Taking the Orion back to YC Leisure tomorrow for a few niggles to be rectified,hope all goes well and we have it back without too much of a delay.
Want to be off in it again ASAP.
Ian
Thursday 29 September 2011
Sunday 18 September 2011
Anyone Want A List ?
During our first and only foray last week I found myself running around trying to remember what to do and the order to do it in ( eg don't put the pump on before the Aqua-Roll is full ).
With this in mind I have produced three checklists,one for hitching up,one for setting up and one for departure.
I intend to laminate them and keep in the car or van.
As time goes by I imagine they will become redundant but for the immediate future I hope to find them useful.
If anyone wants a copy of one or all of them I will gladly e-mail them one.Obviously they can be adapted or added to as one sees fit for your own personal preferences but at least they will give a basis for a bit of order which I feel I was lacking.
I use Open Office so they are in .odt format but I can convert them to .doc for Word use,just let me know.
Any feedback as to what I have forgotten would be most welcome.
Ian
With this in mind I have produced three checklists,one for hitching up,one for setting up and one for departure.
I intend to laminate them and keep in the car or van.
As time goes by I imagine they will become redundant but for the immediate future I hope to find them useful.
If anyone wants a copy of one or all of them I will gladly e-mail them one.Obviously they can be adapted or added to as one sees fit for your own personal preferences but at least they will give a basis for a bit of order which I feel I was lacking.
I use Open Office so they are in .odt format but I can convert them to .doc for Word use,just let me know.
Any feedback as to what I have forgotten would be most welcome.
Ian
Friday 16 September 2011
Toilet Tales & Winding Handles
As mentioned in my previous post we had trouble with the khazi in that it leaked flush into the cassette compartment.Having since had a scout about on the 'net I have discovered that this is not an unusual problem.In fact there seem to be quite a few problems with the C-250 Thetford toilet as fitted to the Orion.Having said that one has to bear in mind that people whose toilets work without any problem are unlikely to post to forums etc. to say so,so forum skew may well apply here.
When we collected the Orion the dealer showed us how to work the toilet but as with so many things there was a lot to remember so I thought I would look in the Bailey Orion Handbook.
Not a whisper about the bog,one would think that using it was an option not a bodily necessity.
Anyway having had a rummage around on the Thetford site I found some instructions in the form of .pdfs
http://www.thetford-europe.com/en/products/toilets/cassette-toilets/c250.aspx
One of the things I was keen on finding out was the capacity of the flush tank as the pink stuff has to be added at so many mls. per litre,this I discovered is 8 Iitres, I will write it on the inside of the flush tank door.
Other little gems were that the blue/green stuff MUST be added via the spout and not the blade hole and that two litres of water have to be added to the green/blue stuff in the cassette to start it off.
How you are supposed to find all this out if you are not on-line or don't have the time or inclination to go looking for it I don't know.
Through the post this morning came a new steady winding handle as a replacement for the hand-wrecking implement supplied by Bailey.I went for one of these Alk-Ko jobbies:-
The Caravan Shop in Glasgow once again was excellent with good price and prompt delivery.
If anyone has a desire for the hand-wrecking implement then drop me an e-mail and you are welcome to it.
Ian
When we collected the Orion the dealer showed us how to work the toilet but as with so many things there was a lot to remember so I thought I would look in the Bailey Orion Handbook.
Not a whisper about the bog,one would think that using it was an option not a bodily necessity.
Anyway having had a rummage around on the Thetford site I found some instructions in the form of .pdfs
http://www.thetford-europe.com/en/products/toilets/cassette-toilets/c250.aspx
One of the things I was keen on finding out was the capacity of the flush tank as the pink stuff has to be added at so many mls. per litre,this I discovered is 8 Iitres, I will write it on the inside of the flush tank door.
Other little gems were that the blue/green stuff MUST be added via the spout and not the blade hole and that two litres of water have to be added to the green/blue stuff in the cassette to start it off.
How you are supposed to find all this out if you are not on-line or don't have the time or inclination to go looking for it I don't know.
Through the post this morning came a new steady winding handle as a replacement for the hand-wrecking implement supplied by Bailey.I went for one of these Alk-Ko jobbies:-
The Caravan Shop in Glasgow once again was excellent with good price and prompt delivery.
If anyone has a desire for the hand-wrecking implement then drop me an e-mail and you are welcome to it.
Ian
Tuesday 13 September 2011
We Survived.
Well we survived our first weekend in the new Orion,it was a very blustery,if thankfully short,tow home.
Called to weigh the van on our way back to storage and fortunately we are well underweight.
We learnt a lot in our two nights the van turned out to have or two faults,nothing major but it is returning to the dealers at the end of the month for them sorting out.
I will list them if only to advise other owners what to look out for perhaps:-
1.Extra plug socket installed by dealer under the rear dinette,no power.
2.Grill won't light,worked the first morning no problem but not the second.There is gas and a spark but the two don't seem to want to come together.
3.The Reich mover only works when it wants to,which is infrequently.
4.When I came to empty the Thetford toilet cassette the locker was swimming in flush ( not the other stuff ). Coincidentally there was a two berth Orion parked next door and they said they had had the same problem.
5.The TV ariel socket broke.
6.The left hand burner on the hob takes an age to keep pressed in before it will stay alight.
7.The paint is chipping off the venetian blind.
Two minor grouses,the steady winder contraption is a load of garbage.Takes the strength of six to compress the spring and if you aren't careful it traps your skin,do not ask me how I know this,off to B&Q or Halfords today to find a replacement,perhaps a cordless drill.
I wish the front storage locker door was twice the size.Trying to put in and locate stuff in quite a roomy space is like trying to decorate your house via the letterbox.
Oh and I can see why people prefer a fixed island bed in the larger vans.
Seems like a list of complaints but it isn't really we had a lovely time and overall,despite the above,the van lived up to our expectations.
Ian
Called to weigh the van on our way back to storage and fortunately we are well underweight.
We learnt a lot in our two nights the van turned out to have or two faults,nothing major but it is returning to the dealers at the end of the month for them sorting out.
I will list them if only to advise other owners what to look out for perhaps:-
1.Extra plug socket installed by dealer under the rear dinette,no power.
2.Grill won't light,worked the first morning no problem but not the second.There is gas and a spark but the two don't seem to want to come together.
3.The Reich mover only works when it wants to,which is infrequently.
4.When I came to empty the Thetford toilet cassette the locker was swimming in flush ( not the other stuff ). Coincidentally there was a two berth Orion parked next door and they said they had had the same problem.
5.The TV ariel socket broke.
6.The left hand burner on the hob takes an age to keep pressed in before it will stay alight.
7.The paint is chipping off the venetian blind.
Two minor grouses,the steady winder contraption is a load of garbage.Takes the strength of six to compress the spring and if you aren't careful it traps your skin,do not ask me how I know this,off to B&Q or Halfords today to find a replacement,perhaps a cordless drill.
I wish the front storage locker door was twice the size.Trying to put in and locate stuff in quite a roomy space is like trying to decorate your house via the letterbox.
Oh and I can see why people prefer a fixed island bed in the larger vans.
Seems like a list of complaints but it isn't really we had a lovely time and overall,despite the above,the van lived up to our expectations.
Ian
Sunday 11 September 2011
Our First Outing
We have learnt a lot this weekend the climax being erecting and dismantling the awning,about 1.5hrs to put it up and about 0.5hrs to take it down,both in the same day as high winds are forecast for tomorrow and we didn't want to risk it tearing or flapping about.It was definitely easier than we thought but I had labelled the poles first.
Just one problem with the van in that I had three extra plug sockets installed and one of them doesn't work so I suppose it will have to go back to the dealer to be sorted.The Reich mover was a bit hit and miss as well but that may have been us so we will see how it goes.Everything else worked fine,just have to remember to make sure the Aquaroll is full before getting soaped up in the shower.
People were very helpful yesterday when we were setting up and trying to level the van on a sloping pitch.
Going to call for the van and van/car to be weighed on the way home tomorrow just to check we are not overloaded.
Here's to our next trip.
Ian
Thursday 8 September 2011
Carpet Capers
Back up at the van today.
We decided we had better put the carpets down.
Ho,ho,ho,took us the best part of twenty minutes or more.It was like one of those puzzles where you have to make a picture in a frame and there is only one piece missing ( I know what I mean ),we even thought we had been given the wrong carpet at one stage.
Got there in the end though and celebrated our first caravanning argument.
Incidentally does anyone know if the doormat is removable.It appears to be fixed and I don't want to yank it up at some time and damage it.
Would be useful to remove it from time to time to give it a good brush.
Ian
We decided we had better put the carpets down.
Ho,ho,ho,took us the best part of twenty minutes or more.It was like one of those puzzles where you have to make a picture in a frame and there is only one piece missing ( I know what I mean ),we even thought we had been given the wrong carpet at one stage.
Got there in the end though and celebrated our first caravanning argument.
Incidentally does anyone know if the doormat is removable.It appears to be fixed and I don't want to yank it up at some time and damage it.
Would be useful to remove it from time to time to give it a good brush.
Ian
Wednesday 7 September 2011
Takes Some Sorting!!
Spent a few hours in the new van today getting things shipshape as we are have the maiden voyage for a couple of nights at the weekend.
Sending/registering warranties for various things is a bit tedious but necessary.
We have an Isabella Magnum porch awning and one thing which amazed me is the sheer size and weight of the thing,and this is a porch awning,goodness knows what a full size is like,and it has carbon fibre poles so should be a bit lighter.
When I did my CC course the instructor said the best place to transport the awning was on the back seat of the car,I can see why now.
I think it would be better with its own trailer.
Ian
Sending/registering warranties for various things is a bit tedious but necessary.
We have an Isabella Magnum porch awning and one thing which amazed me is the sheer size and weight of the thing,and this is a porch awning,goodness knows what a full size is like,and it has carbon fibre poles so should be a bit lighter.
When I did my CC course the instructor said the best place to transport the awning was on the back seat of the car,I can see why now.
I think it would be better with its own trailer.
Ian
Tuesday 6 September 2011
Well It's Finally Here.
Well we eventually collected the Orion from YC Leisure today after a few delays and hiccups.
One or two things that I ordered had been missed but soon sorted out,Al-Ko ATC and towbar electrics ( two of the things I was concerned about ) were fortunately all fine.
The drive home was a bit sweaty of palm as it was very windy along the A1/M62 but got back to storage at Castleford OK.
A few bits of paperwork all done,warranties are a bit of a PITA and the Al-Ko key registration site for the wheel lock wasn't working so it needs to be posted.
Now to get it sorted and knocked into shape before a weekend away.
Ian
One or two things that I ordered had been missed but soon sorted out,Al-Ko ATC and towbar electrics ( two of the things I was concerned about ) were fortunately all fine.
The drive home was a bit sweaty of palm as it was very windy along the A1/M62 but got back to storage at Castleford OK.
A few bits of paperwork all done,warranties are a bit of a PITA and the Al-Ko key registration site for the wheel lock wasn't working so it needs to be posted.
Now to get it sorted and knocked into shape before a weekend away.
Ian
Friday 2 September 2011
Well At Least it Is Working
Had a telephone call this morning on landline followed by mobile from Phantom Tracking Centre to say the Orion was on the move and was this OK ?
The problem is that we don't take delivery until sometime next week so someone at the dealers must have moved it without switching it off first.
Well at least we know it works.
Ian
The problem is that we don't take delivery until sometime next week so someone at the dealers must have moved it without switching it off first.
Well at least we know it works.
Ian
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