Potential Split Wheel Arches

Teddy, one of my correspondents,has notified me of this which I think is worth bringing to wider attention:-

Hi, Ian do get your dealer to check your wheel arches. Our dealer (Lowdhams Nottingham) has serviced several Orions that have split linings and has reported this to Bailey as a design fault and we ae waiting for a call back to have ours replaced. The dealers did stick some sealant over it but it did not look too sturdy so my ever resourceful other half has stuck some thick sealant tape over it to prevent any water ingress when travelling.

Ian

Hargill House Caravan Club Site

Just returned from a two night stay at Hargill House a Caravan Club site just off the A66 about 1.5 miles from Scotch Corner in the Northern Pennines.

A well laid out clean and tidy site although if you have any form of physical disability you would be as well to pitch at the top end as it is on a slope and the facilities are at the top so there is a slight hill to climb if you are at the bottom.

 

As can be seen from the pictures we took the Isabella Magnum Eclipse instead of the Magnum awning itself as we were only stopping for two nights and it proved a good decision.

The Eclipse can fit straight onto the caravan itself ,as here,as well as onto the front of the Magnum and only takes minutes to set up and dismantle so if it rains,as it did,when packing up you can leave the Eclipse up until the last minute to provide some shelter and then take it down and it is easy to dry when you get home.

Pricey I suppose but it is Isabella and can be recommended.

We are still without running water due to the ongoing pump electrical problem but strangely it didn't seem to affect us too much.

During the stop I noticed water dripping from a pipe under the van next to the Truma Ultrastore dump valve pipe.

According to someone on CT it is the over pressure relief valve pipe.

I have no idea if this is relevent or not,just that I had not seen it before.

Will put it on the list for the service next week to be checked.

After we had hooked up the electrics to the car to come home I noticed the ATC light was showing steady red,never done that before.

Unplugged the electrics and left it a minute or two,plugged it back in and it went green,another thing to be checked.

Taking it for its first service week after next so will post as to what happens,if anything.

I have specified a pair of Al-Ko shock absorbers to be fitted as it tends to bounce a bit on uneven surfaces so we shall how that goes.

Ian

Upper Door Catch Adaptation

Paul Medcalf one of my correspondents has sent some instructions for fitting a catch to the upper split door of the Orion to stop it flapping about as the original catch is on the lower part of the door only.

Ian

Thought i would share with you and your followers. I have just added an additional external door catch to the top half of the ext door to prevent it swinging in the wind when the bottom half is closed to keep the dog in :-)

It was quite easy to fit and line up the parts came to about £22. plus a bit of glue and some mastic seal. . If your readers complete the project advise them not to forget to order the 2x spacers. Using the Spacer i placed a blob of strong glue to the back plate of the spacer and then surrounded it with white mastic seal not too much and then pressed it in to position on the outside of the van cleaning the excess mastic as i pressed it into position . I then used self tapping screws supplied by my retailer and carefully screwed the catches into position. Pics attached

Regards

Paul

As soon as I mentioned this adaptation to SWMBO I have naturally been banned from undertaking it.

Anything involving screws and sealant is no go.

She may have a point as I have just buggered the carpet up slightly putting down some double sided non slip carpet strips.

Ian

2013 Orion Range

The brochure for the 2013 Orion range can be downloaded from here:-

Bailey Brochures

The 450/5 seems to have gone and I am surprised there isn't a "two fixed single bed" model,I thought there would be for 2013.

The only difference in spec. I could see was that they now come with a Whale Aquasmart II on board water pump instead of the "drop into Aquaroll model".

I think I prefer the latter,easier to change if it goes tits up rather than a back to dealer swap for an on-board one,certainly whilst under warranty anyway,also one less thing to freeze up in the winter.

Bailey now publish MIRO noseweights and it is interesting to note that the smallest van in the range,the 400/2 has an ex-works noseweight of 79Kg whilst the biggest van,the 530/6, has a noseweight of 50kg.

Strictly speaking we,and I suspect many others,would not be able to tow the 400/2 as our noseweight limit is 75Kg.

As that is the MIRO noseweight I suppose there would have to be a bit of "loading behind the axle" to bring it down a bit but in such a small van that could mean stuff being too near the rear,not a good idea.

There is no mention as far as I could see of the Evo 4,perhaps that has quietly bitten the dust also

Ian

Leaky Orions.

There is rather worrying post on CT regarding a leaky Orion 440/4 that is worth a read.

Leaky Orion 440/4

Ours is due for a service in three weeks so I hope all is well in that department,have to say there is no indication that we have any ingress problems.

Ian

Floeing Again

Have been back from Cawood just over a week I thought I would try the Floe again,this time with all the taps shut.

As I surmised previously I got out just over 200mls, plus what came out of the hot water tank.

What came out was a dirty brown colour.

In my humble opinion I think this proves the worth of the Floe and its admittedly high price for what it is ( round about £40 ).

200mls is enough to freeze during the winter with the resulting damage of pipework etc.,although admittedly I had no problems last winter pre-Floe.

Ian

Damp Mattress

John has e-mailed me about  a damp mattress in his 430/4,can't say I have heard of it previously and apart from a leak,which John says he hasn't got,I am at a loss to see where it comes from,apart from a faulty mattress in some way.

Anyway here is John's e-mail in full if anyone has any suggestions.

 

Orion 430-4 Damp Mattress

Hello Just found your site. Have had our Orion for a month now, love the layout and van. Just one problem (so far). Damp Mattress. Bedding fine, front seating fine. The mattress just seems to absorb any moisture going. Has anyone else, to your knowledge, come up against this problem. Our dealer says he has never come upon this problem before and will be contacting Baileys on our behalf. Hope I am doing this "blogging" right, never done it before. Regards John

Ian

Sleeping Bag ( No Not SWMBO in Bed )

Instead of faffing about with sheets,blankets,duvets etc. we recently purchased a double sleeping bag and liner quite cheaply from GO Outdoors.

Tried the arrangement out for the first time whilst at Cawood and it worked very well,much quicker and easier to use than bed linen and warm as well.

Had another try using the rear bed but have decided once and for all that the front is much the better option.

Have taken the "mobile cushion" home,never to be used again.

Ian

Cawood Park

Just returned from a four day stay at Cawood Park  between Selby and York.

A very clean and tidy site just north of the village.

It is in the process of upgrading itself with the emphasis on holiday homes,which incidentally look rather smart positioned around a lake on which fishing is included in the price.

We stayed on a super pitch which had the added advantage of having Astroturf at the side of the van on which to pitch the awning.We found this excellent as there was no need for awning tiles or carpet and was very soft to the feet,naturally we had brought a sack full of awing tiles

This is a feature which should be copied by other sites,hardstanding for the van and Astroturf for the awning,the pitch is then virtually weatherproof.

 I have been studying the Isabella instructions on You Tube for erecting the Magnum and I must say it looked almost professional.

The shower/toilet block is clean and modern but the showers leave a little to be desired as they only seem to spray around the edges and not in the middle and the floor in front of the shower tray gets soaking wet plus,if you are unlucky,your clothes as well.

For £30 a night,a hairdryer might have been a useful addition.

As well as the super pitches there is a "touring" site which is just grass and is looking a little careworn but we were told that later in the year this is going to be turned over to static homes but the field opposite the present super pitch site is going to locate eighteen further super pitches so eventually the park will just be statics and super pitches.

There is a bit of work going on on the site but in no way did this affect our stay.

The park also boasts a small swimming pool which is included in the price and a smart looking clubhouse which we didn't visit but features "turns" at the weekend,there is also a small shop which sells groceries etc.but could do with stocking a few more caravanny items that people my need like one or two awning pegs or some fuses for example.

We had a couple of bike rides as the weather was warm and mostly sunny for a change and on one of these we called at the White Horse in Church Fenton for some dinner.

A welcoming and friendly place with good value food,can be recommended.

The Orion behaved itself ( nearly ) and won one or two admiring glances and one fellow camper came for a look round it.

It blotted its copybook on the last afternoon though when SWMBO announced that there wasn't any water coming out of the the taps.

Naturally I thought "What do women know about these things" but she was right,there wasn't any water coming out of the taps,any of them,hot or cold.

After trying all the usual thing like changing the pump and swapping out fuses there was still no water coming out of the taps,then after consulting CT for some inspiration I waggled the electrical connections at the back of the Whale inlet on the side of the van and water started to flow.

Not for very long though when another waggle was required and this is how it carried on but at least I know where the problem is,another one for the first service warranty list in a months time.

The front and off-side front blinds have always been slow to retract but now the off side one has packed up altogether.

 All in all a very pleasant few days,Cawood Park can be recommended.

Incidentally we must now be fully fledged caravanners as we managed to sit out in the sunshine on two folding chairs just like the pictures in the caravan mags,this is only the second time whilst we have had the Orion.


Ian