New blogger on a budget

[CyberCynth]

Hi folks, though new to this type of communication I'm an old hand at caravanning; been doing it off and on since the mid 1980's. However, circumstances change, I'm (quite) a bit older now and on a reduced income, but decided life is too short to sit at home and twiddle my fingers!
In a 'previous existence', shall we say, I shared a lovely Elddis with my (now) ex. I bought a smaller car once I was on my own, believing my caravanning days were behind me. WRONG! Got the itch again, and bought myself a Gobur Carousel; it being the most practical, lightweight 'van with which my self & my Skoda Fabia could cope. Hoorah! Back on the circuit again, and it feels great!
Ladies, don't let anyone tell you won't cope with a caravan on your own. I do! I've recently justed traded in my 10/2 Slimline for a 10/2T. It's a folding caravan, as I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone on a caravanning forum! But I manage with all the practical stuff and the towing, Although my motormover is an invaluable piece of kit, without which I would struggle at times, mostly, turning the unit around on my drive so that it's facing the house.
Well, that's enough from me for now, before your eyes all start to glaze over, but I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas/tips/stories with you all. Bye for now!

 

[emmerson]

Welcome back Cynth!
I don't think for a moment you are alone in being a lone lady caravanner (that sentence was a bit convoluted, but you know what I mean!)
I believe there are also a few single persons caravan clubs, but you strike me as someone who is quite happy to strike your own path.
Go for it girl!

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Welcome to the Forum, Cynth. Keep caravanning.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Cynth, welcome to the forum.
We will look forward to reading about your experiences as a solo caravanner, and you are well placed to give advice to newbies with a lighter towing vehicle thinking of buying their first caravan about the possibilities offered by lightweight folding tourers

Now that you've broken the ice and said hello to us I've upgraded your membership so that you won't have to fill in word verification boxes to use the forum.

 

[CyberCynth]

Thank you guys for your welcoming replies, and thank you Parksy for allowing a by-pass of the word verification process. All makes life easier!
To return to the subject of my unit: The Carousel 10/2T I have just bought is a little heavier than the 10/2 Slimline, but still within the limits for my Skoda, which is a Fabia TSi 1.2L 105 PS (Basic S trim level) DSG Estate, with a towing limit of 1200kg. The 10/2T weighs in at (MRO) 752kg, (MTPLM) 950kg. I must admit I didn't work out whether the latter figure was 85% of the 1200 towing limit, but I did use one of the match-checking services, (Camping and Caravanning Club I think it was) which came up with a positive result. However, I did find when I drove home after collecting the caravan from the dealers, the Skoda gobbled up a good deal more petrol than it used to when towing the smaller 'van. This, I suppose could just have been down to the fact that I had to drive head-on into one of the worst storms I've ever encountered whilst towing! The car is three years old, and for the 18 months I'd had it prior to towing it hadn't used any oil, but checking it after each outing with the 'van, I am having to top up with oil. Not a lot, perhaps a pint over four outings. The car certainly doesn't make heavy weather of towing; I hardly notice I've got the 'van on the back!
Opinions and suggestions welcome! Thank you.

 

[CyberCynth]

Duplicate Post

 

[CyberCynth]

Thanks Emmerson! I haven't come across any other solo ladies caravanning yet. I found the 'Lone Companions' Camping Club' online and joined up, but I haven't been on any of their rallies yet. You read me very well; I'm an independent soul, actually just as happy going off and doing my own thing - with a hyperactive bearded collie tagging along!

 

[CyberCynth]

Duplicate Post

 

[Mel]

Hi Cynth. Welcome to the forum

 

[brian_c]

Welcome to the Forum Cynth.
Best wishes Brian

 

[CyberCynth]

Parksy, maybe you can tell me why all my replies are being duplicated? Maybe it's because the system's a bit slow (or my laptop is). Am I supposed to be pressing 'save' just the once? When I press 'save' I get a preview of what I've written, even if I haven't asked for one. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[CyberCynth]

Thanks Mel, also to Brian, for your welcomes. Mel, I love your signature, I should feel at home on this forum!

 

[CyberCynth]

Thanks Brian, how did you get your dog to do a wave? Or is it a high five?! I've been trying to teach my bearded collie to do high fives for ages, but she's reluctant to do anything she doesn't want to do. Not being very food-orientated it's difficult to find a way of rewarding her if she DOES do something right!

 

[Beachball]

Hi CyberCynth welcome to the practical caravan forum ....

 

[CyberCynth]

Beachball: thanks for your welcoming words!

 

[Beachball]

Hi CyberCynth
I hope you enjoy your caravaning holidays ( Me and wife are looking forward to our Seasonal Site in the Midlands ) we have just got our new to us a dream van a Elddis Crusader SuperSirocco Twin Axle Caravan .
We are hoping to go for 5 nights end of this month
Regards to you ....

 

[CyberCynth]

Hello again Beachball!
Lucky you with your Elddis Crusader! In a previous lifetime, shall we say, I had an Elddis Avante 534; a lovely caravan in which my (now ex) husband and I enjoyed many happy holidays, such nice 'vans, and although ours was 16 years old when it was sold, we'd never had any trouble with damp ingress, nor any other problems. Hope you enjoy your break at the end of this month, and that the weather will have brightened up a bit by then! I'm hoping to get away myself at around the same time, but haven't decided where to go yet..Thanks again, and kind regards to you both.

 

[Gafferbill]

Welcome CyberCynth and happy caravanning.....a bit late but I'm way down south in Spain with my caravan at the moment........
Welcome also to Baroness Barmy of the Woosies from a fellow Woose..................Baldrick here not really a Sir...........I'm the scruffy one that hangs around Sirs and Ladies at Woosie meets!.........Wuf Wuf ......Thats hello in dog to Princess Wotamess.

 

[Parksy]

Parksy, maybe you can tell me why all my replies are being duplicated? Maybe it's because the system's a bit slow (or my laptop is). Am I supposed to be pressing 'save' just the once? When I press 'save' I get a preview of what I've written, even if I haven't asked for one. Am I doing something wrong?

Hi Cynth
There are two buttons, 'Preview' and 'Save' and I suspect that like others before you, myself included

, you might be inadvertently clicking on Preview and perhaps then clicking the 'Save' button once or maybe twice as a reflex action.
If you get the preview just click on Save, the forum can sometmes be a bit on the slow side but don't worry, I can delete any duplicate comments from my end

 

[CyberCynth]

Hi, Gafferbill! (Or I should say (Sir) Baldrick). Thank you for taking the trouble to post whilst on your hols. Spain, lucky you! Hope you're getting better weather than us! I keep looking for a gap in the storms so that I can get away for a few days in my Carousel; doesn't look too hopeful
Take care on your journey home. A big slobbery kiss from Princess Wotamess.

 

[CyberCynth]

Thank you for your helpful reply, Parksy. Can I trouble you with another query, please?

Now, I've just started a new paragraph, but I note that, rather annoyingly, when replying to posts, the hit on 'enter' will be ignored and, as has just happened on my reply to Gafferbill's post, the system ignores spaces after an attempt to start a new paragraph, too. Very irritating. I consider my written English to be of a reasonable standard, and it's very annoying when one's attempts to write to a certain grammatical standard are sabotaged! call me a pedantic old B...aroness Barmy if you like. Probably comes with age maturity. last time I used the crossing-out tool on the menu bar, that didn't work either!

Happy days!

 

[Parksy]

Hi Cynth
Unfortunately the forum software is playing up at the moment. Digital Editor Lizzie Pope and her tech team are doing their best to find out what's causing the problem but she only came back off holiday today so the issue has been with us for longer than expected.
There is more on the software issue Here, thanks for your patience and understanding.
I've fiddled with the dial and knobs to make your last two post appear as you intended complete with paragraphs, but unfortunately I'd never have time to edit every post on the forum much as I'd like to help

 

[CyberCynth]

Hi Parksy,
Thank you very much for your detailed reply, I'm sorry to seem a nag-pot in the face of system gliches; I hadn't appreciated you were having problems with the software. Thank you also for twiddling your dials and knobs on my behalf! I hope you manage to get the gremlins wormed out.