First trip in a year.

[Thingy]

Having been fortunate enough to spend most of this year travelling Europe albeit without the van, its now time to return to my favourite pastime and the van gets its first runout in 12 months. Off to Haycraft in Dorset next week via the New Forest. We also get to try the new Air Awning for the first time so fingers crossed for that.

I thought yesterday i would spend some time giving the caravan a once over and its only then you realise what caravanning is all about. One of my jobs was to flush the water system out, check the heating and hot water and all the other little jobs, tyres, lights, TV of course. Fridge getting cold enough for beer and so forth and so on. When I had done, I sat back in my nicely warming van with a cup of char, and then I heard it.

DRIP DRIP DRIP. This was about the same time the long haired general came charging in saying there is water running out under the door of the caravan. It didnt take long to find that the flexible pipe had come loose from the rigid pipe under the sink drainer. Simples. Not likely. I couldnt reach the ****** (subsitute your own word here) thing. Its in a tall narrow cupboard with two sliding racks and a sliding drawer. Plus the door of the cupboard was hindering access. Off must come the door, however, the brackets arent just screwed on they are glued on. Then the racks, two were easy but it took ages to figure how to release the drawer. When i got it figured, I found that at assembly they had stripped the head of one of the screws. Finally defeating that and undoing the clamps holding the flexi pipe, i asked her indoors to hold the rigid pipe whilst I pushed on the flexi. SNAP. What the hell was that. "Oh, I just pushed to help you,. it wasnt my fault". Luckily I had another piece in the shed and we were soon sorted. What I noted was that once I had pushed the flexi pipe on, it was virtually impossible to move it so tight was the fit. So, answers on a postcard as to why it came off. My guess is the usual cant be bothered attitidue at the factory.

As I said, the joys of real caravanning.

If anyone is in the area and sees a caravan with water dripping from the chassis, an air awning sagging like Nora Battys' tights and the lights flickering on and off as the water finds the electric, do stop in and comisserate with me.

 

[Phil.Q]

Oh dear !
I commiserate with you Thingy but thanks for making me smile, we need more humour on the forum and you've provided today's blast.
As a fellow member of my imaginary shogun club I will indeed share a cuppa if we ever meet up.
Perhaps we need to figure out a forum identity signal when out on sites to alert other forum members of our presence.
Phil

 

[saint-spoon]

Best of luck with the air awning; we have just invested in one that we will be trialing the weekend after next.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Thingy
I have known the pipes to work loose in transit,also if you had been running hot water through the pipes, which had been loose that may have caused the problem as the two different plastics may have expanded at different rates, most likely a combination of all three things,still at least you know it is sorted before you get away.

 

[Thingy]

OK.
Phil, I never said anything about a cuppa. Now if we are talking Theakstons Old Peculier (correct spelling there) we will be in business. No need to share it hough, I usually have a stash. Plus-

Perhaps we need to figure out a forum identity signal when out on sites to alert other forum members of our presence.

Thats easy. reading most of the forum posts, if you see someone looking baffled and depressed, scratching the head in the way only a defeated caravanner can do, chances are its one of the members.

Good luck with it saint. You have the right name for a bit of the old divine intervention. You should be OK.

And Woodsie. Yeah, fair one. Never thought about the heat thing and softening the flexi. However, the newly installed industrial jubilee clip should provide the belt and braces.

 

[Thingy]

And this week keeps on getting worse. We pulled out the van from its standing, i.e. on the drive against the fence, just to give it a good clean. After 12 months standing it needed it. To our dismay, the entire offside of the van and half the plastic front were covered in thousands of tiny splashes of fence paint.

It has come off mainly, by using silky but its taken both of us all day and some serious elbow grease. I mentioned it in a kind manner to our elderly neighbour who had painted his fence whilst we were away and got a right torrent of abuse in return. No apology or anything. I could understand if I had been angry with them or aggressive but I simply asked if next time he would warn me and I would move the van.

That now makes the entire road he has fallen out with including his own relatives. To add insult to injury, although its his border, I paid for the damned fence.

Anyone recommmend a good polish for the front of the van, its a bit patchy after all the silky?

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Thingy you could try the New Mer in the Black Bottles or Maguires not cheap but should do the job but not too heavy on the elbow as you know the paint is very thin on caravans
Sir Roger

 

[Thingy]

I thought Maguires too. I use the three stage stuff on the car, so stage 2, normal polish should do the trick.

Silky is good stuff, but it does tend to leave a large area patchy. Should say Roger, the side has come up fine, its the plastic front panel that has turned out a bit iffy.