New to PC Site

[judsley]

Hi everyone,
My wife and I were new to caravanning last year when we bought an Elddis Odyssey and are about to go on our 4th trip with our 2 year old daughter and labrador. In my early 40's, I can't believe I left it so long before I gave caravanning a go. We all love it!

Being still new to it, we have a few minor repairs to make to our van which is 9 years old and sourcing some parts is a bit daunting.
We have a Heiki 2 roof window / blind where the retractor mechanism has gone making the blind to be unretractable. We've made a temporary fix which is far from perfect. Does anyone know if I can just buy the spring part of the blind (new or second hand) or do I have to make more of an expensive purchase? I've looked on eBay but haven't yet seen any thing that might be suitable.
Also the rubber seal around the gas locker is intact and in place although it comes away from the van occasionally (usually after I've left it open in wind / rain

) making the locker not water proof. Can I glue it in place? If so, can I use any type of glue?
We've learnt so much already from this site from the advice and forum section and I only joined it last night! It's fab!
Looking forward to any tips / advice / questions anyone might have!
Jon

 

[Parksy]

Hi Jon
Welcome to the Practical Caravan forum, it's good to know that this forum is informative and I hope that you will continue to enjoy being a part of it.

If you ask on the General message board I'm sure that you will have many replies and suggestions as the days go by, for the spring mechanism for the blind have you tried any caravan breakers yet?
If you Google 'caravan breakers' there will be many to choose from and most of them do mail order.
Some breakers have Ebay shops, Click Here to have a browse at one.

 

[Dustydog]

Morning Jon
Welcome to the Forum.
Plenty of very clever people on here. If they can't answer your questions no one else can.

 

[mealsonwheels]

Welcome to the forum. We are a friendly and helpful bunch on here and as Dustydog says, there is always someone on here to answer any questions you may have. Just post your questions under the relevant heading.
Just a thought, you say your caravan is 9 years old, do you know how old the tyres are? For your safety it is recommended that caravan tyres are changed before they reach 5 years old.
Here's to many years of happy & safe caravanning

 

[judsley]

See, something else I've learnt.... Caravan breakers on eBay! (i am easily pleased!)

 

[judsley]

Thanks for the info M-O-W... Yes I'm aware of the tyres and they're less than 5 years old (got myself a 12V compressor to check the pressures before every journey too!)
I think it's just over whelming (in a good way) of all the other bits to learn about our van. It came with little instruction manuals so the advice section for the Truma heater and water heater on here was a revelation! I was quite chuffed I'd sussed most of it on my own!

Thanks for your comments!

 

[Gagakev]

Hi Jon, always nice to have new tuggers join us on here, as you will have already seen you will be made very welcome.

 

[judsley]

You're absolutely right - I feel at home already!

 

[Mel]

Hi jon, welcome to caravanning and the forum. If the fix for the blind eludes you, post pics in the technical section and someone will talk you through it. Not me: I'm more moral support than technical support.

good luck
mel

 

[judsley]

Ha ha, Thanks Mel.... there's always a need for moral support!!

 

[Gafferbill]

Hi Jon and welcome to the forum.......... re your Heiki 2.

I am a great fan of this company who are experts in everything caravan and operate from their workshop premises on an Industrial estate near Ilfracombe.
Their service is faultless whether in person or via their website.
This is a link to their relevant page which may be of help to you.

http://www.leisureshopdirect.com/default.aspx?shop=caravan&menu=ventilation&Page=2&Product=9424#148567

 

[judsley]

Hi Gafferbill
Wow, thank you so much for the link. I think you may well have solved our problem! You're a star!

This PC site just gets better!!

 

[Beachball]

Hi Jon This is a belated welcome to the practical caravan forum (had a very rough month ) ............