end.
I hope to have a panic fund of 5 to 10k for emergencies. My rout would get me to Asia as quickly as possible, via whatever rout is the best at the time. I would factor in the ‘launch’ costs so would only start living on the rent money when I got to Asia.
So what do you think guys..... Am I on the right lines or raving bloody mad..... Cos I’m dammed if I know either way.

I too have thought about doing something like this and even I applied for redundancy to make it happen (failed). We reckoned we needed about £2000 per month to fund an endless biking trip with 2 bikes (me and missus), food and camping, an ocassional hotel or hostel, and enough contingency for repairs, shipping and other lumpy costs, and even at that it would be very tight.

I would be concerned about the pointless drifting and that £16 per day is bugger all. Split that say 50:50 between fuel and food/other stuff and you have about 2 gallons/10litres per day or less, so about 30-40miles perhaps, some decent grub (important) and probably a small contingency of a couple of quid for ocassional extras. The £5k contingency would soon get eaten up in Visa's, insurance, and shipping as you travel. There's also a Carnet to think about = expensive.

As others have said, it is probably do able but I think progress would be frustrating slow, it would be a constant penny pinching trip and to my mind not much fun. I think it depends on your outlook - it wouldn't suit me on that low a budget.

Whatever you decide have a great time doing it and either way, dont regret the decision - it was the right one at the time.

Thumbs up to just meandering and bumming around.

Not every trip needs to have an end point or an aim, sometimes I think people are so results focused they often miss out on the trip itself. I've met so many people on the road who seem like they are just ticking 'the big trips' off, like people once knocked big game off on safari.

If you don't know exactly where you are going, then you are never lost, and you are never late.

Birdy

PS - Awesome advice from Mark.

£500 is currently about $800 US. When I lived in Mexico for 3 years, I did okay on about $650-$700 a month - but I was living in an apartment. I would think to travel around on that kind of budget you would be living in a tent most of the time, and not have a lot extra for emergencies, hotels, luxuries, etc.

I think you can do it, but you will be living on the cheap and probably need to have an emergency fund stashed away.

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

Traveling is not expensive, traveling at speed is, if you can sit around and let the fund build when you need to then get on the road man!! Europe would be hard work on that kind of money and I'm sure America would also, but you get to buy super market food and have no accommodation costs, so i really think you will have enough cash.

But you might find 2/3 years on the road and you want to head back for a bit, i know Big Tom went back after his first year and a half for a bit then came back out and he's well into year 3 now.

Either way good luck to ya!

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Mr and Mrs Rixxy - London to Australia 2011 - 2012
www.jamesandcat.com

Some good advice here, I have lowered the rent to encourage a good tenant to stay. Somethings are different in the UK depending on what type of tenancy you have but usually after six months the tenant has the right to give a months notice and leave.

I am not sure that you can make them liable for the first amount of any maintainance, only damage that they have caused, I have had tenants who have gone ahead and made repairs themselves without bothering me and others who have screamed down the phone at me to fix something that they could do in 30 seconds but won't, good luck with that one.

As for your basic question, £500 a month, I think you can live on that in many parts of the world if you freecamp and find cheaper places to lay up, but it will be things like shipping, does your uni fit in a standard closed top container by the way? travel and motor insurance, the carnet which will have to be renewed every year and other expenses which will cost more.
If you have not already, just go and see what happens, it is the only real way of answering the question.

A couple of points:

£500 a month in Europe/North America would be fairly tough in Unimog, depending on mileage, but elsewhere you should be ok, shipping would be the budget buster..

&

Better to be a "when I" than a "I wish I...."

So

JUST DO IT!

500/mnth is on the low side, but might be possible. The biggest unknown variable being the cost of repairing whatever breaks down on your Mog.

Diesel will probably average 80p once you're out of Europe and visas average GBP 50-100 per entry, food will often run about GBP 35-50 per week. Do the math, and you'll end up spending about 500 a month just staying on the road, with little margin for unexpected extra costs.
A panic fund is smart, but the Unimog will have to stay trouble-free which - afaik - is a fantasy. And you might have to spend the better part of a year on the beach in India while waiting for your funds to grow sufficiently to ship to Oz.
We share your dream, but previous travels (with a 14-tonne Merc) have taught us that Murphy's Law will happily follow you wherever you go, and that ample financial reserves are an absolute must. Just regular maintenance can be a financial challenge - and often whatever breaks down along the way turns out to be both hard to find and expensive.

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Not all those who wander are lost. Usually, however, I am...

The short answer = YES you can.

If you stick to the third world - Africa, Asia then you're £500 will enable you to live almost like a king.

In the first world, your £500 budget is a little on the low side.

Remember even some parts of Eastern Europe have an average wage of less than £200.

In Africa most live on about 2 Dollars a day!

£500 will be easy in those places providing you stay well away from Western style 4/5 star hotels.

Keep to mid-range guest houses and the hotels the locals use (take a cotton sleeping bag inner with you).

If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at touring somewhere like INDIA - Probably the most interesting place you will find in way of cultures etc. It's big enough to spend years touring on 2 wheels and above all it's probably THE most cheapest country in the world to live in. I have heard Thailand is also dirt cheap?

My advice - go to Goa to start with and get used to the way of life etc. Then start to tour the rest of India. It will take years to take in all the sights worth seeing. The country is HUGE! Most importantly, it's a pretty safe place to travel (stay well away from Pakistan and it's border with India) and in general, the people are very friendly towards Brits & Westerners. £500 there is like £5,000 here!

£500 flight to Goa (return). Buy a Indian copy Baja Honda (100cc) and off you go......

I hope your dream comes true.

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