Hi there. Just joined.

[Pam3235]

I was kindly pointed in the direction of this forum. We are a family with one child who holidays with us. He has Aspergers Syndrome and so familiarity and routine are very important, hence us trying caravanning about 4 years ago and we are hooked. We are in the process of changing to our second caravan. Having never had a new car or caravan before, we are very excitedly counting the days to collect our Swift Fairway 586 on Saturday. It has a lay out we feel will work for us now and for the next few years. I am always looking for advice etc so am pleased to have found another welcoming caravanning forum with a wealth of info and experience to call on.
Thats about it really,
Thanks
Pam

 

[Mel]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. You may find other families with children who have ASD anong the caravanning community; it does seem to be a holiday that suits better. Please post.
mel

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

Hi pam, I'm so glad you found this friendly forum. So welcome to the pc forum. Look forward to reading your posts pam

Jo-Anne xx

 

[Gafferbill]

Hi Pam.
Welcome to the forum.
Since there is no cure for Aspergers then some of us oldies also have it!!!
You will know that the only way forward is to learn to live with it, both the pluses and the minuses.
Your son probably has grasped the world of caravaning quicker than you, especially the technical side.
Have fun with your Swift............ my 1995 Swift Challenger is still going well.
Any questions just ask

 

[Parksy]

Hi Pam, welcome to the Practical Caravan forum and congratulations on buying your Swift Fairway, a Broad Lane dealers special if I'm not mistaken

I hope that you and your family have many happy times away in your new caravan and that you will enjoy using this friendly forum to exchange advice, tips etc and to read about general caravan chat and humour.
Are you going anywhere to try out the new caravan?

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Hi Pam , welcome to this Forum a wealth of knowledge awaits your questions please do not be afarid to ask,as Ive said before on here there are no silly questions just silly answers that will be a bit of fun to help you along.
Sir Roger

 

[Beachball]

Hi Pam welcome to the practical caravan forum it most be a exciting time picking up your new caravan , look forward to your posts in the future ..........

 

[Pam3235]

Thank you so much for your welcome and comments. It is reassuring that some people understand some of the difficulties associated with Aspergers. Sadly we were on a seasonal pitch last summer and one of the owners sons took a dislike to my son (social skills are not my sons strong points and lead to him being vulnerable to being bullied), and it became a problem, so it is back to touring for us. Looking forward to it as we had done it for the previous 3 years.
Our van to be, is indeed a broad lane special of the swift challenger sport range, we can't wait to get it on Saturday. We are going to try it out over the new year. We struggled initially to find anywhere being late in the year, but I remembered a lovely site near Leominster (not cc) that we went to a couple of years ago and they had a couple of pitches left, so we will be going there.
Very excited, can't wait. I will be scotchgarding the fabrics myself, and we hope to get a caravan cover and awning - thinking about a Kampa Rally 260 or 390. Then the purse strings will be shut tight !!!
Pam

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

Hi pam, please let us know how you get on today with the new van pick up. Have a look at venture Awnings called basic large, just like the Kampa 390 they do one same size as the 260 venture are owned by Isabella . Another 2 good awnings are venture marlin and Isabella magnum. I have the magnum and love it. The venture basic is about £255 I don't know anymore about them. Ask for a review on here on the venture baic and kampa ones and other forums that might help. Have a look at the bradcot Moody's aswell looks lovely but I don't know much about them either. I had a sunncamp 390 I loved the size of it but wasnt that impressed with quality so I sent it back and stuck to the Isabella magnum.
Would being in rally club be good for your son? . Kids and parents are normally friendly on them?.

Jo x

 

[RobinF]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I have Kampa rally 390 and thats the one I would go for if it will fit without going over any windows.
I would also recommend getting the rear poles and monsoon poles for it, helps it fit really well.
Also with the storm straps it stood up to major winds in Cornwall at the end of October where other peoples were damaged.

 

[Pam3235]

Hi there,
Well we picked it up today, we are so thrilled, we went for the kampa rally 390 in the end, and we did get the monsoon poles, rear poles and storm straps, so pleased to read robins recommendation when we got home. Will try to post piccies later.
Thanks
Pam
Ps broadlane were brill too !!

 

[Gagakev]

Pam, sorry I missed your 1st post, age is catching up with me

You will do good to go with the Kampa, myself, LB, Sir Roger and quite a few others have them and they are a good bit of kit.
Do as Robin says and go for all the accessories that is availible and you wont go wrong.

 

[Pam3235]

Going to try attaching a piccy........

 

[Pam3235]

That didn't work too well, never mind , I will get the hang of it at some point......
Pam

 

[Sproket]

That didn't work too well, never mind , I will get the hang of it at some point......
Pam

Hi Pam & welcome to the forum
Have a look here for the easy way to post photos

 

[Pam3235]

Going to try again with above advice

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

Going to try again with above advice?

Pam it's looks lovely, so bright and white I bet you can't wait to try it now. Can't wat for more pics. I've never been able to post pictures on here I'm a bit thick lol. Xx

 

[Parksy]

Well done Pam, it's nice to know that Broad Lane Caravans did a good handover.

Can't wat for more pics. I've never been able to post pictures on here I'm a bit thick lol. Xx

You need to open a free Photobucket account Jo-Anne
After you have opened a Photobucket account Click Here and follow the easy pictorial guide kindly posted by Sprocket.

 

[Parksy]

Hi there,
Well we picked it up today, we are so thrilled, we went for the kampa rally 390 in the end, and we did get the monsoon poles, rear poles and storm straps, so pleased to read robins recommendation when we got home. Will try to post piccies later.
Thanks
Pam
Ps broadlane were brill too !!

It's just occurred to me that in the excitement of collecting your lovely new caravan you may have overlooked the cold snap and the cold weather expected next week.
It is absolutely vital that you drain down the caravan in preparation for winter.
Apologies if you already knew this and have done it, but if not you will need to make sure that any residual water left in pipes, the pump, the boiler or the taps (including the shower) is drained completely otherwise damage will occur which can be expensive to repair.
Run the pump without being connected to the aquaroll, open all of the taps on both hot and cold, including the shower, and remove the shower head and flexible shower hose.
Leave the taps part way open, ensure that all water is drained from the boiler and onboard tank if fitted, use the dump valve to drain the boiler.
Empty any flush water from the toilet flush tank and ensure that the holding tank is empty. It might help if you can tow your caravan for a few miles, this will help to remove water from the drainage system.

 

[Pam3235]

Thanks Parksy,
I hadn't thought of it, but Geoff at broadlane, did explain that he would drain it all down after the handover and before we towed it home, so hopefully should be ok, but I will check when I pop over tomorrow to take some bits to the van. Looking forward to adding those personal bits inside, and to our first trip on 27th Dec. Yay!!
Pam

 

[Parksy]

The maiden voyage will be a great way to get rid of the post Christmas anti-climax Pam, and your fellow forum members will be happy to provide tips on how to stay warm and keep your water system working on trips away during the cold weather.