21 Friday Jul 2017
OK… so that title was a bit dramatic! However here’s the thing… I don’t think everything is peachy with Euro 6 engines and charging leisure batteries.
If you are a regular reader, you know I have recently installed one of Sterling Power’s Wildside units (and so far I’m super happy with it!) but I did get an email from someone who had read all my postings about it and asked me if it might cure his problem. Here’s the gist of his email….
26 Wednesday Apr 2017
Tags
Battery Charging, Leisure Battery Charging, Maintenance, Project, Sterling Power, Sterling Power Wildside, Technical
Remember the Six P’s… “Proper Planning Prevents Piddling Poor Performance”… or something along those lines! Before we start hacking away at the multitude of cables (and my email inbox fills up with help requests) we need to pull out the relevant electrical schematics from the handbook. Our caravan is a ‘dealer special’ based on a 2011 Swift Europa 550 fitted with a Sargent PSU. Continue reading
25 Tuesday Apr 2017
Tags
Euro6 Engines, Leisure Battery Charging, Maintenance, Project, Regen Braking, Sterling Power Wildside
If you are a regular reader you may remember a couple of posts I wrote about leisure battery charging in caravans and motorhomes (Smart Alternators: how they affect Caravans and Motorhomes…. and NEC Show Roundup – it’s all technical…) and I linked to a few videos that Charles Sterling from Sterling Power has produced covering charging topics and Euro6 engines. At the recent NEC show Sterling Power were featuring a new product that would soon be available that would solve all the issues for caravan owners that were experiancing towing with vehicles that had “smart alternators” which were are standard on Euro5 and Euro6 engines and the issues around regenerative braking on Euro6 engines. Charles promised to send me one of the first pre-production “Wildside” Battery to Battery chargers specifically designed for caravans. Continue reading
05 Wednesday Apr 2017
Posted in Accessories, Gadgets, General, Maintenance, Product Review, Reviews, Technical, TPMS
Tags
Caravan, Fit2Go, Maintenance, Touring, Towing, TPMS, Tyre Monitoring, Tyre Pressure
Back in December last year I did a write up and little video with Andy Harris from RoadPro about the Fit2Go tyre pressure monitoring system. In the video he promised to send me one of the new Fit2Go Tyre Pressure Checker units as soon as they were released. Well Andy kept his word and yesterday I received a little package from Road Pro. Continue reading
28 Tuesday Feb 2017
Posted in Caravan Electrics, Electrical, General, Maintenance, Modifications, Technical, tow vehicle, VW Amarok
Tags
13 Pin Plug, Caravan Electrics, Caravanning, Caravans, Maintenance, Modifications, Sterling Power, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers
This is really a follow-up to my previous post – Smart Alternators: how they affect Caravans and Motorhomes….
While at the NEC show one of my big tasks was to get a number of technical questions answered by the industry players. One of my first stops was to Westfalia and to meet up with Rick Sykes and his colleague on the Westfalia stand. Rick is the national training manager for Westfalia and I was able to get answers to a number of questions that you have asked me and I’d not been able to answer fully. Continue reading
15 Wednesday Feb 2017
Posted in Accessories, Caravan Electrics, Electrical, Maintenance, Motor Home, Technical
I have been receiving a lot of emails over the last two or three months from people reporting issues around charging their leisure batteries after changing tow vehicles and a similar number from people who are having problems with performance of the installation of the electrical harness on their new vehicle tow bar.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time answering emails and thought I’d try to sum up what is happening. A lot of this is also going to apply to Motor Homes, especially if they have a new Euro 6 engine. Continue reading
04 Sunday Dec 2016
Posted in Accessories, Caravan Electrics, Electrical, Maintenance, Modifications, Technical
One of the little things that has been on my “must do something about that” list for a while is to address the problem we have with not enough places to plug things in and charge them. When we are in the caravan in the evening the front looks like a tech gadget table top sale… Macbook Pro, WiFi router/MiFi device, two iPhones, camera battery chargers, Fitbit charger and all these needed plugging in. The 4 way surge protected power strip I put there just wasn’t cutting it any more.
05 Saturday Nov 2016
Posted in Blog updates, Camping & Caravan Show, Caravan Servicing, Maintenance
Tags
A bit of a belated post about our trip down to the NEC show and looking round at the possibilities of a new caravan and a catch up on the damp situation (thanks to everyone that emailed me about it!)
This year was our first time taking the caravan down to the show, and after some initial over thinking about actually staying on a car park, it turned out really quite a fun experience.
I actually spotted someone taking a photo of the Amarok!
21 Sunday Aug 2016
Posted in Caravan Servicing, General, Maintenance
We went to pick up our caravan yesterday from Glossop Caravans after it has had its annual service. Unfortunately we received some bad news… we have damp.
It’s at the rear in the top offside corner. Glossop Caravans have been pro-active and already submitted a warranty claim. This is why it’s so important to get your caravan serviced in line with the manufacturers guidelines.
It appears we have a crack at the top of the rear end cap. While we were there, they positioned a ladder platform next to the caravan so we could both go up and have a look, and indeed there is a crack right on the radius of the corner, about 75mm long and when you pass your finger across it you can feel a slight step, which to me indicates something is causing one side to be pushed out… either something underneath or a slight twisting pressure on the corner.
I’m not sure how long the warranty claim will take to be accepted (or rejected… but that’s a potential nightmare) but the work apparently will take around three to four weeks.
So, hopefully we will still be going to the NEC in October with the caravan and I’ll keep you updated on progress.
