BRAND NEW BEGINNER - NEEDS YOUR TOP TIPS!!!

[pog]

Hey there,

I get my new swift conqueror next month and have never caravaned before.

This site has helped me so much already and I was hoping you could help some more!

Your advice would be great, so a tip or two of you best advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Bj

 

[ThePlotter]

A tip I learnt many many years ago was always take the car with you!

 

[lukebfox]

yes thats sound advice you wont get far without it

 

[lukebfox]

yes thats sound advice you wont get far without it

Other than that when i got my first van which was not so far back i went inside with a list and everything i could not immediately understand i wrote on the list and went between the dealer and the net to get solutions.

That aside if your first trips are local you will be ok because its on these type of trips that you figure out what things are neccessary and useful, stick them on said list as these things are easy to source at home and not so easy when abroad its handy to realise what you need before you go on the big holiday, but dont worry too much the fun is in the learning also.

just relax and enjoy your caravaning luke

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Stick to hotels - you wont need to tow one of those behind you. Now being serious you will learn as you go - we have all had to start one day and no matter how experienced you are you will still have some minor problem or other. My advice is just go ahead and enjoy yourselves and welcome to the world of caravanning.

 

[pog]

OK!! Smart ****'s

1. Car

 

[colin(bridgend)]

BJ - it is typical of the reply you can expect from either Plotter or Lord B. - just ignore their off beat sense of humour - I try to.

 

[ThePlotter]

now now Col me old mate I will give Myrna a shout to sort you outand it will be no dinner for you.

Bj,

The reply from Luke was on the button try and make a list of what you dont understand and put them on here,it is difficult to give tips because what works for one may not for others also after being a caravanner for 33 years now most of what you would consider a tip I take for granted so not easy to identify them.Either way rest assured that if you get on site and have a problem I can absolutely guarantee that another caravanner will not only know the solution but will help sort it.Enjoy

 

[lukebfox]

Well said plotter, bj you have to be careful with advice from a caravaner that tells you to stay in a hotel!

 

[Reg]

A piece of serious advice.

I thought I was all geared up properly until we arrived at our first stop in France. Tried to connect up the electrics only to discover that they were using continental plugs not the big blue jobbie that was on the end of my cable.......Doooooooooohhhh!

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Mr. Mod - Plotter and Luke are ganging up on me.

 

[JohnM20]

Hi BJ

Welcome to the world of caravanning. We are all still learning but it is tips from others that are probably the best. They are usually solutions to problems that we all get. One simple tip - always ask, whether on this forum or when you are pitched up. Other 'vanners will be falling over each other to give you advice.

One tip that I got was for filling your water container without water going everywhere. Get a piece of rigid plastic waterpipe about 1

 

[RogerP]

Hi BJ

first piece of advice , if you can , get a weekend away locally so that if you've forgotton something or need something you're in familiar surroundings.

Take your time , dont try and rush , both on your journey and at site.

Try and make a check list before you go. Sounds daft but you forget simple things trying to remember everything you need to do. I once left the jockey wheel down after coupling up , thought the car had fallen apart at first!!!

Let the site warden know you are new and they will usually help. My first couple of outings I let them know I was new and both occassions they helped me onto the pitch giving me instructions how to reverse. In fact the first time the warden made sure I was on a slightly larger pitch to help me get used to it.

Finally , dont be scared to ask for help.

 

[LMH]

Get a decent sink drainer.

Lisa

 

[ThePlotter]

John,I use the plastic pipe method and as you say full pressure without getting soaked when it shoots off the tap,an extension to this is that some taps are where you have to hold the button in(common in France to prevent wastage with taps left on) I have a further strong band(piece of bike inner tube which I keep on the rigid pipe so I dont lose it then I put this around the tap and it holds in the button.

 

[Anthony_374242616]

Buy a cordless drill makes putting the legs up and down much easier

 

[Chaps]

We got our first caravan in October and have found 'The Caravan Handbook' by John Wickersham which is published by Haynes very useful. It costs about

 

[swpostie]

Hi BJ,

We're new too but now have one successful weekend under our belts.

We read the magazines and scoured the websites and thought we'd thought of everything and were pretty well prepared!

To be honest - we were.

But, even over just a weekend, one or two things (not obvious to us) came up which we'd overlooked:

1. We exchanged a gas bbq butane bottle for a spare propane and assumed that the reguolator in the 'van would be a push-on one as well - it wasn't! So remember a gas bottle spanner!!

2. Remember to level the 'van across the axle (using your ramp) before you unhitch - in our excitement we didn't (though fortunately the pitch was pretty level).

3. If your gas appliances don't work (and your regulator is switched on) it's probably just air in the pipes wich will clear quite quickly - we thought we might have to go to the chip shop!

4. Remember (you probably will) that when your water runs out your waste needs emptying - it suddenly occurred to me on the way to the tap!

5. I think that's a good point about not going too far from home so that you can go back for anything you forget - failing that, choose a site with, or near, a good accessory shop!

I think that's really what we learnt from our first trip - we also learnt about how much room we had to store things and what size containers would be useful - that kind of thing.

We had a great time, though, and were really chuffed at how well ir went!

Our next trip starts tomorrow...

 

[drdick&vick]

If you have not towed a caravan before my suggestion is that you book yourself on a Caravan Club towing course. Well worth the money and the time spent on it.

 

[Rubix]

The suggestion for going to a CL site or similar close to home is a VERY good idea.

Alternatively if your van is kept at home or your storage site is not to far away, take everything to do a dummy set up. By that I mean fill up the aquaroll with water, connect the water pump etc, take a gas cylinder and make sure everyting works like cold water, hot water, heater, all hob rings, oven (if you have one). Also make sure all your stuff works all ways (ie hot water on gas as well as mains electric) The main reason for this is so YOU know how it works (although if there is a fault you will then find it)

You say your van is NEW, is that new to you or brand new ? If it is brand new you shouldn't have any problems.

Good luck, welcome to the world of caravanning !!

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Yes, agreed, go somewhere close to home and take a notebook and pen. Make a note of anything you discover you need to get or how to do things better, as once home, you can easily forget what you thought about. Have a great time.

 

[GrahamSouthBrum]

After all that, dont forget the cork screw.

When every thing is set up & you have got the loungers out, do what the rest of us do & crack open a bottle of wine, sit back & watch the world go by.

Have a good time

 

[Thorpedo]

Cork screws ?, good grief, get to Tesco and buy some screw cap plonk, much less hassle and you still get a good headache ;0)

Dont forget the Cammera, we forgot ours when we picked up the new van, the dealer presented the wife with a huge bouquet of flowers, it would have been great to have had a photo of the flowers and keys being handed over in front of the van, shhh better than the wedding photos shhhhhhh.

I'll have to save up for a new van just to get another chance of that photo !!

 

[SimonVokes]

Hi Bj

Loads of good advice posted here (Will take some on board myself!!)

One that I would advise is take a spare water pump. If yours fail you really are in the doo doo!

Have fun!

Simon V

 

[Steve L]

We have a tick list made up on the pc. We print it off and tick off each item as we pack it.

Most of all take your time. Don't worry about trying to get things right. We've all done silly things. Me included, cos I reversed our car with the boot open into the only b***dy lamp post on a campsite on the Isle of Wight. Most entertaining to the whole campsite watching me panel beat the boot lid and the rear of the car to match up again.

Just don't forget the telly! Did that too and had to watch a 2 hour DVD on the in car 2 inch screen. Got the worst case of eye strain ever.

As you might of guessed a good sense of humor is essential both on site and on forum. Fun is what caravanning is all about anything forgotten can always be bought locally, or borrowed from a fellow caravanner. We're a friendly lot.

Steve L.