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Caravan Chronicles

~ not just another caravan blog

Caravan Chronicles

Tag Archives: Travel Trailer

NEC Show Roundup – it’s all technical…

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by Simon Barlow in Caravan Electrics, Electrical, General, Maintenance, Modifications, Technical, tow vehicle, VW Amarok

≈ 9 Comments

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 →

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2017 Manchester Caravan And Motorhome Show…

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by Simon Barlow in Camping & Caravan Show, General

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Travel Trailer


It doesn’t seem like 12 months since we were last here, how time flies! Each year the show seems to break the previous years attendance record (last year it was over 33,900 visitors over the four days) and I hope this year the trend continues. Held again at Event City next to the Trafford Centre its the North West’s only big caravan and motorhome show and is the opportunity for some of the biggest caravan dealers to kick the new year off with a deal or two to get the market moving. Although by all accounts this year is going to be a ‘staycation’ bonanza with more and more people choosing to holiday in the UK rather than travelling abroad. Continue reading →

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Feeling Festive and Shooting a Video…

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in Accessories, Christmas Markets, Gadgets, General, Gifts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Caravanning, Caravans, Maintenance, Touring, tow vehicle, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers


This time of year is great for getting away in your caravan or motor home and getting into the festive spirit. We have owned a caravan for 5 years now and every year to extend the season we have managed to take in a Christmas Market – Lincoln, Erddig, Cheltenham, Oxford, Birmingham to name a few. This year would be no exception and we had decided to re-visit Birmingham. Around the same time as we were planning this, Andy Harris, the TV presenter, owner of RoadPro and avid motorhome enthusiast had been in touch and had a product he wanted us to try out… and make a video! Continue reading →

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Pressure Relief…

01 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in Accessories, General, Modifications, Projects, Water & Plumbing

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Maintenance, Modifications, Plumbing, Travel Trailer, Water Supply


A lot of new caravans now have the ability on a ‘super pitch’ to be able to attach a mains water feed directly to the caravan without having to have an Aquarol as a water reservoir, and this seems like a good idea. I started looking at the options available and was surprised at the cost of the only suitable system for our caravan. I also wasn’t keen on the plastic regulator. This got me thinking, maybe it was time for a little Caravan Chronicles DIY project.

I wanted to come up with some sort of contrivance that was assembled from stock components that were easily available anywhere. After a brief search on Amazon I came up with my shopping list and ordered everything (see links below).

IMG_0525

The result was a simple to use commercial pressure regulator that I could use our existing blue water hose that originally connected to the Aquarol and standard hose fittings that allow me all the options for connecting up.

IMG_0526As a temporary mount I used a couple of the small plastic hangars that Fiamma sell that slide into awning rails allowing you to hang things from. In this case a couple of cable ties held it in position. I’m currently in the bat cave folding a small aluminium plate to mount the regulator on that slides into the rail and has a foam padded back to protect the caravan. I opted to use brass fittings for the hose connections rather than plastic just for durability.

So how did it work out?

Well on a recent trip to Southport Caravan Club site (where the photos were taken) it worked extremely well. The initial set up was easy and to start with I reduced the pressure using the small screw on top of the unit to about 0.5 bar (7 PSI) to ensure I didn’t over-pressure the caravan plumbing. I increased this to about 1.5 bar and this gave an excellent flow rate with the added feature of not having to run the internal water pump.

Something that was in the back of my mind however was what if the regulator failed and full mains pressure was allowed through to the caravan’s internal plumbing? As I’d used a commercial unit, hopefully the chances of this would be very slim to non-existent as these units are designed to be permanently installed in commercial and domestic plumbing installations however I also added another little handy gadget at the tap end…

IMG_0547This ‘Y’ fitting has two small ball valves, one of each outlet. So when we go out, I simply turn off the appropriate ball valve. Having a ‘Y’ adaptor also allowed us to fill up our Brita filter jug or draw water off without having to turn the tap off and disconnect the caravan hose. All in all everything worked out perfect. (note I have since changed the blue hose adaptors shown for brass ones for durability).

One last thing…

If you are at all worried about water quality in your caravan, connecting up this way will allow you to thoroughly flush out your caravans water system and give you clean water from your caravan’s taps, (especially In summer too, when the sun has been warming up the water in your Aquarol all day) all you need to do is just run the tap for a minute or so to get cold fresh mains water.

Caravan Chronicles Shopping...

I am often asked where to buy some of the products we use. Here are the links to the products. If you click on the links and purchase any of the items, a few pennies will go to helping the cost of running CaravanChronicles.com

Caravan Ultraflow Inlet Hose Assembly (I bought one of these so I could keep my existing one intact. You will need the correct model for your caravan water inlet).
15mm Adjustable Pressure Reducing Valve Including Gauge 1-6 Bar Reliance Water Controls The pressure regulator comes complete with a pressure gauge.
Brass Bush 1/2“ BSP Female x 3/4″ Male Reducing Bush “Converter (these were used to adapt the size of the fitting on the pressure regulator so I could fit the female quick release adaptors.
Garden Mile® Solid Brass 2-Way Double Outside Garden Tap Adaptor & Hose Connectors 3/4″ With 2 Quick Release Female Adaptors. An option, but very handy.
Silverline 598438 Tap Connector Brass I bought two of these for the regulator.

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A Timely Reminder…

17 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in General

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Caravan, caravan site, Caravanning, Caravans, Safety, speed limits, Towing, Travel Trailer


i came across this while doing some research for a dash cam for a future project.

This is the first half term of the 2015 caravanning season and a lot of sites will have children staying. All sites have speed limits and it’s important to adhere to these limits… or even slower. However children will be children… we have all been one once and we have to expect the unexpected.

Happily no serious injuries. Everyone, please stay safe this season.

(c) Youtube/DashcamOwnersAustralia/OP

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Milestone…

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, General

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Audit Bureau of Circulations , Caravan, Caravan Blog, Caravanning, Caravans, Touring, Travel Trailer


Today Caravan Chronicles passed 1/2 million views!

Caravan Chronicles started back in January 2012 and in that first month had a grand total of 695 views and managed to get 36,831 total page views for the for the first year. Last year (2014) we had 336,734 total views. Today at the start of our 4th year we average around 1100 views each day and exceed 30,000 views per month.

To put these figures into perspective, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) caravan and motohome magazines had the following monthly circulation (the latest figures available are from 2013)….

  • Practical Caravan – 25,845 copies
  • Practical Motorhome – 12,399 copies
  • Caravan Magazine – 13,009 copies
  • Motorcaravan Motorhome Monthly – 31,475 copies
  • Which Motorhome – 5977 copies

Sue and I would just like to thank everyone for reading, following, commenting and giving us ideas for new articles. Without you, we probably would not of kept going.

Thanks

Simon & Sue

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2015 Caravan and Motorhome Show Review…

15 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Camping & Caravan Show, General, Motor Home, Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2015 Caravan & Motorhome Show, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Event City, Touring, Towing, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers


THE CARAVAN & MOTORHOME SHOW, MANCHESTER
15th – 18th January 2015
EventCity, Phoenix Way, Barton Dock Rd, Manchester M41

Show Opening Times:
Thursday: 10 – 6pm
Friday: 10 – 8pm (free for visitors from 5pm onwards)
Saturday: 9.30 – 6pm
Sunday: 9.30 – 5.30pm

2015 Caravan & Motorhome Show CoverThe 2015 Caravan and Motorhome show was held once again at Event City near the Trafford Centre shopping mall. Although in its 17th year, this is the fourth year its been held at Event City and 2014 saw a record-breaking attendance of over 27,900 visitors, up by 13% on 2012.  if the success continues at the current rate it won’t be long before it might have to go from a 4 day event to a 5 day event.

Although the weather was forecast to be a bit wild and windy, the sun was shining and the M60 motorway was surprisingly quiet as we left home this morning and it only took about 20 minutes to get there. Car parking is not a problem and this year they have introduced a temporary traffic light crossing on Barton Dock road to make it easier crossing from the car park to Event City. Continue reading →

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Something To Keep An Eye On In 2015…

02 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, General, Reviews, Travelling In Europe, Travelling in the UK, Web sites

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, RVillage, Touring, travel, Travel Trailer, Websites


It’s not often something comes along that is different and maybe the next big thing in caravanning and camping… but I think this website might just be worth keeping an eye on. I was alerted to it by Chris Dunphy & Cherie Ve Ard. (Technomads). It started last year in America by a group of like-minded RV’ers that wanted a way to keep in touch… and more besides. Continue reading →

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Blackpool Illuminations 2014 – DONE!…

04 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, Mini Break, Travelling in the UK, Weekend Break

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Blackpool, Blackpool Illuminations, Caravanning, Caravans, Manor House, Manor House Caravan Park, Touring, Towing, Travel Trailer


Monday 27th October was the start of our next trip, our annual ‘cycle Blackpool Illuminations. Well I say annual, it was actually the third time we have done this. We again opted for a return visit to one of Tranquil Touring Parks member’s sites, the excellent Manor House Caravan Park at Marton Moss run by Jeremy and Sharon Haworth. Continue reading →

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Recent Posts

  • Getting All Charged Up – Update 2… January 29, 2018
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