Caravanning in winter (novice caravanners)

[steve1972_5085722]

Help please!! This is our 1st year of caravanning and we are looking to holiday in the Highlands of Scotland this winter and would like some advice as to whether our caravan is up to the job. We have a 1992 ABI Celebration with no obvious signs of damp and 1 gas heater!!

Does anyone know whether these are sufficiently insulated?

Is it safe to run the gas heater all night?

We have bought a halogen heater but 1 site has told us that it would trip the electrics even though it is low wattage. Is this a general problem with caravan sites or an isolated case?

 

[Lol1]

Hi Steve. To answer your questions, firstly, your caravan should be fine during winter, the secret being to keep a low level of heat in the caravan at all times. It can take a while for the van to heat up but you will be a snug as a bug when it does, so yes you can run the heater all night, make sure it has been serviced beforehand. The major problem will be your water system, so take plenty of lagging and be prepared to fill the kettle last thing at night if the temp really drops. A trick that I am prepared to try over New Years if I have to, is to put a porch awning on the water carrier side and a heater in there if necc. Your halogen heater should not trip the electrics, the site owner is however justifiably worried that if the site is busy then everyone using an electric heater might trip the site power supply. Personally if it says 10 amps or 16 amps then that is what you should get, but in practice that doesn't always work out.

Hope you enjoy your winter holiday; the scenery must be stunning in the Highlands after snowfall!

 

[Tankie]

Go to B&Q and buy domestic hot water cylinder jacket, they are quite cheap, also take a length of that foam pipe lagging for the hose from the barrel to the inlet. And should the temperature realy plummet wrap an old anorak arround the lot, passing the pipe through one of the sleeves. Make sure you stan the barrel on some spare 2ins thick levelling blocks and fill a 2 gallon can with fresh water to keep inside the van overnight.

It is also helpful to refil the barrel last thing at night, it will be slightly warmer so taking longer to freeze, but with all that lagging you should be OK

Tankie