Tag Archives: AL-KO

My Caravanning Wish List for 2013

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

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Here is a few things I’d like to see for 2013….

Bathroom Vents

For caravans with bathrooms, why do they put the skylight in the middle of the bathroom and not in the shower cubicle? If you look at the majority of travel trailers and motor homes in the USA, they install the roof vent in the shower cubicle. A couple of reasons.. one it means that you don;t have to turn on the light in there when it’s daylight outside, but for me the key one is that any steam is allowed to vent out straight from the cubicle when the shower door is shut, rather than letting it drift into the bathroom and raising the humidity level to a point where over a period of time it could potentially start to affect the structure of the caravan. I also think that it would improve the chances of keeping the bathroom warmer in colder months as cold air would be drawn into the shower cubicle, so with the shower door shut it would reduce the cold air in the bathroom while still providing the required ventilation.

Brake Assist Systems

Currently in the UK there are three or four brake assist systems, one of the most popular is AL-KO’s ATC Trailer Control system. This is an excellent product, but for me it only goes part of the way and offer true braking assistance. There are other products  such as Insync’s offering that offer braking assistance but no active stability program.

I’d like to see a unit with a similar stability program to ATC, but with the added advantage that the caravan brakes are applied when the vehicles brake lights are activated. Currently the over-run system fitted to caravans only operates the caravan brakes when the braking force exceeds a certain deceleration rate and allows the damper in the coupling to compress operating the brakes. Now for any van this limit is going to change… fully loaded for a two-week trip abroad is going to have a different operating point than when talking the van empty for servicing as the towed mass of the van will be different.

AL-KO Overrun brake coupling

AL-KO Overrun brake coupling

However, if the braking system was activated by the tow vehicles brake light circuit, you could apply 50% or 60% of the caravans braking effect no matter what the loading almost instantly. This will also help in marginal conditions. On ice at 10 MPH while manoeuvring on site, the caravan brakes will never activate when you depress the brake pedal, you rely on the vehicle brakes to do all the work and the four patches of rubber have to be able to provide enough friction to stop the tow vehicle and the caravan. If the caravan’s brakes could be operated, then the four patches of rubber suddenly increase by 50% to six patches of rubber.

Oh if it were that simple! Any assistance with the braking effort of the caravan via other means will have an effect on the over run coupling. If you brake the caravan partially via a  brake assist unit then the point at which the overrun coupling can apply the brakes will change and it is possible that the break assist unit could stop the overrun coupling from working correctly in some braking circumstances. The big issue could be if you have a system fitted that reduces the designed braking effect of the manufacturers overrun coupling, in the event of an accident, could the insurer technically claim that the braking had been knowingly compromised?  I think that this is why AL-KO have a different system for Australia and New Zealand and with the exception of the UK and Europe the rest of the world ditched overrun systems a long time ago.

“All right at the back?”

Manufacturers have grasped on to the fact rear view cameras are becoming an essential safety feature… well at least in motor homes they have. Us poor caravanners have to find clever ways to install rear view cameras and run cables without making warranty voiding holes in our expensive investment. Now I know it’s easy for a manufacturer to install a system in a motor home as he’s in control of everything from camera to screen and all the spaghetti in-between  With a caravan its a bit different as the manufacturer only has one end of the puzzle to play with, but a bit of thought into the design and assembly of the back panel could make the difference. It would be easy to design into the mould a mounting point that could be used to mount a camera and a suitable bit of pvc tubing run down the inside or a moulded trim strip that can be popped out like a bit of trunking that would allow at some point in the future a couple of cables to be installed. So, to all the caravan manufacturers out there, here’s the challenge – are you going to be the first to lead the way?

And finally…..

A gadget for all female caravanners….. an extension tube and nozzle that plugs into the blown hot air system that allows it to be used as a hair dryer when there is no EHU or a low amp EHU.

S

Jockey Wheel Mod…. Update

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in Maintenance, Modifications, Projects

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You know when you have built, modified or ‘tweaked’ something and it works as you planned, but there is always this feeling that it’s not quite right… well I had the same feeling last night. Although the mod to the jockey wheel did everything I wanted, I’d lost some of the functionality, namely the original Al-Ko handle.

I don’t like having bits left over and the handle was no exception. I needed a way of attaching it so it could be used as intended. Continue reading →

Jockey Wheel Mod….

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

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After my Bicycle Conveyance Contrivance posting a couple of days ago, I have been thinking about the modification needed to make sure the jockey wheel cleared the bike rack. My original Idea was to simply remove the roll pin holding the handle onto the inner threaded rod and replace it with a “R” type clip. However, on removing the roll pin, it was obvious that the cranked handle was designed to hold the threaded rod in the upper shaft of the jockey wheel. Right, plan B then.

The top of the Al-Ko jockey wheel

I have always thought that if you can slow someone down that is going to try to deprive you permanently of something, then they will look somewhere else. With that in mind I thought if there wasn’t a handle on the jockey wheel, it would be an inconvenience to someone who thought they deserved our caravan more than us. As the steadies require the use of a 19mm socket attachment in the power driver or the cranked winding handle… and as it happens, the Al-Ko wheel lock also required a 19mm socket, by a bit of logical thinking, I thought “A-ha a nut that uses the same size 19mm socket could be a way forward.”  Well, if the truth be told, I opened my big divided tray of assorted nuts… looked at one and thought “that looks about right,” then thought “I’ll bet that is the same size as the steady nuts.” Continue reading →

Our 2012 season starts

02 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in General, Trips, Web sites

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Well, at last our 2012 season is underway. Since we got back from Wrexham on the 11th December, Sue has been on call to the hospital with the exception of 6 days since then. The first chance we have to get away is next weekend, which is half term and usually busy. Not a problem I thought, logging on to the Camping & Caravanning Club web site… I can search on available pitches. Unfortunately, the booking system was taken back into the stone age late last year and the ability to do almost anything with the booking system is a nightmare. All is not lost I thought. I logged in to the Caravan Clubs booking system. Well, that insisted on listing sites that were still closed, even though I’d put in our travelling dates. Two hours later, and after several phone calls to different sites, I managed to get us booked in at the C & CC Oswestry. So next weekend, we are starting our 2012 season at last!

Looking ahead, we are also starting our continental adventures. After spending so many years flying the plane all over Europe, it is strange to now have to plan taking the caravan. It was so easy… fill in a flight plan a couple of hours before we wanted to go, load the plane, fill up and go. A couple of hours later we could be in France, Holland wherever. Taking the caravan is a little different, and rather than have an exploratory few days… we are driving down to the Dordogne for five days! Continue reading →

Collecting our new van…

12 Thursday Jan 2012

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Well, I’ve very nearly brought you up-to-date. You now know – if you have read “Hello world” how we got to this point. The day of collection arrived – 6th July 2011 which coincidentally was the same date that 2 years previously I had set off with a group of other pilots to fly single engined aircraft round the world. I hoped that the same spirit of adventure waited for Sue and I with our new caravan.

As usual, it was raining when we arrived at Glossop Caravans. We were early, so sat in the car watching the rain pour off the roofs of the caravans in front of us. If you have ever been to Glossop Caravans, you will know that the car park is up a steep ramp and overlooks the site so you can see almost everything. I have to take my hat off to the chap manning the car park, throughout  the time we were there, he never deserted his post and remained directing traffic in the downpour. Glossop Caravans were very efficient, the day before we were due to collect, they telephone us with the exact time we needed to be there and with a list of items that we needed to bring with us. I had in the boot of the car one 110Ah Leisure Battery and one Safefill Gas Cylinder…. and a bunch of paperwork.

Continue reading →