Frank's story: rejecting rent and bills for motorhome life

Frank has lived in a motorhome since 2016, avoiding rent and utility bills. Converting a van into a motorhome costs between €1,000 and over €30,000, including mandatory certification expenses.

A listing for an eight-wheeled Mercedes-AMG G63 with a camper module at $285,000 raised doubts. Experts found AI-generation signs: text errors on the display, unrealistic price, and no real prototypes from Mercedes-Benz or Brabus.

Greece has partially reversed strict camper van restrictions introduced in 2025. Motorhomes up to 7.5 m can now park in residential areas without time limits, but wild camping with awnings and furniture remains banned.

Authorities and residents in Platanias, Crete, are facing illegal camping in the bed of the Iardanos River. Campers moved their tents and motorhomes to the opposite bank after eviction attempts, which local activists call a mockery of the law in the protected Natura 2000 area. Questions are raised about the legality of the vehicles and the environmental damage from garbage and wastewater.

Almería is putting up physical barriers to keep motorhomers off its former fairground — while Turkey simply evicts them from the beach. Lightship is quadrupling its electric-caravan factory in Colorado, even as 50% of Italian motorhome renters turn out to be under 35. Plus 800 kg of hashish in a motorhome at the Spanish border, Anker's 800 W charger running off the alternator, and Carstay as the mobile HQ of a Tokyo festival — all in this issue.

Greece has cancelled strict restrictions on camper vans introduced in 2025. A new police directive equates camper vans with regular cars, allowing parking wherever permitted, but wild camping remains banned.