Hello from Derbyshire

[sammyboden]

Hello all
My wife and I (well she will be after the 29th August) have just purchased our first caravan an Elddis Affinity 530 and are looking forward to many adventures together in our new dez rez.
We are both in our mid fifties kids gone our time to do what we want and this just seemed an ideal way to do it
Not picked it up yet wedding honeymoon and all but would really appreciate any advice or tips from all you seasoned pro's out there as like I say its our first caravan.
The only aspect that puts a downer on for me is the security issue from reading various forums I cannot believe how ineffective hitchlocks and wheelclamps are hmy:
Is it worth fitting a tracker ?
Look forward to hearing from you
Sam

 

[Dustydog]

Welcome to the forum Sam
Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding.
A caravan honeymoon is made for two
Insure your new toy with one of the two clubs schemes.ie Caravan Club or The Camping and Caravan Club
I'm prejudiced but their covers and claims service are the best Imo. .
Where are you going for the Honeymoon.
Loads of good help on here.

 

[DavenGill1]

Hi, we have two reasons reply to this, firstly, the storage we use had two caravans stolen, one had a chain wrapped round it's hitch lock which was easily cut and the second had a inferior wheel clamp which was cut from the van, so buy decent gear. The second is there are more good people out there as I left my iphone in the awning when we went out for the day and it was still there when we returned. This is our first year in a van and have thoroughly enjoyed it, have as much fun in your van as we have.

 

[Mel]

Hi, welcome to caravanning and to the forum. The way I see it is if someone is determined to steal your van, they will. However the better the security gear that you have on it the more of a deterrent and the more likely it is that they will move on to another one instead. You can only do your best. Get good insurance cover just in case.

Having done all that it is not worth losing sleep over. Caravanning is for enjoying not stressing
mel

 

[sammyboden]

Hello we are going to menorca for our honeymoon obviously without the van!
Wedding and honeymoon booked before we bought it next year we will hit the road in earnest

 

[bobnlibby]

Hi Sam,

Congratulations on your up coming wedding and welcome to the forum, we are just across the border in Notts so do we get a slice of wedding cake lol

As to caravan security, we have just come back to caravanning after a 15 year break and towed for nearly 15 years before then. I am an engineer and with the old van i made my own hitch lock with a hardened locking bar and used a padlock with a hardened shackled. With our new van, its got a wheel clamp on it and our drive is two car wide so we park our car on the drive at an angle so that no one can pull the van off.

I hope you have a great wedding and honeymoon and lets see you towing soon

Take care, Bob.

 

[sammyboden]

Thanks Bob will do getting a bit nervous now even though its my third one.
Got signs on my families table "SEASON TICKET HOLDERS ONLY"
My dad says I'm addicted to wedding cake but he's 78 and my mum 74 and they still caravan about 4 months of the year I'm 53 so hopefully many years to come

 

[sammyboden]

Hi Dave or Gill I assume that is what constitutes the user name?
Decided to not to worry if it happens it happens that's what insurance is for.
Looking to site the van on a year round pitch at Gridleford in the peaks only 30 mins away from home got family with one there they love it and not to far away if you want to fetch it for touring.
Its near a wood full of red deer that wander down from the trees when the site is quiet
Going up to look at it tomorrow only a small site 20/30 permanent pitches.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Welcome to the forum Sam. Happy caravanning.

 

[sammyboden]

Thanks Woodlands wiil do been to see the site in Grindlleford very nice will be siting the van there on its own pitch so we could visit it all year and easy to pull off should we need it

 

[Gafferbill]

.............been to see the site in Grindlleford very nice will be siting the van there on its own pitch so we could visit it all year and easy to pull off should we need it

Hi and welcome to the forum.........that is bad news for your caravan's tyres as they do not like to stand around without moving.
Take the weight off them by using axle stands and shield from strong sunlight and keep at working pressure.
They will then be ready to go if the mood takes you

 

[LizziePope]

Hi sammyboden – welcome to the Practical Caravan forum. We hope all goes well when tomorrow you gain a Mrs Boden and wish you much happiness. Welcome to caravanning – we hope it brings you both much joy.