Hello from the latest Newbie Caravan family!

[Rockingcaravan]

Hello to you all,

We are super excited to pick our Bailey Orion 530/6 up on Thursday from Glossop Caravans ( my 2 an 3 year old are my excuse for me getting exciting about picking it up!)

As we are New to caravaning, we have had a trailer tent for a number of years so aware of the 'standard' equipment but just wanted to get feedback if there is any equipment out side this we should consider and if anyone has any feedback on the Bailey Orion and advice on towing with it being light ?

Also (sorry about all the questions like a kid at christmas!) i am very OCD with cleaning our cars and will transfer this to the caravan so want to get the caravan looking its best, I ve use clay barring ,polish, etc and know not to use a jet was around seals on the van but want some product and practical advice.

Thank you for reading and here s to years of caravaning!!!

 

[Parksy]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Congratulations on your impending caravan ownership, I hope that you and your family have many happy times with it.
Be careful not to overload your caravan, if you haven't already got them you'll definitely need a non slip step (avoid steps with metal 'treads' which can become slippery when wet), fresh and grey water containers and an ehu lead.
Although not compulsory I'd strongly advise you to buy caravan insurance and to comply with any terms and conditions in the policy such as fitting wheel clamps and hitchlocks.
Try to load as close to your caravan noseweight limit as possible without exceeding it, this will help with towing stability.
There is some advice on safe loading Here and if you click on various text on this website (in the yellow page header and the grey tabs) you can navigate to blogs, safety advice and tips on sites to visit and things to do.
As for cleaning the caravan, a significant number of caravan owners use Fenwicks products although there are other brands available.
I'm into a bit of car detailing myself, I'd advise you to be careful about using abrasive products on your caravan paintwork because caravan paint is very thin and can easily be rubbed to bare metal.
If the paintwork has ingrained grubby marks a proprietary brand of car polish (not T cut!) will clean jaded paintwork (I use Meguiars step 2) and when any marks are polished out a good coating of wax containing carnauba (Collinite Insulator Wax is pretty good) should protect the shine for months with regular hosing down.
Recently on my cars I've been using detailing products such as Banana Sudz hydrophobic shampoo, Mia Amigo paint sealant and either the aforementioned Collinite or more recently Meguiars Ultimate Wax which is not in fact a wax but a synthetic polymer which is also hydrophobic.
I might try some of the car detailing products on my caravan in the next couple of weeks when I get round to it, they work well on my cars.
The bane of touring caravan cleanliness is the dreaded black streaks. These are mainly caused by accumulations of dirt, dust and road grime mainly on the rood of the caravan, so it's important to keep the roof as clean as the sides to avoid these unsightly streaks.
Enjoy your caravan, if you're unsure of anything don't hesitate to ask, make sure that despite your understandable excitement the handover from the dealership covers everything and that everything is as it should be

 

[Raywood]

Not sure what you had outside from the trailer tent but basically you need a fresh water container, Aquaroll types are probably best, and a grey water container to collect the waste and the pipes to connect it up.
The toilet filler point is very small and a watering can is very useful for filling it.

 

[Martin24]

Don't forget the leisure battery.

It's an exciting time ahead but please take as long as you need for handover and do not let the dealer rush you at all. Go through the inside and outside carefully pointing out and detailing any issues. Also make sure that you test and try everything in the van, such as lighting, heating and water and are happy with how it all works.

Good luck and enjoy every minute. :cheer:

 

[Rockingcaravan]

Hi all?

Thank you all dor taking time to reply!

Think i am going to stick to the Fenwicks/ Autoglym products to keep it clean!

Looks like by the relpies i have eveything, but defo agree with you Martin24 - no quick hand over for me! To be fair they have been really good as the have made good a fee points from the caravan but everything will be checked!!! Also want them to let me try the motor mover as i have had it as our estate is small so had it to move the van on the drive from a slight incline so want to be confident with it !! Plus going on the c&cc site at bakewell which has no toilet etc so needs to be in order!

 

[Tukums]

Bakewell is a basic site, does it have EHU?, if not and you like this type of caravanning including rallies, temporary holiday sites and basic CS's with no facilities. Then you need to consider how to keep your battery charged, solar power is something to consider.
This basic site has a water tap and toilet empty point and cost £6 a night.

Enjoy your first time in a caravan we did from having a trailer tent many years ago.

 

[Rockingcaravan]

Hi Turkums,

Am guess EHU is electric hook up ? ( saying this desperatly googling it!!)

Yes , on a hard standing its only for a night to 'have a run out in it' but EHU is really the only way for us as we have a 2 and 3 year old!

Thanks for the tip though - did buy myself a automactic battery charger yesterday but just working the maze of towing covers!

 

[CluelessNewbies]

Hi Rocking- Looks like you are a couple of weeks ahead of us. Our van comes off the line next week and we cant wait! We had to start with the basics, including a new car when we realised the caravan was too heavy for one we had, then a new B+E driving test when i found out the new car+van was too heavy for my license! Lol yes, its turned out expensive lol

So we have got so far:

A good set of mirrors for towing.
Some anti theft stuff. (Got locks for the break disks, and alarm on the caravan and a tracker.) Still need to get a wheel clamp and a hitch lock. Quite a few vans disappear from service stations so you mant a way to have it locked on your car when you leave it!

Im guessing you will have the light weight utensils etc.

Ive found some super light weight gas bottles (but they are expensive) its amazing how much these things weigh! They don't have to travel in the front if it pulls the nose weight down.
A lot of people have suggested a watering can (for topping up toilet water)
2 small rolling water containers is better than one large one. (They get heavy, 1 litre of water is 1kg)

Still looking around for the best insurance deals. Although recommendations seem to be ones via the clubs.

I called the car insurance and you are only covered 3rd party only for the van when its hitched.

Make sure you tell your insurance company you have a tow bar if they haven't already been told, or they could refuse to pay up should anything happen! (And don't let them charge you for making the change!

Don't forget your number plate!

Check the electric supply cable socket from your tow bar and van. Some are 7 pins some are 13, you may need a converter.

And as suggested, make sure you distribute the load well so you get a good nose weight. What i was told was pack what you need, not what what you want You can get a cheap nose weight meter for about a tenner, (or use some scales from the bathroom with something to prop under the hitch)

We are planning on our taking ours somewhere local for the first weekend to find out what else we forgot / need! And to work out how to use everything!

Best of luck with it!!!

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

If you mean an AL-KO wheel lock when you say 'locks for the brake disk' then you do NOT need an additional 'wheel clamp'.

 

[CluelessNewbies]

Thanks woodlands, you've just saved me an extra 70 pounds!

 

[ProfJohnL]

***ALARM *** ALARM ***

...
Ive found some super light weight gas bottles (but they are expensive) its amazing how much these things weigh! They don't have to travel in the front if it pulls the nose weight down.

For safety gas bottles must be transported in their properly designated brackets, secured so they cannot fall over and with adequate free ventilation above and below the bottle. They should not be carries loose inside closed vehicles or trailers.

It is madness to ignore this requirement why???:

Because inside a filled LPG bottle you have a mixture of liquified gas and vapour. The liquified gas is vapour that has been compressed about 250 times to keep it in its liquified form. Being a liquid it is heavier than the vapour and will sit at the bottom of its container. The vapour above it is also pressurised, (depending on the gas typically at @20C, 6 Bar for Propane and about 2Bar for Butane) which is why when you open the valve it tries to escape.

You don't want gas vapour to escape in an enclosed space-. Its really bad news if you do. Because both Butane and Propane gas are heavier than air and will sink to the lowest point and collect (boot or foot wells in a car). it only need gas to air mixture ratio of about 1:10 to produce a highly flammable/explosive mixture.

You definitely don't want liquified gas to escape, as not only will each litre of liquid expand to about 250 Litres, in the process it will cool anything it touches and can cause frost burns. But also you will have an almighty amount of flammable/explosive fuel sloshing around inside the vehicle. One spark and.........

Unsecured gas bottles venting gas or liquified gas have the potential to become an unguided ballistic missile, which is why fire crews are incredibly wary and keep a knowing distance from sites that use or keep LPG bottles.

I have seen the damage an unsecured gas cylinder can do when it became damaged in a factory incident, One bottle (admittedly a 47Kilo bottle) destroyed an entire wall of a warehouse and travelled over 200 meters smashing through two other brick walls on its way.

Don't mess with gas bottles. Treat them properly and they are very safe, but misuse or miss handle them and they can do a lot of damage and even be deadly.

 

[Rockingcaravan]

Hi Cluless Newbies!

Exciting times like us!

We got our insurance through go compare at £11 a month as we joined the c&cc and their insurance was £50 more!

Good tip on the services putting the lock on!

The whole licence and towing thing can below your mind put reading coutless articles , etc i am happy am legal ( we will be towing with a freelander 2) but our combined weight falls under, i will take take the addtional test for future use though!

 

[CluelessNewbies]

I did my tuition in a freelancer 2 - they are great to tow with.

My combined weight took me about 100kg over the 3500 limit so had to take the test. Im kind of glad i did to be honest having never towed before! It gave me an idea of what to expect!

 

[Martin24]

You don't need an ehu with young children at all. The main draw on the electricity is lighting but any halogen bulbs are easily changed to LED.

12v if you absolutely must have a television. With the caravan though you will probably be outside playing all day and if there is a wet day then take the opportunity to play games indoors or in the awning. You can charge your phone if you are worried about emergencies on a 12v adaptor or out and about in the car.

Fridge, cooking (indoors or out) and incase you need it heating on gas

I remember a two week holiday 3 miles outside Dartmouth when the children were 8, 10 and 12 (6 years ago) costing us £70 in site fees. It would probably be up to £6 a night by now :cheer:

You save a lot of money by ditching the hook up and the toilet block.

 

[CluelessNewbies]

One thing to bear in mind actually,. Just thinking about it - and i am sure someone will correct me if im mistaken here, !!

If your licenses is a newer type, like mine was (post 1997), with a max 3500kg limit for towing, Im sure the calculation was based on the maximum allowable mass for the car (MAM not the kerb weight) + the MTPLM of the caravan.

Some Freelander 2's have a mam of about 2500 kg which isn't much for the van! Do if the MTPLM of the van is more than 1000kg, you would be over....

Might be worth checking in case you do end up needing to take the test.

If your other half has a pre 97 license though, you can drive with L plates on in the interim! I have a nice email from the DVLA explaining this!

 

[Rockingcaravan]

Hi,

Be good to see that e mail, like i said any going to take the test anyway!

Thanks

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Rocking caravan,

CluelessNewbies has mad a very valid point. As you have now braodly told us what you are driving and what you are towing his point about your licence is very important.

You currently only have a Cat B licence which limits you to a combined MAM of 3500kg. You must understand that MAM stands for Maximum Authorised Mass, and represents the top weight LIMITS for the car and the caravan added together.

You have identfied your car as a Freelander 2 which has a MAM (same as GVW) of about 2500kg, and the Bailey Orion 530/6 (but you have not identified the year is something over MAM 1300kg (same as MTPLM) added together these = 3800kg which clearly exceeds your 3500kg limit

Its not about what they actualy weigh, but what their top limits are.

See
http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/towing-driving-and-safety/54419-chelmsford-crackdown

 

[Rockingcaravan]

Hi,

Fair point , Sorry i forgot mention in the interim i ll be towing with my company vehicle which is a mazda 6

Thanks for your advice though!

 

[LizziePope]

Welcome to caravanning and to the Practical Caravan forum.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi,

Fair point , Sorry i forgot mention in the interim i ll be towing with my company vehicle which is a mazda 6

Thanks for your advice though!

Hello Rockingcaravan.
Please forgive me but I get the feeling you are wrapped up with the excitement of towing and you may not have understood the application and importance of the the way the Driving Licence Cat B limit is enforced.

As you have not identified the exact weight limits of Mazda and the Bailey Orion 530/6 you are intending to use I have had to base this reply on generic information which if you have chosen certain combinations suggested you could still fall foul of your 3500kg driving licence limit.

It can be quite surprising how much load a car is permitted to carry, so just for clarity, find the GVW of the car (its the second largest weight limit in the cars data plate) and the caravans MTPLM ( on the caravan data plate) if you add these together they must total less than 3500 for a Cat B only licence holder.

 

[CluelessNewbies]

Thank you for your further email of 20 March.

This is the email from the DVLA regarding driving on L's. It was may back up for collecting the caravan just incase i didnt pass the test, as my wife passed her test before 97:

Happy to email the actual email if its going to be of use.

I can confirm that, if you hold a full category B driving licence, you can drive on a motorway in a category B+E displaying ‘L’ plates whilst being supervised by a full licence holder, who must be at least 21 years old and have held a full category B+E licence for at least three years.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Yours sincerely
Read more at http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/general/54324-b-e-test-and-l-plates#UOH2Moh7XKsCfrzR.99