Lower bed locker door, no joy, apparently other parts have to be ordered.
Front chest lower drawer, wrong part has been sent by Lunar? Will need to re-order and fit at another time.
Not a very successful service, let’s see what awaits us in the next instalment.
The very popular Rowntree Park Caravan Club Site in York was our agenda for this trip. It is sited right in the centre of York, so you can literally walk from the site into the town centre along the river Ouse within a matter of minutes. So Sat Nav programmed and we were off! Well nearly, the suggested route to the site takes you around the ring road and up the A19, which is fine for a Southern approach, but seems a bit of a detour approaching from the North. I decided therefore to take the A59 directly into York from the A1. We have a new piece of equipment with us this time, namely the Waeco TropiCool TC21FL fridge. Perfect for keeping those food essentials cool whilst doing the towing. It’s main use will be when we tour France later this year, but it’s still very handy for the shorter UK journeys.
So with caravan in tow we headed South. The A59 approach worked out absolutely fine and before we knew it, we were on the final approach down Clementhorpe where we greeted by parked cars and an apposing skip. 
Needless to say it was a tight fit to get through, a very tight fit! After inching our way through we were finally greeted by Terry Avenue along the banks of the Ouse and swiftly turned into Rowntree Park. As we had made good time and left quite early, we arrived before noon, where the site’s strict policy of ‘no arrivals before noon’ was soon enforced. After a quick lap of the site we were faced with the prospect of hanging around somewhere to kill the extra hour. Now York is not blessed with an abundance of space, finding somewhere to turn around would be quite a challenge. A wrong turn could quickly have you travelling down some very narrow streets. So we decided that we would head back on the A59 for a while and find an appropriate space to let time pass where we could also turn around easily enough. This was duly found by way of a garden centre just on the outskirts of York itself.
Returning to the site (after noon) we were welcomed by the friendly owners and given the option of pitching on the main site (Parkside) or Riverside, which is a smaller separate section of the site accessed just before the main entrance. We chose to pitch in the more secluded Riverside section, namely pitch 101. Pitch size was adequate, not the biggest but good enough for our short visit. The toilet block is located back on the main site and is accessed via keys rather than keypad. Again perfectly fine, no complaints there. Water and waste management was located just by the entrance, so that was very convenient for us. With the caravan set, it was time to explore York!
York town centre is accessed by a short walk up the river banks. From here you have access to everything that York has to offer: York Minster; National Railway Museum; York Castle Museum; York Dungeon; Clifford’s Tower; Yorkshire Museum; Jorvik; Shambles, along with the many tours via bus and boat to be taken. 
Cafes and restaurants are plentiful, along with the many shops, our short weekend looked a little too short to take all of this in!
For the remainder of Saturday we perused the town centre, absorbing the busy, lively atmosphere that York has. Returning to the caravan, we decided a takeaway was in order. Some local shops can be accessed from the site by going to a gate at the North end of the main site. This gate gives you access to the local shops, which are just a street away. Fish & chips got the vote, although there were curry and pizza offerings as well.
On Sunday we managed to attend morning Eucharist at the Minster followed by a visit to the National Railway Museum (train fix #2!). 
A gentle stroll back through the town, picking up some supplies from the local supermarket and we were set for the evening, basking in the sunshine back at the caravan.
Monday morning and time to leave what has been a wonderful weekend. We packed up, handed the keys back and left the site. Upon leaving Riverside, there is a tree on your left which prohibits turning directly left if you have a large caravan. Therefore we headed back into the main site for a quick lap so that we could exit safely. The caravan was soon back in storage and we were heading home once again, back to work for some!
Our next outing was scheduled to quench our thirst for West End musicals. Now that we had our caravan, we could camp near London and take in the shows and sights at leisure without being strapped for time as we often were with the usual excursions!
So a quick trawl through campsites in or near London and I soon found a site which seemed to be highly recommended for what we wanted. Our criteria is simple, a good quality site with good transport access into the centre of London. Abbey Wood Caravan Site ticked all the boxes, so Sat Nav programmed and we were off.
As our caravan is in storage with no real opportunity to bring it home, our fridge can’t be charged ready for the journey. We’ve started to realise this is a bit of a drawback as we packed the food supplies, so on the agenda next is to purchase some form of cooler box which we can put in the car to keep the goods chilled until we pitch where the fridge can run on full from the EHU.
It was an early start as the journey time was going to be around 6 hours and we wanted to hit the site between 12 and 1pm. The journey itself was simple and fairly quiet with it being a bank holiday Monday. On the M11 a toilet break was ordered, so the eyes were peeled for the next service station. Luckily this was Birchanger Green which is a large Welcome Break services. As we pulled in I was pleased to see a sign for caravans pointing me in the correct direction. This we duly followed and then as if by magic, no more further signs! As we passed the coach park we pulled in there thinking this could be the place for us. But just as we were ready to stop we caught sign of another caravan sign. Hooray, out we went basically heading for the exit where upon we came across the dedicated caravan bays. Very nice, shame it just wasn’t signed better. We were making good time so we decided to stay for a while, whilst we tried to eat a few melted chocolate sweets washed down with warm pop. Thoughts turn to the cooler …
M25, not too busy, bustling with road works however, but all perfectly manageable. Over the bridge and time to cough up. I was expecting to pay more with us towing a caravan, but no we got through with just a car charge. Now it was time for the Sat Nav to earn its keep! I had keyed in the route I wanted to take to the site, so now it was just a case of following the instructions the Garmin lady served at every junction. I have to say that if feels as though you are in the centre of London itself and you start to doubt that you are in the correct place. But sure enough, one left turn off a typical residential street and we were presented with Abbey Wood Caravan Site.
First impressions were good. A very well presented and maintained site. We reported in and were greeted by two very friendly owners who gave us a map of the site and told us to find a pitch and report back when we had done so. As there are a couple of options as you drive around the one way system, we were informed as to the best places for the sun and not to worry if we went around a few times. Apparently the
leader in this event holds a healthy score of 5 laps!
We circled the site once and then decided the inner circle was for us. So we headed for that and found our plot, number 9. A quick unhitch, a quick deployment of the Mammu
t and we were pitched, ready to relax and take in London. Oh yes, things are getting easier, experience is starting to show as I confidently took on the water management duties, with a single hand no less this time!
We were blessed with good weather and so began with a walk into Abbey Wood in order to find somewhere to eat. Low and behold right before us as we entered Abbey Wood was the Abbey Wood Café. A great café with a good selection of meals to chose from with friendly staff. Food was great and we were soon no longer hungry. We returned to the caravan for the night. One thing that we did differently this trip was to not make the front bed up, but leave it as two singles and use a sleeping bag as a cover. This actually worked quite well as the Alde heating ensured we were plenty warm enough. For time constrained holidays we might continue doing this. Of course for longer holidays and indeed in France we would make the bed and probably leave it, as we’ll have awnin
g space as well. It’s all interesting, just got to find the way that ‘works’ for us best I suppose.
The next day we were heading into London to see a show, so we set off in the morning and headed for the train station in Abbey Wood. We were greeted by a very bubbly character who duly sorted our tickets out coupled with some friendly banter, we also were pleased to discover that being off-peak we were due some discount! And before we knew it, we were riding the South Eastern on our way to Charing Cross (If you’re not from the area, that’s ‘Charring’ as in ‘Char’ from ‘Charity’ and ‘ing’ as in, well just ‘ing’, sorted).
Following a brief walk around Trafalgar Square we headed for Leicester Square, firstly to eat and then to the TKTS booth to decide upon which musical would be our first this afternoon. With some good seats and tickets at half price, it was off to Her Majesty’s Theatre for a viewing of Phantom of the Opera, brilliant! The weather was extremely good, so upon return to the caravan, we sat outside and soaked up some of the sunshine. The site has some 
regulars who are not of the white box on wheels variety, namely squirrels and foxes. We saw them in abundance, especially the squirrels who seemed undaunted by the presence of us humans with their contraptions. Reception very kindly warned us no to leave anything outside of the van, especially at night, as our furry friends here were well known for taking such things!
Toilet blocks are immaculate, as is the rest of the site. There is a useful information room next to the reception. Pitches are well spaced and well maintained. I have to say that out of all the sites we have stayed at so far (3 and counting!) this is our favourite. Maybe the CC sites are for us? Well we’ve got a few more booked so we’ll soon see!
Wednesday was claimed as a shopping day by the daughter! So we headed for Oxford Street and pounded the streets. Underestimating just how long this street is we were soon eager to find a café, plenty about so no problems there. Thursday we were off to see Shrek the Musical. Again an easy walk from Charing Cross, we soon found ourselves at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane following a walk around Buckingham Palace an
d back along the Thames. Amanda Holden wasn’t performing this particular week, but non-the-less the show was very good and the lady playing Fiona was superb. Back at the caravan and before we knew it, it was the last night of the holiday yet again!
Friday morning and the pack up began. I’d made a check list for preparing the caravan for journey and storage, this was proving a useful tool as it made the whole procedure stress free and would eliminate that one time when I would no doubt forgot to do something, causing damage, causing stress and further outlay of money I’m sure. Hitched up, we were ready to tackle the motorways yet again.
The return journey was fairly plain sailing bar the toilet stop request which beckoned early whilst on the A1. Peterborough looked a likely target, but this place was no where near as big as Birchanger Green. The caravans were sign posted to the same section as all of the other cars. There looked to be only a few caravan spaces, but all were taken and the car park was swarming with cars like bees on a busy day. It soon became clear that we weren’t going to get parked up here, so I made for the exit, which included negotiating some tight turns whilst patiently avoiding the cars which wouldn’t give you an inch to budge in their bullish determination to reach thei
r destination. Boy was I relieved to get out of their unscathed! With a firm voice I declared the next stop would be in Ferry Bridge, just a l-i-t-t-le further up the motorway! Knowing that the A1 was pretty much all non-motorway from here until then, I didn’t want to risk another exposure to a service area unsuitable for the towing fraternity. I was starting to think now about the benefits of having the caravan toilet charged and ready to go. We could pull into any lay-by to use it and not have to fight our way around the useless caravan unfriendly services we have in the UK. It is said that fluids shouldn’t be stored whilst in transit, but surely only a little fluid is required for one or two uses and that may not be too detrimental to the towing stability, especially with ATC and a stabiliser. More research into this topic is required!
Back at storage we duly unhitched and before I could put the tow ball cover on, our caravan was pulled back into its bay single handled by the storage owner. To say he makes it look easy is an understatement. I’m still hanging on to the front whilst he pulls it back normally. I need to let it go, I know – it’s just difficult, after all it is our brand new baby!
Following much deliberation over which awning to purchase, we have finally purchased our desired awning, namely the ‘Bradcot Olympian’.
We chose this awning for the following reasons:
We will only be using the awning mainly on longer holidays, so therefore we don’t mind the slightly longer set-up time. Being of the full type, no window problems occur with down poles. Visitors can also use it to stay with us. So weighing the criteria up, we decided that this would be the best option. We looked at the Isabel awnings, as they are the Rolls Royce, but decided that they weren’t quite right for us, namely on colour/looks and also on the cost, for what we were going to use it for.
As previously mentioned, the only fault we could initially find with our Lunar Clubman ES was the nearside bed locker, which wasn’t closing properly. This had duly been noted by Catterick Caravans and a new locker door ordered. I was notified when this arrived and we agreed on a mutually agreeable time to take the caravan in to have this repair carried out. As it was near the time of our Fallowfield Dene trip, I decided to book it in on our return journey.
We arrived at Catterick Caravans around 12:30pm and booked ourselves in. We were told the procedure of where to leave the caravan and told that we would be notified as soon as it was ready. We also notified them of a couple of other faults which we had discovered during out last outing, namely the side dinette table, which was working slightly loose from the wall and also the lower drawer of the front chest which had some minor scuff marks.
We decided to take this opportunity to take a spot of lunch at their cafe, which has a good range of meals at reasonable cost. This we did, followed by a walk around their accessory store, where we picked up a couple of things, as you do! We were then notified that the caravan was ready but that the bed locker hadn’t been fixed as it required another part, along with the need to order a new drawer for the front chest. So we will need to return again once the parts are available, well hopefully we can tie that in with another outing!
Hopefully this post will not be ongoing! We have been very happy with the caravan so far, the faults are only superficial, yes they shouldn’t be there in the first place, but as long as they are sorted quickly and efficiently we can live with it. Catterick Caravans have provided a first class service so far, so I hope to report the same in the future with closure to this.
Our second outing in the caravan and we’re off to Fallowfield Dene Caravan and Camping Park in Hexham, Northumberland. With it being Easter, a lot of the sites were already fully booked, but we managed to get a pitch on this site luckily. It’s set near the village of Acomb which is a 5 minute drive away from Hexham, just off the A69.
The day began with the collection of our caravan from storage. Now with it being Easter, it was the big get-away! We had to be quick, efficient and professional in getting the van out, hitching up and getting out of there! The staff are always on hand to give you a hand and with a quick push from the back, the site owner had pulled the caravan out and brought it to the car, before I had even managed to remove the tow bar cover! It seems to me that manoeuvring a caravan on solid ground isn’t too bad. Previously, I thought that to move the caravan it was car or mover, but it seems there is a third option! Hitched-up, green markers showing on hitch and stabiliser, ATC glowing green, we were ready to depart and hit the roads again!
Armed with the Sat Nav, I selected the pre-programmed route to take us to Fallowfield. This I duly followed, along the A69 and then through the village of Acomb, until we were on the final approach to the site itself and what a final approach it is! The site is set back off the main country road by way of a single track lane. Needless to say, s
econd time out with a 24ft caravan and you’re faced with a single track lane, prayers began that we would not meet an oncoming outfit! There are two ‘passing places’ along the track, but that didn’t seem enough somehow. Just as we made it to the end, thinking we were home safe and dry, we were faced with a little wooden bridge following by a sharp left turn into the site. Would this bridge take the caravan, it doesn’t look wide enough? Silence fell in the car as I edged very slowly across the bridge. Furious mirror checking later, we started to breath again as we cleared the bridge. Following by a wide swing to take the corner and finally, we had made it to the site. I knew we’d have to face some tight manoeuvring at some stage, but please, on our second outing?
Entry is via an electronic barrier. So we reported into reception and picked up our barrier card. The site is divided up into sections denoted by Roman names. Three of these sections are used for touring whil
st the remaining six are for static tourer use. We were assigned to plot 47 in ‘Caesar’. The site is enclosed by trees pretty much everywhere, so the one way road through the site is again tight in quite a few places. Our pitch was right next to the toilet block and was not the easiest of pitches to get onto. Opposite us was an open field containing most of the pitches for Caesar, but no, we had a shaded pitch in a tight corner! You win some, you lose some I guess. Having ruled out reversing because of the tight nature of the bend and coupled with the fact that there was a seating area right in front of our pitch, I decided rather swiftly that this was a job for the Mammut!
We pulled up at the corner of the bend and unhitched the caravan. Remote in hand I proceeded to pair it with the mover. This I had a little trouble with on the previous outing. The procedure goes that you switch on the remote, wait for self diagnostics and then proceed to pair the remote by holding down the drive engage buttons whilst holding it over the magnetic switch on the A-frame. This I did a few times but it seemed to take quite a while before I got them to pair up? Following a more systematic approach, I finally discovered the ‘knack’ to pairing them up. It seems you have to press the drive engage buttons away from the magnetic switch, then whilst still holding them down place the top lower surface of the remote directly on the magnetic switch, hold it there for a couple of seconds and hey presto, they pair up and the mover begins to engage. As an 80’s child, I am very much used to joystick control, what with Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Atari CX-2600 console and my beloved Commodore 64. But, I never thought that one day I’d be using a joystick to control a 1.5 tonne white box on wheels! I have to say this mover is brilliant, I may have already said that in a previous post but there you go, it is! I had parked the caravan up with ease. With no mover fitted, it would have been a very difficult reversing manoeuvre. Without reversing, it would have been a difficult push into place on the gravel surface. We’re on holiday to enjoy it, and the Mammut is welcome every time!
Time to set the caravan up. Levelling first, we’re pretty much level side to side, but we’re on a slope towards the back. I dropped the jockey wheel as much as I could which got us nearly there, but we were still inclined a little, we could live with it though! Steadies down, EHU mains connected, gas switched on, heating fired up, water management sorted, time to relax with a nice cup of tea. Alcoholic beverages will have to wait, as I still need to work the first few days, the joys of being self-employed!
Further acquisitions for the caravan this time saw the inclusion of a new television and a Playstation One! We didn’t want to lug the TV from the bedroom every time we were away, so we decided to purchase a TV dedicated for the caravan. There are two ways you can go with this, you can either purchase a dedicated caravan TV with 12v connection, wide viewing angles, easy set-up and high price tag or pick up a supermarket TV. We decided to go with the latter and pick up a 22″ Technika with integrated DVD player from Tesco’s. It doesn’t have a 12v connection, but we’ll be on EHU pitches most of trhe time and if on the odd occasion we weren’t, we can live without it or use an inverter. Viewing angles are fine, set-up is really easy and at half the price of a dedicated caravan TV, it was a no brainer really. What’s with the Playstation One? We have one at home and we love playing some of the older classics. And as you can pick these consoles up from eBay from as little as £4, along with games from 99p, it will make a great addition to the caravan when it comes to entertainment on a rainy day!
Time for a little background music, so on goes the radio. Well at least I pushed the on button, but no power? It was working fine on our last trip to Doe Park, but now suddenly no power? The electrics are hooked up, 230v is switched on, therefore we have a wiring problem or a fuse issue. Wiring I can’t check as the radio is very much integrated into the furnishings of the caravan. The fuse I can however. This was easily located and checked with the multimeter, fuse was fine. Back in it goes, scratching head, tried radio again and voilà, it sprang into life. Conclusion, the fuse wasn’t fully seated and had worked loose. Time to check the other fuses, sure enough a few near the bottom weren’t fully seated either, so all fuses were given a firm push to ensure no more quirky power failings!
After we were settled and relaxing, I thought it was time to trial the AL-KO wheel lock. I had already thought ahead on this one and positioned the caravan so that the receiver was mid-way between the wheel apertures, thanks Mammut again! It’s then just a case of bolting the insert to the wheel and then inserting the lock, job done. Very simple to do and provides another inconvenient hurdle to anyone who has eyes for your ‘van!
Time to explore the site. As was mentioned earlier, our pitch was right next to the toilet/wash block, which is kept to a high standard I’m pleased to say. No queuing for the showers, even on this busy bank holiday weekend. Dish washing and laundry facilities are provided at the rear of the block. Water point, grey water disposal and chemical disposal point are all provided in one convenient area just by the toilet block, along with bins. Reception doubles as a shop and stocks the usual essentials, along with good information on the surrounding area. Staff are very friendly and pleasant. The site is geared towards static tourers, as they dominate the majority of pitches. Of the three touring pitches, one also accommodates tents, although there were only a couple there during our stay. Trees are everywhere and can block a lot of the sunshine out, it also creates an enclosed feel to the site. There is no park for children and no ball games are allowed either, so maybe not the best site for youngsters, although there were quite a few there enjoying their bikes and water pistols!
The following day we donned our walking boots and headed on a 1.5 mile trek to Fallowfield. This was a pleasant walk, along a stream, eventually bringing us out behind a farm house. From here we continued walking down into Acomb itself. A very small and quiet village with a couple o
f pubs. The return journey involves quite a steep walk back up to the campsite. There is a more direct route from Acomb to the campsite, but we didn’t know where this was so we just stuck to the main road.
Hexham is a 10 minute drive from the campsite. Here you will find a Waitrose and a Tesco’s, so stocking up on all of your essentials is easy. Car parking charges are also reasonable, you can spend the whole day in Hexham and only pay a couple of pounds. The abbey is worth a visit (free), Rob’s department store also serves a mean and inexpensive breakfast. Plenty of shops to be perused and the walk down by the river is simply stunning.
Back at the caravan, it was time to fill the Aquaroll. With the caravan being on a slope, the Ultraflow connection point was very close to the ground, as it is near the front of the caravan on the Clubman ES. This was causing the pump assembly to bend rather tightly, so I decided in order to give more headroom, I’d lay the Aquaroll on its side and use the centre hole, normally used for the mains connection kit. This worked well, I made sure the Aquaroll was well seated in the gravel so that it wouldn’t roll anywhere unexpectedly! The pump assembly was nowhere near as tight now, success!
It was observed whilst on site that the handle on your Aquaroll should be detached and re-attached with only one hand! What was this? No mention of this skill requirement in the manual? I had been signalling to the rest of the caravanning fraternity that I was a newbie, by attaching the handle with two hands! This was an oversight I would have to correct. In order to compete in the ‘Caravan Olympics’, I would need to master this event. Practise at home would be required! Which other events could I participate in? Well there’s the main event of ‘Reversing’, something which will take a little longer to perfect I feel. ‘Discrete Neighbour Observation’ is an event best left to the wife and daughter. I thought we were all watching TV, reading books, playing cards, but no it seems! Eyes were being cast far beyond the immediate focus of these pastimes and reaching into the lives of our fellow caravanners, where tails of activities, equipment purchases, lifestyle choices and attitudes were all being scrutinised! But, the ‘One Hand Aquaroll’ event was within my grasp, it would be perfected before our next outing and I’d take gold, by consuming a beverage at the same time in the other hand!
Visitors need to park in the car park situated just before the barrier. There’s not a lot of room here for such a big site and on busy occasions such as this one, cars spill out onto the approach road, making access even more difficult. The wardens recommend parking in the hotel grounds, found just along the single track lane.
Before we knew it, it was Wednesday morning and time to pack-up and leave. On our last trip, I had made a mental note to create a check list for prepping the caravan, for journeys and also when left in storage. Leaving it to memory was too much of a risk, damage could easily be done just by forgetting to do one simple task. So armed with this new check list, we duly went through it stage by stage until the ‘van was travel ready! The Mammut swung the caravan out and up to the car and we were hitched and ready to go in no time at all. I think I have mentioned on this post that the site is a little tight in space, to say the least. Following the one way system around the bend at the far end of the site is another ‘hold your breath’ encounter. I’m sure the two neatly parted parallel trees, following a tight bend cornered off by a tree stump, which then leads into a bollard were not all placed there for fun. Unless the warden has a camera there and uses footage for ‘You’ve Been Framed’? But let’s just say I took it slowly and even winced a couple of times to myself as the caravan neatly passed the stump whilst I needed to swing out right to avoid the bollard! Back on the single track lane leaving the site, the bridge didn’t seem as bad this time around! And the single track lane itself was a breeze, now that I had been up and down it a few times in the car, knowing where the passing places are. But prayers were answered once again and we didn’t meet an oncoming outfit, just a horse and rider, which is a lot easier to let past!
From here we would normally head for storage, but some warranty work needed to be undertaken on the van, our ‘not closing properly’ bed locker. So we’re off to Catterick Caravans as agreed to have this fixed!
Well our first holiday in the caravan is here and we’re off to Doe Park in Barnard Castle, County Durham. The site came recommended to us by one of the Lunar staff, when we were at the NEC last October. It’s a good choice of site as it’s also very near to Catterick Caravans, should anything go wrong!
Just before we hitched up, we put the Pro Plates on the steadies, so that they were ready to drop as soon as we got to the site. Make sure you’ve got a mallet at hand for this job, as the locking pins were quite stiff to push into place.
Hitched up, lights checked, ATC on green, mirrors on, before we knew it we were cruising down the A1, on holiday with our caravan. After all of that preparation, it’s finally happening!
Sat Nav loaded with the caravan friendly route, the journey to the site was a breeze. A few narrow roads in Barnard Castle itself, but all managed successfully! A couple of narrow gates on the site itself, but a careful check in the mirrors ensured we weren’t going to scrape the side!
OK, now to park the 24 foot monster! I’ve been through the reversing procedure a hundred times in my head, but now to put the theory into practise! I drove past the pitch so that the caravan axle was about 6 foot or so past where I wanted to be and started to reverse. All was going well but I soon realised 
that the turning circle was greater than I thought and started to overshoot the pitch. A quick pull forward and started again, closer, once again nearly there. After a couple more turns managed to get it very close! A quick unhitch and a push put it right on the spot! Not bad for a first attempt.
Handbrake on, steadies down, we were finally ready to check the caravan out and find out how everything works! First job was to connect the mains EHU, bingo, we had power. Next I thought I’d get the gas flowing, so connected the adaptor onto the bottle with the pigtail already attached and connected this onto the regulator. Flip the lever on the valve and we should have gas! One way to check, let’s see if the hob burner works. Bingo, we have gas. Fridge next on list, a simple press of the power button and we have a working fridge. Heating next on the agenda. Checked the fluid level, 1cm above the minimum level marker as it should be. Went to the control panel and switched on the 2kw heater and the gas heater and set the temperature to 30. Fingers crossed, we should start getting some heat! A quick check in the bathroom where the expansion tank is and I could hear a murmer, so something is happening at least.
Next was the water, out came the Aquaroll and off to the water point we went. Having filled it we returned to the van and looked for the pump. Nowhere to be seen. Now I know we have it as the dealer pointed it out during the PDI. We turned the caravan upside down looking for it, we looked in every cavity possible, apart from the kitchen sink, which is where it was! Having found it we then connected 
it. A quick trip under the front seat and flicked the drain valve to close. Pump switched on at the control panel, opened the tap and .. water, hooray! The shower was also on, unbeknown to us. We quickly shut it off before any water leaked anywhere! Note to self: Check taps before switching on the pump! Next was the Wastemaster, this was quickly connected with the RapiDrain and left to fulfil its duties, by collecting our test waste water!
So with the water connected and functional, the only thing left to do was to connect the TV! Back inside the caravan, warmth, the heating works! Now to the aerial. The Clubman is fitted with a Status 530 directional aerial, so it was time to ensure the booster was on and lift and point the aerial. This is done by unscrewing the support clamp and lifting the pole up and rotating it until you see a picture. This was achieved quite easily, Harry Hill soon appeared on the TV, so it was time to clamp the aerial up.
Blinds checked, lights checked, microwave clock set, we were happy we were ready to start the holiday! We’re only here 2 nights and the first night is upon us already. Never mind, we should be able to relax a little more tomorrow. Now, how to make the beds? A quick pull of the bed slats from the front chest of drawers, support cushions placed in the middle and we were ready, well ready to make the bed with the bed sheet, duvet and pillows we had bought! Sleeping that night looking out of the Heiki at the stars in the sky, bliss!
Next morning I decided to charge and make ready the toilet. I filled the jarrycan with water, placed the correct dosage of ‘pink’ into the flush tank, followed by the water until I could see the tank was full. Next job was to prepare the waste tank. I removed the tank and unscrewed the cap on the emptying spout. This has levels marked on it in order to aid in adding the correct amount of ‘blue’.
This was duly done followed by a couple of litres of water. Clicked back into place, the toilet was ready to be used! I checked the flush was working, checked the blade was operating, all was looking good. Time to explain to the family now on how to use the toilet!
Later on we managed to get into Barnard Castle itself and had a very pleasant walk about. Picked up some essentials from the local Co-op and headed back to the site. There’s nothing on the site as such apart from reception, although they do sell basic essentials. But it is a very relaxed, well spaced, quiet site. Very friendly staff, excellent toilet/wash block, we don’t need anything else! Phone reception is a little patchy, but you can certainly get a signal. I managed to get the MIFI up and running, by placing it on top of the blind of the Heiki, so we had Internet access. The day came to a close and we found ourselves back in bed, this time facing the dreaded ‘end of a holiday’ and the packing up involved!
So the morning came and the task of preparing the van for it’s return trip to storage began. First on the list was the toilet. The flush tank needs to be emptied whilst in transit, this is initially done by flushing the tank into the waste tank. This empties most of the water but not all. The remaining water is drained by way of a little pipe found in the flush filling point. It pulls out and is bunged at the end. Simply remove the bung and the tank fully empties, no problems there. Next was the waste tank. This is removed and taken to the chemical disposal point, where it is emptied by removing the cap on the emptying spout, pointed and tilted down towards the drain and pressing the vent button to aid the flow of the conents! A rinse with water then follows to ensure all the contents are removed. I then charged the tank back up with ‘blue’ and 2 litres of water, so it was ready for the next time. Not sure if this is the best practise, or to leave it completely empty, but we’ll see.
Aquaroll and Wastemaster were next, simple enough. Both emptied at the grey water disposal point and returned to their respective covers. At this point I opened the drain valve to empty the heater and water pipes. The aerial came next, this was unclamped and returned to it’s lowered position. On the aerial shaft there is a red dot, which denotes where the ‘pointy’ side of the aerial is. This dot 
needs to point to the rear of the caravan when in transit, so that the pointy side of the aerial is facing rearwards. This aids in aerodynamics and prevents an uplift possibly forcing the aerial away from the caravan. This is what the instructions say at least. When the van was delivered, it was pointing the ‘wrong’ way. And also during the PDI, I was told to point it forwards during transit, hmm! Mains EHU and gas were disconnected and once everything was packed, the steadies were rasied. For the first time I decided to use the mover to bring the caravan to the hitch point on the car. Remote switched on, the Mammut came alive, indicated by the novel mammoth cry it makes once the test procedure is complete. With the mover engage buttons depressed I moved the remote over the magnetic switch on the A-Frame and waited for the lights to stop flashing. Still flashing I tried it again, nothing. Switched the handset off and back on and did the same thing, this time with success, the mover engaged to the wheels. Handbrake off I then manouvered the caravan to the car very easily. I have to say the mover is excellent. Very easy to control and because the Mammut is designed by AL-KO, it fits the chassis perfectly with no loss of ground clearance. Electrics connected, lights tested, mirros on, we were off again!
Back at storage, I used the Mammut to put the van into it’s bay. Steadies down, hitch lock on and a final check on the contents inside the van. We closed all the blinds to keep the sunlight from fading the interior. This is fine in the Clubman as the blinds don’t use springs, but on blinds which use spring tensioners, it’s best to leave them open. Taps were opened in their midway position, shouldn’t be getting any frost now but seems like good practise anyhow. Fridge door was put in the airing position and with 2 chirps from the alarm, we drove away, counting the days until Easter, when our next adventure would begin!
Today we picked up our new caravan from Catterick Caravans. We had a detailed PDI which went well, the only fault to note was the front nearside lower locker door which wasn’t closing properly, an easy fix for later under warranty. The Mammut mover had also been fitted along with our change of fabric (Mazurka).
Time to hitch up and take our new van on it’s first journey! Thankfully the new towbar and electrics all worked as they should, mirrors fitted and we were off – well off to storage anyhow for now!
I have to say I had read some stories about snaking, lorries passing, overtaking, high winds etc. all causing problems towing, but the tow to the storage was very easy to my relief! I was over-taken a couple of times by articulated lorries – nothing. I over-took a couple of times, not a wobble in sight. The van has ATC fitted and this coupled with the hitch stabiliser must be working wonders on overall stabilisation. So if you’ve never towed a caravan before like me, if you’ve got ATC and the hitch stabiliser fitted, you won’t have a problem at all!
At this stage I haven’t checked weights, I know I can’t be over the MTPLM as the van is empty! I need to check the nose weight, but I’ll do this on the first outing when I’ve loaded the van with kit.
After a couple of weeks of searching around for caravan storage, we have finally signed up today at a site which meets our requirements, namely 24hr access with good security. So our caravan now has a home! Roll on next year!
Well after many months of magazine reading, website browsing, local dealer visits, we finally narrowed our choice of caravan down to 3 models. We decided the best option then would be to visit the International Caravan & Motorhome Show at the NEC in Birmingham and make our final choice there.
Well we went to the NEC today and made a purchase! The winning van in the end was a Lunar Clubman ES.
We purchased it from Catterick Caravans, as this was the best dealer in our area we felt. Why the Lunar Clubman? Well we decided that a double side dinette with rear bathroom was the layout for us. Obviously a few caravans have this layout, but the ‘feel’ of the Lunar was just right and it has a specification which ticks all the boxes, what with: Alde heating, ATC, Phantom Tracker, Wheel Lock, Spare Wheel, LED lights, 6′ 5″ height / 7′ 6″ width, Good Kitchen Area, Spacious Bathroom, the list goes on!
We take delivery in February, we can’t wait! Just need to sort the storage out next.
