In 2008 Monty (so called as he was a Ford Tioga Montego) was to be my new home for a while, at least on a journey around Europe to see some of the places never yet seen. 

In hindsite he was too big but at the time it seemed a reasonable space to live in for 2 people and 2 dogs. 

Monty, as I said was a Ford Tioga Montego RV.  He (he because he was a beast and not in the least bit she) had a V8 engine running on either Petrol or LPG and had long range tanks which could carry about 300lites of gas.  A 7l engine needs a lot of gas!!  In terms of size he was about 3.5 metres high (including the airconditioning unit), 8 metres long from nose to tail and 2.5 metres wide.  By today's standards pretty much a tiny home on wheels.

I loved the interior, big windows at he rear so you could lie in bed and see what was going on, two single beds, plenty of cupboard space, shower and separate toilet.  You could even close off the bedroom from the front with the toilet door so you could shower and get dressed in privacy.  The front section had a kitchenette with 4 plate gas hob, oven, sink and the most remarkable fridge which seemed to fit everything always with a decent separate freezer.  Further there was a dinette seating/eating area (also converted into a double bed) and two very comfortable arm chairs to the side.  Above the drivers cab there was another double bed which was really a great storage area.

He was amazing, you'll see from some of the pics I've posted here.

After 3 months of travelling around Western Europe I went to Portugal, Ba country I had always wanted to visit and I loved it so much I stayed, for 4 years.  But staying in Portugal, I still needed to work and earn an income.  Not speaking the language, yet, it is difficult to find employment or work as a coach.  I found a niche working for Entrepreneurs and building their websites and consulting with them to build and improve their businesses.  Keeping costs low was important so with a computer and internet I set about working from the dinette in Monty.  It was great!

I learnt a thing or two about working in a motorhome in campsites

• no one needs to know you're living in your campervan, although who did didn't care.  Meetings can be held in cafes and hotels.
• WIFI is an essential, which in 2008 was a bit of a challenge, technology today is so much more flexible and advanced.
• get great power surge protection, Portugal's power was not very consistent, that and the thunderstorms, well they burnt out a computer.
• you need to be organised, limited space means being super neat and organised.

I spent the better part of a year working from Monty and building my business.  I loved doing it and understand why so many people are doing it today.

Going on my journey to Africa I will be doing what I can to continue to work and blog while on the road.