A Couple of Jobs

Before Christmas I noticed that the edge of the woodwork under where the TV stands by the two shelves had got kicked and was dented in a couple of places.

I decided to put some plastic corner pieces on to protect it.Visited B&Q and the brown plastic corner strip that they sell matches the colour of the woodwork ( well MDF ) in the Orion exactly,a meter costs about £3 or so  if I remember correctly plus a tube of Evo-Stick.

I cut the plastic to size and stuck it on and the corner is protected,the bits that were left over I used in the kitchen at home.

Doesn't look too bad ( apologies for the picture quality,forgot my camera and had to use the phone ).The colour matches much better in the flesh than in the photo.


A thing I remember reading on the CT forum was that it is wise to turn off the aerial booster when in storage without EHU as it is a small drain on the battery,ours had been left on so I switched it off ( in the cupboard to the left of the microwave).

Whether it is turned off automatically if the master switch to the left of the door is off I don't know but anyway off it is now switched.

Ian.

Battery Problems

Went up to the storage site to check on the van and swap the battery over for a fully charged one.

In removing the battery clamp on the negative side one of the wires came out of the clamp.On closer inspection there is very little room for two thickish wires ( I presume one is for the motor mover ) in the clamp,anyway I managed to bodge it as it was getting dark and it is OK for now but a better arrangement is needed.

After taking some advice from CT I think I will fit some quick release clamps to make life easier,something like these:-

http://www.leisure-mart.co.uk/shop/vclose1.asp?prd=2584&cat=274001727

Will order some after Christmas and report on the fitting.

Ian

Skint ??

It struck me,as it has before,when visiting the dealers today that,according to the media, we are all supposed to be skint,broke,call it what you will but on every visit there are always plenty of cars in the car park and a healthy number of people looking round the vans on show.

I read somewhere,CC Magazine perhaps,that Bailey took £13 million pounds worth of orders at the NEC caravan show and Swift did over £20 million pounds worth,so a lot of people are riding the slump and to be personal I suppose we aren't doing too badly.

Glancing at the new and second hand vans on display,even though we drive what I would call a reasonably powered 2.0L diesel Jetta that we wouldn't have been able to tow the vast majority of vans that were there ( according to the 85% guidance ) so people must be driving and fuelling some powerful vehicles to tow these beasts.

The Bailey Orion seems well suited to us.

Just a thought in passing.

Ian

Pneumatic Jockey Wheel Purchased

I have purchased a complete new Al-Ko pneumatic jockey wheel assembly today and returned the old wheel for ( hopefully ) a warranty replacement.

I will eventually report whether it is a better option than the original supplied one.

Al-Ko appear to be a difficult firm to deal with.I asked at the dealers if when they replace the wheel if they ( Al-Ko ) could send it direct to my home address,as after all they have to send it somewhere.

The reply was no,Al-Ko only supply direct to the dealers,so I will have to make an 80 mile round trip to collect it.

Seems a strange way to do business in these straitened times,no bending just a little bit to help the customer.

Ian

Al-Ko Responded Eventually

Ahh............at last a response from Al-Ko to the dealers.

I have to return the jockey wheel to the dealers who will forward it to Al-Ko for them to assess it and decide if they will replace it under warranty.

Evidently Al-Ko don't deal directly with the general public,you can say that again.

I think when/if it gets replaced I will change the whole jockey wheel assembly for one with a pneumatic tyre then it may roll over the rough ground of our storage more easily and hopefully avoid further damage.

Pity the present contraption doesn't take a pneumatic tyre,or it was possible to only buy the lower half of the jockey wheel, but then Al-Ko wouldn't be able to sell you a complete assembly would they ?

Ian

Alarmingly Good

Visited the van in storage today to let a bit of air through it.

For the first time I forgot to switch off the alarm before entering,within a couple of minutes or so Phantom sent me a text followed shortly after by a phone call asking if all was well.

When I got home a message had also been left on our landline,so Phantom certainly works.

Glad I did it in a way,feel more reassured now.

Ian.

Tread Carefully

As can be seen from the above pictures the tread has started to come away from the jockey wheel after only two short trips.

E-mailed Al-Ko to no avail,never received a reply so I have e-mailed the dealers to see if it can be replaced under warranty.

A word of warning if intending to replace the wheel provided with a pneumatic one,it won't fit,or at least the one I bought wouldn't fit.

I thought a pneumatic would roll better with the mover over the recycled colliery slag that covers our storage.

The tyre was too wide for the metal supports.

It wasn't an Al-Ko but one I got from the dealers.

Update:- The dealers are sending my pics to Al-Ko to see what they say.

23.11.2011 :- Still nothing from Al-Ko,pretty poor for such a large company.
                         Asked dealer to give them another prod.

Ian

Winter Draws On,I've Got Mine On !!

As for various reasons we won't be using the Orion for a few months I decided I would swap the ordinary wheels for winter wheels today to avoid flat spotting the tyres.

All went very well,used the Al-Ko side jack for the first time and found it a very good bit of kit,easy to put in position and winding the van off the ground was a doddle.I made sure the van was connected to the car at the time as recommended.

Feel rather more confident now should we have a puncture out on the road.

When we bought the Orion I specified Tyron Bands and asked for the wheels to be balanced.As I stored the wheels in the garage I noticed that there was 45g on one wheel and 40g on the other which seems quite a bit to my untutored eye.

I am sure this must make for better running.

Ian

Thetford Reply

Received this reply from Thetford regarding the flush tank adaptation:-


Thank you for your enquiry with regards to the C250 drain tube.According to our records your toilet does not require the modification.
Your toilet has been fitted with a reinforced drain tube so swapping it
over to the new style is not necessary

Kind regards,

Thetford Ltd.





So unless Bailey have been using a secret cache of antique bogs that they have found in a cupboard under the stairs on some vans then us Orion owners it would seem are in the clear.


Ian

Toilet Adaptation Contd.

I have e-mailed Thetford with the details of our toilet as requested so we will wait to see what they say.

Ian