Hi, another first-timer (1 Viewer)

smiff

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Aug 26, 2009
9
0
Reading, Berks
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8,165
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Hi all,

Finally took the plunge last weekend and picked up my first ever motorhome. Looking forward to taking it away this weekend if we can ever find a park that has any spaces left. Tried all the ones in the Dorset area but had no joy so far.

As for the van, well it's very old but in excellent condition for it's age. Some electrical work needs doing, and the water boiler is broken due to the previous owner leaving water in the pipes last winter which froze and split them. Some rust needs patching too, but for a 20 year old van it's not bad. As it's the first foray into motorhome ownership we didn't want to go crazy and spend a fortune.

Anyway, enough about the van, I'll probably pop up in different bits of the forum asking for advice, this is meant to be a "hello", so Hello all :Smile:

Smiff (or Paul, if you prefer)

PS - Based in the Reading, Berks area
 

lufcdave7

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May 12, 2009
163
2
Rochdale
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welcome Paul
make sure you winterise then when all these fair weather campers have gone home you can have the sites all to yourself come November.....

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Pete45

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Jan 29, 2009
0
70
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Had 2 RV from 2003
Hi Smiff and a big welcome to you.your van may be 20 years old,like my RV is,but you will have some fun and good time with it.not only that it is nice to see some of the old motorhome at show and on the road.so good on you have fun with it hope to see you at a show some time. Pete & Shirl (Arizona Chief) :thumb:
 
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smiff

Free Member
Aug 26, 2009
9
0
Reading, Berks
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8,165
MH
Coachbuilt
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None yet
Thanks all,

Definitely will be out and about in the winter months, don't worry, I'm no fair-weather camper ::bigsmile: I'm trying to work out what the various buttons do at the moment, it didn't really come with instructions, just an A4 sheet of do's and do not's. I've got it hooked up to the mains at home now, and pondering trying to work out how the electrics work before getting our local auto-sparkies to fix all the things that don't work (I'm sure it's a fuse, but there's no fuse box so it's hard to find all the various in line fuses to test them all).

Cheers
Smiff

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DESCO

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Mar 11, 2009
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:welcome: Smiff to MH Fun.

Good to see an older van finding a new lease of life.

Hope you can solve the problems.


Dave:thumb::thumb:
 

tony morris

Free Member
Jun 27, 2008
315
1
Calcot Reading Berkshire
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3,062
MH
bailey caravan
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30 months mh 40+ years tugger and camping
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I Paul welcome to motorhomefun I only live at Calcot what part of Reading do you live? quite a few good motorhome repairers in this area if you need any help contact me Tony
 
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smiff

Free Member
Aug 26, 2009
9
0
Reading, Berks
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8,165
MH
Coachbuilt
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None yet
I Paul welcome to motorhomefun I only live at Calcot what part of Reading do you live? quite a few good motorhome repairers in this area if you need any help contact me Tony
Hi Tony, nice to see another local on here :Smile:

I'm in the Coley area, just outside the town centre. My wife used to manage a fleet of vans for her employer and she's got some contacts who we're going to try for the first round of electrical fixes, but I'd be very interested to hear your recommendations (she rates Maybank, who are based in Craddock Road, Reading). I know there's a MH place on the A4 near Aldermaston who I've seen people recommend on other forums during my initial investigative work into buying a MH, so might pop up there one day to take a look.

Cheers
Smiff
 

Kev D

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Aug 21, 2009
12
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hi smiff, Newbie here to!! just bought mh 17 yrs old great nick though. have tried to get in to sites in dorset all day no room at the inn though.
Oh welcome by the way. not far from you in farnborough.:Smile:

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tony morris

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Jun 27, 2008
315
1
Calcot Reading Berkshire
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3,062
MH
bailey caravan
Exp
30 months mh 40+ years tugger and camping
Hi Tony, nice to see another local on here :Smile:

I'm in the Coley area, just outside the town centre. My wife used to manage a fleet of vans for her employer and she's got some contacts who we're going to try for the first round of electrical fixes, but I'd be very interested to hear your recommendations (she rates Maybank, who are based in Craddock Road, Reading). I know there's a MH place on the A4 near Aldermaston who I've seen people recommend on other forums during my initial investigative work into buying a MH, so might pop up there one day to take a look.

Cheers
Smiff

I paul thanks for your reply i have a copy of three mmm,s base vehicle servicing it covers all over the country there are eight garages in Reading who do all servicing work the dealer on the a4 is webbs motorhomes was collins webbs is a family run company if you need anymore info please pm me good luck with your new motorhome Tony

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bazfergy

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Apr 20, 2009
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dumfries scotland
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hi paul i love the old vans i had an old dormobile ex variety bus,wife hated it and made me buy me buy a more modern one,although i love the comfort of the pilote we now own i still think think theres something special about the oldies. You and your wife enjoy before the call of "id really like a nice comfy fixed bed" kicks in:thumb:
 
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smiff

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Aug 26, 2009
9
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Reading, Berks
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MH
Coachbuilt
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Cheers all, been offline for a little while so just catching up with things. Good news is I've cobbled together a temporary fix for the boiler thanks to some advice from my brother who is gas/plumbing trained. Seems all I needed was a bit of hose, some good hose clips and much smaller hands than I've actually got (and a lot of patience!). I now have hot water. Yay!

We went away on the bank holiday and managed to eventually find a camp site who let us in even though they claimed to be full. So, found out lots more about the van and have now got a list of things for Maybank to do for us. Got it thoroughly deep cleaned too, so it's spick and span now. I suppose once it's all fixed I'll have to clean the outside too. Thank god I bought a very good jet hose, the roof is really quite filthy and green.

Been pondering joining a club too, to get access to more sites (traveling around for hours looking for a space on bank holiday was quite a tiring day). Thinking of the Caravan and Camping club, but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears :)

Cheers
Paul
 

DESCO

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Mar 11, 2009
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Hi Paul

Would be careful with jet hose don't like them at all can cause more problems than they are worth if to powerful, as they have been known to remove sealant from joints, and cause leaks. Personally would only wash with brush and a normal hose.

Glad you are getting things sorted.


Dave:thumb::thumb:

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scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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15
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Been pondering joining a club too, to get access to more sites (traveling around for hours looking for a space on bank holiday was quite a tiring day). Thinking of the Caravan and Camping club, but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears :)

Cheers
Paul

Hi Paul

lots of threads on the pros and cons of both clubs, my preference is the CC as it has by far the largest number of CLs .. that's my only reason for joining or endorsing.

jim
 
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smiff

Free Member
Aug 26, 2009
9
0
Reading, Berks
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8,165
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
None yet
Hi Paul

Would be careful with jet hose don't like them at all can cause more problems than they are worth if to powerful, as they have been known to remove sealant from joints, and cause leaks. Personally would only wash with brush and a normal hose.

Glad you are getting things sorted.


Dave:thumb::thumb:
Absolutely, everything below the roof line will be done properly, I'll just be using the jet hose to reach the bits on the roof I can't reach. I've got the spinning brush attachment too, so hopefully it'll all come off nicely.

Just booked it in for Maybank to have a go at fixing all the little bits, and possibly some more things I'd like done (i'm a gadget freak, so a reversing/rear view camera is high on my list).

Oh, and joined C&CC, but might look at CC too, as there's no such thing as "too many options" :)

Cheers
Paul
 

falcon

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Jun 20, 2009
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Liverpool
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welcome Paul
make sure you winterise then when all these fair weather campers have gone home you can have the sites all to yourself come November.....

Picking on this point you make, what is entailed in winterising a van. Mine is a small MH on a Fiat Ducato. I know I cannot put antifreeze in the water tank so how do you go about that and what other measures do I have to consider. It will be our first winter with the van and we do intend to use it as much as possible. Will be coming back around the end of November from Italy as well.

Any advise is very welcome.

Francis

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