Like any project, ticking the small stuff off a list is the way to move forward even if it seems like sometimes you have ground to a halt. A bit lacking on photos…. I’m temporarily unsure of their location… pilot speak for I’ve lost them! I’ll correct that in due course.
I built a new aluminium frame for the water pump and moved the pump from the original mounting position which caused a lot of noise when running, especially in the bathroom…. as we have a direct tank flush not a holding tank, this was particularly annoying if the loo was flushed at night. So now the water pump is mounted on its isolation feet on an isolated aluminium frame bolted directly to the sub-floor in one of the lockers. I also changed the piping from the pump from solid to flexible connections further reducing noise transmission through the pipes. My next step… some time this week is to install a larger one litre accumulator tank between the pump and plumbing to reduce the cycle times of the pump. Thankfully the plumbing system installed in the 5th wheel is rated for a greater pressure than most caravans and motorhomes… that’s what gives us a great shower!! so I’ll be able to match the accumulator pressure with the pump pressure to get the best out of them.
The other little upgrade was to move the grey water and fresh water dump outlets closer to the side of the caravan. They used to be set back about eight inches and required a kneeling mat and one arm dexterity to plug in the flexible waste pipes when on a fully serviced pitch. Now it’s a simple matter of bending over and I can easily access both outlets for connecting pipes…. saving the knees a bit of hard labour at my age is key. Also if dumping at a motorhome service point I can easily see if I’m in the correct position for a clean dump and not going to splash all over the place. As the Hanks say… “Let ‘er rip”
Thanks to my local nut and bolt supplier… Francis Kirk and Sons I’ve been going there for bits and pieces since 1976… I have now got a full set of stainless steel fittings… an odd collection of UNF and UNC sizes…. ready to replace all the nuts and bolts on the pull out sun canopy, replacing the original components that were showing signs of rust and starting to bind up. I also managed to get a set of tap and dies to run through all the threads before changing everything over.
We managed to get some of the picture frames mounted inside the caravan and that makes a huge difference…. along with upgrading the occasional side lights to LED dimmable units…. feels more like home with each little improvement.
Not long to wait now….
Looking forward to Tourfest North West in a three weeks time, 24th May – 27th May at Donkey Creek Farm and meeting up with some of the bloggers and vloggers I’ve followed over the years. Thankfully no one will recognise Sue and I so we can sneak off if it gets too rowdy . I believe it is now fully booked so if you wanted to go you will just have to wait until the next one.
A few days after that we are off to The Old Oaks at Glastonbury…. it’s been a few years since we were there so it will be nice to go back and see all the changes and improvements they have made. Hopefully we can get back out on our bikes again as well.
A few days ago we were at the Manchester Caravan & Motorhome show and we think that finally we may have found our next caravan. I posted on Twitter couple of photos and said something along the lines of “Now anyone that reads the blog will know we have been looking for a new caravan for the last couple of years and finally the @CoachmanCaravan Laser 665 ticks nearly all the boxes…“
A follower on Twitter – Venomator @Venomator tweeted back “I would be very interested to know what box/es remain unticked then?…” so this is a bit of a reply really.
My “Lithium Ready” sticker…note the ticked box!
One of the biggest things I have been looking out for on any caravan or motorhome is a sticker announcing that the charging systems installed are suitable for Lithium chemistry batteries. So many people have been asking me recently about changing over to Lithium and what’s involved… well quite a lot actually. There is not that much difference between a motorhome or a caravan when it comes to changing over to Lithium.
The existing shore power charger built in to most motorhomes and caravans is not lithium friendly and will probably result in either damaged lithium cells or a battery that is never really charged. So the inbuilt charger will need to be swopped out.
The solar chargers on most (not all) leisure vehicles can’t be programmed for lithium, so that will need to be replaced. And finally the vehicle charging system, which currently on most production leisure vehicles be it motorhome or caravan is not suitable for lithium batteries so a DC to DC charger will need to be installed.
All this adds up to a bit of a job and a fair chunk of beer (or wine) tokens on top of the price of a Lithium battery. I have seen lithium batteries that are advertised as direct replacements and can be dropped in place of an existing Lead acid wet cell or AGM battery but this would imply that they have charging circuits built into the battery and careful research shows the same battery and part number offered by a different vendor with no such claim to be ‘drop in’ replacements. So beware.
As I really wanted to start off a new van with a lithium set up (I can get around 360Ah of lithium for the same weight as 110Ah of good quality lead acid) but the down side is I’d have to virtually rewire the charing side of a new caravan. I eagerly await one of the big caravan manufactures to offer a “Lithium Ready” product and maybe they would like to use my label!
I don’t think it would be that difficult to achieve and due to production volumes, the additional cost would only be marginal. I expect that (or hope!) that one of the aftermarket companies such as Sterling Power or RedArc would offer something that might be a cost effective ‘box’ to achieve a changeover.
I still would like caravan manufacturers to actually go out and look at a site full of caravans being used. I can’t understand why they don’t move the electrical hook up and water at least behind the axle so it would be closer to where the EHU post is. One thing I find is having a VW Amarok which is one of the widest pickups on the UK market, on some pitches if we are using the Aquarol it’s damn near impossible to squeeze down the side. Moving everything to the rear would make it so much easier… well for us it would.
While I’m on the subject of EHU’s & water connections…. Instead of cutting lots of small holes in the sides of our vans for water and 16 amp connections… do what our American cousins do… locate everything in one locker and save on the routing out holes in the sides and adding plastic doohickeys with sliding or hinged covers. I do like the fact that some caravans now have the battery stored in a floor compartment.
240 volt connection, water inlet and valves to switch between internal and external water all neatly located on one locker with access panel for hose and cable through the floor. All located to the rear of the caravan… and in a European caravan too!
The other one that missed the tick box was the lack of being able to sit in front of a mirror…
Not a deal breaker for me… but Sue thought that if they had made the mirror so it could swing round either way to face each bed that would have been ideal. Some of Swifts offerings have got it spot on with a mini dressing table. Coachman however have conveniently located a socket for hair dryer/straightners. I did wonder about having a small stool or seat spanning across the two beds… but think the mirror swivel is a much better idea. Maybe it’s something that could be added as an after market item using a swivel TV bracket maybe”
Now… anyone know where I can buy some cheap lottery tickets…. hello… anyone….
It starts on Thursday 16th January and runs through to Sunday 19th. Since it’s move from the city centre the show has seen a constant year on year growth attracting more and more visitors and a wider number of exhibitors. It’s also become the first place you can not only see some of the caravan & motorhome manufacturers mid life updates to the 2020 range launched last year but you have the opportunity to be in early to buy one ready for this years season.
You really get great value as at the same time you can visit Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show. With travel companies such as Trailfinders, Ramblers Worldwide, Viking Cruises and Royal Caribbean, as well as tourist boards including Thailand, Malta, Taiwan, India and more, you are sure to find something to suit your travel interests.
OK, so I’m biased… it’s my ‘home’ show being from Manchester. However where else could you go and visit a caravan show, do some shopping in one of the UK’s biggest shopping malls, dine out in the Orient and then see a movie all without having to use your car!
I’ll be there on opening day so come and say “Hi” if you see me and I suspect some of the “Northern Posse” of Bloggers and Vloggers will be there also. Honestly it’s a great show and a great way to start off the 2020 Season!
As Christmas draws ever closer, both Sue and I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas… or Happy Holiday….. or Happy Hanukkah, or what ever festival you celebrate this time of year.
Whether you are away in your caravan or motorhome celebrating the season or at home planning family memories to be made next year we both wish you safe travels.
We will next be out and about for the Caravan & Motorhome Show 2020 at Event City. I will be there on Thursday 16th January for the opening – hopefully with Sue too, and the show is on through to Sunday 19th January 2020. Don’t be shy and say “Hello”…. it doesn’t have to be an Andrew Ditton “Hellooo”…. honest.
It’s that time of year again, a few days before the opening of the North’s biggest caravan and motorhome show and the first of the New Year at Manchester’s Event City and again we are sat thinking about changing the van this year. Mind you we were convinced last year… and the year before we were going to change the caravan.
In 2017 we went to the shows, round dealers and almost did the deal. However a few things just kept us from signing on the dotted line. We also came close last year, but again there were design elements that just didn’t sit right with me.. or t least would make me compromise more than I wanted to.
So here is my guide to any caravan designers out there working on the 2020 design that they hope is going to be the next winner.
Looks and sounds good…
A locker containing a TV swing out arm…. OK stop watching American RV shows right now. What were you thinking guys… We don’t sit round campfires watching TV in the middle of the Mohave… honestly we don’t. If people want to watch TV in their awning I’m pretty sure they will have come up with a way by now that suits them. It’s not even like you designed the thing so that you could leave a 24 inch TV permanently mounted and closed away securely in the locker.
While we are on the subject of TV’s…. stop putting the radio in a cupboard in the front of the caravan… put it near where you provide a TV mount. A lot of thin screen TV’s have poor speakers and a great solution that many caravaners opt for is connecting the TV sound to the radio AUX input… but a lot don’t because it becomes a major challenge routing a pair of screened wires round and through all the cabinets. Make it easy, put the radio near the TV, install a AUX jack and sell it as a feature!
Own Up….
Right, which designer is going to own up to designing a storage space in the wardrobe in the rear bathroom of a van to store the table. Did you design the van and at some point while you were stood at the coffee machine someone say to you “Dude I didn’t see where you stored the table in your design” and you immediately rush back to your workstation and in a panic put in the wardrobe in the rear washroom.
Have you ever had to get a table out, and set it up with a caravan full of people balancing drinks when some one is shooting “PLEASE SET THE TABLE UP NOW… DINNERS READY”
It’s on the other side…. or end!
Right I want all designers to go and stand on empty pitches at five caravan sites and look round. What do you see? Bollards…. you read that right Bollards… at the rear of the pitch. Why there you may ask? Well designing a site or upgrading a site if you can avoid digging across a pitch to install services it tends to be cheaper and easier to reinstate the ground afterwards, so most are laid out that way for cost and convenience. Is been like that for quite a few years. So why do you insist in keep designing the power, water connections at the front of the caravan… and some of you just for good measure put one on each side. If you take the common size pitch and park your caravan in the middle throw up a mahoosive flappy tent thing on one side and connect up your Aquarol (other water containers are available) then try to squeeze your tow car down the other side – that is if you have the room with an 8 foot wide van – avoiding parking so that vehicle door can actually open without bashing the water container or the passenger can actually squeeze past.
Here’s an idea….
Here’s an idea…. put the water inlet and power inlet on the rear off side corner and while you are at it check out how American RV’s have a locker with all the connections inside and a convenient opening in the floor to pass the connections through. That would save cutting holes and installing expensive fittings. While you are at it moving the water about, here’s an idea, install a simple Hozelock fitting with a check valve and pressure regulator so when on a device pitch, rather than expecting customers to buy expensive adaptor fittings, they can just buy a cheap food grade hose to hook up. Could this be the next USP I wonder?
To off grid or not to off grid?.. that is the question.
I applaud the designer that moved the leisure battery from a side locker to under floor mounting and moved the gas bottle from the front to the side. Heavy items, get them low and in the centre I say.
However, next year go one step further… make the battery locker bigger to accommodate two batteries and ready for Lithium… which may mean insulating them. Nearly all caravans are sold now with solar panels, but it would be nice to be able to choose to install an additional battery to take advantage of the solar without having to start installing aftermarket sealed and externally vented battery boxes.
It’s behind you…
…. well it might be but I can’t see it. It’s time to offer a rear view camera option on all caravans now I think for safety’s sake. A lot of motorhomes are offering it as an option or a standard fit. While it is fairly easy on a motorhome as the display choice is dictated by the designer. For a caravan it’s slightly more complicated as some vehicles have rear view systems built-in, some have nothing so how do you decide what to install? Simple really.. most systems use composite 1 volt peat to peak video and there are dozens of components out there on the internet that allow this to be digitised, scrambled, flipped and sent vis radio, bluetooth, over power feeds and via IR so it can’t be that difficult or expensive to install a system with a remote screen at a sensible price point. The biggest hurdle for anyone contemplating installing a rear view camera system is actually mounting the camera on the caravan body and running all the cables.
Electronic Brakes…
Unless you have towed a trailer with electronic brakes you will never know how horse and cart our current over-run hitch brake system is. In the land of the… that lot over the pond, have been using electrical braking systems for a while and in the land down under (Straylia… YESSSS….. for John Cadogan fans) ALKO have been offering a system for a number of years that is really just an extension of their caravan chassis ‘kit of components’ and could easily be adopted for European component chassis.
Now a lot of you know from my past volumes of scribblings I kind of enjoy delving into caravan dynamics and I really want a caravan with electronic brakes. OK before the comments come stating that under current regulations you are required to have over-run braking system etc etc…. yep I know. However from my poking around this subject for over 18 months now, it seems that you can fit electronic brakes as long as the existing over-run setup is retained.
If you are still reading this go and check this out from seven years ago about a system that was going to be produced….. if I was setting this cones out I think I’d be going changing my undergarments…. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIB7Rmhll9s\
Right, I wanted to keep this down to a short 1000 words, and I failed as it’s over 1300 now. I hope you have all had a great Christmas and may 2019 bring you new touring adventures and memories. We’ll see you on Thursday 17th at:
Right, I’m not known for caravan reviews… why? Well those YouTube types always beat me to it… and how the heck they can shoot, edit and publish so quickly is a skill that I still consider voo doo, mind you, pilots aren’t required to have the knowledge of joined up writing let alone mastery of a keyboard. (A cursory nod to Dave Gunson… one of the finest controllers to ever say “Descend and maintain….”)
Onwards…
04:30… alarm chirps…. I had been invited by Bailey of Bristol to their launch of the Pegasus Grande and this meant a bit of an early start. By 05:15 the Amarok was idling warming up and the Sat Nav silently contemplating my route down to Swindon, while I finished making a coffee in the Camelback insulated mug, cleaned the heavy dew off the windows and threw my day bag into the truck. Unfortunately it was going to be a solo trip.
The 167 mile trip took in the stunning vistas of road works on the M6 and M5 as far down as Gloucester via Birmingham, which tends to be more road works than motorway most of the year. Happily, leaving early meant a not to shabby arrival time of 08:40 and give me chance to have an early wander round and take a few photos while it was quiet.
Bailey had brought all six of the new Pegasus Grande range – four twin axles and two single’s. All six were designed from the ground up to take advantage of being constructed on the 8 feet wide (2.450m) platform.
How Heavy?
One of the first things I tend to look at is what does it weigh in at? Being 8 foot wide the initial expectation is “Ohhh… that’s going to be heavy” Well I was quite surprised at the weight savings that have been made across the range.
The heaviest out of the six is not surprisingly the twin axle Grande Palermo 6 berth with twin bunks at the rear. However with a MRO of 1531Kgs and MTPLM of 1692Kgs giving a useful payload of 179Kgs.
The lightest is the four birth single axle Brindisi weigh in with a MRO of 1335Kgs and MTPLM of 1490Kgs allowing 155Kgs of payload.
The two single axle caravans have been built on ALKO 1600Kgs chassis and the four twin axle use 1800Kgs chassis, so there is an option to upgrade the plated weights if desired. The single axle units have a shipping length of 24’3″ (7.381m) and the twin axle 25’10” (7.863m).
Everyone’s talking about it!
One of the big talking points is the new “G” shape lounge layouts. Having a wider caravan and almost a ‘blank’ canvas allows the designers to play around with layouts. The new lounge design can be found in four of the Pegasus Grande range. (photos courtesy of Bailey)….
Now I do like this layout… it provides a ‘dinette’ area in a caravan without a dinette. The table can be slid rearwards towards the door on a sliding bar if you need more space on the seat across the front of the caravan.
It does cover up the small seat near the entrance door though.
However here’s my thoughts on it…. sitting using the table is a bit of a compromise. In order to accommodate under seat space for the electrics… there is a cushioned area against the wall that is not really a seat and that means it’s a bit tight on leg room. So for the person sitting near the door you are sitting right on the edge.
The cushioned section under the tables also the support for the pull out bed slats that allow it to become to a double bed. The other thing is, a person sitting here doesn’t have a back rest, so don’t throw your head back for a hearty laugh at a joke after a glass of wine or two.. you might end up on the floor!
The table as I mentioned earlier does slide sideways it doesn’t drop down. That means two people want to stretch out facing the TV (or where the TV can be accommodated) then it’s not happening.
A bit of thinking could have sorted this out. Reversing the G so the table was on the same side as the kitchen would have allowed the side of the kitchen unit to become a back rest and maybe using the same sort of contrivance to drop the table to seat level as used when converting some dinettes into bed(s) and utilising the side and back cushions would still allow two people to stretch out facing the TV area.
Like I said, I do like the new layout as it really opens up the functionality of the space and if you are just a couple, maybe you would not need the big table that comes with the caravan.
Talking Tyres
All the models come fitted with mud/spray flaps to the wheel wells which I think is a welcome addition (it did get me thinking about adding these to our caravan!) and you have the option of going for Bailey’s wheel lock solution – which I do like, or if you want to stay with ALKO the chassis is still fitted with a receiver.
Bailey have opted for 185/R14C as a tyre size for the single axle variant and a 185/65R14 for the twin axle.
Is there an echo in here?
One thing that Bailey have mastered by moving the gas locker to the side is the ability to have a mahoosive storage area stretching across the front of the caravan. Although not a skier, I’ll be you could get a couple of pairs of skies in there.
It does also make it easier if you have a wind break you can just roll it up and thread it in. I would like to have seem a little protection for the hot air ducting though. I get the feeling that might sustain a few dimples here and there.
On the rear access on a couple of caravan there is a potential wrist slasher (go on, ask me how I know!) The pipe work has been secured by ‘zip ties’ across the front of the hatch. Maybe just getting the ties trimmed flush or the cut ends pushed down during assembly would be an easy fix.
Let there be lights… go on, I’ll wait while the bit of wire warms up
The rear lights fixtures look stylish and are inset into a black trim. It was disappointing though that Bailey had used incandescent light fixtures (bulbs if you’re from up north like me) I would have thought that a fully sealed maintenance free LED units would have been more ‘on trend’ (I’ve spent too long down south can you tell!)
Although the front and side marker lights were LED… I guess they are just working their way to the back
While we are on about LED lights… LED spotlights in particular, someone somewhere in a company that designs and manufactures light fittings for the leisure industry had an idea and thought it was a cracker. Put a USB socket in a spotlight. I too was similarly smitten with the idea. That was until I sat in our caravan and looked at all the devices – MiFi, two iPhones, two battery chargers, Kindle, iPad, Christmas lights (yes we have some that plug into a USB socket)…. if I plugged everything in it would have looked like an explosion in a spaghetti factory. Good idea, but not at the sacrifice of a couple of points at a sensible height and location. It might just be me.
“Can you put a swivel on it?”
OK not a major one for me as I have about as much use for one as a certain Mr. Ditton… (we let our beards dry naturally… what did you think I was going to say!) The only time I use a hair dryer is when I want to shrink some tubing and I’ve temporarily unsure of the location of my hot air blower. But I do know that there are people out there that have requirements to use hairdryers for prolonged periods and I’m speaking up for them.
Sit on the edge of the bed… socket to plug aforementioned hairdryer in – check, place to rest brushes and hair styling products – check, adjust mirror so one can see ones self without resting side of head on window… nope. So the request will be from the fraternity of hair dryer users out there will be “Can you put a swivel on it…. so I can swing it round a bit?”
Oh, I do like this…
Ever since watching American RV videos, It has always struck me what a good idea to have an opening roof light in the shower… not necessarily to get rained on while having a shower (handy if the Aquarol is running low though), but to let the steam out when having a shower instead of watching it condense on any vertical surface in the caravan that are fractionally below body temperature. The shower head is one of the really excellent Ecocamel units… I have to say that a, because they are and b, we have one at home and one in our caravan.
The shower tray is new too… well it’s new to me as I haven’t seen one like this before… so it may not be new… but it’s new to me. I like the fact that even if you are pitched on something slightly less level that a billiard table you stand a chance with deft squeegeeing (is that a word) you can get the all the water out before it has chance to escape anywhere other than intended. Surprisingly the wheel arch doesn’t intrude as much as I’ve seen on other caravans. The only thing I did spot is that one one of the caravans I think the chap that was responsible for dispensing glue on the installing the shower sides had gone to see a man about some cheap awning pegs… the sides of the shower were bowed a little and a gentle push popped them back agains the sub wall… release the pressure and they popped out again. It was only on one caravan (I went back and checked the others… so to anyone was there that thought I was a bit demented running in and pressing no the shower sides and running out again… that explains it).
In Summary
Yep, I like them. 8 foot wide caravans do give you a lot more room. It was noticeable that on the Messina (mid bath, rear bed) version that the wardrobes either side of the bed were actually usable and that was down to the 8 foot width, not the bed being narrow. The MRO’s were amazing, opening up the options for choices of tow vehicles. I like the idea that at last the front ‘lounge’ isn’t two long benches… I would miss the traditional draws at the front but I’d get over it. It still irk’s me that no British manufacturer has yet cottoned on to having one hatch you open with a pass through in the floor for your hook up pipes and cables instead of putting sockets and fixtures all over the sides of the cravan (think of the money savings guy’s!)
Range Creep…
One thing that often happens is you launch a new range, and it steps on the toes of an existing range. Recently Bailey launched the new Phoenix which on the face of it overlapped heavily on the Pegasus brand. However Bailey have taken a leap forward with Pegasus Grande and moved into the ‘wide body’ (in aircraft parlance) platform which while not stepping on the toes of the flagship Unicorn, could be seen as enticing enough to draw potential Unicorn buyers away. I suspect the in the not too distant future there will be another announcement coming out of Bristol.
Go and see the new Pegasus Grande at your local dealer… or better still visit theCaravan Show at the NEC 16-21 October to see the whole Bailey range. (I’ll let you into a secret…. they have redesigned their stand at the NEC).
Right, I guess after 2000 words of waffle, that is if you are still here, you now know why I don’t do caravan reviews… and the memo will go round…”for God’s sake don’t invite him again”!
The North’s largest outdoor leisure show for campers, caravan and motorhome owners, will be pitching up at Manchester’s EventCity from 18th – 21st January 2018 offering a huge range of inspiring ideas for lovers of the great outdoors.
This is our “local” show and hopefully it will continue its record each year of increasing the attendance figures over the previous year. With leading manufacturers and dealers in attendance, a range of celebrity speakers, including television presenter Matt Allwright and The Camping and Caravanning Club President Julia Bradbury.
Rob Debenham, Show Manager, says: “We’re hoping to build on the success of last year which saw 36,102 visitors attend over four days and we are really excited about the 2018 show. With some exciting new attractions in store for our guests I’m confident we’re on track to deliver our best show yet. It offers something for everyone, and with kids under 16 going free, it’s a great value day out for the whole family and of course the perfect chance to find your ideal caravan or motorhome.”
With over 200 exhibitors, visitors are sure to leave feeling inspired at the four-day event to start planning the trip of a lifetime.
Tickets to the show also include a free show guide and free entry into the co-located Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show with live cookery demonstrations on the Food & Travel stage. Featuring hundreds of travel companies such as Trailfinders, VIA Rail Canada, and Great Rail Journeys, as well as tourist boards including Morocco, Cuba, Malta, Massachusetts, Barbados and more, visitors are sure to find something to suit all travel interests.
The box office is now open and tickets are available at www.caravanshows.com or by calling 0844 873 7349 or of course you can buy on the day in the foyer.
We will be there on Thursday for the opening, so hope to see you there!
Wow… it’s been quite a while since our last posting, and many thanks to all those of you who have emailed asking if we are OK. We are both fine, thanks.
Back in October we were due to go to the Caravan & Motorhome show and we had booked in to the campsite at the NEC for 4 days. However, the day before, we actually wondered why we were going. Plenty of other bloggers and video bloggers would be going and posting on YouTube. I guess the plethora of video bloggers filming each other meeting other video bloggers wasn’t what we were about…. so we went to the C & M Club site at Southport instead.
The weather played ball and we had a great few days in the October sunshine getting some cycling and walking in. This was also a bit of a try out for the bike rack on the Amarok and a change in how we pack. Although I’d done a couple of check-runs to make sure everything was stable with the bikes, this was the first real run with the caravan in tow and I’m pleased to report that the rack was stable and didn’t affect the towing in any way.
The bikes were fairly easy to load and unload thanks to the drop down step I’d previously fitted to the rear of the Amarok and all things considered, I think we will now be taking the bikes on more trips. The other change was to how we pack. We now have ‘pre-loaded’ more of the items we take away with us and this makes things a lot easier having a stacking system with boxes for specific things. We are lucky that I have a “bat cave” at home. It’s a workshop really that allows us to store our packing boxes (check out the Really Useful Storage Box Company ) and get them stocked up ready for the next trip over a period of time. It now takes about 10 minutes to load the Amarok and all thats left is to load the clothes.
The other bit of kit that we are long-term testing is the Sterling Power Wildside unit. I’ve written a couple of things in the past about this unit and so far the only thing I can really add is that it has exceeded my expectations of its performance. After not using the caravan for a couple of months and having a parasitic current draw from the alarm (the small charging circuit and 12 volt battery in the alarm has failed yet again!) by the time we had towed from Manchester to Southport our battery was fully charged and the fridge was cold as expected.
Christmas Markets…
Many of you will know in December we like to kick off the festive season with a Christmas Market or two. For the past couple of years we had gone down to Birmingham but this year we fancied trying something different. We booked a couple of sites to give us the chance to try somewhere different.
The first was Durham Grange C & M Club site just off the A1M. This would put us very close to Beamish Museum and Durham. Although Durham Grange is really close to the A1M Junction 62 you can’t really hear the traffic and is a great little site. The general site and facilities were up to standard and the wardens very helpful.
We were on a fully serviced pitch and my standard ‘kit’ of parts allowed connection to the grey water drain without any head scratching.
Again we were lucky with the weather, mainly dry but turning much colder. Beamish is only about a 20 minute drive away and it meant that we could have a full day at the museum without having a silly o’clock morning start. If you have never visited Beamish, I would recommend you put it on your “must do” list, especially if you have children/grand children. One thing you must do while there… go and see the dentist and have a chat and then visit the fish and chip shop with the coal-fired frying range. Standing outside smelling fish and chips frying mixed with the smell of coal fires really takes me back to my early childhood.
Durham Grange is also a great base for a trip into Durham. The Cathedral and Castle are worth a visit and there are plenty of shops to explore in the tiny streets in the city centre. Getting into the centre from the caravan site is easy. On the other side of the A1M to the site is a park and ride that takes you right into the city centre. However a word of caution….. if you walk you have to cross two-three lane slip roads to the A1M and it’s busy even out of peak periods. Trying to walk back to the site in rush hour has to be avoided. We got the park and ride bus in but decided that it would be safer getting a taxi back. In summer however, if you ask the wardens they have a map with the details of a riverside walk into the town centre.
Three days at Durham Grange really didn’t give us chance to explore further, it has been added to the long list of “must go back so we can see….” collection.
Next stop…. York
York has to be on everyone’s list of favourite cities. We had chosen a Tranquil Touring site – York Caravan Park for the second part of our festive tour. Despite the weather forecast of strong winds for the next 24 hours and an increasing chance of light snow the further south we got, the drive down from Durham was an easy tow and the sat nav directed us round Yorks outer ring roads. The only real traffic we saw was around the ring road. As York is a bit of a no go for visiting by car the ring road and feeder roads to the various park and ride points can be a bit congested, but a bit of patience and we were only around 15 minutes late based on what our sat-nav had predicted when setting off. The temperature by now was also dropping and hadn’t risen above four degrees for the whole journey.
York Caravan park is only a couple of miles outside York and right outside is a convenient bus stop with a bus that will whisk you right into the centre in about ten minutes. It had been several years since we had both been to York and one of the stops Sue wanted to do was Jorvik viking centre. The bus dropped us off and we headed in the general direction of Jorvik through all the Christmas Market stalls. At one end of the market was a large teepee that had a log fire burning in the centre and a bar serving all manner of festive spirits. While Sue opted for Mulled Wine, I decided on a mug of hot chocolate with Baileys… well it was only three degrees with a bit of a wind chill.
We really enjoyed Jorvik and it seemed bigger than we remembered it… which I don’t think it was unless they dug a bit more up. Unusually I didn’t see a restriction on taking photos… so I managed to sneak a few… without flash of course (just in case… and I hope I’m not in breach of copyright!).
While mooching round the shops we came across The Cat Gallery (45 Low Petergate) and couldn’t resist a visit…. emerging with a rather fitting mug for Sue “…everything tastes better with cat hair in it”. We headed back towards the station to catch the bus back to the site. As it was Sue’s birthday today, a bit of a tradition to mark the start of our Christmas is the annual viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Nothing better than sitting in a toasty caravan with frost forming outside, a satisfied fullness from an enjoyable meal and a couple of drinks watching a favourite movie.
National Railway Museum…
A visit to York cannot be called complete without a visit to the NRM. The cold weather had now really arrived and far to our west in the Pennine hills snow was forecast. We however had a cloudy but bright frosty morning.
We caught the bus again and this time stayed on all the way to the railway station. You can cut through the station over the foot bridge to the railway museum.. which if it’s raining can be handy. Over the past few years we have done quite a few railway trips on heritage lines and visited a few of the museums but the last time we were here was 32 years ago. A lot of the exhibits had changed of course and the site has expanded.
By mid morning we were part way round it was time of a coffee and we stopped by The Dining Car Restaurant and Sue tried out one of their speciality teas with a sausage sandwich and I can say their coffee was up-to-standard and so was their bacon sandwich. A huge improvement on the old BR offerings!
One of the things that I personally think is a “must see” at the museum if you have any interest in railways is hidden round the back of the Flying Scotsman in the store-room. The museum has opened up its stores so you can wander the shelves and see some of their collection that they haven’t got room to put on display and in here you will find the layout used to train signalmen. Each day (check timings) a number of retired signalmen put on a live demonstration on the layout of how signaling works and that is followed up by what can only be described as a re-enactment of a rail disaster. The one we watched saw 7 signalmen going through the sequence of events and demonstrating on the layout with running trains what happened. Very thought-provoking. It’s a must see but please check the timings so you don’t miss it.
It seems that these breaks are over all too soon. The temperature was hovering around one degree and the water hose had frozen overnight as we started to pack up. Snow was forecast later that day and the Pennines had already had an inch or two of snow and it was falling over the M62 west of the Pennines for the run back to Manchester. Thankfully towing our caravan with the Amarok is quite easy and we have a towing ratio of about 65% which really makes things easy and stress free in difficult weather conditions.
The snow wasn’t too bad and not as much as was forecast and we arrived back at the storage facility at the time the sat nav predicted when setting off. Last trip of 2017 done and planning for 2018 can commence.
Some other bits…
As I write this Caravan Chronicles this year has had over 7.8 million page hits – around 14.5 million since I started the blog (I’m still amazed!). This year has basically doubled the number of the previous years total. A lot of this is due in part to links from other blogs and forums, to some of the technical pages. I did look at some of the links into the site and saw that how to connect batteries for example were linked to off grid housing forums, boating, canal boat, sailing, RV, eco and everything in-between. I now find that I receive emails containing questions from all over the world about all sorts of subjects. How many emails?…. well this year it’s been over a thousand that I’ve answered. As a consequence it now takes me a bit longer to respond.
I have found out though that folks that follow links to Caravan Chronicles from some forum or other that they don’t really know about Caravan Chronicles and simply assume that there is a highly paid team in the background answering questions and have a specialised knowledge of their particular field of enquiry and get quite upset when I tell them I haven’t a clue about the house batteries on a Fairhaven 32 foot motor launch and how they are connected (totally made up question of course).
I remember the late (and great) John Wickersham once telling me “Once you have answered a question in print that will be your life”.
The other question that pops up now and again are about ‘merch’ as the Americans refer to it. Do I have a shop with stickers, mugs branded paraphernalia etc. Nope, nada. So far I have resisted the temptation to commercialise, product place or have adverts on the blog. I don’t really want to go that route.
I do however do the occasional review of products that manufacturers send me and try to attempt to be as honest as I can with what I write. I do also work with a couple of manufacturers on products that they are developing or ideas that they have but these don’t get written about.
What’s happening in Caravan Chronicles in 2018…
Well there will be some trips of course and we will be visiting our “local” caravan show at Event City in January.
We are in two minds whether to get a new caravan… we would like a twin axle, twin bed, mid bathroom layout, but we keep thinking there is nothing wrong with the one we have… decision decisions!
There are a few things that are going to be changing on the blog. I have been procrastinating on starting a searchable Q & A page. I’m not sure if this is possible in a WordPress blog and it might mean having to change how the site is hosted. I also want to link up to an interactive travel map. I’m still researching this one though. I’ve also been thinking about the blog’s style and look…. it’s over five years old now and does it need an update?
Towing covers….
OK, so now I have a question for you….. I’m a bit undecided about getting a towing cover. They seem to be gaining popularity and after our trip, the front of the caravan could have done with some protection from all the road salt and grime thrown up. As we have never had a cover of any sorts, I’m looking for a bit of feedback on features to look out for and things to avoid. I’d be grateful for any pointers.
Sue and I hope you have a very Happy New Year and safe travels in 2018.
PS… as I sometimes do, a few arty photos…. (proper engineering in monochrome!)
About 12 months ago I ditched using Adobe Photoshop which had been my go-to photo editor for over 10 years in favour of the free Polarr Photo Editor… which I do like for it’s speed and ease of use. I’ve been playing about trying to reproduce the varoius classic postcard looks from the turn of the 19th centtury and mid 20th century…
Number One. We were supposed to go to York a few days ago for a five-day break. However that got scuppered at the last-minute by one of our Siamese cats. Polo who is 14 years old suddenly decided he was not very well and it looked like it could have been touch and go and would have warranted that sad last trip to the vet. Something we absolutely could not ask our long-term cat sitter (and house minder) to make. However as it was the sunniest week we have had so far (just our luck) he decided rally round and he’s now fine.. or as fine as a 14-year-old Siamese can be.
Number Two. Last night while clearing up after our evening meal, I was finishing the washing up and Sue took out the kitchen rubbish to the bin. I watched her pass the kitchen window en-route to the bins which are the far side of the vehicles and out of view. After about five minutes or so She hadn’t returned and I guessed She might have been giving our next door neighbours cat a bit of a polish as it does drop in to our garden from time to time to say hello. I sat down in the lounge and thought Sue was being a particularly long time and went out to check. Continue reading →
The North’s largest outdoor leisure show for campers, caravan and motorhome owners, will be pitching up at Manchester’s 
Caravan Chronicles 