All Tucked Up.

Got the Orion all tucked up for winter today.

Floed the water system,put the winter wheels on and sterilised the Aquaroll and Wastemaster.

Cushions upended and cupboard doors opened,plus left a couple of damp traps.

I also made sure the toilet flush was well drained as well as lubricating the window rubbers.

Took the wheels ( including the spare ) home for the winter and will give them a bit of a clean and spruce up.

Had a check and they all appear in good nick,no signs of cracking or splitting thanks to the wheel covers.

I know many people use their van throughout the winter but I find it profoundly depressing at the best of times when it is getting dark about 4pm and thats when at home,it's worse in the van.

Ian

A Couple of Tips

Over the last week I have come across a couple of simple tips that someone might find useful.

The first concerns the gas spanner which always seems to get lost at the bottom of the gas locker.

I stuck some adhestive Velcro ( the proper stuff not a copy ) to the spanner and the wall of the gas locker to keep it visible and to hand.

The second tip is to do with the position of the jockey wheel when travelling.

I have always had the wheel pointing toward the rear of the van as I thought that this was the way to do it.

I have since read somewhere that it is best if the jockey wheel faces toward the front as if the van becomes detached,the A frame will be more likely to drop onto the wheel and therefore provide a bit of steering.

If the wheel is pointing rearwards then the hitch is likely to hit the ground first which,apart from damaging the A frame,could cause instability of the van.

Ian

The Strange Case of the Non-Functioning Alarm

We have just returned from our last trip of the year to Beechwood Grange near York,always worth a visit.

Anyway,we have a Sargent Stinger 310 alarm on our Orion which has always worked without problem since we had it installed at purchase,and indeed it worked perfectly on our first day,setting and cancelling via the fob with no problem as usual.

On our second day we were on our way out and I blipped the fob,nothing,not a solitary peep was to be heard.

The fob batteries were only replaced a couple of months ago with brand new Duracells as was the spare fob which also didn't work either,although the lights on the fob were both lit so it was unlikely to be fob related.

We had to leave the van unalarmed for the day but when we got back I checked the alarm fuse,all OK,nothing to see by looking at the unit ( as if there would be ),cleaned the battery contacts in the fob but the thing still wouldn't work.

I checked the Sargent web site which mentioned rebooting the alarm software which didn't look too difficult but with the ever present danger of buggering everything up and SWMBO missing Strictly Come Dancing and the rest of the crap,er I mean quality television that she watches I thought I would wait and perhaps get a mobile man who knows what he is about later in the week,albeit at a price of course.

About 8pm I went out for a stroll,mainly to avoid the quality television,and casually pressed the fob on my way out and hey presto back to normal and it still worked OK when we got back to storage.

The only thing I can think of was that there was some interference from something on the site,perhaps another alarm.

I asked the chap to the left of us and it wasn't him as he never used his.

So it remains a mystery,its never done it before.

So if your alarm goes tits up don't rush to repair it or fiddle with it or ring a man,leave it a while and it might just work again.

Ian

Government E-Petition

Someone on CT has started a government e-petition to try and get the poor quality of caravans in general and the sometimes poor after sales discussed in parliament.

100,000 signatures needed so if you wish to sign it the link is here :-

E-Petition

Ian

Possible Orion Skylight ??

John Bland,one of my correspondents,enquired of Bailey whether it would be possible to retro-fit the skylight which is on the Pursuit to the Orion.

The reply was that no you cannot as there are not the appropriate fastenings to locate it on the Orion

So anyone who had the same idea can sadly forget it.

Ian