Got a call from Phantom last evening to inform us that there was a "power down" on the caravan battery,in other words it was flat.
Strange as it had not occurred before.
Visited storage this morning to swap the battery over to discover we had left the master switch on and the light on the voltmeter had flattened the battery.
Lesson learned,check the master switch before locking up.
At least Phantom were on the ball.
Ian
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Orion Replacement ???
Saw this on CT with regard to what will be on show by the various manufacturers at the NEC show :-
Bailey
Bailey are bringing all their models with them including an all-new, low cost, light-weight, entry level range (yep, built with Alu-Tech) as well as two new Unicorns - the single axle Vigo and twin-axle Cordoba.
Seems to describe what the Orion was meant to be.
Ian
Bailey
Bailey are bringing all their models with them including an all-new, low cost, light-weight, entry level range (yep, built with Alu-Tech) as well as two new Unicorns - the single axle Vigo and twin-axle Cordoba.
Seems to describe what the Orion was meant to be.
Ian
Friday, 2 August 2013
Well Done Caravan Guard.
We have the Orion insured with Caravan Guard as they provided the cheapest premium along with a decent reputation when we bought the van.
Got a call from them today to check all was well with the policy as it is due for renewal,added legal cover for £10 and increased the equipment level from £4500 to £5000.
Despite this,the premium had again dropped,this time from £206 to £186 ( it dropped from £220 to £206 after the first year ).
Saga quoted us over £600 for the first year and the Caravan Club over £400.
At this rate in ten years my insurance will be free !!
I rang them back today to query something on the policy and received a phone call within the hour from a manager saying my concerns would be addressed.
Well done Caravan Guard,I hope they are just as efficient if a claim is made.
As is usual I have no interest in Caravan Guard apart from being a customer and received no incentives of any kind for this post.
Just a quick tip for new caravanners,I imagine old hands know about it,when you get an insurance renewal quote always make sure it is for a new van replacement should the worst occur.
Ian
Got a call from them today to check all was well with the policy as it is due for renewal,added legal cover for £10 and increased the equipment level from £4500 to £5000.
Despite this,the premium had again dropped,this time from £206 to £186 ( it dropped from £220 to £206 after the first year ).
Saga quoted us over £600 for the first year and the Caravan Club over £400.
At this rate in ten years my insurance will be free !!
I rang them back today to query something on the policy and received a phone call within the hour from a manager saying my concerns would be addressed.
Well done Caravan Guard,I hope they are just as efficient if a claim is made.
As is usual I have no interest in Caravan Guard apart from being a customer and received no incentives of any kind for this post.
Just a quick tip for new caravanners,I imagine old hands know about it,when you get an insurance renewal quote always make sure it is for a new van replacement should the worst occur.
Ian
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Window Worry.
Was up at the van today and decided to open the front window to let a bit of air through.
I noticed that the right hand fastening for the window stay ( as you face forward in the van ) had come loose.
It appears that the two screws holding it have pulled out of whatever they were screwed into.
A job for the upcoming service in September I think.
Might be worth keeping an eye on such fittings as I have felt previously that the front window is very heavy when it is open and the fittings do seem a little flimsy for the weight.
Perhaps a divided window may have been a better bet.
Mind you a possible Orion Mk.2 may have the large picture window that seems popular now,who knows.
Ian
I noticed that the right hand fastening for the window stay ( as you face forward in the van ) had come loose.
It appears that the two screws holding it have pulled out of whatever they were screwed into.
A job for the upcoming service in September I think.
Might be worth keeping an eye on such fittings as I have felt previously that the front window is very heavy when it is open and the fittings do seem a little flimsy for the weight.
Perhaps a divided window may have been a better bet.
Mind you a possible Orion Mk.2 may have the large picture window that seems popular now,who knows.
Ian
Monday, 22 July 2013
Wharfedale CC Site.
Just had four days at the above and found it most enjoyable,despite taking a wrong turn in Bradford both going and coming home,and that is with a Sat.Nav.
The site is well laid out and the washrooms are spotlessly clean with all the usual facilities present,including a drying room for wet coats and boots.
There are many walks in the local vicinity including a short stroll into Grassington.
The Orion was well behaved and I was particularly impressed by the fridge.
On CT one hears constant tales of fridges ( quite often on Baileys ) that don't work on gas,don't work on electric,don't achieve the correct temperature etc.
I put a cup of water in the freezer compartment for a quick cold drink,forgot about it and it froze solid despite an ambient temperature well into the mid 20's or above.
Yes I know fridges are supposed to do that but a lot of caravan ones seem not to do so.
This being the start of the school holidays it was quite amusing to see those without offspring beating a hasty retreat home on the Sunday morning ( us included ) before the little darlings arrived en masse.
If you visit the Wharfedale site it is worth walking over to the Long Ashes complex next door,especially if the weather is inclement.
There is a gym,pool,pub with restaurant and a lounge/bar/cafe area which non-members can use,we had rather a nice lunch there.
I picked up a tip on CT that I think is worth repeating.
To avoid damage to the 13-pin plug cable,from dragging on the floor etc.,cover it with some of the plastic "tubing" that is used to keep hi-fi cables together and secure it with insulating tape.
I saw one other van with it on so perhaps it is well known but as a lot of Orion owners ,like us,are relatively new to the game I thought it worth mentioning.
Also,when putting the awning up if you use the Isabella Safelocks as I usually do leave one on the front of the awning rail,then next time you put the awning up you can quickly put it in same place each time.
Ian
The site is well laid out and the washrooms are spotlessly clean with all the usual facilities present,including a drying room for wet coats and boots.
There are many walks in the local vicinity including a short stroll into Grassington.
The Orion was well behaved and I was particularly impressed by the fridge.
On CT one hears constant tales of fridges ( quite often on Baileys ) that don't work on gas,don't work on electric,don't achieve the correct temperature etc.
I put a cup of water in the freezer compartment for a quick cold drink,forgot about it and it froze solid despite an ambient temperature well into the mid 20's or above.
Yes I know fridges are supposed to do that but a lot of caravan ones seem not to do so.
This being the start of the school holidays it was quite amusing to see those without offspring beating a hasty retreat home on the Sunday morning ( us included ) before the little darlings arrived en masse.
If you visit the Wharfedale site it is worth walking over to the Long Ashes complex next door,especially if the weather is inclement.
There is a gym,pool,pub with restaurant and a lounge/bar/cafe area which non-members can use,we had rather a nice lunch there.
I picked up a tip on CT that I think is worth repeating.
To avoid damage to the 13-pin plug cable,from dragging on the floor etc.,cover it with some of the plastic "tubing" that is used to keep hi-fi cables together and secure it with insulating tape.
I saw one other van with it on so perhaps it is well known but as a lot of Orion owners ,like us,are relatively new to the game I thought it worth mentioning.
Also,when putting the awning up if you use the Isabella Safelocks as I usually do leave one on the front of the awning rail,then next time you put the awning up you can quickly put it in same place each time.
Monday, 1 July 2013
Naburn Lock
We have just returned from a few days at Naburn Lock Caravan Park which is four miles south of York.
A very pleasant little spot adjacent to the lock and the River Ouse ( in which we were told there are some mighty sized salmon ) which is unfortunately very prone to flood at the drop of a hat,hence the electrics are positioned well up a pole.
We managed to "have words" before we even left the storage site,surely some sort of record.
The facilities at Naburn are spotless,despite some peoples determination to thwart all the work of the cleaners to keep them so and the proprietors work had to run a tight site.
If we visited again I think we would ask for a pitch in the Adults Only section for obvious reasons.
I do think a charge of £2.50 for a visitor is a bit steep though.
The Orion wasn't totally perfect as when we put the water pump on it wouldn't switch off.
After a hearty lunch courtesy of SWMBO I traced the problem to a broken Whale pump fitting at the far end of the blue tubes.
As we always carry a spare pump disaster was averted ( let that be a lesson to you young caravanners,always carry a spare water pump ).
On the Friday it teemed it down so we went into York on the bus and I purchased another pump assembly from Go Outdoors.
There was only a few pounds difference between just buying the pump bit and the whole thing so the whole thing it was.
I bought the high flow version but was hard pressed to tell the difference in flow rates.
In my last post I mentioned the peeling of the laminate and queried perhaps water ingress.
Well after the very heavy rain all was as dry as a bone,will still have it checked at service though.
Just as an aside,why do I worry about towing,it could be a lot worse:-
Ian
A very pleasant little spot adjacent to the lock and the River Ouse ( in which we were told there are some mighty sized salmon ) which is unfortunately very prone to flood at the drop of a hat,hence the electrics are positioned well up a pole.
We managed to "have words" before we even left the storage site,surely some sort of record.
The facilities at Naburn are spotless,despite some peoples determination to thwart all the work of the cleaners to keep them so and the proprietors work had to run a tight site.
If we visited again I think we would ask for a pitch in the Adults Only section for obvious reasons.
I do think a charge of £2.50 for a visitor is a bit steep though.
The Orion wasn't totally perfect as when we put the water pump on it wouldn't switch off.
After a hearty lunch courtesy of SWMBO I traced the problem to a broken Whale pump fitting at the far end of the blue tubes.
As we always carry a spare pump disaster was averted ( let that be a lesson to you young caravanners,always carry a spare water pump ).
On the Friday it teemed it down so we went into York on the bus and I purchased another pump assembly from Go Outdoors.
There was only a few pounds difference between just buying the pump bit and the whole thing so the whole thing it was.
I bought the high flow version but was hard pressed to tell the difference in flow rates.
In my last post I mentioned the peeling of the laminate and queried perhaps water ingress.
Well after the very heavy rain all was as dry as a bone,will still have it checked at service though.
Just as an aside,why do I worry about towing,it could be a lot worse:-
Ian
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Wheel Covers Update
Just been browsing back through some earlier posts and I noticed that I never reviewed the Specialized wheel covers as promised when I bought them back in February.
Well the actual covers are fine and fit well to the wheel and stay in place even when windy,unlike the previous ones I had.
The only rather annoying problem with them is that the retaining/securing straps are not very long and passing the "longer" strap around the back of the wheel to secure it to the shorter "static" strap is a PITA.
To overcome this problem I bought some thin cord and tied it to the end of the longer strap and then tied a nut ( anything will do really ) to enable me to throw it more easily round the wheel and pull the longer strap with it.
This procedure works but beware as last time we returned to storage I must have got a bit over enthusiastic with the throwing and wound the cord around the brake hub and axle which entailed removing the wheel to extracate the cord and nut.
Needless to say I was not amused and neither was SWMBO as you may well imagine.
Ian
Well the actual covers are fine and fit well to the wheel and stay in place even when windy,unlike the previous ones I had.
The only rather annoying problem with them is that the retaining/securing straps are not very long and passing the "longer" strap around the back of the wheel to secure it to the shorter "static" strap is a PITA.
To overcome this problem I bought some thin cord and tied it to the end of the longer strap and then tied a nut ( anything will do really ) to enable me to throw it more easily round the wheel and pull the longer strap with it.
This procedure works but beware as last time we returned to storage I must have got a bit over enthusiastic with the throwing and wound the cord around the brake hub and axle which entailed removing the wheel to extracate the cord and nut.
Needless to say I was not amused and neither was SWMBO as you may well imagine.
Ian
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Chair Bags
We have a couple of Isabella chairs which I purchased at the Manchester show.
They came packed in plastic bags which are getting a bit holey and worn so I decided to purchase a couple of waterproof bags as Isabella chairs don't come cheap.
By coincidence I found a place which is local to us across the other side of Wakefield,"Bags 4 Everything":-
Bags 4 Everything
Purchased a couple of bags and they fit a treat,you will need XL for Isabella chairs,they are £12.50 per bag.
They have a draw-string closure and come in Maroon,Blue and Green.
Even though they are a local firm I have nothing to do with them at all apart from being a first time customer.
Ian
They came packed in plastic bags which are getting a bit holey and worn so I decided to purchase a couple of waterproof bags as Isabella chairs don't come cheap.
By coincidence I found a place which is local to us across the other side of Wakefield,"Bags 4 Everything":-
Bags 4 Everything
Purchased a couple of bags and they fit a treat,you will need XL for Isabella chairs,they are £12.50 per bag.
They have a draw-string closure and come in Maroon,Blue and Green.
Even though they are a local firm I have nothing to do with them at all apart from being a first time customer.
Ian
Monday, 10 June 2013
Rutland Caravan & Camping
We have just returned from a few days at the above site ( CC Affiliated ) which is near Greetham in Rutland.
A very large and spacious site which is split into Adults Only and pitches for those blighted with children ( in other words not us ).
The pitches are a mixture of grass and hardstanding with plenty of room for an awning and vehicle.
The only slight downside is that the top end of the Adults Only section is a long trek to the bins and toilet emptying disposal point which may be something worth remembering if mobility is a problem.
The Orion once again behaved herself,but I did notice this which was a slight concern :-
It was under the top locker to the rear of the van and I wondered if it was caused by water ingress but there was no sign of water,damp or anything being spilt in the locker,it was all as dry as a bone so I just glued the laminate back down and will keep an eye on it.
Getting back to the site,it is about a ten minute walk to the village along a path from the rear of the site.
If you like Indian food,the Delhi 7 restaurant on the main street can be recommended.
What I did notice,and they seem to increase in number on every site we visit,is the number of motorhomes.
Nothing wrong with that of course but they do appear to be the leisure vehicle of choice for an increasing number of people,and mostly new/newish ones at that.
Hard times,what hard times......................
I must just mention a visit we did whilst there to Woolsthorpe Manor National Trust property which was about a seven mile bike ride away.
It is the birthplace and sometime home of Sir Isaac Newton.
To actually be in the same room where he discoverd that light was made up of different components was magical.
Well worth a visit.
One last thing,if visiting this site DON'T USE YOUR SAT.NAV FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MILES OR SO.
It will direct you down roads unsuitable for caravans and no it didn't happen to us as I knew about it already.
Ian
A very large and spacious site which is split into Adults Only and pitches for those blighted with children ( in other words not us ).
The pitches are a mixture of grass and hardstanding with plenty of room for an awning and vehicle.
The only slight downside is that the top end of the Adults Only section is a long trek to the bins and toilet emptying disposal point which may be something worth remembering if mobility is a problem.
The Orion once again behaved herself,but I did notice this which was a slight concern :-
It was under the top locker to the rear of the van and I wondered if it was caused by water ingress but there was no sign of water,damp or anything being spilt in the locker,it was all as dry as a bone so I just glued the laminate back down and will keep an eye on it.
Getting back to the site,it is about a ten minute walk to the village along a path from the rear of the site.
If you like Indian food,the Delhi 7 restaurant on the main street can be recommended.
What I did notice,and they seem to increase in number on every site we visit,is the number of motorhomes.
Nothing wrong with that of course but they do appear to be the leisure vehicle of choice for an increasing number of people,and mostly new/newish ones at that.
Hard times,what hard times......................
I must just mention a visit we did whilst there to Woolsthorpe Manor National Trust property which was about a seven mile bike ride away.
It is the birthplace and sometime home of Sir Isaac Newton.
To actually be in the same room where he discoverd that light was made up of different components was magical.
Well worth a visit.
One last thing,if visiting this site DON'T USE YOUR SAT.NAV FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MILES OR SO.
It will direct you down roads unsuitable for caravans and no it didn't happen to us as I knew about it already.
Ian
Friday, 7 June 2013
Weight Plate Upgrade
Contacted the dealer today to enquire if we could upgrade the weight plate MTPLM to give us a touch more payload.
The dealer contacted Bailey and it turns out there is no weight plate upgrade available for our van ( 440/4).
I would imagine that this applies to the whole Orion range although I do not know for certain.
Ian
The dealer contacted Bailey and it turns out there is no weight plate upgrade available for our van ( 440/4).
I would imagine that this applies to the whole Orion range although I do not know for certain.
Ian
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