Wally of the week award

Mar 14, 2005
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See under technical toilet leaking, all is resolved, I forgot to put the bung back in the drain tube when I last emptied it!!! pouring water in, water running back out, der RED FACE, lol,................................ any one else had a wally of the week
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Allan.
 

LMH

Mar 14, 2005
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We've had our current van for about four years. Like everyone else, we keep cutlery etc all the time in the van. When we were on main hols last year, we went shopping and I again stocked up on knives forks and spoons.

Imagine my surprise when after three years, my husband said 'did you know this is a little drawer?' (near the sink). I said 'no it's not'. He then pulled the little drawer out and it was full of brand new cutlery still in its wrappers, in a tray. It obviously came with the van when new and we never noticed.
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Well, we found it funny.
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lisa
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Thanks Lisa, I fell a little better now but my face is still glowing, and to cap it all been out shopping this morning, set the alarm, selected the wrong setting, left Jack our westie in the van, yep you've guessed..............................set the alarm off, so it looks like I am the undisputed Wally of the week, unless some one out there can better it...............
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PS, Practical caravan, could we have a wally section, would make for some hilarious reading.

Allan and ~(still laughing) Gill.
 
Nov 5, 2006
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well,I decided to descale the water heater in my van as it hasnt been done for the 5 years we have had it. Mixed a 50-50 mix of white vinigar & water in the aquaroll closed the drain valve on the heater ,switched on the pump opened the hot water tap & waited for the mix to come through the tap to indicate the water heater was full.The pump started makeing a funny noise & on checking found the aquaroll empty,but no water coming from the tap.I then noticed water on the ground near the front steady.On checking under the front seat I found 1" of water (the van slopes down at front ) I Had forggotten to reconnect the water filter I disconected last year.Imanaged to vax out 20 odd ltrs of water Ok but the van smells like a chip shop
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Mar 14, 2005
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Well, only two other "Wallys" I`m sure there must be others out there who have had a bit of faux pas over the years, how about you Parksy, bet you have a tale or two to tell, or I`m sure Damian must have crossed his wires or pipes while in the depths of a bed box with an over friendly pet sniffing around his nether regions, come on folks lets inject a bit of life in to these forums and prove we are not doomed Mr Manering, as some would have us belive.

Allan & Gill.
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Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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Before the caravan we had an old motorhome. We managed to drive off with only one of the two corner steadies wound up. It made a terrible noise, not to mention bent at a funny angle. I can understand driving off with neither wound up , but only one......
mel
 

Parksy

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I've done a couple of the classics
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The very first trip when we took up caravanning we'd bought an Eccles Topaz 2 berth which had a chassis made from steel girders. I knew nothing at all about legal maximum weights, noseweight, suitable towcars - nothing, and I'd never seen or even heard of Practical Caravan magazine to get information from ( the tinternet hadn't long been 'invented' for everyday users and mobile phones were like breeze blocks.
This leads neatly onto my first faux pas, my mate had a seasonal pitch so as far as we were concerned he was the ultimate expert (turns out that he knew even less than we did and he still doesn't
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) He said that our towcar looked alright and that it ought to pull our caravan and that was good enough for us!
He thoughtfully provided a couple of breeze blocks to keep in our front gas locker because he said that there might be sloping pitches in Wales
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He advised us to take drinking water with us on our first (overly ambitious ) 5 hour trip to west Wales so like a right plonker I filled our Aquaroll from the kitchen tap, heaved it out to the caravan because it didn't have a handle and travelled to Aberporth with a full 20 litre Aquaroll at the front of the caravan between the seating.
Our 1.6 litre Vauxhall Cavalier was huffing and puffing by the tme that we got there, the cylinder head gasket went on the way home and I had to replace the engine before selling the car.
It turns out that our mate- the oracle- had meant that we should take a couple of bottles of water of the sort that you can buy in Tesco and we took 20 litres in the Aquaroll
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That one was the first (and second if you remember the breeze blocks) of many, there's the one with the brand new awning, carefully tried out at home, meticulously re-packed for a trip to Sennen Cove in Cornwall and proudly borne and unpacked from the awning bag under the unforgiving gaze of the caravanners already there who always seem to a newbie to be wise in the ways of caravans.
I spread it out on the grass purposefully, trying hard to look as though I knew what I was doing - nothing to see here folks- and then tried to find the awning poles.... "Did you put the poles on the car?" -"No, I thought that you had."
They're an honest lot where we live, the poles were in their bag still on the side of our driveway a fortnight later when we came back
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Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Parksy,
Slightly off topic but-
You mentioned Aberporth, and it reminded me of an absolutely fantastic holiday we had in the locality a few years ago. We found a great site near Cardigan, and Aberporth was visited on several days for the beach. Compared to other towns it always seem suprisingly quiet and free from crowds. The twin bays were great in the afternoon for catching the sun.
Who says it rains all the time in Wales!
 

Parksy

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Prof John L said:
Hello Parksy,
Slightly off topic but-
You mentioned Aberporth, and it reminded me of an absolutely fantastic holiday we had in the locality a few years ago. We found a great site near Cardigan, and Aberporth was visited on several days for the beach. Compared to other towns it always seem suprisingly quiet and free from crowds. The twin bays were great in the afternoon for catching the sun.
Who says it rains all the time in Wales!

Hi John
My sons lived in the Cardigan Bay area for a few years after my ex wife decided to move there with her new husband and I started caravanning in the first place in order for me to have a place to stay when I went to see them at weekends.
I'd drive down to my ex's to pick up my young sons (and to visit my money
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) and we had some lovely times exploring the area around Newquay, Aberporth, Llangrannog and Cymtuddu with their quiet bays and calm blue sea where there was always the chance of spotting a bottle nosed dolphin in the water.
After I'd finally introduced Herself to my sons we'd spend a week or two in the area where my sons introduced her to looking in rock pools for crabs, bobbing about in an inflatable raft and cooling off under the beach waterfall at one of our all time favourite beaches - Tre´ Saith.
My sons are grown men now and happily they have all chosen to return to the Black Country where they live close to us but Aberporth is definitely on our 'to go there again one day' list.
We will be by ourselves for the first time ever in that area so there will be poignant memories of three suntanned young boys playing on the sand for both of us.
To visit the Cardigan Bay area for a holiday is like going back in time to a more innocent age, one of the most relaxing places for a holiday that I know of.
 
May 12, 2011
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The first couple of times we ever went out with the caravan we pushed the van onto the pitch with the help of a kind warden. The first time I actually reversed onto a pitch I did something really stupid. You see I didn't realise the hitch head moved in on braking/ reversing so I had a bit of trouble getting it unhitched. Once the towball dropped off (with quite a clunk) I looked down and saw the hitch head moving towards the car. In my ignorance (and partly due to panic) I assumed the caravan was rolling forward so snatched the handbrake on. No effect, it still looked like it was rolling so I heaved for all I was worth on the grab handles, still no effect so started shouting like mad for help from the OH. Then it suddenly occurred to me what was happening so when she ran round I had to quickly pretend that it really had started rolling but due to my quick actions I had stopped it. I still cringe now.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Well those story's have brought tears to my eyes, I to have happy memories of Wales but in my case north Wales.
Our first outing to Conway was with our first caravan back in 1972, a 1959 vintage Sprite musketeer complete with glass windows, drop down steel chassis, pull down double bed complete with mattress to the back of the caravan, and the old 2" coupling head with a collar you had to engage before you could reverse.

Up front was a 1965 vintage Hilman supper minx with a mighty 1700cc engine. The towing speed back in those days was 40mph, and the only times this was ever achieved was going down hill!
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No stabilizers back then, or the convenience of a mobile phone, you was out there on your own, and the only matching guide I had to go by was a sticker in the front of the caravan on the sales pitch that stated, suitable for a 1600cc car,lol,

After a very long and slow journey from Nottingham we arrived at our caravan site, but not before blowing a great hole in the exhaust en route. The approach to the site was a right turn off a main road up a very steep and narrow lane to reach the park, or should I say field.

The racket we made going up that hill saw us greeted with every one out of there vans as they must have thought thay were about to be invaded by a group of hells angels, not a good start to our two week holiday. But never the less we had a very enjoyable stay, visiting all the local attractions, that was after repairing the exhaust with an old bake bean can, a couple of tins of gum gum, and one of those bandages you soaked it water then wrapped it around the damaged area.

Then the real fun begins, to exit the site at the end of our stay, it was back down the steep hill to reach the main road now faced with a sharp left with a stone wall in front of us. I waited for a gap in the traffic, easy in those days not much of it about
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made my slow exit on to the main road, then we ground to a halt! the back of the caravan had grounded on the steep incline, would not go forward and would not go back, stuck
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Traffic building up on both sides with the local welsh folk cursing us in there own tongue, nothing for it I thought I will have to un hitch the van from the car, easier said than done, as the van would not lift off the ball due to the fact we were grounded at the back, ended up with about six great strapping welsh guys sat on the boot of the car trying to compress the suspension before the van would let go..................................................................Happy days.
 

Parksy

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What a great story about caravanning in the 60s
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Still on the Wally of the Week theme but off topic as far as caravans are concerned, when I left school at 15 I was an apprentice motor mechanic at a large dealership which specialised in Triumph and Rootes Group products.
After a few weeks of making tea, sweeping up, passing tools to the 'real' mechanics I was let loose on a few cars which required oil and filter changes.
I was as proud as a peacock with my company overalls with the company name on the top pocket, hand wiping rag hanging nonchalantly from my overall leg pocket and most of all with being allowed to operate the hydraulic ramp by myself after the car oil change candidate had been driven onto the ramp by someone older (but not necessarily qualified to drive, my wally-ness soon paled into insignificance as it turned out
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)
A lovely dark green Singer Vogue which was based on the Hilman Super Minx was driven onto the ramp for me and the foreman told me that this customer had requested the new engine oil - Castrol GTX.
This motor oil was the last word in automotive lubrication technology back then, much more expensive than the bog standard engine oil that was dispensed by 'my' lube bay pump.
I collected the Castrol GTX from the stores with a jaunty spring in my step, arranged clean measuring jugs and a good funnel and lifted up the ramp to drain the old engine oil and to change the oil filter from underneath the car. Of course I used my bit of pocket mechanics wiping rag to have a good tidy round underneath the car, happy in the knowledge that I was doing a great job which I enjoyed.
I lowered the ramp and just then the foreman came over and told me that I was going to learn all about 'plugs and points'.
He showed me how to undo the old spark plugs and passed on helpful information about signs to look out for with the colour and condition of the used spark plug electrodes.
Joy of joys, he even allowed me to set the electrode gap using his feeler gauge and then to carefully screw 'my' spark plug into the cylinder block without cross threading the block or breaking the plug.
I was chuffed to little mint balls as I envisaged the career as a top motor racing mechanic which must surely lie ahead.
Still asking the patient foreman lots of questions I produced my mechanics rag with a modest flourish to carefully wipe round the rocker cover before wiping the oil filler cap prior to removal.
Acutely concious that my new best friend,mentor and foreman was still there watching and being thoroughly impressed by the bright young 15 year old star mechanical protege I very carefully measured half of the required amount of oil by transfering it carefully from the Castrol tin to my clean metal measuring jug and with the deft skill and unswerving concentration of a brain surgeon I poured the new GTX into the engine using my appropriately sized funnel.
I was just about to turn round in order to introduce the remainder of the oil to my now empty measuring jug when the foreman uttered a strange seldom heard word which schoolboy jokes had only hinted at the meaning of.
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Spreading from underneath the ramp plates was a puddle of very clean, very expensive Castrol GTX.
I'd forgotten to replace the sump plug and had given the Singer Vogue one of the (then) most expensive engine oil flushes in history!!
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This took a long time to live down, for ages after the workshop resounded to ribald cries of "Don't forget the sump plug!" and my torment only ended when the aforementioned older but unqualified driver put a Triumph Vitesse 2 Litre into the inspection pit
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Dec 30, 2009
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Well one holiday we went all the way from devon to winchester without the aquaroll. Used bottled water for a long w/e, another trip to Henley we (well I ) forgot the steady winder, was so embarresed didnt ask to borrow one so on hands and knees used the mover handle, not long enough shaft to clear the back of the van so took over an hour to put all 4 down.
Had no water in the kitchewn tap for a 2 week holiday as I was going to fix a problem, by the time Id finished it was totally cuput, on the same 2 week holiday ran out of gas after 10 days so had 1 hob plate to cook with for 4 days.
These wernt when a newbi, which I could be excused these all happened in the last 4 years.
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Kev
 
Mar 14, 2005
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By gum Parksy you are certainly taking me back down the nostalgia 60s road with the rootes group, I loved that old supper minx of mine, spent many an happy hour tinkling with it, even to swapping the engine for one that had only done 26,000 miles after the owner had written the car off and reluctantly sold me his much loved pride and joy.

before that I had the misfortune of owning a Hilman Imp, with the Mk 1 engine that used to corrode around the water jacket and blow head gaskets like they were going out of fashion. I could tell you another wally story regarding the rubber dough nut that connected from the gear box to the drive shaft, I had one snap on me, looked in to my box of spares and hey presto I found a spare one (secondhand), bolts secured it to the drive shaft,it took me hours to get the last bolt in with it being rubber I just could not get it to line up, crow bars, scissor jacks to compress it and I finally won the battle, explaining all this a few weeks latter to my brother in law who was a motor mechanic, he could hardly contain his laughter as he quite mater of fact told me we just bolt them up and remove the large jubilee clip, mine was secondhand, hence no jubilee clip!
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Parksy

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Ah the Hilman Imp, much beloved of male ladies hairdressers (no disrespect if you had one) and clutch salesmen
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A lot of our bread and butter work came from replacing burned out clutches on Imps, we'd take the back off,use jacks to lift the rear engine off it's mounts and then gently roll the car forward leaving the gearbox on wooden blocks.
As the works kid my job would be to clean the engine and gearbox using petrol and a 2" paint brush, the alloy engine and g/box always looked like new when I'd finished.
I eventually graduated to fitting the clutches myself, a nice little steady 'foreigner' for a bit of beer and cigarette money they were
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Mar 14, 2005
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Very fond, and not so fond memories of my little green Hillman Imp, clutch replacement, never kept going long enough to burn it out, always reckoned if I drove it five miles, I would push it for three! and it helped a lot if you had a bit of ballast in the front as they were a bit prone to front end lift at speed. And after having a Zephyr 4 MK3 before I took ownership of the Imp, it was a bit like siting in a sardine tin, but needs had changed as I was newly married and economies had to be made
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eventually swapped it for a Austin A35 van, but thats another story................................................................
 
May 21, 2008
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Funny how we all seem to have things in common.
Parksy, I was a volunteer inshore lifeboatman at Newquay and we were very good friends with the fisherman who runs Dunbar Castle and Ermol v & vi. Infact they used to run propeller shafts and reconditioned props made by me.
Cookies, I too had the pleasure of driving my mums oasis green Hillman super Imp. The de-tuned coventry climax engine went like a bomb on 5 star petrol. I used to carry a 1cwt bag of cement in the front boot to keep the front end on the road. Once I'd fitted the Holbay tuning package it was almost as good as my Cooper S.
Oh what memory lane does for your happyness.
 
Aug 4, 2004
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Although it has never happened to us, we have seen people do the following;
1) Leave keys to caravan door at home
2) Pushing the caravan back without disconnecting the electric plug
3) Driving off towing caravan with it still connected to EHU
4) Driving off with fanlights open
5) Driving with caravan door still open
6) Classic, driving off leaving wife behind. driver thought she was on the back seat with baby
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Blimey should have called this memory lane or back to the 60s, such wonderful memories of times past, things seemed so much easier then, or am I looking through rose tinted spectacles.
Regarding the Hillman Imp Steve, I cant quite remember the the supper Imp, but then my memorie is not what it used to be, I can recall the sports version with the sloping back think it was called the stiletto, I'm sure Parksy can help out on this, think it had a twin carb engine, and another version was the Singer chamois, bet I have spelt that wrong! and again that was like posh version with wood caping to the door tops etc, and twin headlamps. And if I remember correctly the back window used to open, the rear seats folded down and it made a sort of a mini estate car, equivalent of todays hatch back.

Back on topic regards Wally of the week, we were at a site last year in Norfolk (CC site west runton) and a couple turned up she got out to help him reverse on to there pitch, and with gusto he reversed on to the pitch, and before she had chance to say left a bit or right a bit, or more importantly STOP, he flattened the EHU! then to add insult to injury the warden turned up taped the area off as it was now a hazard, and explained to them that was the last available pitch, so they had no choice but to leave the site. Now that takes some toping, and if you were the culprit and you are reading this, we felt really sorry for you, but congratulations you can have the Wally of the week award
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Parksy

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Hi Allan
Yes there were a few Imp based derivatives, the Imp Sport (super Imp) and the Rallye Imp also come to mind.
Earlier Imps had carbs fitted with automatic chokes which often gave trouble and the garage did a few conversions to manual choke.
The carburettors were Solex if I remember right but I think the twin carb Imps such as the Stiletto were fitted with Stromergs and these always ran much better than the Solex jobbies.
My first ever car bought for the grand sum of £7 was a 1958 Sunbeam Rapier, I wish that I had it now. It had twin carbs, overdrive on the steering wheel stalk and red leather seats, it was 11 years old when I got it but of course I couldn't legaly drive it (not that it stopped me now and then
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) and no one would insure me.
I wish that I had it now.
Steve in Leo, we went on the boats a couple of times to have a look at the dolphins, nice guys providing nice sightseeing trips
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Apologies to all for being completely off topic
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Mar 14, 2005
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Wow you had a Sunbeam Rapier! My first car was a black 1957 2 door morris minor, having first spent a couple of years with scooters (Mod lol) an old Lamberetta LD 150, Vespa GS 160, and to me the Rolls Royce of the day a Vespa 180SS. But back to cars my mate used to have the Rapier, and boy was I green with jealousy.

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Apologies
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