Carry On Cushion.

Over last winter we positioned some moisture traps from the pound shop in the Orion and they did their job admirably,each being at least half full of water.

In March prior to our first trip away I brought the van home and placed the traps on the rear dinette cushion for the short journey,thinking they would be safe there and if they did spill it was only water.

Oh deary me how wrong can you be.

The traps did indeed spill,but what came out was not water but a greasy sort of substance which saturated parts of the cushion and has since defeated all methods known to man to dry it out or otherwise get rid of it.

The cushion always feels damp no matter what you do.

I have left it in the sun numerous times and used a hair dryer all to no avail.

When I set the van up for winter the cushion felt particularly damp so I brought it home for the usual attempts at drying it out.

SWMBO was,I could tell,teetering on getting me to buy a replacement at about £240 or so.

Recently I was browsing the Bailey Spares website and noticed that the buttons that go through the cushion were for sale separately so,I thought,it must be feasible to remove them and then remove the cover to wash it.

So we set about removing the five buttons keeping the cover attached to the foam and putting the seat cover and buttons in the washing machine at 30 degrees.

Success,the greasiness was gone and all was now well with the cover.

When dry the cover fitted back over the foam OK,but the tricky bit was passing the white toggle pieces on the end of the buttons back through the foam.

We managed this,eventually,by taping the toggle pieces to a knitting needle,and passing it through the foam.

They get caught on the metal springs sometimes but eventually we did it with only the one phone call to Relate.

The seat cushion looks like new now so the job was a success.

The upshot of all this is that if you do happen to stain or otherwise mark a cushion cover then it is possible to remove it and wash it.

It is fiddly and not something I would want to do every day but it is possible.

Ian

Might Be Genuine,But Be Careful

This is on Gumtree at an amazing price.

Mistake ??

Scam ??

Try at your own risk.

Bailey Orion 430/4

Ian

Is This A Wheely Good Idea ??

Have been pondering the contentious position of the spare wheel and the dreaded Al-Ko carrier on the Orion.

I know some people with fixed beds remove the wheel from under the van and place it under the bed as there is plenty of room.

I was today looking at the space under the rear dinette seat on the 440/4 ( the seat nearest the TV over the axle ) and wondered if it would fit in there ?

I have measured one of the wheels that I have removed for winter which suggests it might just fit,but only just.

Before I mess about carting wheels about I wondered if anyone had their spare wheel stored under the dinette seat in the 440/4 or alternatively had tried and found it a no go?

Any replies appreciated.

Ian

Well Connected

Just a handy tip to save a bob or two.

We have a three lengths of 28.5mm waste pipe,two at a metre each and one longer one ( can't remember the exact length ).

They are each useful for serviced pitches where the drain is different distances from the van.

In order to accommodate  a pitch where the drain may be a distance away,instead of buying yet another length of hose there are available connectors to join two lengths together.

They are about £2.70 each and might save buying some more hose if,like us,you have more than one length.

Ian

No Going Back Now.

Well that's it,summers over,it's official.

Took the wheels off the Orion today and fitted Winter Wheels.

One tip that I think is worth passing on,I imagine we all leave the fridge door ajar so mould doesn't grow over the winter but don't forget the freezer compartment door.

I just happened to check ours and there was a very small amount of mould in it already so have jammed the door open to let the air in.

Ian

Oh Well Never Mind.

We should have been going to Durham Grange CC site today for a few days but SWMBO woke up this morning with a touch  ( a big touch ) of the "unmentionables" so we have had to cancel,incurring a black mark for being a naughty boy from the Caravan Club.

This will probably be it until the spring I think and yes I know people caravan through the winter but I can't say it really appeals to me,don't mind the cold but wading through ice and snow,no thanks.

Have set the Orion up for the lay off,all fluids drained,fridge vent covers on,cushions up-ended to air,cupboard doors opened and some moisture traps scattered about.

Ordered a wash and wax from a chap who does it on our storage.

Just need to put the winter wheels on and that is it.

I hope we get away a bit more next year than we have done this and for some longer stays as well.

Don't forget to put your clocks back.

Ian

Thoughts From The NEC

We visited the Caravan & Motorhome Show at the NEC last Thursday and had a really good day ( despite losing my digital camera so if anyone found one................... ).

On the surface ( i.e. without counting them all ) there appeared to be many more motorhomes than caravans this year and with new prices starting at round about £40K there must be some money around somewhere.

It never ceases to amaze me at such shows when there are lots of vans together how much variation can be created in the interiors of a big white box on wheels.

On the Bailey stand the Orion made a very lacklustre appearance with one 400-2 and one 430-4.The main emphasis was of course on the new Unicorn 2 ( there were three Cadiz's ) supported by the Pegasus and Olympus.

The new Unicorn wasn't presented in the best light with excess mastic around the windows,a poorly attached front panel which moved up and down and poor seals generally.

Of course speaking to a rep.these are models that were "rushed" out for the show but one would have thought that you put your best models in the shop window ( not that there should be such a thing as a "best" model ),and how long would it have taken to remove a bit of excess mastic from around a window.

I think as far as QC goes then Bailey have definitely taken their eye off the ball.

The presentation of the Orion was so poor it made me wonder if there wasn't an update in the pipeline or even discontinuing it altogether.

The time from the Unicorn 1 to the Unicorn 2 was about two years and the Orion is approaching two years old.

If they do discontinue it I think it would be a shame for such a smashing little van.

I must admit though that when on our travels we see plenty of Unicorns,Pegasus and Olympus but very few Orions ( single figures I would think ).

I hasten to add that this is just my musings and I have no "insider knowledge" at all.

Away from Bailey we were impressed by the offerings from Eterniti,albeit at a price of about £25K.

Now with one of those and a VW Toureg to pull it,it would have to be a lottery win.

I liked the fact that any mobile technician who is MCEA registered can service it and keep the warranty up instead of hauling it to a dealers.

So with a few bargains from Isabella it was a good day all round

Ian

Kitchen Drawer Removal

Mr.Spock,a contributor on CT,has received some instructions from Bailey on how to remove the cutlery drawer on the Orion if it ever the need arises.

Over the phone the dealer suggested it may have to dismantle the kitchen to do it but it appears this is not necessary,the instructions follow :-


1. Pull kitchen drawer all the way out until it stops.

2. Underneath the drawer you will see two metal lugs halfway towards the back and some plastic clips just in front of them.

3. Unclip the plastic clips from the bottom of the drawer (there should be 4 places to unclip - 2 per side).

4. Try to prise the drawer off the runners (I used my fingers) from about halfway down. The drawer will lift off and leave the metal runners behind.

To put back is roughly the reverse, but:

1. Put the drawer back on the runners.

2. Hold the metal lugs as you push the drawer back on the runners - this will ensure that it is seated correctly.

3. When seated correctly  (check both runners are same distance from the drawer front) pop the plastic clips back into their slots.

4. Close the drawer, it should work perfectly. If it goes a bit to one side, or seems otherwise a bit wonky you may need to take it off again and readjust. It takes a little shoogling, but it's not too bad.

5. DO ALL THE ABOVE AT YOUR OWN RISK, IT WORKED FOR ME, BUT DON'T COME CRYING TO ME IF YOU BREAK IT!

Hopefully this may be of help to some Orion owners, I imagine the whole range uses the same drawer.
The dealer wanted to remove the sink or the whole kitchen unit! I dread to think of the labour involved in that! 

Ian

More Torque Talk

Quite unexpectedly I today received another e-mail from Bailey regarding wheel nut torque :-

To Mr Broadhead

Thank you for your email.

We did change the wheel bolts and the torque setting around the time you purchased your van.

The way to tell is to look at your wheel bolts. If you have shiny wheel bolts the torque will be 110Nm and if you have dull grey wheel bolts the torque would be 120Nm.

I hope this helps.

Regards

Jo Barrington (Mrs)

Bailey Caravans

So as we have the shiny bolts it is back to 110Nm.

Ian

 

Wheel Bolt Torque

When I had the van in for service I had to sign to say the wheel bolts had been torqued.

As the chap did it I commented that the handbook states that the torque should be 110Mn and he was torquing them to 120Mn.

He replied that they torque them all to 120Nm now.

I have checked this with Bailey and he is correct,this is the reply I received to my e-mail enquiry :-

Thank you for your email below.

Your service agent is correct that all wheel bolt torques across the Bailey range have increased by various degrees, the Orion’s torque has been increased from 110nm to 120nm. There is no problem with this increase in torque as extensive testing was carried out by “Bolt Science UK”, Bath University, TUV GMBH, AL-KO Kober etc. etc. prior to the increase.

Regards,

Ian Turner

Retailer Services Manager

Bailey Caravans

So there we have it,120Nm it is from now on.

Ian