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101 caravanning Tips
Gas safety
Never store a cylinder of gas on its side. There must be a gap between
the LPG and the valve. If there isn’t and liquid escapes it immediately
expands to about 200 times its volume, e.g. 1cc of liquid becomes 200cc
of vapour.
Keep taking the tablets
If you are on permanent medication, ask your doctor or chemist to
provide you with a list of the medicines. Should the Customs decide to
search the caravan and find the medication you can prove that you are
legally entitled to have them. Also, if you need to obtain further
supplies when abroad, the local chemist will be able to identify the
medicine.
Shake it up
Fire extinguishers in caravans are almost always powder type. Therefore
give it a good shake each week to prevent the powder becoming solid.
Bear in mind that they only give a few seconds discharge, so it’s wise
to also have a fire blanket.
Road to recovery
If you belong to a car recovery scheme check that they will recover your
caravan if it breaks down (or loses a wheel, for example). Many will
only recover a caravan as part of recovering a broken down car, and some
may not recover a caravan at all. If you have any doubts, become a
member of one of the two major clubs and join its dedicated recovery
scheme.
Pocket interpreter
When travelling abroad, if you aren’t confident speaking the native
tongue, invest in an electronic language interpreter. You type in a word
in English and the machine instantly works out a Spanish, French, German
or whatever equivalent.
Mirror manoeuvres
If you have to correct the outfit when reversing, look in your towing
mirrors and turn the wheel towards the one in which you can see the side
of the caravan. This will correct the situation.
Strike camp early
When using an awning, take it down the evening before you leave the
site. Even on a summer’s morning there is a risk of early morning damp,
which can damage the awning fabric if it is packed away before it is
thoroughly dry.
Be a barrow boy (or girl)
Instead of lugging heavy objects around, take a small folding sack
barrow and save your back.
Use your head
A headtorch is useful if you need to change a wheel at night. The latest
LED versions are cheap, incredibly bright and very efficient when it
comes to batteries.
Air con on the cheap
Your Truma blown air heating system is an effective way of cooling the
caravan in hot weather. The fan alone will efficiently move air around
the interior. Reverse the direction of the extractor fan and that will
also ‘suck in’ cooler air.
Caravan first aid kit
Don’t leave home without WD40, Milton fluid, a reliable torch, spare
fuses, adjustable spanner and two screwdrivers.
Customise your carpets
Don’t like the fixed carpet in your second hand caravan? Fitting a weave
of your choice is easy and cheap using main carpet suppliers’ off cut
rolls. Many are of a quality you’d find in a mansion.
Manage your risk
Insurance is good but over-insuring is money down the drain. Check
certain aspects of caravan insurance aren’t already covered on home or
other policies you have and don’t duplicate.
Break the mould
Before winter storage, flush the toilet and rinse the tank with Milton
Fluid to stop black mould forming in the tank.
Black out the dawn chorus
Tubular pipe lagging (available from all DIY shops) attached to the
bottom of blinds eliminates all light, stopping excited kids waking with
the 4am summer sun.
Spare yourself
It’s expensive, but if you holiday abroad, carry what spares you can
afford. A water pump and kitchen taps are favourites. Pricey it may
be... until one fails on your first day in the Dordogne.
Born slippy?
Swimming pool tape - a black non-slip grip tape - can be bought on the
roll in most DIY stores. It’s ideal for giving plastic entrance steps,
or bunk bed ladder steps a grippy surface.
It’s a gas
If you are using butane gas and the air temperature drops below 1ºC
(34ºF) the butane will not gas. To get it to do so, shake the cylinder.
Better still, use propane all year round.
Smooth operator
If you intend using an awning, spray the awning channel with a polish
containing silicone to make it easier to pull the awning through.
Brake away
If you have to push the outfit off a boggy pitch, push the car not the
caravan. Pushing the caravan towards the car applies the caravan brakes.
Doh!
On the level
Forgotten your spirit level again? The solution is simple if you’re
travelling with kids. Simply steal one of their balls (football, tennis
or whatever) and place it in the middle of your dining table. Note the
direction of travel and adjust the chocks accordingly.
Get it taped
When you fit the numberplate to the ’van, use double-sided numberplate
tape down each edge but not along the top and the bottom. It helps
prevent the build-up of dirt and grime behind the numberplate.
Slope off
If you are pitching on a sloping pitch, always park with the ’van facing
down the slope. It makes it easier to pull off the pitch at the end of
your stay.
Alternative awning
The new generation of lightweight awnings are easy to erect and offer
good value for money, but if you’re only an occasional caravanner, why
not just take your garden gazebo? These can be pitched next to the ’van
in a matter of minutes and if you don’t have one already - they can be
picked up for as little as £15.
Switch your supplier
Consider switching to composite BP Gaslight gas cylinders. There’s a
marginal increase in cost, but they could bring your noseweight into
line and save your back.
Solar flair
As well as illuminating your pitch during the evening, solar lights can
double up as night lights to gently illuminate a caravan washroom, or
children’s sleeping quarters without drawing on the electrical supply.
Hammer it home
If you’re towing down to southern Europe for summer, don’t rely on a
lightweight mallet to drive in awning pegs - you’ll need something more
substantial to get through the hard-baked ground.
Get tooled up
Shops like Machine Mart, Argos etc will sell you a handy household tool
set - containing all the tools you’ll ever need - for under £20. Stash
one in your caravan and you’ll be ‘Mr Popular’ on site - it’ll make
blagging beer and burgers much easier later on, too...
Be prepared
Carry a set of battery leads and a strong towrope. Then if your car
battery goes flat or you need a tow, you have all the equipment
necessary to enable someone else to help you. And of course, you can
also be a Good Samaritan to anyone else in trouble.
Fit it up front
Buying a new car? It may be beneficial to have the towbar fitted at the
point of manufacture. Many manufacturer-fit towbars include standard
auto gearbox coolers, uprated fans, an updated ECU programme and
built-in electronic stabilisers. Well worth the extra outlay.
Rope trick
A word of warning about towropes. The ones you buy from motorists’ shops
are intended for towing vehicles on tarmac surfaces such as roads. They
are not intended to pull cars and caravans off boggy ground so if you do
have to use a towrope in these conditions, make sure everyone stands
well clear because if the rope does break, it could cause a serious
injury. The flat braided-type have the highest strength rating.
Like long showers?
Splash out on a second water carrier and double what’s immediately
available. You’re on holiday, so take your time…
Copy your documents
If you’re going away on holiday - and especially if you are travelling
on the continent - hide photocopies of your debit and credit cards,
passports, and full driving licence etc. in the van. Then if the worst
happens you can use the photocopies to help obtain replacements.
Glow in the dark
Avoid grovelling around in the gloom when downing steadies in the
evening twilight. Just paint the steady winder nuts with fluorescent
paint.
Down steadies
Buy a cheap cordless drill especially for caravanning. Apart from the
obvious drilling and screwdriving functions, it can be used to wind down
corner steadies. At a push, you can also use it with a long masonry bit
to drill holes in the hard ground ready for windbreak poles. Make sure
it’s charged before you leave home.
Stow it in the car
Remember, taking a boxful of kit out of the caravan has double the
positive offset weight by adding weight to the towcar. You’ll have a
better drive too.
Spruce up
If you’ve got your clothes oily changing a wheel, or doing some other
maintenance, you can clean your clothes with margarine and washing up
liquid. Rub the margarine well into the grease spots on clothes first,
then rub the washing up liquid in. Then rinse your treated clothes as
normal.
Dirty or oily hands?
No problem, just wash your hands in washing up liquid and sugar. Don’t
wet it and the abrasive action of the paste will get the dirt out of the
grooves in your skin. Once clean, simply rinse the mixture off (the
sugar will dissolve).
Reverse to the right
Always try to reverse your van to the right - this way you’ll be able to
see what the unit is doing through the driver’s window without having to
rely on mirrors, or your long-suffering partner.
Watch your back
Most common caravan damage? Rear corners. Remember the back of the ’van
will kick out during sharp turning manoeuvres. If you’re unsure, get
someone to watch your back.
Think before you buy
Like your new caravan, Sir? You’ll need an awning to go with it. Not
necessarily true. A modern, quick pop-up porch awning for muddy boots
may suffice.
Milton cleans
Hate chemical smells? Milton fluid disinfects, bleaches and protects
without the horrible honk.
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