caravan

[NEDDY]

hi cath & I bought a caravan ,our first tourer the water was drained when we got it ,so i was wondering what else I should do. ie should the battery be put in the garage ,do i leave the gas connected or do l leave it all alone with the cable connected any advice would be great many thanks

[zippy656]

also leave the taps turned ON. ant water in there can frezzes and the presure wont pop a joint or spilt a pipe.

handbrake off is good, ive got mine LOCKED to a bulldog post.

its also leve so can be used for friends who need to stop over.

gas is turned off on teh bottle and the main. also all taps under the sink

battery is ok, only chage befor we go ( short trip ) long trip car charges it enought, then on hook up.

zippy

[(RIP) PLANK]

When you are completely hooked, it wont stand still ,long enough to worry about any of this advice as you will be away in it all the time!

Propane, (red bottles) is you best bet for gas as it keeps working when the weather gets very cold, you can leave it conected just turn the tap off on the top of the bottle,

As for you battery, i would trickle charge it, or just plug thre caravan into a scoket and leave the zig unit charging it for a while, but I think it would be bette of in the carvan as it would be out of the way of the frost etc, and cant get left behind!

Though if vandals, or security is a risk, of course take the battery and gass bottles out! We keep a caravan at home and leave the mains plugged in all the time, then i flock the charger on from time to time, and use a littel £20 dehumidifier to keep it dry and fresh.

I dont think the tyres mind much standing now they are modern radials but it can hurt to cover them, I never do but mine, but they dont stand for long, though it will be worth checking that they are all the right tyres for the caravan, not just car tyres (unless a very small light caravan) and that you have a spare etc.

SO what make and model have you bought then?

[jims-terrano]

If you have a water heater and you probably do if it's a modern van. Ensure that the water is drained out of it, there is usually a drain plug on the outside with the gas flu. Remove the plug and let any water out before replacing the plug. I agree if at all possible leave the battery in place and the van hooked up to the mains via an RCD where you plug in to the supply. Also speaking of the gas, NEVER travel with it turned on!!! Allways turn the gas off when not in use. Also as mentioned don't leave the handbrake on as it will stick on. I used to check the tension on the corner steadies from time to time.

Jim T

[(RIP) PLANK]

Oddly, I have an old caravan manual, fomr the 1960's full of advice for first time caravaners, it recomends not only leaving the gas on and connected, but leaving your fridge on gas while you travel!

Sounds just the job for petrol stations :doh

I agree theough leave the handbarke off and the gas bottles turned off!

I try to leave the handbrake off on site too, as it wont roll once the steadies are down, i htnk they are at the worst risk of sticking on when they are applied while the shoes are still hot.

[zippy656]

when we got our new vanin nov 2004 we were aways in the feb, was great watching it snowing over looking the sea.

lovely and warm till the wind got up and i could keep the hearter on gas!.

red bottle. some one had told me not to bother with the bule ones.


kids love it. only trouble it the wife worries when we tow. but its ok.

first towed with an 806. but the T2 is so much better.

[Bibio]

We lift the seat cushions ,and put them on end to let the air circulate under the seats !
(hope this helps)

JOHN

[zippy656]

We lift the seat cushions ,and put them on end to let the air circulate under the seats !
(hope this helps)

JOHN

ours are off the board, as we use the caravan like a shed.. just to store stuf in..

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

plank the 60s ref, yep seen it too.

got a book about the airstreams, and its one of their pre journey preps.

guess things have changed, guess the advent of 12v mode.

[(RIP) PLANK]

zippy as for the wind knocking the heater out i have been there a few times! some carver heaters have the air intake on a kind of swan neck (under the floor) with an wing nut centre and you do have a certain amount of adjustment in it to help redirect the air flow, depending on age and model of course the other problem can be poor gas supply through faulty valve etc.

I had one do this recently and I tried everthing I even installed a whole new heater, when i was fitting a gas pipe to the new one i found some one at some time had replaced a pipe and pushed it too far into the 't' junction partialy cutting off the gas flow! so there was nothing wrong with the heater at all :doh

Another good winter starage tip is: open the over head cupboards and clip a clothes peg over the bottom lip of the frame then let them close, they will be very slightly stuck open, enough to allow good air flow around the vulnearable roof seams ;)

We do tend to keep our caravan's clen and tidy at all times ready for use at any minute, they get used as extra rooms of the house when they are heremore, so get hoovered ploished dusted etc along with everything else at least once a day. But if we ever leave them alone for long, I also like to leave all the cupboard doors open and turn the cushions on edge!

[zippy656]

it was a new van.. will look to see if theres a moveable air intake. just so i know for next time. I also looked at upgrading the heater to gas and electric, but costs wayto much. so we got an electric heater to us when needed. also if your at a site with electric, best use that then use up your gas.

ours is 90% ready to go, im sure if i said we were off, by the time id hitched up. food and a few cloths would be sorted and could be away ..

[(RIP) PLANK]

I agree about the heater Zippy better off using a cheap fan heater, use their exspensive electricity and save wear and tear on your own heating system at the same time! When you are paying (for arguments sake) £2.25 a night for an electric hook up thats equivlent to a household electricity bill of over 3£200 a quarter, and you are only powering one small well insulated room! not a whole house! So dont feel guilty your paying for the power so use it!:thumb2

[NEDDY]

Thanks to you all for all the kind advice the van is an abby piper 4/5 berth(grandkids, you know).Cath and I had an old 6 berth residential at a place called kinghorn on the forth when the kids were wee so this is our first tourer thanks once again