2nd Test night complete. Heres how it went - Now for furtherafield (1 Viewer)

Nov 3, 2016
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So.

Thursday lunchtime we drove away from the Castleton CC site after our 2nd single test night in the new and first motorhome.

All went swimmingly. Well apart from little girl (2 years 1 month old) not been happy at the 2nd outing into the village for dinner on the same day. Think she had ideas of watching Frozen on he iPad. (dam Disney and there heroine quality cartoons)

We had a few more items with us this time from our snag list the 1st night to make life easier.

Cue Leveling ramps.



Now it was not 100% level and maybe we could do with some bigger ones for the odd site but it was close enough to be comfortable so were going to run with them for a while to see if we manage.

We found a really nice spot in the top corner. Away from the main road for quite again and only a min to the shower blocks which I made full use of this time now I have my rubber slippers on board.

I can't praise the facilities enough of the site for first time users. And I have almost zero gripes. But in order for balance and places improving facilities I will list a small one.

The plastic toilet seat.



The seat should always cover the cold porcelain bowl. Not just for comfort and warmth but I hate my skin touching the bowl. I always give the seat a good clean with baby wipes or the like and I hate touching the bowl.

Rant over. Awesome site.

Setting up was a lot quicker this time because beds were made from last time and cupboards stocked. Although I need to think about winter storing methods. We will still be using the van in winter so want everything as ready as possible but we don't want cold and damp ruining stuff as could likely be a couple of weeks between use.

But as I say set up was really quick so I added a seat outside to be able to use while rest of family faffed to go out and I could create space. I even clipped in the external shower which I will probably refer to as the dog shower from now on. He did not use it this time as it was a little baltic. But nice to test it out.





We then trotted off to the shops in Castleton and ended up buying a really nice coloured glass lampshade for the main living room light (at home)(big light if your a peter kay fan)



Had the usual cheeky pint in the Castle then headed back for a couple of hours to just enjoy the van. Did a bit of tinkering and generally settling a few bits in. Decided we need some little shelfs up in the kitchen area for spices and oil and stuff when cooking. How do you fit stuff like that and where are others buying it from? needs to be light I guess. Plus fitting into the softer walls. How does that go?

In the evening the missis was shattered and went to bed after the little girl went down so I decided to have a beer and play with some dinosaurs before reading/looking through all the manuals it came with and checking where service stamps go etc..



We all slept really well. Little girl woke about 7am so mum got up and they watched Peppa Pig on the iPad and I got up at 8am to cook breakfast for us all while mum took a walk to see the Ducks with Abigail.
Forgot the Sausages :cry: So it was bacon and egg sandwiches.
Thats when I realised we need a toaster! I like toasted bacon sandwiches.

We then unhooked all the external gear and removed the internal window blinds. Boy did the side window silver ones have some condensation behind them! Think we will be investing in some external ones. I guess that will stop condensation and help insulate the van better on cold nights to save some gas on the heating.



Lowered off the ramps and then headed back home via Towsure leisure in Sheffield again to pick up a couple of snag list items and then big one! The TV!!!!!!

Wifey said that we need a TV. This after I was told to hold off spending money on it over Christmas :rolleyes:

I decided I would just go look at what they had without asking prices and then buy it. My logic was to take emotion out of the equation and get what we would be really happy with. I figured maybe £30 for the bracket and £220-£250 for a screen.

Well I was wrong....... nearly double for the screen!!!:unsure: Thankfully wife was out of ear shot at the till so I just handed over my card and thought about the extra shifts ill be pulling in summer to not feel to guilty at the cost to watch BBC news.

Its worth it in my eyes though. Built in DVD and Sky Decoder (for when/if we get a dish. Nice LED screen. 3 year warranty and detachable for safety when not using the van.



So plan going forward is were booked at the Durham CC site for 2 nights over New Year so we can stretch the legs a little and have a better longer test. And watch TV ;)

From there not sure the next trip but we have started the planning for 11nights away in April over to Europe. Looking like France. Switzerland and Germany (Thinking Porche factory tour (y))

But all is going well... Working nicely through the snag list with no issues causing us any real problems this far and looking forward to new year :)

Picked up a set of nice towels today in Next Home so less to take from the house and making it more turn key lets just go with minimal planning/prep work as thats the plan for it. Grab Bacon Beer and Bread and hit the road.

Happy Camping folks.
Dave.

p.s. we also got a toaster ;)
 

DBK

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Flameout? I have not tried to turn them on and leave on without hitting ignition. Ill have a play. It may help the wife relax in the day but 100% she will still want it off on a night. She's a bit of a worrier.
You can get gas alarms from boat chandlers. They are sold for detecting lpg (butane/propane) in the bilges of boats. They are not cheap (~£100) and must be fitted correctly (low down) but might give some peace of mind. They are not the same as carbon monoxide detectors - which you should have of course. :xsmile:

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Shrimp

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I wouldn't 'do' shelves, difficult to fit, you'll have to clear them before travelling & restock every time, all my stuff is in cupboard over cooker/sink.
Yes external screens are better, you will still get a little condensation at times, get ones with a fold down or removable panel on windscreen area.
Heating-we use a small electric oil filled radiator, saves your gas!
Toaster-just another thing to find a home for, use the grill!
Levelling blocks-probably be a good idea to get bigger ones, easier to use & more stable.
Sounds as tho you're doing well, enjoy it!
 
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Aug 27, 2014
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Cue Leveling ramps.
Now it was not 100% level and maybe we could do with some bigger ones for the odd site but it was close enough to be comfortable so were going to run with them for a while to see if we manage.

Not sure if you've sussed this yet, but most vans sit higher at the back end - so which way round you park on the pitch makes a difference. This particularly applies if you fit air-assisted rear suspension (which I thoroughly recommend by the way - made my van a lot nicer to drive, it corners better and doesn't get pulled off-line when passing lorries on the motorway). It has to be a fairly extreme slope for us not to be able to get level, and we don't have the biggest ramps, probably about the same as yours, but we can't always park the way round we'd ideally like to!

We lower the average age considerably when we pull up with other motorhomes as well ;) but general campsites with a mixture of tents, caravans and motorhomes almost always have other families with kids on them - making friends easily and being allowed the freedom to explore the site is one of the things my kids enjoy the most about going away in the motorhome. They always seem to end up as part of a big gang of kids of all ages, the big ones helping the younger ones, all mucking in together - nice to see. The downside of your new TV may be that on a rainy day you'll find your motorhome suddenly crowded with kids watching your daughter's DVD's! :xrofl:

Ohh, and put a bike rack on your shopping list - she'll soon be demanding that her bike goes on holiday as well ! Just watch the payload - I've replated my van from 3.5t to 4t, but with 3 kids, 2 adults and all their "stuff" - it's still a challenge to keep under that. If future little ones arrive then replating may be necessary for you if your van is currently 3.5t, just make sure your licence allows it.

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Castleton site is good but will be better hopefully as they're closing it after Christmas for a revamp.
So maybe they will fit better toilet seats.
 
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Take a small portable electric heater with you next time , If its a fan one make sure its got an on/off safety button underneath in case its knocked over or better still a 500 watt oil heater which you can leave on all night when on hook up-takes the chill off and will save you on gas . You will have to make sure either are not handy for your daughter to touch
 
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Aug 27, 2014
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Castleton site is good but will be better hopefully as they're closing it after Christmas for a revamp.
So maybe they will fit better toilet seats.

At least they've got them. I was at a French site earlier this year, and one that was ran by a Brit at that, that had a very well equipped wash block with the exception of not a single loo had a seat - and they were normal pans, with holes to fit seats. Very odd!

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davidathomas42
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Not sure if you've sussed this yet, but most vans sit higher at the back end - so which way round you park on the pitch makes a difference. This particularly applies if you fit air-assisted rear suspension (which I thoroughly recommend by the way - made my van a lot nicer to drive, it corners better and doesn't get pulled off-line when passing lorries on the motorway). It has to be a fairly extreme slope for us not to be able to get level, and we don't have the biggest ramps, probably about the same as yours, but we can't always park the way round we'd ideally like to!

We lower the average age considerably when we pull up with other motorhomes as well ;) but general campsites with a mixture of tents, caravans and motorhomes almost always have other families with kids on them - making friends easily and being allowed the freedom to explore the site is one of the things my kids enjoy the most about going away in the motorhome. They always seem to end up as part of a big gang of kids of all ages, the big ones helping the younger ones, all mucking in together - nice to see. The downside of your new TV may be that on a rainy day you'll find your motorhome suddenly crowded with kids watching your daughter's DVD's! :xrofl:

Ohh, and put a bike rack on your shopping list - she'll soon be demanding that her bike goes on holiday as well ! Just watch the payload - I've replated my van from 3.5t to 4t, but with 3 kids, 2 adults and all their "stuff" - it's still a challenge to keep under that. If future little ones arrive then replating may be necessary for you if your van is currently 3.5t, just make sure your licence allows it.


Thanks for the info. Our current van is rated to 3650kg been the 6 passenger model and I do have 7.5T on my licence so all good there.

Castleton did say we could park either way round provided a corner was on the peg. We do prefer to park rear to the rear as that is where the bunk bed is with the little girl so feel happier she is further from the campsite road and passing noise.

Bike rack is on the list. Along with many many things. It's gong to be an upgrade a pay cheque for a while I think as nothing seems to be cheap.

Re air suspension I had not thought about that as an upgrade and the van seems to drive really nice currently. Although I have only done short runs so far so I'll keep a thought in my head about that as we go further distance's

My current thoughts are do I add some tow equipment to it so we can take the wife's Golf Cabro with us instead of renting a car when we arrive. I'd only want a direct hook up type so the car is on it's own wheels otherwise it's another unit to store when home.

More thoughts to come
 
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Kevan

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Thanks for the info. Our current van is rated to 3650kg been the 6 passenger model and I do have 7.5T on my licence so all good there.

Castleton did say we could park either way round provided a corner was on the peg. We do prefer to park rear to the rear as that is where the bunk bed is with the little girl so feel happier she is further from the campsite road and passing noise.

Bike rack is on the list. Along with many many things. It's gong to be an upgrade a pay cheque for a while I think as nothing seems to be cheap.

Re air suspension I had not thought about that as an upgrade and the van seems to drive really nice currently. Although I have only done short runs so far so I'll keep a thought in my head about that as we go further distance's

My current thoughts are do I add some tow equipment to it so we can take the wife's Golf Cabro with us instead of renting a car when we arrive. I'd only want a direct hook up type so the car is on it's own wheels otherwise it's another unit to store when home.

More thoughts to come
your golf will be expensive to convert for towing, we have a Skoda citigo and it cost £2500 to convert to a smart tow system, prob cheaper to go to one of the shows and buy a car already converted, just a thought:xwink: Air suspension cost us £1700 by AS air suspension.

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davidathomas42
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Take a small portable electric heater with you next time , If its a fan one make sure its got an on/off safety button underneath in case its knocked over or better still a 500 watt oil heater which you can leave on all night when on hook up-takes the chill off and will save you on gas . You will have to make sure either are not handy for your daughter to touch
I think at the moment we're happy with the Truma heater. We have done 3 nights on a 6kg gas bottle so far with EHU and few hours here and there when home doing prep on the drive and it's not cut out yet. For the cost I am happy there for now as it will use a lot less in summer. We don't find the fan noise a bother at all. Maybe it's quieter than some older systems?
Plus it's a very nice simple system to operate just setting the temp you want and forget about it. Some people mentioned using a timer function but I prefer it like climate control in the car. Tell it what you want and leave it to it. We have a similar system in the house with a Nest. It's set at 21deg ask just turns on and off as it needs to maintain it.
We may add an LPG external fill system later on just because it saves lugging bottles about and that will then lower the costs of gas so much more it won't even be a thought.
 
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Puddleduck

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If you have a sweet shop near you
The Haribo plastic boxes that cola bottles etc come in.
They are throw away items so ask if a shop will save them for you with the lids they stack great on top of each other
kev

I use them for craft stuff in my studio as well. As tehy are clear it's easy to see what is inside. After about 15 years they do go brittle with age :(
 
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your golf will be expensive to convert for towing, we have a Skoda citigo and it cost £2500 to convert to a smart tow system, prob cheaper to go to one of the shows and buy a car already converted, just a thought:xwink: Air suspension cost us £1700 by AS air suspension.

Not only that, you'd need to check the towing capacity of the van ( A Golf may well be too heavy) and you've got the dead weight of the towbar to factor into your van payload.

To be honest, we find the van much better for days out, especially when the kids were younger - always having a toilet with you is very useful! As is being able to prepare lunch easily. We've never failed to find somewhere to park yet.

Sounds like Kevan's got full blown air suspension - I've just got air assisters, which still made a massive difference and cost £400, fitted by myself. But if you find your van handles well as it is, no need to bother of course.

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Puddleduck

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Puddle duck eat More cola bottles

I don't like them :(

I am now using the plastic tubs with the snap on lids as they come in all different sizes and are liquid proof (but no free).

I store herbs and spices in little plastic bags (the ones with the funny seals on them), I put enough for each meal in a bag and use a permanent marker to write on what is in them, that way the plastic bags can go into a tub or whatever and I'm not carrying heavy glass jars of spices. One trip I even made up the spice mix in advance and wrapped the recipe around each spice mix. It worked well but took too much prior organisation work.
 
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Aug 27, 2014
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Bike rack is on the list. Along with many many things. It's gong to be an upgrade a pay cheque for a while I think as nothing seems to be cheap.

Isn't that the truth! I bought a used motorhome with loads of bits already on it, thinking that I wouldn't spend much more. Erm, yes, let's just leave that there shall we! :rolleyes:

More thoughts to come

And I bet nearly all of them will involve input from your wallet ;)

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JaG

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Don't bother with shelves, just something else to pack away before you can leave. We ues Tesco Icecream containers to store all sorts...and they stack easy and take up little space.

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Its worth it in my eyes though. Built in DVD and Sky Decoder (for when/if we get a dish. Nice LED screen. 3 year warranty and detachable for safety when not using the van.
@davidathomas42 I'd be very interested to know a bit more about the TV you bought, I assume you must have to pair a sky card with it? what make is it and what size, looks really nice in your MH. We don't get our MH until April/May and my shopping list is growing lol
 
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