Recent content by Themisto-Adrastea

Yeah, the tow car is a diesel. I'll get a can of brake cleaner when I next go out to check on the van (it's in storage at the moment). Thanks

Brilliant, thank you all for the helpful replies. I've already read about how to replace the friction pads on here, so I will do it before we take it away again in October.

Hi, topic says it all really. The last couple of times I towed the van anywhere, there has been a fairly alarming creaking sound coming from the tow bar area. No noises without the van attached. We have an Alko stabiliser hitch, and it is hitched up correctly. Is this something I should be...

I've not had to level my caravan yet, but as it's a nice afternoon I thought I'd get the unused levelling kit out of it's bag. The purpose of the long ramp thing is obvious, but I'm less sure about the little chock thing: I'm assuming I pull the van up onto the ramp, then put the little...

Ha! I used to be! I agree with this completely.

Hi prof, thanks for that, but no problem here. I'm not upset, I just don't let people get away with speaking to me like that, whether in real life or on the net. Anyway... I've assumed that when people have said to run a wire from battery, I can actually just go from the 12v fuse box which is...

I got back yesterday from a weekend away at Newlands in Charmouth. Thanks for all the replies here (except Bertie's - if you didn't know what it was, you should have Googled it before mouthing off at me. Are you always that rude to people who use words or phrases you don't understand?). I will...

Thank you Thingy and Prof. I agree that running a separate feed from the battery sounds like the solution. Weird how it is only 2 out of 6 lights that cause it, with the other 4 having no effect whatsoever. Anyway - I'm taking it away tomorrow for the weekend, so it can wait until next week.

Hi, I just replaced the cheap and nasty no-brand head unit in my van with a Sony MD unit and 10 CD Autochanger that I had lying around from an old car. Everything works fine, except when I turn on either of the two 12v lights directly underneath the cupboard in which I mounted the changer (the...

I'm always shocked at how few people read books these days. As a kid I always had my head buried in a book and my 6-year old daughter is the same. The Kindle app on my iPad and phone is a god-send. Personally I like anything factual about planes (50s-60s stuff mainly), also military history -...

I have a 6Kg cylinder which is connected to the van, and a 3.9Kg one as a spare. I disconnected the big one (lesson learnt: left-hand thread!) and took it out this evening and it seems very light. Still some liquid in there when I shake it though. I went to lift out the little one and it...

Thanks Dusty, it's a Dorema awning, not sure of the model. Only thing missing is a pair of storm straps.

Mine was a 1998 (S) E36 318iS manual (the 1.9 litre 16v, not the 1.8 litre 8v). Similar to yours, the manual said 98RON was preferable. BMW suffered lots back then with the 6 cylinder engines - something to do with the Nikasil lining on the bores. I think 98RON fuel was a bit kinder to the...

Thanks for the welcome Mel. Nope, we didn't fall out once! Plenty of time for that though!

I started using 98RON super unleaded in my BMW 3 Series soon after I got it (this is a few years ago). The difference in MPG was definitely noticeable, and for a while, 98RON was the cheaper option because of the increased economy. I tried 98 in a Renault Laguna for a few tanks a few years ago -...