Top Tips

[mealsonwheels]

If someone has painful mossie bites and no medication in the caravan. Put dabs of toothpaste on the bites and re-apply as often as required. It really does work.

When the caravan is hot and the windows are wide open, it's easy to bump into them. A piece of pipe lagging placed along the edge of the frame will cushion the bump.

When boiling a kettle, pour any surplus water into a flask. It can then be used later to do the dishes or whatever.

OK this is just a start, keep them coming!

Mrs Meals on Wheels

 

[LMH]

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Lisa

 

[Surfer]

When going away for a weekend mak sure you take the caravan with you!

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I think Mrs. Meals on Wheels has a useful posting and sensable contributions as a follow up could be beneficial. For what it is worth my contribution would be that bicarbonate of soda is also good for stings and scalding. We ensure the first aid kit is kept fully stocked and also have a supply of paracetemol tablets in case.

 

[GrahamSouthBrum]

Hi Colin ,

Whilst I endorse what you say about a good 1st aid kit, I cannot recommend putting Bicarbonate of Soda on any form of burn.

If the burn has to be treated at hospital, they are going to have to scrape off the Bicarb. which could be painful when dried on.

The treatment for any burn is to cool it down using clean cold water for at LEAST 10 mins. or 20 mins for a chemical burn.

We carry water gel packs on our trucks, which have the same cooling effect.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I seemed to remember my grandmother treating a scald with a solution of bicarb. in water. Never had call, thank God, to try it myself.

 

[Chaps]

We're new to this game but already have a few new ideas and some tips from our tenting days may be useful..........

Always make sure that you've got enough food and milk in the caravan for when you arrive at the start of your holiday in case you are delayed. Even if it's just enough to get you through the first night and breakfast the next morning - nothing worse than tired AND hungry kids after a long journey!

Make up the kids' beds before you leave home so that they can go straight to bed on arrival if necessary.

Also, plan your route carefully before you set off and make sure that the co-driver stays awake throughout (dig at Rob here!!!)

Mark an old pop bottle to the correct level of toilet chemicals required so that you don't have to guess.

Keep a notebook with your own site reviews in it so that you can instantly recall good and bad points for future reference.

Take along several folding plastic storage crates whic can be used for toys, shoes, wheelclamp/hitchlock while travelling, dirty washing, beer (!!!!) etc then fold them down out of the way when not in use.

A bedroom annexe in the awning can be used to store things out of sight and keeps the awning a bit tidier.

Use glow in the dark tent pegs for awning guy ropes to warn that they're there at night.

Sure we'll think of more!

Claire & Rob

 

[RogerL]

The cassette cap on Thetford toilets has measuring marks to allow accurate dosing.

 

[smiley]

Claire

Why do you want your other driver awake all the time??

Shouldn't they be sleeping so they can take over????

 

[Chaps]

Someone needs to control the kids! Only joking but they often want drinks, food etc so a conscious co-driver is useful.

Also, for navigation especially with the caravan on the back - don't want to take a wrong turn and, god-forbid, have to reverse!!!

We actually try to keep journies to a manageable time/distance and would rather have an overnight stop than push it too far so usually only one of us needs to drive each day.

Regards

Claire & Rob

 

[Chrisbee]

With my wife's map reading skills I've more chance of getting to the right destination if she is asleep!!!!!

Chrisbee

 

[MalcolmL]

Ouch!!!!!

I hope, Chrisbee, you are wearing your flack jacket!

 

[GrahamSouthBrum]

Some of the old wifes tales are unbelieveable.

I remember when my sister bumped her forehead, my gran stuck butter on it.

And when I had a nose bleed a cold key was dangled down my back inside my shirt.

It makes you you want laugh

 

[colin(bridgend)]

A clear plastic pop bottle part full of water/liquid and visible from front and rear windows of van will aid levelling of van - water always finds its own level so there will be no need for spirit levels.

 

[JasonR_374341560]

On bike camping trips and when working on motocross bike engines and getting burnt we always had "Burnesze" to hand and "Waspeze" on summer camping trips.

These two items are extras in both our car and caravan first aid kits.

Tip 1, forget granny's and aunty Flo's old wive tails, put good first aid kit in you car and caravan. With good burn and sting treatment + add after sun care if you like the beach or site pools. If you can find Solarcaine burn treatment in continental chemists it the best remedy for sun burn if you are silly enought to get caught out.

Tip 2, get good maps and "Mappy" or "Via Michelin" route and use along with good Satnav. Technology is not perfect, but its pretty darn good when towing.

Tip 3, Keep steady handle in car, forget pop bottles,liquids or builders spirit levels. A two way level for a pound or so from caravan accessory shops screwed into place inside windows will always be there and you can level the van without even opening it.

Tip 4, Keep waterproofs and boots handy in the car, for when you arrive in a down pour. If you have the weight capacity, water for a few cuppas is handy for a break before you track down water supply on late arrival on a wet windy cold night.

Tip 5, There are lots of sites to visit, don't go back, explore others.

Tip 6,Air bag jack for jacking car/caravan, probably our best ever buy.

Tip 7, Technology, a variety of solar panels will keep battery topped up or give power boost when there is no hook up.

More sites have internet and lots of free connections, take a compact laptop. Thers are many uses for it to turn to. Mobile phone, even if only for emergency use.

Tip 8, Plug in bug killer at night time and use blown air heating fan to keep cool on hot continental nights.

Tip 9, Pet Gofor.

Useful for getting water and emptying rubbish

or nipping to camp shop for milk and morning paper, we miss ours they called us Mum and Dad

 

[mealsonwheels]

Get in the habit of taking a few seconds to print off or note down the Grid Reference of CL's you will be staying at.

Heaven forbid this should ever happen, but if you are in an unfamiliar or remote area and have an emergency in the middle of the night, by giving the Grid Reference of where you are, you will enable the emergency services to pinpoint your exact position and reach you quicker.

 

[JasonR_374341560]

Good point meals on wheels.

Most good sat Satnavs tell you your grid reference.

With Satnav in the car you will always know where you are and be able to tell emergency or breakdown services.

A supply of all fuses for the caravan's various circuits is a must thave item!

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Vinegar takes the sting out of sunburn.

Not an old wives tale - I used to get badly burnt all the time as I am fair skinned and haired, suffering sunstroke and blistering even though I used sunblock etc.

If I have had too much sun now (over the years I have come to sense this quite easily) I rub in some vinegar to affected areas, wait a couple of minutes and then have a cold or cool shower.

The vinegar takes care of the sunburn and helps prevent blistering and the shower brings down the blood temperature to prevent sunstroke - works every single time.

I can not remember the last time I used any commercial sunblocks etc, although we still use them on the kids.

I also suffer from mossie bites etc and find the best reppellant is citronella (I will try the toothpaste remedy for bites when one gets through).

Burning candles and lamps also seem to keep them away as did cigar smoke when I smoked.

Use your filler pipe as a syphon between 2 aquarolls to prevent refilling in the middle of a shower etc - this is also a good way of using one of the old aqua rolls that your pump will no longer fit in.

Use a broken windbreak pole to fix a sat dish to at low level (more stable than a tripod)

You can also use a windbreak pole and a length of cord to make a washing line between the back grab handles of the van - think of a Y with the top going to the handles, the bottom going to a peg in the ground and the centre of the Y being a notch in the top of the pole.

12V tips

Buy a 1 to 4 car adapter socket at a car boot or accessory stall/shop, the type boy racers use with the plug on a length of cable - mine even comes with seperate switches for each socket.

Cut the plug off the end of the cable and wire into the back of a 12V socket or into a spare terminal on the fuseboard, it might be worth changing the cable to the 12V socket to a heavier gauge one at the same time (ours was very thin and dropped several volts with just the TV on).

This means that you can use the normal car type adapters for TVs, satellite, mobile phones etc without buying or making up those adapter cables - the adapter cost me

 

[Chaps]

Good point regarding fuses Jason.

We had to stay an extra night on our first outing as the lights wouldn't work on the caravan when we were moving on on the Sunday. Unbeknown to us, the fuse had blown in the car's towing electrics and we were talked through 'borrowing' the fridge electrics one by the towbar fitting company the next morning. Needless to say, we now carry a range of spare fuses for the car and this would be the first thing we checked if faced with the same problem again.

 

[mealsonwheels]

Those green slip-on gardening shoes sold in garden centres are ideal for caravanners.

They have good non-slip soles and are waterproof. They are handy for walking across grass after a heavy early morning dew or when it has been raining. No wet trainers and they can be easily slipped off and left in the awning when the grass has been cut to stop bits of grass covering the caravan floor.

 

[LMH]

There's hardly any tips left for me to give..........

Nope, can't think of anything.

Lisa

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

In conjunction with Ians thread "No ball games means No ball games".

My tip is if there's no play area at the site for children please leave balls and frisbees at home. If you insist on bringing them please leave the children behind instead :O)

Hehheh!

 

[Mel]

My tip: Have the obligatory blazing row with your other half before leaving home. This saves time when setting up and stops disapproving looks from other caravanners. Like they haven't had an arguement!

Mel

 

[Mel]

My tip: Have the obligatory blazing row with your other half before leaving home. This saves time when setting up and stops disapproving looks from other caravanners. Like they haven't had an arguement!

Mel

 

[Mel]

My tip: Have the obligatory blazing row with your other half before leaving home. This saves time when setting up and stops disapproving looks from other caravanners. Like they haven't had an arguement!

Mel