Wheezing Donkey is right it is perfectly feasible to go long term and a lot do a bit of reading for you
http://www.fulltiming.co.uk/ and another :-
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/mclifestyle/living.html and another :-
http://campervan.hopcott.net/
OK probably not as basic as WDs but there is no need to go overboard, comfort really only need be somewhere warm and dry, with basic facilities in order to stay clean and fed.
Personnaly i reckon a decent matress/or sleeping bag on a well insulated piece of ground on pallets or whatever would give you as much comfort as the same mattres on a purpose built unit and i agree that too many people are comfort driven.