eddie
LIFE MEMBER
Bob and Mary our great campsite wardens on Cornish Farm Touring Park, the Campsite adjacent to us (Van Bitz) have arranged for some time to have three months off and head to Scicilly for the harshest of the UK Winter.
Replacement wardens were identified, approached, agreed, trained and instated. Bob and Mary stayed long enough to enjoy out Christmas "Do" unusual this year: Pub, Odeon to watch the New Star Wars, then back to the pub
However, they would be leaving Christmas Eve and no amount of persuading from any of us could persuade them to delay by 24 hours and join us down the pub Christmas Eve afternoon.
So imagine our surprise when peering out from our bedroom window there was a Motorhome in the car park Christmas morning! Was it Santa using a new method of travel? Was it some one who had revelled a little to hard and couldn't find their way home? what could it be?
Just then our phones pinged and low and behold, a message from Bob and Mary! Unfortunately they had had to be transported home as their brakes had failed a mere 30 miles of so into the journey, and the obvious rescue bolt hole was Cornish Farm, and our closed empty car park.
So annoying buy safe and sound, nothing could be done until the following Monday.
Bob stripped the brakes down and all four calliper so showed sign of failure and would need replacing. Parts were located and arrangements were made to collect them to save time! After all, Scicilly beckoned!
Overnight Tuesday/Wednesday, to say it was windy is an understatement, Storm Frank to be precise.
Lyn and I spelt fitfully that night, unsure what we should do as we had arranged a family Christmas at home, with a view to going to a coastal site in the Motorhome to meet friends and family for New Year.
Whilst it was still dark, the windows still rattling in their frames, the house appearing to shake, and what must have been horizontal rain, our phones started "pinging" again!
"Hello, it's Bob, a tree has blown over in the car park and landed on our van, we've cleared it with a chainsaw but need to get the van out of the rain, can we park in one of the workshops
So roll on upto date. The damage was in the main superficial, it did look appalling with an exploding tree splattered across the roof or extremely wet with bits of tree sticking out of vents, flaps and air-conditioning holes.
Any think it was actually damaged we were lucky that we had in stock. I would like to say I cancelled my trip to stay and help Bob and Mary, and in fact I did offer albeit with the whinge in my voice lol but I wasn't needed
On the return back to Cornish Farm on Saturday, after a wet and windy few days at Charmouth, Bob and Mary are all smiles. The Motorhome is back to normal, washed and ready to go, to new wardens have cut the tree up and it's gone, and Bob and Mary's rescheduled departure date is Wednesday! Third time lucky? For their sakes let's hope so!
Makes you realise though, looking at the failed calipers, we suspect that as they full time, the Motorhome hasn't had that mush use in the last few months, the odd trip out, moved off pitch for waste, water and gas, that one or two of the calipers have seized or be reluctant to respond, causing heat, which boiled the brake fluid, in turn causing complete break failure. The fulid that was removed, wasn't very old and it was as black as black could be! So if you haven't used your Motorhome for a while, and are planning a trip away, it may be worth considering a 50-60 mile shakedown drive in advance?
A lot less stressful than catastrophic brake failure Christmas Eve, en route to a three month Sunny sojourn in Scicilly, and a tree landing on you in a place that you shouldn't be had things gone according to plan lol
Me? I think I'll stay off the road Wednesday, given Bob and Mary's current run of luck
Replacement wardens were identified, approached, agreed, trained and instated. Bob and Mary stayed long enough to enjoy out Christmas "Do" unusual this year: Pub, Odeon to watch the New Star Wars, then back to the pub
However, they would be leaving Christmas Eve and no amount of persuading from any of us could persuade them to delay by 24 hours and join us down the pub Christmas Eve afternoon.
So imagine our surprise when peering out from our bedroom window there was a Motorhome in the car park Christmas morning! Was it Santa using a new method of travel? Was it some one who had revelled a little to hard and couldn't find their way home? what could it be?
Just then our phones pinged and low and behold, a message from Bob and Mary! Unfortunately they had had to be transported home as their brakes had failed a mere 30 miles of so into the journey, and the obvious rescue bolt hole was Cornish Farm, and our closed empty car park.
So annoying buy safe and sound, nothing could be done until the following Monday.
Bob stripped the brakes down and all four calliper so showed sign of failure and would need replacing. Parts were located and arrangements were made to collect them to save time! After all, Scicilly beckoned!
Overnight Tuesday/Wednesday, to say it was windy is an understatement, Storm Frank to be precise.
Lyn and I spelt fitfully that night, unsure what we should do as we had arranged a family Christmas at home, with a view to going to a coastal site in the Motorhome to meet friends and family for New Year.
Whilst it was still dark, the windows still rattling in their frames, the house appearing to shake, and what must have been horizontal rain, our phones started "pinging" again!
"Hello, it's Bob, a tree has blown over in the car park and landed on our van, we've cleared it with a chainsaw but need to get the van out of the rain, can we park in one of the workshops
So roll on upto date. The damage was in the main superficial, it did look appalling with an exploding tree splattered across the roof or extremely wet with bits of tree sticking out of vents, flaps and air-conditioning holes.
Any think it was actually damaged we were lucky that we had in stock. I would like to say I cancelled my trip to stay and help Bob and Mary, and in fact I did offer albeit with the whinge in my voice lol but I wasn't needed
On the return back to Cornish Farm on Saturday, after a wet and windy few days at Charmouth, Bob and Mary are all smiles. The Motorhome is back to normal, washed and ready to go, to new wardens have cut the tree up and it's gone, and Bob and Mary's rescheduled departure date is Wednesday! Third time lucky? For their sakes let's hope so!
Makes you realise though, looking at the failed calipers, we suspect that as they full time, the Motorhome hasn't had that mush use in the last few months, the odd trip out, moved off pitch for waste, water and gas, that one or two of the calipers have seized or be reluctant to respond, causing heat, which boiled the brake fluid, in turn causing complete break failure.
The fulid that was removed, wasn't very old and it was as black as black could be! So if you haven't used your Motorhome for a while, and are planning a trip away, it may be worth considering a 50-60 mile shakedown drive in advance?A lot less stressful than catastrophic brake failure Christmas Eve, en route to a three month Sunny sojourn in Scicilly, and a tree landing on you in a place that you shouldn't be had things gone according to plan lol
Me? I think I'll stay off the road Wednesday, given Bob and Mary's current run of luck
