Hi,

As we are venturing into the world of caravanning for the very first time, we have about a million questions to ask!

If any of you would consider answering any of the ten below, that will leave only 999,990 left to ask

Thanks!

1. On average, how many trips do you take each year and what is the shortest/ longest?

2. Do you ever tour ‘out of season’?

3. Without hookup how long approx. would a 110amp leisure battery last, using just interior lights, fridge, and maybe a TV?

4. If on a long trip that needs an overnight stay en-route, do you always find a site or stay elsewhere? (lay-by/ service station for example)

5. Reading various sites and wanting to get things correct from the ‘off’, do you always check your nose-weight, and if so how?

6. Have you ever been unfortunate enough to experience ‘snaking’ and if so how difficult was it to correct?

7. Just how difficult is it to reverse, and how long did it take you to ‘Master’ it? ( and do B & Q’s / Tesco’s mind you using their car parks at 6am on a Sunday to practise)

8. Linked to the above question, we are lucky enough to have motor movers on our van, just how far can you manoeuvre with them, would there ever be a need to reverse using the car?

9. How long did it take you to first erect your awning? ( Dealers advice was to open a box of wine first – note box not bottle!)

10. Linked to above, now experienced how long does your awning take, and is there, in your opinion, a minimum stay to make it worthwhile? Kola is the big solid black German Shepherd, Dobbie is.......a breed you've never heard of......yet;)

1. On average, how many trips do you take each year and what is the shortest/ longest?
min 10-12 times a year- Longest trips about 6000 miles in Europe

2. Do you ever tour ‘out of season’? Yes

3. Without hookup how long approx. would a 110amp leisure battery last, using just interior lights, fridge, and maybe a TV? short weekend-take two batteries

4. If on a long trip that needs an overnight stay en-route, do you always find a site or stay elsewhere? (lay-by/ service station for example) Motorways services or late night arrivals area at camp site-often used them between 02.00 & 08.00hrs

5. Reading various sites and wanting to get things correct from the ‘off’, do you always check your nose-weight, and if so how? buy a nose weight gauge and after a while you know when its right

6. Have you ever been unfortunate enough to experience ‘snaking’ and if so how difficult was it to correct?
only once with a single axle in high winds, just dont touch anything and allow to slow on its own or even just touch the throttle to pull it out of a snake depending on if your going down hill or up ! normally only caused by very poor weight distribution

7. Just how difficult is it to reverse, and how long did it take you to ‘Master’ it? ( and do B & Q’s / Tesco’s mind you using their car parks at 6am on a Sunday to practise) I'm HGV & PSV driver so no issues. Piece of cake

8. Linked to the above question, we are lucky enough to have motor movers on our van, just how far can you manoeuvre with them, would there ever be a need to reverse using the car? Motormover brilliant, done a few hundred yards with mine and down very steep hill on a camp site much to everyone's amusement !

9. How long did it take you to first erect your awning? ( Dealers advice was to open a box of wine first – note box not bottle!) 1 hr first time now about 20 mins for an 8 mtr awning with ultra light poles & use a big club hammer for the pegs.

10. Linked to above, now experienced how long does your awning take, and is there, in your opinion, a minimum stay to make it worthwhile? weekend we just use porch awning-abroad we use a canopy - 2 weeks UK we use big awning

Just relax & enjoy- we have be vanning 25 years & love it & go anywhere- cheaper & easier abroad because sites are better & weather is a very big bonus & roads are just fantastic

Kola is the big solid black German Shepherd, Dobbie is.......a breed you've never heard of......yet;)

Hi Oldgezzer,

Thanks for that reply, hope you realise just how helpful it is!

Many many thanks

PS.... 12th June seems a million miles away, we cant wait to get started! Kola is the big solid black German Shepherd, Dobbie is.......a breed you've never heard of......yet;)

All OG's answers are spot on - respect Just a few things to add:

4: We normally stop in established sites/CLs etc. Crossing to France once we disembarked from the ferry at around 10pm and parked up amongst the trucks on the dockside until morning. The most secure place we have parked!
5: Alternatively use the bathroom scales and a suitable length of timber from scales to 50mm ball socket.
6: I have had a snake once - not this car or 'van - weight distribution is the major factor. Be careful on long downhill stretches- keep your speed down. Take notice of the HGV artics in this situation, you will see them applying the brakes on downhill runs - they do it for a reason! My pal had a violent snake which suddenly recovered - only to find when he got to site the rear awning rail was crushed where he had hit the adjacent HGV
7: Like OG I also have an HGV ticket so no real problems. Tip - when reversing straight, watch the 'van sides in your mirrors - as a van side begins to show itself, pull down on the steering wheel on that side to straighten. You don't need to turn your head much at all when used to it.
8: You will still need to reverse in service area parkings etc - so get practicing!
10: I have a full-size Bradcot Classic awning with easy-alloy poles. I use it as a canopy without the sides more often than not - & very quick to put up on my own. I have 2 porch awnings - a Pyramid Corsican (hate it, takes as long as the Bradcot to put up & bulky to pack) and a Sunncamp Scenic Plus (which I also hate - compact & easy to put up but never "smart"). I prefer the Bradcot every time!

As OG says - Just relax & enjoy it!  10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

1. On average, how many trips do you take each year and what is the shortest/ longest?
Try to get away once a month

2. Do you ever tour ‘out of season’?
Yes

3. Without hookup how long approx. would a 110amp leisure battery last, using just interior lights, fridge and maybe a TV?
All depends, TV can be 12v, change all the lights to LED's, Fridge, heating, cooking and hot water all gas, so that only leaves your water pump and Fan for the warm air distribution if its cold.

4. If on a long trip that needs an overnight stay en-route, do you always find a site or stay elsewhere? (lay-by/ service station for example)
Not keen on lay-bys or services, just find a site on the route for the night, or even two nights. If your staying over here unless your going up to the top of Scotland most places can be reached in a day.

5. Reading various sites and wanting to get things correct from the ‘off’, do you always check your nose-weight, and if so how?
As per Dunkley

6. Have you ever been unfortunate enough to experience ‘snaking’ and if so how difficult was it to correct?
Careful loading is the key and try not to pass LGV's on the downhill, especially car transporters.

7. Just how difficult is it to reverse, and how long did it take you to ‘Master’ it? ( and do B & Q’s / Tesco’s mind you using their car parks at 6am on a Sunday to practise)
Peace of urine, always try to reverse so you can see the van on the offside, doing it blindside if you a novice will hit your confidence big time, take your time and if its going wrong just pull forward and start again, keep the revs as low as you can and watch the clutch, especially if your pitch is uphill.

8. Linked to the above question, we are lucky enough to have motor movers on our van, just how far can you manoeuvre with them, would there ever be a need to reverse using the car?
I had a mover fitted just to save the clutch, my van sits on the drive which is up hill, I used to have a Disco with a manual box which was easy, put it in Low Range not a problem, then changed to an Auto, very rarely use the mover now, never on site anyway.

9. How long did it take you to first erect your awning? ( Dealers advice was to open a box of wine first – note box not bottle!)
The first time is the worst, get a few rolls of different coloured insulation tape and when the awning is up, mark all the poles with the tape, I.e. black to black, red to red,

10. Linked to above, now experienced how long does your awning take, and is there, in your opinion, a minimum stay to make it worthwhile?
[b] All depends on your needs, just the two of us so don't bother with a full awning anymore, bought a Caravanstor Zip four years ago, fixed to the awning channel and just rolls out as we need it, rolls away in a couple of minutes, even in the wet.
 p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Hi kola, og answers pretty much spot on, we have a couple of bin lids so things are slightly different.


1, depends on money but generally 5-6 times a year' 1 night shortest ( hadrians wall) 10 nights Cornwall.

2, not really but we do the odd night.


3, I never rely on just the battery, but I have a top up lead that I can hook onto the car and then run the car to top up the battery.

4, I generally don't run overnight but if I did I would always find a site and plan my journey accordingly .

5, yes yes yes, I have the milenco calibrated gauge, I always do this , plod do like to check and I've seen many a caravaner have to redistribute their load.

6, yes down Staxton hill nr Scarborough , I let the disco take the load, a 2.5t car v 1.1t of van the van lost, the old disco just moved slightly then settled down. But the advise og gave was spot on, ( I dared not accelerate not down a 1in 4 ) I relied on the the size and weight of the disco to get me out of trouble.

7 driven plant trailers for yrs so quite used to it. But just take your time cc and ccc both do courses.

8 nope not got such devilry on my caravan.

9+10 ah the old divorce in a bag , take your time read the instructions , try and do it at home first, we use tape to colour code sides , we now have it off pat 15-30 mins depending on weather. We have a canopy for short stays and full awning for long stays.

Caravaning is a really relaxing hobby but if you let it , it will really stress you out, if someone offers help and advice on sites take the advice listen, try it, it might suit you it might not, if your stuck go ask someone , we've all been there.

Have fun that's the main thing. My11 freelander 2, xs, Manual, 18" hse sparkles, sidesteps, privacy, zermatt silver metallic, almond nutmeg alacantra, twin electric towbar

Gone my09 xs D3

just for you Koloa's Kab

Touring in Europe once you get used to caravanning is very easy, lot less traffic, stunning sites with excellent facilities and best of all great weather.
If you spot the Blue jag with caravan in the distance by the lake that was mine ! total peace & quiet. Excellent site for fishing,& reading. No airports or railways or autoroutes nearby so very very quiet.













& some sites you can request a pitch with fridge freezer, BBQ, sun-chairs table & chairs etc etc


& some sites have the best restuarnts with excellent food !


Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated

Hi,

Just a great big thanks to you all. Such useful and informative info, we truly are grateful, and if we ever encounter any of you on site, the drinks are definitely on us! Getting very excited, tow bar being fitted 10th June, caravan collected 12th.....is gonna be a long 10 day wait!

We have a trip planned down to Kent on 20th July for the first ever breed dog show in this country for our 'boy' (see gallery for details), and are thinking of taking the van down as a base, and then doing a bit of southern counties touring returning, well when we feel like it basically!

Looked at CC and CCC courses but either fully booked till Aug (CC) or cancelled (CCC).

However, our near neighbour has a 1.1/2 acre level and grassed field clear of any obstructions, so a neighbourly visit with associated bribery is soon in order methinks! Kola is the big solid black German Shepherd, Dobbie is.......a breed you've never heard of......yet;)

Hi,

WOW Oldgezzer! Just seen your latest reply, fantastic and thanks.....However must keep 'Top Management' away from it.....She's costing me a fortune already  Kola is the big solid black German Shepherd, Dobbie is.......a breed you've never heard of......yet;)

If you dont mind me asking what kin of towbar are you getting fitted and how much? 2008 HST auto in Santorini Black, removable swan neck twin electrics, no other mods YET

Its like ronseal, does what it says on the tin

We have the fixed type tow bar, as I need to carry bikes and tow a van so this suited me better than the removable type I had on the d3,

Ours was fitted when we got it, but I think it's in the region of £800 fitted as they have to remove the rear bumper and modify it, this to the best of my knowledge. And then tell the cars ecu there is a tow bar fitted.

Nice place og. My11 freelander 2, xs, Manual, 18" hse sparkles, sidesteps, privacy, zermatt silver metallic, almond nutmeg alacantra, twin electric towbar

Gone my09 xs D3

Hi,

No problem! Its a witter detachable swan neck tow bar, with Witter dedicated electrics, being fitted at our home by an approved Witter installer, price to include the re-programming of the car ECU, for which they have the required soft wear

Did lots of research, most so called fitters knew nothing about the dedicated electrics! This Company said straight off it would be the only way they would fit a tow bar to a Freelander!

All in cost £520..... over 33% cheaper than the Stealer alas they do seem intent of pricing themselves out of the market Kola is the big solid black German Shepherd, Dobbie is.......a breed you've never heard of......yet;)

Pricing themselves out of the market, you're not wrong there kola My11 freelander 2, xs, Manual, 18" hse sparkles, sidesteps, privacy, zermatt silver metallic, almond nutmeg alacantra, twin electric towbar

Gone my09 xs D3

Ok thanks for that. I had one fitted recently and needed a detachable as leaving it on spoils the aesthetics and dont like walking into it when I forget its there.

Been towing with it twice now and it seems fine, just keeping my eyes on it. Paid £330 fitted, but interesting about what you say about the ECU. What do they need to change or connect? 2008 HST auto in Santorini Black, removable swan neck twin electrics, no other mods YET

Its like ronseal, does what it says on the tin