VERY NEW TO CARAVANNING PLEASE ADVISE

[beverley_5108884]

Hi ok dont laugh now, we've just bought a brand new caravan...it's great it , our little home from home, so whats the problem i hear you say, well we've never had a caravan before, when we collected it, we were given a 'quick guide round'....and i mean quick... showing us how to hitch it onto the car...which i have to say my husband has mastered!! but to be truthful everything to do with the inside scares the hell out of me....now i'm no dummy but this really seems a little more compplicated that we first imagined, i'm sure once i get the hang of it it'll come very easy to us!But the manual is really quite terrifying......can someone please give me a quick step by step guide to what i should do when we first get to a site....and what to do when were leaving!!....your help and advice will be totally apprieciated! thanks...wannabeacaravanner!

 

[metz]

Hi Beverley, No one's laughing, I fix these things for a living and still have refer to the manual on some models, I would suggest if possible to sit down in the van on your drive with all the services connected (water,gas,Electric) and work through the manual in your own time nice and steady,then you will be able to see how all the equipment works. It really is very simple once you've done it for yourslf. Got to say though, not very impressed with your dealer service if they did,nt take the time to explain everthing to you.

 

[KentMike]

03:37 PM Hi,

Welcome to a great and for me at least life changing world.

Don't panic.. It's not all that hard and i'm sure some of the lovely people on this site will give you great advice. But as a newbie just 2 years back... I'll just tell you the best three things i ever did. 1) buy a copy of the caravan handbook - halfords should have it !! or look at

http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/226396/The_Caravan_Handbook/Product.html
It has check lists of what to do when you get onsite - and before you leave (for the first 4 outing at least it was my bible).

2) Join a caravan club - i'm a member of The caravan club -they have technical helplines - if you get stuck and the wardens are helpful.

3) First time out go as local as possible for a weekend ideally to a club site - they really are fantastic (i believe the camping and carvan club are as good as the caravan club) - and if you get stuck - ask a warden or your next door neighbour - we really are a friendly lot us caravanners.

I'd say towing on the motorway isn't hard -and my wife does 50% of it leaving me the onsite bits so both have a go at towing it really helps.

The big thing to remember is no one on site is laughing at you if it goes wrong - everyone was new once and remembers it - so if your struggling and people are looking - it's more than likely that their wondering if you need help so just ask !!!!

 

[Lol1]

Hiya Beverley, everyone has their routine for setting up, breaking camp, is just the reverse. Excellent advice from Michael, read all you can read before doing anything, then, follow the advice given. To make life easy, pick a site that is close to home first and with level pitches. Here is a quick run down of what I do when arriving on site.

Get the legs down first, use a cheap spirit level that you can keep in your van to make sure everything is reasonably level.

Go inside the van and make sure everything is in the off position, taps in the bathroom and kitchen, the drain tap (yellow) that is next to your water heater (should be horizontal, not upright), water pump, and all heating and water heater controls are off.

Outside, you can connect your 240v hookup cable to the van and then to the site electricity post. Go back in the van and check that it's working.

Place your waste container next to the waste outlets and use a couple of pieces of tubing to connect the two.

Fetch your water, plug in your water pump and put the pump into the water carrier.

Turn your pump on and you will hear it taking in water. Open the hot water tap, this allows the water heater to fill and then make sure you have running water from the hot and cold taps. Turn on your water heater.

Go to the locker that contains your gas cylinder and connect it to the gas regulator. Chances are it will be a propane regulator so make sure you have the correct gas, turn it on. When using the gas appliances remember it will take a few attempts for the gas to bleed through the system, so you may need to restart things like your hot water system a few times.

You are now connected to the services; you have water in your taps, electricity in your sockets, gas in your hob and hopefully cold beer in the fridge.

I would suggest running everything on mains supply first, and then try using gas when you are more familiar.

Then comes the luxury items, the awning, the TV, the wind breaks etc.

It all seems like a lot of work to do, and this is the simplified version, but you can connect up to the services in less than 20 mins, and when you both get used to it, it becomes a doddle. Don't be afraid to ask another caravaner for help, it gives us an excuse to look over another van and breaks the ice. You are going to have fun discovering your van and what it can do; you will have even more fun taking those extra holidays you can now fit in, welcome to touring. ;o)