UK-RV

Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply UK-RV

Thanks guys for those replies, the reason I'm asking, I'm trying to compare those who choose to live full time 24/7 on board a narrow boat and those who choose to do the same in a motor home, your replies have surprised me. Very briefly very few in fact only one insurance company will insure a proper declared 'full timer' and because of that their insurance policy can be twice the price. I use the term 'declared' as most who full time in their motor homes use a relative or friends address for banking, vehicle licence etc. Here is a copy of the terms and conditions of that insurance company, That agreed full timing rate mentioned in their terms doubles the cost of the premium. Now is a motor home a grater risk than a narrow boat? I would personally say NO with regarding to fire and theft that leaves damage or loss due to collisions etc during movement,also the majority of narrow boats these days cost MORE than your average motor home. Well on that score I'd say that there wasn't that much in it with both types of vehicles been prone to minor damage caused by fellow similar vehicle users,that and the fact that most full timing motor home owners may only move their motor home a few miles each year. Any further comment from you skippers? UK-RV

Can any members of this forum please answer me the following question. There are two identical couples who both own identical narrow boats,BOTH insure their narrow boats for 12 months, the only difference is one couple live aboard full time the other couple use their narrow boat every week end and weekly several time during the year. Would both couples pay the same for their insurance, if not approx how much difference would there be? Thanks UK-RV

Ange, Looks very similar to those who full time in either a caravan or motor home, if you remain on a site for any length of time and someone grasses you to the council you will get a summons, keep moving and you escape Mick

Ange, RVers also when the road permits press a button or switch to 'cruise ' With regard to narrow boat insurance I believe its all down to this countries maritime history that you guys get special insurance? Another topic being hotly debated in the forum Motorhome365.com is Council Tax.........Are boaters exempt,or do you pay, if so what sort of figure because Council Tax is based on the value of your property with Band A being the lowest. Please feel free to visit the forum (Its free) to read the various fulltiming subjects and add any advice or comment you may wish. Mick

Ange, Thank you for your reply, as a full timer in a narrow boat can you tell me, are you permanently moored at a location or are you touring? Great to hear about how narrow boaters can easily get full time insurance, could you name a couple of companies or brokers to see if in any way they could offer a similar service to motor homes? Pretty Funked Up, No full timing motor homer knows just why insurance companies do not offer full timing insurance and most fear to ask in case they get listed on the insurance companies data base as being a full timer thus being refused insurance from ANY company, surely as its your home 24/7 you are going to take even more care of it, then again one company Comfort DO offer full timing insurance but their quotes are NEVER under £1,000 Thanks again Mick

Charles, Before flying to America in Oct 2007 we attended the American Embassy in London where we obtained a 6 month visa which lasts for 10 years. Basically the maximum amount of time you can stay in the USA is 6 months, but you can extend that,I'll explain later. In our first 6 months we purchased a car and our RV and spent the vast majority of that time in Florida, we crossed into Canada in April 2008 the day before our first visa expired. We were delayed in British Columbia due to warranty work on the RV eventually crossing east to just outside Toronto. In Oct 2008 we crossed back into the USA and headed south back to Florida. Several months before our visa expired we applied for a visa extension which cost $300. We received the extension just before we shipped our vehicles to the UK in August 2009 even though our visa extension would have taken us to Oct. Back to the thread topic, do liveaboards have problems obtaining insurance for their boat, most full timing RVers have problems and only one British insurance company Comfort will insure you if you are a full timer and charge you the earth. The biggest problem once you sell your house is having an address and the vast majority use a friend or relatives address for banking, insurance and vehicle and licence requirements,do you guys do the same? Mick

Biggles, Thank you for your reply and views Mick

Hi, My wife and I live 24/7 in an American motor home, or RV that we purchased from the USA three years ago,two of those years were actually touring the US & Canada before we shipped our vehicles back to the UK. The reason my joining your forum is to exchange any helpful information between those of your members who liveaboard 24/7 on their narrow boats and those of us who full time in our RV either in the UK or Europe. Now a new forum has recently been started called http://www.motorhome365.com/ the object of the forum being to address 'problem' associated with living full time, possibly something your members have already discovered, problems such as insurance,an address and being recognised NOT being No Fixed Abode. I hope my joining your forum hasn't breeched any of its rules or the mention of another forum, I'm sure that if you just pop and have a look without joining you may see it beneficial to join, the louder the voice the easier heard buy those who need to listen. I look forward to reading your views either positive or negative. Mick