Had the old girl serviced today ( the van not SWMBO ) at our storage,given a clean bill of health and no damp found,thank goodness.
For the first time I used a mobile chap from Leeds ( Karranvan ) and was very impressed by the workmanship and attention to detail.
We received a far more detailed report than I have ever had from the two dealers that we have been to previously,he picked up that the front table support was cracked and I didn't even realise,now superglued.
He is AWS certified so it keeps the warranty in order and the price was very good indeed.
Karranvan
So if you are in the West Yorkshire area it might be worth considering.
Doesn't help you much if you live in Cornwall but you can't have everything.
I have no connection apart from being a customer.
Ian
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Washing Up
When stopping on sites with washing up facilities we usually make use of them as the sinks are bigger and it saves a bit of water.
I used to use the washing up bowl to transport the dirty dishes and SWMBO kept saying we could use something better.
Eventually I succumbed and bought one ot these :-
Ortlieb 10L Bowl
It does the job very well and also has other uses such as washing your feet etc.
This site ( All Outdoor ) was the cheapest I could find.
Ian
I used to use the washing up bowl to transport the dirty dishes and SWMBO kept saying we could use something better.
Eventually I succumbed and bought one ot these :-
Ortlieb 10L Bowl
It does the job very well and also has other uses such as washing your feet etc.
This site ( All Outdoor ) was the cheapest I could find.
Ian
Saturday, 23 August 2014
Hmm.......................
Just had four nights at Beechwood Grange just outside York which it has to be said didn't pass off without one or two minor incidents.
First of all we arrived at storage to pick the Orion up only to discover I had left the caravan keys at home.
Fortunately I carry a spare set in the car glovebox so that saved the day.
Secondly,someone who shall remain nameless ( SWMBO ) managed to reverse our twelve week old Passat Alltrack into the caravan hitch,inflicting damage to the rear bumper.
As can be seen it's not massive damage,BUT IT'S A THREE MONTH OLD CAR !!!!
Managed to keep calm,just glad it wasn't me what did it,off to the reapair man after the Bank Holiday
Next,when we arrived on site I proceeded to put the awning up in the face of rapidly approaching black clouds only to find that for some reason some of the awning poles had got stuck inside each other and it took a great deal of effort to remove them,all this while the heavens opened.
Since returning home I have rubbed them down with WD40,hopefully it won't happen again.
Then I came to open our very expensive,top of the range Kamei Corvara roof box only to find that the lock had jammed and the key wouldn't turn.
As the box had within it the grandkids bedding,bicycles etc. ( oh yes we had two grand kids with us ) this was a sticky one,no amount of persuasion was going to make that bugger open.
After tussling with it for a while,SWMBO put in an appearance and I explained the dilemma,she looked at the box and said " You do know there is a lock on the other side",of course I did I was just waiting to see how long it would take her to spot it.
Anyway got the box open and after a few calls and e-mails to the Roof Box Company,it is going back to be replaced/repaired.
Don't you just love it when you spend shed loads of money on what you think are quality goods only to have them break.
Anyway the following day SWMBO was sat at the front of the van and suddenly piped up " Do you know there is a crack in this window ? "
Sure enough there is star shaped crack in the front window which has originated from who knows where.
We are having the van serviced by a mobile chap on Thursday so I will ask if a repair can be done,if not I will put some clear tape over it as it is not leaking water and I am not paying the silly money that a replacement window will be.
After all this everything went smoothly,if you can call being pitched in front of the childrens playground,smooth.
Never again.
Don't you just love caravanning.
Ian
First of all we arrived at storage to pick the Orion up only to discover I had left the caravan keys at home.
Fortunately I carry a spare set in the car glovebox so that saved the day.
Secondly,someone who shall remain nameless ( SWMBO ) managed to reverse our twelve week old Passat Alltrack into the caravan hitch,inflicting damage to the rear bumper.
As can be seen it's not massive damage,BUT IT'S A THREE MONTH OLD CAR !!!!
Managed to keep calm,just glad it wasn't me what did it,off to the reapair man after the Bank Holiday
Next,when we arrived on site I proceeded to put the awning up in the face of rapidly approaching black clouds only to find that for some reason some of the awning poles had got stuck inside each other and it took a great deal of effort to remove them,all this while the heavens opened.
Since returning home I have rubbed them down with WD40,hopefully it won't happen again.
Then I came to open our very expensive,top of the range Kamei Corvara roof box only to find that the lock had jammed and the key wouldn't turn.
As the box had within it the grandkids bedding,bicycles etc. ( oh yes we had two grand kids with us ) this was a sticky one,no amount of persuasion was going to make that bugger open.
After tussling with it for a while,SWMBO put in an appearance and I explained the dilemma,she looked at the box and said " You do know there is a lock on the other side",of course I did I was just waiting to see how long it would take her to spot it.
Anyway got the box open and after a few calls and e-mails to the Roof Box Company,it is going back to be replaced/repaired.
Don't you just love it when you spend shed loads of money on what you think are quality goods only to have them break.
Anyway the following day SWMBO was sat at the front of the van and suddenly piped up " Do you know there is a crack in this window ? "
Sure enough there is star shaped crack in the front window which has originated from who knows where.
We are having the van serviced by a mobile chap on Thursday so I will ask if a repair can be done,if not I will put some clear tape over it as it is not leaking water and I am not paying the silly money that a replacement window will be.
After all this everything went smoothly,if you can call being pitched in front of the childrens playground,smooth.
Never again.
Don't you just love caravanning.
Ian
Sunday, 10 August 2014
Isabella Videos
I have just been looking at some videos on You Tube made by Isabella.
I have watched many of these over and over mostly in relation to erecting our Magnum awning and have found them very useful as Isabella's paper instructions leave a lot to be desired.
It occurred to me that anyone new to caravanning may not know of their existence and be struggling with the sometimes complex business that is awnings.
So if you want some assistance head over to You Tube and enter "Isabella" in the search box and receive plenty of help and advice.
Ian
I have watched many of these over and over mostly in relation to erecting our Magnum awning and have found them very useful as Isabella's paper instructions leave a lot to be desired.
It occurred to me that anyone new to caravanning may not know of their existence and be struggling with the sometimes complex business that is awnings.
So if you want some assistance head over to You Tube and enter "Isabella" in the search box and receive plenty of help and advice.
Ian
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Barnard Castle
Just had five nights at the CC site on the outskirts of Barnard Castle in Teesdale and,despite the odd adverse comment on the CC review site we found it very pleasant site indeed being neat and tidy with a warm and spotlessly clean washblock.
The main complaints appear to be road noise if you pitch ( obviously ) adjacent to the road but we were further down the site and suffered no problem at all.
Don't look for it on Google Earth though,it isn't there.
There were no Orion problems but the TV lead that we expensively bought from the Scarborough site,gave up the ghost.
Amazingly the chap in the adjacent van was a retired TV engineer who appeared to bring his entire workshop with him and soon fitted our lead with new plugs ( metal ones at that ) and we were soon up and running again using a lead that I would probably have had to chuck away,well done that man.
At one time during our stay there were three Orions in a row,a 400/2 our 440/4 and a 430/4.
The chap in the 400/2 was a blog follower and the occupant of the 430/4 hopefully soon will be.
During our stay there was an enormous thunderstorm on the Saturday night which if our van or awning was prone to leaking would have surely showed it up,the site road was like a river with the amount of rain it put down in about half an hour.
We had a visit to Ropers caravan dealers in Catterick to see if they had the new Unicorn 3 in stock but to no avail,however the salesman said there are people ringing up daily about it and apart from a full range of demonstrators they have 120 on order.
Looks like being a winner if every dealer has a similar number.
Of course no visit to a dealer is complete without purchasing something whether you need it or not,and this was no different.
I purchased an Isabella Clicklight for use in the awning.
Isabella Clicklight
It is very useful but be careful how you detach it from the pole as it is easy to break the plastic as I discovered,all repaired now.
Of course being Isabella they aren't cheap but told SWMBO it was reduced in the sale ( of which there wasn't one ) so that little problem was taken care of.
Ian
The main complaints appear to be road noise if you pitch ( obviously ) adjacent to the road but we were further down the site and suffered no problem at all.
Don't look for it on Google Earth though,it isn't there.
There were no Orion problems but the TV lead that we expensively bought from the Scarborough site,gave up the ghost.
Amazingly the chap in the adjacent van was a retired TV engineer who appeared to bring his entire workshop with him and soon fitted our lead with new plugs ( metal ones at that ) and we were soon up and running again using a lead that I would probably have had to chuck away,well done that man.
At one time during our stay there were three Orions in a row,a 400/2 our 440/4 and a 430/4.
The chap in the 400/2 was a blog follower and the occupant of the 430/4 hopefully soon will be.
During our stay there was an enormous thunderstorm on the Saturday night which if our van or awning was prone to leaking would have surely showed it up,the site road was like a river with the amount of rain it put down in about half an hour.
We had a visit to Ropers caravan dealers in Catterick to see if they had the new Unicorn 3 in stock but to no avail,however the salesman said there are people ringing up daily about it and apart from a full range of demonstrators they have 120 on order.
Looks like being a winner if every dealer has a similar number.
Of course no visit to a dealer is complete without purchasing something whether you need it or not,and this was no different.
I purchased an Isabella Clicklight for use in the awning.
Isabella Clicklight
It is very useful but be careful how you detach it from the pole as it is easy to break the plastic as I discovered,all repaired now.
Of course being Isabella they aren't cheap but told SWMBO it was reduced in the sale ( of which there wasn't one ) so that little problem was taken care of.
Ian
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