Tag Archives: Glossop Caravans

Oh Phooey, Bad News From Glossop Caravans…

21 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in Caravan Servicing, General, Maintenance

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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.

Scan

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.

Annual Service – “Dealer or No Dealer?”…

10 Thursday Jul 2014

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I had booked our caravan in for its annual service for Tuesday 8th at Glossop Caravans, the local main dealer that we bought our caravan from 3 years ago. Now, by chance after a couple of comments on Twitter and a brief conversation via email with Jonathan Robe, Glossop Caravan’s IT Manager, it was arranged for me to spend some time and follow our caravan through its annual service to see what goes on behind the scenes at a major dealer’s service centre. Continue reading →

2014 Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show…

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Camping & Caravan Show, Events, General, Reviews

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Heavy rain first thing this morning didn’t seem to dampen the opening of the 2014 Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show at Event City. We arrived around 9:15 and managed to park at the back of the arena and make our way to the entrance just as the rain stopped. This year, the tiny coffee stand in the entrance hall that was over-run last year had been replaced by a bigger stand far more suited to the number of people expected and there were plenty of tables to sit at while we waited for the doors to open. Continue reading →

Wobble Free Zone…

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

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Sue and I went to pick up the van from Glossop Caravans this morning after its service. They actually rang me yesterday lunchtime to let me know it was ready for collection, but Sue was up to her elbows in theatre doing something fantastically tricky with someones blood while someone else fiddled and generally prodded and poked around with the heart… don’t ask it might put you off your sammich. A full service complete with Gas Check and Damp Check (and I’m happy to announce we are officially dry as the Mojave) came to the grand total of £201.20. Not too shabby really. The front sticking blind had been replaced under warranty and the magnetic strip on the shower door likewise. Continue reading →

Checks and Balances… or not as the case may be!

06 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by in Caravan Servicing, General, Maintenance

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Sue and I have just returned from dropping off our caravan at Glossop Caravans for its first service. I’m in shock…. for two reasons.

I originally booked the van in for its service just over a week ago and having never booked a van in for service before, I didn’t know what to expect, but guessed it would be like booking the Freelander in with the Land Rover main dealer…. which it was. Up to the point we dropped the van off this morning when I was asked when would I like to collect the van… I said I was local so any time……  and was expecting to be told “around three o’clock”….. I was not expecting “……next Wednesday” If I’d have known that we could have gone away for the weekend instead. 6 days does seem a bit excessive for servicing a caravan. The next shock was something I hadn’t expected at all.  Continue reading →

Caravan & Motorhome Exhibition 2012 – Manchester

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in Events, General

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Well Sue and I made our first visit to the Caravan and Mortorhome Exhibition to-day. It was in fact our first visit to any caravan type exhibition, so we didn’t know what to expect. We only live a few miles outside Manchester and knew when we were on the M60 at 10:45 this morning it was going to be busy.  There were already delays three junctions away. However, we are made of sterner stuff in Manchester and we pressed on. We eventually arrived and parked in one of the Trafford Centre car parks, a short walk… no more than five minutes from the ‘Event City’ halls. The queue to get in only took about 10 minutes and I think the delay was due to the fact everyone was in the same queue… if they had split off everyone that had pre bought their tickets it would have been a little quicker. Once inside… it was warm! top tip – wear light layers and take some water! 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.

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Hello world! – Pt4

12 Thursday Jan 2012

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The hunt is on for a caravan that ticks all the boxes on our list. Searching on the internet comes up with a number of forums dedicated to caravanning as well as all the different manufacturer web sites. One of the first sites I look at is Bailey’s…. the Orion range. Wow… that looks good, there are a couple of videos on the site of some chap called Andrew Ditton taking them to the beach in Spain and somewhere knee deep in snow. I really loved the idea of the Alu-Tech construction system, it seemed right.

Unfortunately, we were looking just at the time the wheel detachment issue was coming to light with one of the Bailey range and on the forums, there was lots of speculation about the mechanical fastening system of the Alu-Tech construction. This knocked Bailey of our top spot for the manufacturer of our soon to be pride and joy.

We had previously been up to Glossop Caravans to look round when we were looking for what we thought we wanted when hiring. It was time for another visit. Originally it was our intention to buy a second hand van, maybe twelve or eighteen months old, but after wandering round all the pre-owned vans, there was nothing we liked or came close to ticking any boxes. What had seemed like an easy task, finding a suitable caravan, suddenly became a lot harder. If we couldn’t find something at one of the biggest dealers in the North West, what chance did we have.

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Hello world! – Pt 3

11 Wednesday Jan 2012

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Our first attempt at packing the caravan up went rather well… we were up early, I’d cooked breakfast again and we had washed up and stowed everything away. During the course of breakfast we had reflected on the first two nights… and what had been a firm decision on the type of caravan we wanted had to be revisited. We definitely wanted a full rear washroom and we definitely wanted a fixed bed! There was a turn about, after looking at fixed beds back at Glossop Caravans a few weeks ago and deciding they were not for us… we had decided a fixed bed was the way forward. We had also revised our list of things we thought we wanted… but this was very flexible at the moment.

It only took us 20 minutes to pack everything away and hitch up… which was surprising, I’d read stories of people spending all morning packing up and hitching up. I had the feeling we were not getting this right somehow. We finally drove round the access road to Kelvedon Hatch at just before 10:30 in the morning and set off for Canterbury.

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