At a Glance
- Living in a vehicle in the UK costs a few hundred pounds a month or over a thousand, depending on how you park and how far you drive.
- The fixed costs are insurance, vehicle tax, an MOT and breakdown cover, and they’re the same whether you’re moving or parked up.
- Fuel, campsites, gas and data are the costs you control, and they make most of the difference between a cheap month and an expensive one.
- Keep a repair fund, because a home that’s also a vehicle breaks in ways a house never does.
If you’re thinking about living in a van in the UK, or in a converted truck, bus or overlander, the first question is usually a plain one: what does it actually cost each month?
The answer depends on how you live, so rather than a single total this piece gives you the real ranges for each cost, with what moves them, so you can add up your own version.
This is about the money only. For the lifestyle side, the freedom and the loneliness and the wet Tuesdays, read the pros and cons of life on the road.
And if you’re wondering whether you’re allowed to do it at all, our piece on whether it’s legal to live in a van in the UK covers parking, council tax and the rest.
Fixed Costs
These are the costs of keeping the vehicle on the road, and they’re due whether you drive a thousand miles or none.
Vehicle tax is set by the government for the whole UK and depends on how your vehicle is registered. From April 2026, for vehicles up to 3,500kg, a private or light goods vehicle costs £230 a year with an engine up to 1,549cc or £375 above that, while a light goods vehicle registered from 1 March 2001 is £360 a year. A vehicle over 3,500kg taxed as a private HGV, which is the usual class for overlanders and heavy horsebox conversions, is £177 a year.
The current rates are on the GOV.UK vehicle tax rates sheet, with heavier vehicles on its companion sheet V149/1, and the class on your V5C decides which line applies.
An MOT is a yearly cost once the vehicle is over three years old.
In England, Scotland and Wales the maximum fee for a car or a motor caravan is £54.85, and the same class 4 fee applies to a heavier vehicle tested as a motor caravan, whatever it weighs. A goods vehicle up to 3,000kg is also £54.85, or £58.60 between 3,000kg and 3,500kg. The fees are set on GOV.UK, and many garages charge less. Northern Ireland runs its own scheme.
Insurance is the one that varies. A comprehensive agreed-value policy on a converted campervan runs from around £250 a year for a modest conversion to £1,200 or more for a high-value build, and full-time use and high mileage push you up the range.
Breakdown cover with recovery for a laden camper adds a few pounds a month, and it’s the last thing to skip. Check that the company will actually recover a vehicle your size, because some won’t take a larger camper.
Fuel Is the Big Variable
Fuel is where your monthly costs swing most, because it comes down mainly to how far you go.
Pump prices have moved a lot in 2026, with diesel and petrol somewhere between roughly 150p and 200p a litre depending on the fuel, the week and where you fill up, so check the price near you rather than trusting any figure in print.
The sum is simple: divide your miles by your miles per gallon, multiply by 4.55 (the number of litres in a UK gallon), then multiply by the price per litre.
monthly fuel cost = miles driven ÷ miles per gallon x 4.55 litres x price per litre
A converted van doing 25 to 30 miles to the gallon uses around 15 to 18 litres per 100 miles.
At 500 miles a month that’s roughly £115 to £180 in fuel. At 1,500 miles a month, hopping between coasts, it’s roughly £340 to £550.
Where You Park
Parking is the other big variable. A full campsite pitch with hook-up runs from about £10 a night at the quiet end to £30 to £45 in season, and some sites charge considerably more than that, so thirty nights on sites is anywhere from £300 to over £1,300. Not all campsites accept self-builds, or larger vehicles like lorry conversions, buses and overlanders, so check before you book.
Small farm sites and certificated locations sit towards the low end, and pub-stopover schemes let members stay the night for an annual fee rather than a nightly charge, though the pub will hope you buy a meal or a drink.
Many people mix paid and free nights, with a few nights a month on a site for a high-pressure shower, laundry and a full water tank, and the rest parked somewhere quiet and legal.
Heat, Cooking and Water
If you cook and heat on LPG, a refillable bottle or an underslung tank will need refilling every few weeks or months, depending on its size, and a small bottle goes down much faster in a cold snap, so gas can be a small cost in one month and a real one in the next.
A diesel heater can draw fuel from the vehicle’s own tank if the engine runs on diesel, which is why many full-timers go that way, with one less fuel to carry.
Water is usually free at sites, marinas and some public taps, though a fill can cost a pound or two where it’s metered. Add laundrette money too, since not every build has room for a washing machine.
Phone, Data and Post
A data SIM for a 4G or 5G router is £10 to £30 a month, and it’s the cheapest way to work from a camper wherever there’s signal.
If you spend real time out of range, a satellite dish adds £55 to £100 a month on top, and our guide to Starlink Mini in a van or on a boat explains what it draws from your battery.
You’ll also need somewhere for post to land. A friend’s address costs nothing but goodwill, while a mail-forwarding service is a modest monthly fee.
Saving for Repairs
Because your home is also a vehicle, you have mechanical repairs to budget for as well as household ones. Tyres, brakes, a failed alternator or a leaking roof seal can each take a few hundred pounds without warning, and a bigger job can be thousands.
Put something aside every month, and treat it like regular maintenance costs instead of a disaster.
Compared With Renting
To compare it with renting, add up your fixed costs, choose an honest mileage, decide how many nights you’ll pay to park, and add gas, data and a repair fund.
Someone parked mostly for free and driving little can live for £300 to £500 a month all in. Someone touring hard, sleeping on sites most nights and running satellite internet can exceed £1,500 before food.
Set your number against what a room or a flat costs where you’d otherwise be, remembering the vehicle has to be bought or converted first.
For plenty of people it works out cheaper, but for someone who drives a lot and pays for a site most nights, that isn’t always the case.
Final Thoughts
The cost of living in a vehicle isn’t one figure, and anyone who gives you one is describing their own month. The fixed costs are predictable, while fuel and parking are largely yours to decide.
Gas, data and repairs fill in the gaps, and winter makes everything a little more expensive. Work the ranges through for the way you’d actually live, and you’ll have a budget you can trust.
If you’re still choosing what to live in, you’ll find converted campers and other off-grid vehicles for sale on Homes Off Grid.
To find out more about off-grid living return to our Reading Room.