[oor wullie]

The mice started coming in as the weather got colder in autumn.  I was away with work the day my wife came home to find mice droppings across the pillows in the bed.  That night she did a swap with the neighbours - she slept in their house, their cat slept in our caravan.  The next day, a trip to the cat rescue home and we had our own cat!

[Victorian Farmer]

Don't be put of some of the kids best times was in the caravans. Going dawn the shop on the cart in deep snow. Deep drifts

[SophieLeeds]

What do people do with their dogs in caravans? Ours wouldn't take kindly to being suddenly booted out permanently but I dont think there would be room for the lot of us!

And my little pet bunny Boris can't be evicted, he's too used to the sofa and a slice of toast in a morning 

[SallyintNorth]

I had Horace (dog) and Jacob (cat) in the caravan with me.

Go and see some statics / park homes, Sophie, I think they are much smaller in your mind's eye than they are in real life .

I've been in new build houses that were smaller...

[adrian007]

The advice in the post above is valuable - go and see some, get an idea of floor space in the different designs.

Mine is 36 x 12 and it is fine for me, my wife, 16 year old and retriever/alsation dog. Think about it, it is larger than alot of city flats.

I do admit, it was more fine, in a space kind of a way, prior to my son choosing us in a caravan over his mum in a £700,000 mansion, but for 2 and a dog, you'd be fine.

There are a few photo's on our blog www.axeheadfarm.co.uk

Your sleep thing - you could get a tourer for sleeping in and live in the static?

Main things about a static:

You can some without under floor insulation or double glazing. Probably avoid those.

Definately chain it to the floor - we had 3 concreete plinths made with eyes, to make sure the van was horizontal, but then to chain it down.

Replace carpets with laminate.

Get a log burner

Block off the sides underneath, even with hay bales - in winter the air underneath really cools down the place.

Building a porch is amongst the next things on our list!

As with any home - it will be how you make it. :-)

[mab]

as I'm living in a static at this moment (and have been for 3 years now) I feel I ought to give an opinion, although everyone else's already said it all. 

I don't have a problem with space as it's just me & the dog and this is a 'double' static with 2 double bedrooms and a room that could fit a single if you didn't mind falling into it from the door. I have a washing machine inside and apart from the whole place shimmying on the spin cycle it's fine.

I would add my recommendations for serious insulation and a good woodburner/stove - if you can get something that will keep the fire in overnight well it would help - statics heat up quick as there's no thermal 'mass' like you get in masonary; but as soon as the fire goes out it's freezing. And yes the damp is a major issue - even in summer when it's wet but warm I occasionally light the fire just to dry the place out.

not had problems with mice, and certainly not in my bed, although I have heard the odd scrabbling in the walls of the kitchen and bathroom they've yet to make an apperance inside  .

as my static is 35years+ old it may not have much in common with a modern one. TBH most of my issues stem from it's age and the fact that it's exterior is plywood and 35 years in the welsh climate have taken their toll.

A porch would be good.

[SophieLeeds]

I think they are much smaller in your mind's eye than they are in real life .

You've not heard my OH's snoring 

[SophieLeeds]

The advice in the post above is valuable - go and see some, get an idea of floor space in the different designs.

Mine is 36 x 12 and it is fine for me, my wife, 16 year old and retriever/alsation dog. Think about it, it is larger than alot of city flats.

I do admit, it was more fine, in a space kind of a way, prior to my son choosing us in a caravan over his mum in a £700,000 mansion, but for 2 and a dog, you'd be fine.

There are a few photo's on our blog www.axeheadfarm.co.uk

Your sleep thing - you could get a tourer for sleeping in and live in the static?

Main things about a static:

You can some without under floor insulation or double glazing. Probably avoid those.

Definately chain it to the floor - we had 3 concreete plinths made with eyes, to make sure the van was horizontal, but then to chain it down.

Replace carpets with laminate.

Get a log burner

Block off the sides underneath, even with hay bales - in winter the air underneath really cools down the place.

Building a porch is amongst the next things on our list!

As with any home - it will be how you make it. :-)

Great blog! Thanks very much! I was thinking more along the lines of four dogs that are bigger than alsatians  Kennel building time by the looks of it!

The laminate sounds like a good idea too, thanks!

How do you manage with cooking larger meals for the three of you? Do you have a four ring hob and normal size oven?

[AnnS]

We holiday in our static with 4 dogs, used to be 6 all med/large, no problems. Got full sized cooker, but use the slow cooker a lot. Got one of those large outdoor plastic storage cupboards as well to store seldom used things in.