| Non-motoring > The Caravan and Motorhome Thread | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Bromptonaut | Replies: 73 |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 15:18
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Bromptonaut
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Somebody suggested a single place for caravan and motorhome related discussions so I thought I''d kick it off. If Mods want to edit/move to Motoring please do. |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 15:23
First Long/Foreign Trip with Caravan. - Bromptonaut
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As regulars will know Mrs B and I have recently acquired a caravan. The van is an Xplore 304SE (www.elddis.co.uk/xplore/xplore-304/floorplan#tabs ) which we tow with a 115PS Berlingo Multispace XTR. After tentative first steps to Carsington Water and then the New Forest 19 July saw it depart on first full tour to France. The Lad (19) came along too, sleeping in a pup tent except on transit overnights. Miss B flew out to Toulouse and back from Bordeaux spending middle week, including transfer to coast, with us. First night was on Caravan Club’s Dover site which has early departure ‘ferry area’ from where we took a short trip to board P&O’s 08:25 ferry to Calais. Overnight stops at Chartres and Brive la Gaillarde took us to our first stay, Camping le Montagnu (www.lemontagnou.com/ ) at Trein D’Ustou in the Pyrenees. After a week we moved to Mimizan in the Lande where we stayed on the lakeside municipal site. Return was via overnights in Poitiers and a clifftop site near Eu in the bay of the Somme. Except for Brive (municipal) the transit sites were all part of the ‘Flower Camping’ chain. Late afternoon ferry back to Dover and after truly appalling weather on the M25/M1 we got home at 22:00 last Friday – 08 Aug. No disasters or damage but a lot of learning points for newbies. The outfit itself seems an excellent combo. The ‘van is less than 75% of car’s kerbweight and provided gears are used intelligently it’s no problem keeping up with traffic flow even on curvy D roads. Never more than hint of a wiggle or snake and although you occasionally feel it pull it never shoved the car. . It does kick slightly when overtaking/being overtaken by artics but quite manageable provided you allow space. At under 3.5tonnes all up weight it’s not subject to the 90kph limit applied to those that do. Could theoretically take it to 130kph on the Autoroute though never actually went over 100. Fuel consumption towing is at best in low thirties (mpg), little better than half what it does unladen, but we gather that’s typical. We thought when we got the van as it was small we could manage without a motor mover. Err No!!â€. It only needed wet/long grass for three of us to struggle. The first site at Chartres had very tight pitch entrances and we came very close to getting completely stuck. Fortunately we were able to get car to it and drag it off, nearly going through a hedge in process and, the site being pretty well empty, move to a pitch adjacent to that allocated where there was space to easily reverse it on with car’s front wheels on tarmac. Nowhere else was quite so problematic and I’m now a bit more confident at reversing the outfit round corners. As living accom the van has been brilliant, even without the awning, using the dinette as a bed and having to eat inside due weather. Bit of a problem early on when the leftside support for the double bed broke but ingenious use of the stacker jacks (for corner steadies on rough ground) and books provided a solution. Warranty calim now with Elddis. Cooker, fridge, water heating and loo, strictly limited to night and wee use only, perform just fine. After years of faffing with frozen bottles, picnic boxes and foil blankets having a domestic sized fridge is luxury. Thought we were going to run out of Calor Propane but in fact it lasted. Camping Gaz 907 and adapter were carried as a back up but not needed or tried. Does anyone have a better solution, ie easy means of adapting French supermarket gas cylinders? Panic immediately after leaving Chartres where being on a non elec pitch we’d put fridge on gas and forgot to switch off and back to battery (i.e car’s supply) before leaving. Fortunately we soon found a layby and sorted it. The Bradcot awning, bought without our customary research is a bane/pain. Fine once up but needed The Lad’s help to get there. Might look for another at NEC Caravan Show in October. Fairly narrow choice though as it needs to be full size. Inflatables and similar straddle a window on such a small van. Again suggestions are welcome. edited links as the closed bracket at the end stopped them from working Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 12 Aug 14 at 01:06
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 20:18
Roof spoilers - bathtub tom
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| Whatever happened to them? I can't recall when I last saw one. Lorries still use them above the cabs, so I presume they must have some advantage. |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 20:36
Roof spoilers - Skip
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>> Whatever happened to them? I can't recall when I last saw one. Lorries still use >> them above the cabs, so I presume they must have some advantage. >> Probably due to the problem in securing them to the car once roof gutters disappeared. |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 20:41
Roof spoilers - Alastairw
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| Would something along the lines of the magnetic signs used by taxis and driving instructors be any use? |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 22:05
Roof spoilers - Manatee
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>> Probably due to the problem in securing them to the car once roof gutters disappeared. >> It would be relatively simple to make one that fixed to a pair of roof bars. I wonder how effective they really were. Probably not very. |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 22:39
Roof spoilers - Zero
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>> >> >> Probably due to the problem in securing them to the car once roof gutters >> disappeared. >> >> >> >> It would be relatively simple to make one that fixed to a pair of roof >> bars. >> >> I wonder how effective they really were. Probably not very. Most go for the best of both worlds and stick a roof box on. Has the same effect as a wind jammer and you get extra storage space. |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 23:11
Caravaning women - Fenlander
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All over other threads the targeted advertising box is stuff like Gumtree Alfa, BMW & Polo ads, new cars plus insurance etc. This caravanning thread is triggering some nice Asian ladies seeking love! Do they like the caravanning life then? |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 23:16
Caravaning women - Fenlander
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And now Cougar life.com. But only on the caravan thread. Never been keen on caravans but.... |
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New Mon 11 Aug 14 23:37
Back to the caravan thread. - Ted
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I mentioned to Pda Pat in a PM the other day about how a camping thread would be good so I'm glad Brompy beat us to it !.Tenters, like Rats, would be welcome. Got back from our trip abroad with the Elddis Broadway on the 3rd. When I say abroad, I'm talking about Anglesey. Wanted to go to Germany but we thought we'd save that for when the new van arrives. The old one is gradually falling to bits ! Nice site, 50 yds from the beach at Lligwy Bay but I would't go back there. Too many silly rules...no washing to be hung out, dogs on short leads only, no visitors but if you wanted family to call in it would be £5 an adult and £2 a kid.............ridiculous ! Waiting in reception I listened to the girl on the desk hectoring a woman who was trying to make a booking for a large family group worth about £600. Aggressively grilling her about the size of the tents and telling her to go a look it up in the handbooks. What the hell, height of the season and massive half empty field. What the problem if a tent was a few feet bigger than some others. Entry to the site was through metal gates controlled by a 'dongle ' thingy (£20 deposit, please ). I expected to see " Arbeit Macht Frei " above them. Beach access was by a small gate using the same dongle. They posted a time on the gate after which you had to leave the car outside 'til morning and walk through a side gate...2130 was the curfew time when we left ! Toilet block was clean but the showers were what a lot of campsite owners think is ok..a toilet cubicle with a curtain across the middle and no seat ! I went to reception with my walking stick and blue badge in my sponge bag hoping I might blag the key to the disabled facilities.....no problem this time. A proper module. 10ft square with wheelchair shower, handbasin and toilet...luxury. Returning the key, she asked if I would like to keep it for the duration.....result ! Daughter, partner and his parents we camping across the bay....we could see each other and there was no restriction about visitors there. We went to Holyhead one day...'cos it was raining. I've been to very many places in this country but that was the biggest dump I've ever found...beating Salford by a short head ! We bought an inflatable awning just before we went. Nice bit of kit but the handpump they give you kills my back, although it does shift a lot of air. I bought their own 12V pump which works fine except you only get about 5 ftt of cable of which 2.5 feet is used up just getting to the car door from the lighter socket. A bit of extending called for, I think ! I've got two awnings to dispose of now if anyone's interested. A normal 17 ft one with aluminium pole frame and a 2 bay carbon-fibre pole type. |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 04:01
Back to the caravan thread. - Pat
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The inflatable awnings are the best thing since sliced bread, we love ours and share the manual pumping counting each pump as an extra portion of clotted cream! I'm appalled by the rules on some sites and certainly wouldn't go and stay somewhere like that. I've also seen in Norfolk, a site where they charge £5 a night extra for a dog. How can that be justified? The V70 performed excellently on the trip down to Cornwall and back and returned a healthy 32mpg. The Mondeo never got past 28mpg and the CRV was 19mpg. The difference is that the V70 does it without any effort at all, hills are rolled flat and 6th gear is used all the time without a problem. It feels so stable and is, without a doubt, the best tow car we've ever had. Just a thought for Bromp, have you tried moving an awning along a bit to avoid a window? They don't have to fit at one end of the van unless it is a full size awning. Pat Last edited by: Pat on Tue 12 Aug 14 at 04:02
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 08:28
Back to the caravan thread. - legacylad
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I backpacked around Anglesey a few years ago with a journalist friend who was writing a commissioned article on the new coast path. Travelling light, apart from his photo gear, the first site we arrived at after a 15 mile day, wanted to charge us the same price to put up our tiny one person tents as a wacking big family tent on the next pitch. I cannot remember the price, but we decided not to bother, hitched back to where we had left the car and rented a tiny cottage for the week. Each day we would then drive to the start of the walk, then hitch back to where we had left the car. Much lighter load carrying and more miles covered. Not been back since though. Last edited by: legacylad on Tue 12 Aug 14 at 08:30
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 09:04
Back to the caravan thread. - CGNorwich
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"I'm appalled by the rules on some sites and certainly wouldn't go and stay somewhere like that. I've also seen in Norfolk, a site where they charge £5 a night extra for a dog. How can that be justified?" I don't do caravans or have a dog but isn't this just economics. Presumably there are a significant number of people who want a site without dogs. Those that do allow them therefore see an increased demand and feel able to charge more for the service. Simple supply and demand. |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 09:15
Back to the caravan thread. - legacylad
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| Fully agree, but as an occasional backpacker I am bemused by sometime rules & regs. I enjoy wild camping, and camped wild for many nights when on the SW Coast Path. Tent up out of the way as dusk falls, then away before 7am. Leave no trace and all that. When I wanted a 'proper' site to freshen up I requested a tiny pitch in the corner, no hook up etc. some sites were lovely, charged me a fiver and put me away from all the family tents and caravans. Others wanted to charge me thirty quid for an overnight stay. Needless to say I moved on and pitched in the corner of a field, or on a cliff top. |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 10:43
Back to the caravan thread. - Bromptonaut
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I'd noticed when tenting that UK sites seem to be more rule-bound than abroad. Roundhill in New Forest expects you to escort kids to the loo up to age of 12!!. Club sites have their strict rules about separation between units and some are very picky about how van is placed in relation to pitch marker posts. Carsington gave us a long lecture on how many amps = 16 so that we didn't trip the leccy - as if we couldn't work it out ourselves. French sites remain more relaxed apart from usual stuff about not swimming in Bermudas and emphasisisng that washing dishes or babies in the bac a linge is forbidden. All close barriers at night but not until 22:30 or later with ample parking outside. There are peculiarities though. At Mimizan the booking was charged in full in advance, except fro the 'taxe de sejour'. So at departure time there's a line of people all waiting to pay a handful of Euro. If you've forgotten the barrier won't open so there's an impatient queue of cars held up, most of whom are just wanting to get off to the beach. Same site also has Swallows nesting in the shower blocks. Loved watching & hearing them and apparently they're a protected species and keep mozzies down. UK H&S would have had a blue fit over the poo they left around. Away from main tourist areas it's difficult to see how sites keep going. Chartres and Poitier, both what felt like ex Municipal sites under Flower Camping label, were almost deserted in late July and early August respectively. Most other occupants were Dutch. A few more years and it'll be difficult to find transit stops except on the Aires - something I'd rather avoid. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 12 Aug 14 at 10:46
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 14:59
Back to the caravan thread. - Dutchie
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The last time I went camping was as a 14 year old.My mate Jan and i cycling from Rotterdam to Apeldoorn small town in Holland.I remember the bicycle I had a blue Simplex my pride and joy.We both had some money saved working in a small ship yard during the holidays. The Dutch like their caravans..We might try hiring a campervan next year and take our Granddaughter with us.Glad you enjoyed your trip Brompt. |
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New Thu 14 Aug 14 05:26
Back to the caravan thread. - Pat
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My In Laws have down sized and moved from Kent to Scarborough due to health and the need to be closer to family. I spent yesterday trying to find a touring site around Scarborough without a club house and entertainment...almost impossible. One wanted to charge for the electric hook up via a prepayment meter. Another wanted to charge a fiver for an 'entry card' to the shower block. All were more expensive for October than we pay in Cornwall in summer. One had a complete ban on any music whatsoever! I finally found this www.bettonfarm.co.uk/index.html But had to phone them to see if they take NON Camping and caravan club members, which they do! Pat |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 19:56
Back to the caravan thread. - R.P.
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We went to Holyhead one day...'cos it was raining. I've been to very many places in this country but that was the biggest dump I've ever found...beating Salford by a short head ! Hahaha. Very few redeeming features - over the mountain to South Stack takes you to another world. Should have mentioned you were going - I'd have paid my fiver for a brew ! (You can visit here for nothing) |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 22:52
Back to the caravan thread. - Ted
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>> Hahaha. Very few redeeming features - over the mountain to South Stack takes you to >> another world. Should have mentioned you were going - I'd have paid my fiver for >> a brew ! (You can visit here for nothing) You could have parked in the lane down to the beach and I'd have let you in through the beach gate for free. I noticed that the CCTV cam was pointing the wrong way ! Yes ! The site was monitored by cameras !!! They didn't mention any of this when we booked >> |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 16:21
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - RichardW
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| My parents have got a motorhome here (Citroen Relay based, panel vane) which has an 'adequate' 2.2 Hdi engine putting out about 130BHP. They are about to embark on a 5 week holiday to Canada (retired folk eh??) part of which will be in a motorhome (Coachbuilt this one so a good bit wider and higher than the UK one). The engine in that one will be somewhat larger though: 6 litre, V10 petrol, 350 BHP - and attached to, of all things, a 3 speed auto! Book open on what it will return to the gallon... :-) |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 16:29
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Alanovich
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 21:07
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - R.P.
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| Spent the last few days tweaking, full check tonight - off on Thursday - will be staying at a friend's house that night then a couple of nights on a site in Bala....slight problem, a biking friend who went missing and died in Crete a few weeks ago is being buried on the Friday - need to consider how to get to the funeral on Friday. May have to rough it on a bus. God how he'd take the p***. |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 21:20
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Runfer D'Hills
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Bus? OMG it gets worse! Anyway, leaving that on one side, if you really had to go and join the merry band of field dwelling chemical toilet users and fairy light afficionados, if you'd bought a caravan instead of a motorhome and pulled it behind a suitable Volvo or somesuch ( I can't believe I'm even giving pause to this ) you could have left the thing on it's paddock or whatever they call them and gone where you needed to on Friday in a car. Now you have to go on a bus. Ye Gods man, you'll be buying a scooter next. ;-) |
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New Tue 12 Aug 14 22:00
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Zero
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>> Spent the last few days tweaking, full check tonight - off on Thursday - will >> be staying at a friend's house that night then a couple of nights on a >> site in Bala....slight problem, a biking friend who went missing and died in Crete a >> few weeks ago is being buried on the Friday - need to consider how to >> get to the funeral on Friday. May have to rough it on a bus. God >> how he'd take the p***. Told you, you need a fast trail bike stuck on the back, but would you listen to your uncle Zero? |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 06:53
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Skip
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- need to consider how to >> get to the funeral on Friday. May have to rough it on a bus. God >> how he'd take the p***. >> Still at least it won't cost you anything if you use your free bus pass ! |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 19:18
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - R.P.
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| Another 10 years to go sadly... |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 19:58
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Skip
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>> Another 10 years to go sadly... >> Oh sorry, its just with you owning a Volvo and a motor caravan........ |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 20:08
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - R.P.
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| T5 though ! |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 19:53
The Caravan and Motorhome Thread - Zero
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>> what it will return to the gallon... :-) It won't return on a gallon for sure. |
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New Wed 13 Aug 14 19:27
In the doghouse - Runfer D'Hills
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money.aol.co.uk/2014/08/13/would-you-spend-800-on-a-camper-van-for-a-dog/ I liked the comment under the article. 'Bet it's towed by a Rover' Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Wed 13 Aug 14 at 19:31
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New Thu 14 Aug 14 12:01
In the doghouse - R.P.
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| Ruff... |
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New Thu 14 Aug 14 12:02
Maiden voyage... - R.P.
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www.penybont-bala.co.uk/motorhomes/touring-park-snowdonia The van is in OCU phase -(Operational Conversion Unit) - so we're off for the weekend. Not going too far www.penybont-bala.co.uk/motorhomes/touring-park-snowdonia Seems to have everything one would want. |
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New Thu 14 Aug 14 13:43
Maiden voyage... - Zero
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Maiden Voyage? Titanic springs to mind. |
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New Fri 15 Aug 14 15:13
Maiden voyage... - Falkirk Bairn
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>> Titanic springs to mind. Big springs are needed in campervans if the stories of happy campers are to be believed BUT Titanic springs are maybe a bit big. |
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New Thu 14 Aug 14 16:32
Maiden voyage... - sooty123
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>> >> >> The van is in OCU phase You've spent too much time near Valley ;-) |
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New Thu 14 Aug 14 17:53
Maiden voyage... - Manatee
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We once used the C&CC site at Bala. It was OK apart from the sheep baaing like mad at 6am every day. Hoofed it one afternoon down the lake and got a litle train back IIRC. |
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New Fri 15 Aug 14 21:52
Maiden voyage... - legacylad
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| Talking of which ( if you have any understanding of soccer) the last time that many players left Southampton it was the band on the Titanic. |
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New Fri 15 Aug 14 23:02
Maiden voyage... - Ted
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We stayed on a site at Bala in the early 80s. We were about 4 families in vans and a couple in tents so we had real good old time. It was Easter, it snowed one night and the following day we were all sat in the Sun drinking wine !. I had a 109 inch LandRover 12 seater safari at the time and about 9 of us decided to go 'green roading ' over a track across the mountain to, i think, the Tanat valley. It was really rough. Along the way, in a river bed, we met two lightweight Landies coming the other way. We were sneered at and told we wouldn't get through in that thing. We pressed on and it was no problem. I guess the Rover 3 litre engine I had fitted helped a great deal ! Nice pub at the other end. Came back on the Queens highway, though. |
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New Fri 12 Sep 14 23:28
Maiden voyage... - Ted
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At last ! Made the trip to Glossop Caravans today to collect the replacement caravan....a 17ft Elddis Odyssey. On it's PDI, they had found some traces of damp at the bottom of the door frame which had crept into the wall lining in the shower room. They'd asked if I still wanted the van, properly repaired, or would I like to pick another. I opted for the former as it was one of the few vans a bit narrower than my trade in. An important point for us as getting past the house was a bit fraught. They said I would be given a damp guarantee for as long as I owned it and a 15 month guarantee on everything else from today......suits me fine. I went to see it last week and the workshop manager gave me a guided tour of what they were doing. The whole of the 'bathroom' including the wall cladding had been stripped out. Only the shower cabinet was in place. The rest of the van was filled with all the stuff they'd removed...looked a shambles ! Today, it all looked brand new. Everything outside re-siliconed and new awning rails fitted. New carpet fitted and the bathroom laminated...at SWM's request. Salesman left us with it for 15 minutes to look it over and try things. They had it plugged in to the mains with water connected so we could check it all out........tyres good, motor mover transferred from the old one and they'd remembered to fit a new master switch...as we'd asked. I gave them a bag of my gold and drove it home behind the Grand Vitara. Towed well and stable at 60 even though it wasn't loaded. Getting it down the drive past the house was a lot easier. The old van had to have it's awning light and rear high level side lights removed Even then it was a bit close on both sides...I ended up removing the side windows which stuck out an extra inch on both sides. The new van has flush fitting windows and awning light. SWM didn't like the upholstery at first viewing but today she seemed more taken with it. It don't not bovver me.......I only sit on it ! So there it is......can't go away next weekend as I'm off on a biker weekend in Builth Wells but I think we'll have a weekend after that to try things out. Looking forward to it. |
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New Thu 18 Sep 14 22:30
Winter and Winterising - Bromptonaut
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What do the other shed tuggers here do with the 'van in winter? We're taking a week's holiday at half term - week of 27 Oct. Suspect we'll use the heating but should be a few weeks short of any serious frost risk. After that we'd like to try winter weekends in November or late Jan/Feb. What experience do others have of using 'van in winter and, what do you do re 'winterising' van between such uses? We keep it away from house in a commercial open store so it will be subject to such rain/snow as falls and to frost. |
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New Thu 18 Sep 14 22:58
Winter and Winterising - bathtub tom
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| Drain the water system and consider converting from calor to propane (calor doesn't evaporate at low temperatures). |
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New Thu 18 Sep 14 23:08
Winter and Winterising - Bromptonaut
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>> Drain the water system and consider converting from calor to propane (calor doesn't evaporate at >> low temperatures). Water can be drained from boiler and other taps opened allowing water to drain back to inlet. Are devices to pump air through system to remove trapped water worthwhile?. Think the low temp issue with gas relates to butane v propane. Calor is a brand and supplies both propane (red cylinders) and butane (blue cylinders). We use Calor propane (but kept a camping gaz butane cylinder as back up during summer). |
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New Thu 18 Sep 14 23:27
Winter and Winterising - Ted
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I drain the water and leave all the taps open. I leave the windows on the side by the workshop open an inch...they're sheltered by the wall. Leave the fridge open a tad to ventilate it. Drain down the toilet flush...there should be a little rubber bung at the bottom of the cistern in the outside cupboard. Mines blue...just pull it out but gaffer tape some plastic or a bin bag under it first to guide the water out of the cupboard. Empty, clean and put some toilet fluid in the holding tank and swill it round. Remove and eat that piece of Gruyere cheese that you'd forgotten in the back of the fridge ! We did consider a cover but I might have trouble getting it on. I cover the hitch and electrics. The van lives at the end of the garden at right angles to the drive and I leave it plugged into the mains. All the kit, awning, aquarolls, waste, chairs, groundsheet, etc live in a shed next to the van with the garden furniture. Handy if someone wants to stay the night, you don't have to clear the van out We're off to Bakewell a week tomorrow for 3 days......first outing in this van...been kitting it out this week. Off to Llangammach on the bike tomorrow...hotel this time ! |
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New Fri 19 Sep 14 02:01
Winter and Winterising - Fullchat
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When I had a caravan I fitted some drain taps at the lowest points in the hot and cold water lines. I then blew through the shower and taps to remove all the water and it is surprising how much is left in the system. You must be able to get something to do this blowing thing as it looks most undignified. Standby for urine extraction :) Spare set of wheels with rubbish tyres on to park on over winter and good wheels stored in dark place. Last edited by: Fullchat on Fri 19 Sep 14 at 02:02
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New Fri 19 Sep 14 03:09
Winter and Winterising - Pat
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We're away for the last time this year during the first week of October then the van will be parked up in a dedicated CCOSA storage facility in the open. We do all the above but make sure all drain taps are open before leaving for home on the last trip of the year. We also use a couple of dehumidifiers with crystals around the van and it's surprising the amount of water collected in the base of them. One thing you need to check is if you have a tracker and alarm system, it will be using current from the battery. We have two and swap them every couple of months in winter. Pat |
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New Fri 19 Sep 14 06:38
Winter and Winterising - WillDeBeest
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Standby for urine extraction Is that done by blowing or sucking? |
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New Mon 27 Oct 14 23:18
New van damaged - Ted
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Bums ! Took the van back to the dealers on the 17th' cos the wheel drums were getting too hot on a run. One or two little things to look at as well. Lunchtime on Saturday saw SWM and I back there to collect it. Uneventful journey home, about 20 miles and left the whole outfit outside the house while I had some snap and watched City get beaten ! About three hours later, I was backing the van across the pavement into the drive when SWM noticed some damage to the offside rear side panel. There were a couple of short gouges into the aluminium and a lot of scratching. An area about 30 inches long by 5 inches deep was affected about 6 feet off the ground. I got the blame of course until I told her that it was inspected on delivery at the service centre and it wasn't there then. Suspicion then fell on the dealers and I rang them this morning. They were very good, said they had cameras in the workshops and would check...meanwhile could I send them some photos..which I did. Later, after some thought, I hit on the idea that the damage was about the height of a commercial's nearside mirror. I rang the dealer and told him my thoughts and apologized for my suspicions. He said it happens quite a lot. Leaving the workshops, you have to go up a long straight hill. At the top is a right filter so traffic going straight on, like I was, stick in the inside lane, which is always nose to tail walking pace. Outside lane stuff can make a good pace as it's usually clear. I thought it might have happened here...I wouldn't have felt anything scraping the van. Then I remembered the dash-cam and had a look this evening. I couldn't see behind, of course but I could see what passed me and how close they were. Nothing there. The dashcam also showed me reversing out of the parking bay at the dealers to hitch the van on. As I passed the van to get to the front there was no damage visible ! So, I now have to put it down to when it was parked outside the house...I'll see if there's any flakes of paint there in the morning. No matter, it's insured. The dealers gave me a quote, from the photos of £460 plus VAT......gulp ! The skin isn't broken so it's still usable. I'll get it done in January. Oh, the brake drums were still too hot to keep a finger on when I'd got it home ! |
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New Tue 28 Oct 14 21:29
New van damaged - R.P.
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| We nearly went away last weekend...something else cropped up and we didn't. We;ve found storage for the van up the road over the winter. Will need to do some preventative maintenance. Arranged to have it parked up front so we can use it if the spirit moves us |
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New Tue 28 Oct 14 23:01
New van damaged - legacylad
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My local caravan & camping site closes at the end of this month for the winter season. I walked through it on Sunday afternoon to watch the salmon leaping at the Foss. Plenty of motor homes still, plus caravans and even a handful of tents. Quite a few salmon running too. Makes a change to counting sheep on a windy Sunday afternoon. |
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New Tue 28 Oct 14 23:21
New van damaged - BobbyG
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Will never forget when my dad damaged the rear of his caravan. He had one of those remote control mover things and we were turning it around in his back garden for me to take photos to sell it. Somehow or other he ended up with either the controller upside down, or he was standing at wrong side of van - either way it meant that the forward button meant the van went backwards into the tree I was standing next to! |
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New Wed 29 Oct 14 00:07
New van damaged - Ted
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I can never remember which button to press on the motormover remote. I always do a little test press to see which way it will go. You have to remember that it's different depending on whether you're at the front or back of the van. Still, it's a darn sight better than having to move the thing with muscle power. It will move the van a quarter of an inch and stop dead. Saves all those mis-alignments when hitching up to the car...you just move the van to the ball instead of trying to drive the car backwards to the van. It easily moves the van up a three inch kerb....I haven't tested it any higher yet. |
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New Wed 29 Oct 14 03:58
New van damaged - Pat
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The pointy end of the mover controls is the towing hitch end Ted, at least it is on a Truma. Pat |
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New Mon 3 Nov 14 19:40
New van damaged - Roger.
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This I could put up with! www.thisblewmymind.com/i-thought-it-was-just-a-volkswagon-van-but-then-i-saw-what-it-does-wow/#_ |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 16:53
New van damaged - Ted
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Had a flat tyre on the nearside a month or so ago. Put the spare on and took it to National. They were a bit baffled until their man came out of the fitting area to show me something. There is a pinhole in the inside of the wheel just at the base of one of the 'spokes'. He only noticed it by chance after splashing a bit of 'bubbly water ' in the area. I know alloys can be prone to porosity. Anyway, the van's under warranty so I rang the dealer. After a fair time arguing I was told ' wheels aren't covered,,,look in the book ' So I did....and they are ! I phoned back still got grudging denials and said I had to check with the warranty insurers. So I did. Same answer, ' wheels aren't covered ' I pointed out that I had the book on my desk and they were listed under ' running gear ' He said that if that was the case then they may have to honour the warranty but I would have to find out the cost of a road wheel for him ! Cheeky git...and I told him so ! I told him to sort it out with the dealer and come back to me as soon as possible. I heard nothing more so I wrote a terse email the the dealer's CEO/MD. After acknowledgments of my EMail I heard from the workshop manager today Now starts the fun ! The insurers have asked the dealers to get me to take photographs of ' the hole and the escaping air !' Now, my Lumix 45 is pretty damn good but I've never tried to photograph air before ! I've EMailed back and pointed this out. I can probably isolate where the leak is and take it to a local motorcycle repair shop who will put a blob of weld on it for a tenner. A tube would have sorted it out but National said they wouldn't tube caravan tyres as it was dangerous. I don't know why...mebbe it's to do with the Tyron bands fitted. Another option is to buy another spare...about 30 quid...and a couple of wheel trims. You never see both wheels at the same time and dealers do packs of 2 trims now. Warranty ?.....schmorranty !....good job I didn't pay for it ! |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 17:25
New van damaged - Manatee
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Can you take a picture of the bubbles if you put a bit of soapy water on it? I wouldn't tube a tubeless tyre on a caravan anyway. There are a lot of Land Rover wheels in use that are not designed for tubeless, and when you put tubes in with tubeless tyres punctures are very likely. The inside of the tyres is often rough and the movement abrades the tube, I have been told. Acceptable risk on an old Land Rover but I wouldn't want it on a caravan. |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 17:37
New van damaged - Zero
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| video the bubbles |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 19:41
New van damaged - MD
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Clearly not fit for purpose. Sue the t*** if you think you're covered. |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 19:47
New van damaged - bathtub tom
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I used to run tubes in tubeless tyres (can't get tubed tyres) for trialling. It's quite common when you're running pressures down to 5PSI. I also got friction punctures from the tyre rubbing the tube. |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 19:59
New van damaged - Bromptonaut
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My 1978/9 Peugeot 104 ran tubed tyres. Quite common in seventies French cars, Mum's Renault 5 had then too. Much more susceptible to punctures than tubeless. |
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 20:10
New van damaged - Slidingpillar
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The 72 Morgan 4/4 was a tubed fitment. Had arguments every time when I bought tyres for it, but despite the tyres supposedly being tubeless, never had a problem. Not sure when the wheel pattern was changed, but I'd be fairly confident that most 4/4s produced in the 70s were the same. |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 15:02
New van damaged - Ted
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Update... Regarding the paint damage, I'm not going down the insurance route. Mostly 'cos there is an excess of £250 on the Camping/Caravan Club policy. I got the paint code from Elddis and ordered an aerosol from the local car body supplies firm. I have the rest of the stuff in already, 3M acrylic fine surface filler, wet and dry and hot air gun to flash the filler and paint off quickly. When it's done, I'll stick a decal over the area to take the eye away from the repair......it won't be ' bodyshop perfect ' Lots of firms making decal to size and colour on the Bay. The brakes were the other problem. I've been waiting for a warmer day and it came yesterday. I jacked up the nearside and took the wheel off. I couldn't turn the drum by hand, only by putting two bolts back in and using a strongarm bar about 2 feet long. Off came the big nut then I needed a lot of hammering with the copper mallet to ease the drum off. I'm 99% certain that the dealer hadn't done a thing when it was in. The knurled adjuster wouldn't turn through the hole in the drum and I had to take the shoe out and sort it out on the bench with some heat from the Oxy/Axy set. So, they hadn't touched it and they wouldn't have been able to get the drum back on with tight adjustment it was on. I set it all up and now the drum spins easily by hand. The van might not decide to go off the straight on the Motor Mover now ! The other side will get the same treatment when I can shift the van across a bit..maybe tomorrow. I also saw that the thread had been damaged at the outer half inch of the stub axle but there's plenty left where the nut tightens. I'll have to see if any of my contacts has a torque wrench that'll do the 280 NM required...mine only goes up to 115 ! The tyre is just the same, except that the rim leak has gone away. I've had it back to National and we can't find a leak.....the valve and bead are ok. I'm monitoring it on the bench with extra pressure in...it lost about 12LB over 3 weeks. I might bang a tin of Tyre Weld in...I've used it before and it leaves the tyre clean and undamaged. I also rebuilt the ' push/pull catches on the toilet and wardrobe doors, removing the vertical bars and catches which only complicate things. I'll store all that stuff under the seats. Both doors open and shut properly now. Stuff the dealers...unless something serious goes, like the boiler or oven. |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 16:10
New van damaged - RichardW
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>> I'll have to see if any of my contacts has a torque wrench that'll do the >> 280 NM required...mine only goes up to 115 ! No Torque wrench required - use your brawn (and your brain....!). Weigh yourself first off in kg(*), then multiply by 10 to get mass in N. Now divide 280 by your mass, and you will get the length you need your weight to act over to provide a torque of 280NM. (eg if you are 75kg, that's 750 N, 280/750 = 0.373m). Now set up the spanner / socket on the hub nut so that it is horizontal, measure along the tool the length calculated above, and then carefully stand on the spanner (all your weight) at that point - gently, don't bounce on it! You are now applying the correct torque. If the spanner sinks, then reset it so it's still horizontal, and stand again so it just stops sinking. I use this technique for torquing up hub nuts on cars. *Same applies for imperial units - just weigh in pounds then apply at the appropriate number of feet. Last edited by: RichardW on Wed 11 Feb 15 at 16:12
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 16:19
New van damaged - Crankcase
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| I think that wins the prize for the most interesting bit of info I've ever read here that I will never use. I enjoyed that. |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 16:21
New van damaged - No FM2R
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I agree. Although it was a bit inconsiderate not to tell me 30yrs ago! |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 16:35
New van damaged - Zero
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>> I agree. >> >> Although it was a bit inconsiderate not to tell me 30yrs ago! I was a lot less Nm 30 years ago. |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 17:25
New van damaged - No FM2R
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My nm now is pretty much the same now as 30yrs ago. Probably less given all the hair I no longer have. Last edited by: No FM2R on Wed 11 Feb 15 at 17:26
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 17:56
New van damaged - Runfer D'Hills
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Yep, I'm exactly the same weight as I was 30 years ago, but it does take a whole lot more effort now to keep it that way! Two days without excercise or too many pie related items and it all starts moving south. :-( |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 16:38
New van damaged - VxFan
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>> No Torque wrench required - use your brawn I just use the FT method when torque figures go over 100 Nm. |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 18:03
New van damaged - Ted
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My brain hurts ! I think I'll resort to some Threadlock and slide a length of gas pipe on to the strongarm...then jump on it ! |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 21:03
New van damaged - RichardW
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| Post up your weight, and I'll do the sums :-) |
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New Wed 11 Feb 15 16:02
New van damaged - Cliff Pope
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>> I used to run tubes in tubeless tyres (can't get tubed tyres) for trialling. It's >> quite common when you're running pressures down to 5PSI. >> >> I also got friction punctures from the tyre rubbing the tube. >> >> >> Not if you use plenty of talc when assembling. It's a dry lubricant and lasts for years. |
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New Thu 12 Feb 15 16:14
New van damaged - Ted
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Shirley if you have a tube fitted, with talc, in a tyre that's only losing a few pounds over a long period, any problems with tube leakage are only going to dump the air in the tyre...not causing a sudden blow-out. With limited mileage of a caravan, and lower speeds......not a major problem. Thanks for the offer of arithmetical advice, DickieW but I borrowed the local indy's torque wrench, did the other wheel today and am rolling again to the extent that I can noe push the van myself. Just got to shorten the main brake rod at the ' turnbuckle ' now and then bobs yer nobs ! |
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New Thu 12 Feb 15 19:09
New van damaged - Armel Coussine
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Torque schmorque... My VW 411 had steel wheel bolts that tended to seize and be very hard to undo. Once in Highbury had a socket with a thick tommy bar and a length of scaffold tube over it. It still wouldn't move, but I persuaded two passing uniformed coppers to jump up and down on the scaffold tube in unison. That cracked it, or perhaps it made the socket explode, can't remember. Another time in the South of France my Dyane 6 broke a drive shaft, or rather I did. Hitch down into Nice twice for bits, borrow tools from a local car lunatic and do a similar job with a long lever to get the hub nut loose. No danger of exploding the enormous socket, but bent the tommy bar good and proper. The geezer didn't mind though. It was a fraught time, with herself and our companions, old friends, complaining incessantly and me being even worse, spectacularly so. Shudder. |
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New Thu 12 Feb 15 22:29
New van damaged - Kevin
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>..any problems with tube leakage are only going to dump the air in the tyre...not causing a sudden blow-out. It was quite common in Namibia to fit tubes in tubeless tyres to get around the problem of fine mica dust from the dirt roads working it's way between the tyre and rim causing slow loss of pressure. Usually no problem but a colleague was left slightly embarrased when he floored the throttle of his 454ci El Camino on the only tarmac road in town and a rear tyre spun on the rim and ripped the valve off the tube. You probably won't have that problem with the portaloo. ;-) |
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