Fulltiming in a motorhome - a blog

[oblio]

Spuff

Have you thought about one of these for your washing? There's a chap who sells these cheaply from time to time on a MH forum I am on...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Washing-Caravans...

[Spuffington]

chasingracecars said:

Spuff, what size leisure battery do you have on board. I am set to be off in the caravan for work for three weeks. Job rate will not cut a hotel and don't really want pay £27 for night!! Looking at CL's and curious how long my battery will last for. Obviously don't have the engine to charge it if needed. Might need to upgrade soon. Would love a generator but funds will not permit right now.

I believe I have 2 x 100aH leisure batteries. I'm not totally sure since Travelworld replaced both of them on the day I collected it. It had an Inverter fitted by the original owner and it wasn't working properly so Travelworld popped two new batteries in, thinking that the problem lay with those. As it happened, it didn't and it was the inverter itself. But I got to keep 400quids worth of batteries.

I'll have a check tonight if I get the chance (they're buried under the sofa so not the easiest things to look for).

I charged them last night but probably didn't need to; it was mainly just to ensure they didn't get too low. But I reckon I can go for 5 nights running just lights, charging the odd bits of iPad/iPhone etc, running the heating fan and water pump for a shower and anything else requiring water.

Edited by Spuffington on Thursday 9th March 09:28

[Spuffington]

oblio said:

Spuff

Have you thought about one of these for your washing? There's a chap who sells these cheaply from time to time on a MH forum I am on...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Washing-Caravans...

Thanks oblio - No, I hadn't really considered one. I might've done had I got a Garage. But I'm now pretty pushed for space. Got a few overhead lockers free, which I'm keeping free for little'uns stuff when we go away together, but other than that, most of the storage space is now used up, what with generator, microwave, silver screen, hose and spare blanket living under the sofa. Outside lockers full of spare toilet cassette, chemicals and pitching gear and rear lockers filled with camping furniture, bike locks spare wheel and 5l jerry can for generator petrol. If I had a garage, a lot of that stuff could go in there. I'm sort of tempted to get a bigger van, particularly given I'm living in it, but in reality Harry does just what I need and after all the money I've invested in getting him "right", it'd be silly to do anything.

[chasingracecars]

Spuffington said:

I believe I have 2 x 100aH leisure batteries. I'm not totally sure since Travelworld replaced both of them on the day I collected it. It had an Inverter fitted by the original owner and it wasn't working properly so Travelworld popped two new batteries in, thinking that the problem lay with those. As it happened, it didn't and it was the inverter itself. But I got to keep 400quids worth of batteries.

I'll have a check tonight if I get the chance (they're buried under the sofa so not the easiest things to look for).

I charged them last night but probably didn't need to; it was mainly just to ensure they didn't get too low. But I reckon I can go for 5 nights running just lights, charging the odd bits of iPad/iPhone etc, running the heating fan and water pump for a shower and anything else requiring water.

Edited by Spuffington on Thursday 9th March 09:28

Gulp and I have a single 85aH, Cheapskate dealers! Had I have looked rather then rush I would have paid the £30 difference to atleast a 120aH, Looks like electrics for me then!

[Spuffington]

chasingracecars said:

Gulp and I have a single 85aH, Cheapskate dealers! Had I have looked rather then rush I would have paid the £30 difference to atleast a 120aH, Looks like electrics for me then!

Where do you need to be? Come to my site and you can share my genny!

[Rosscow]

chasingracecars said:

Gulp and I have a single 85aH, Cheapskate dealers! Had I have looked rather then rush I would have paid the £30 difference to atleast a 120aH, Looks like electrics for me then!

I have a 115ah Banner Energy Bull (lots of research into what brand, these seemed to come up trumps).

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Banner-Energy-Bull-Leisure...

I've managed 4 days with pretty heavy use (water pump, showers, lights, music, etc.) without it running out, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't last much longer than a week.

It all depends on what you're going to use it for - if you're not showering and just want it for lights then you may be OK if you're very frugal.

And Spuff, no way are 100ah batteries £200 each

[Spuffington]

Rosscow said:

And Spuff, no way are 100ah batteries £200 each

From Travelworld they are!

But otherwise, agreed.

[chasingracecars]

Spuffington said:

Where do you need to be? Come to my site and you can share my genny!

Would love to come and see you but the job is in Surrey, I get the odd job up your way so it might work sometime soon. Right now looks like job means I have to join Caravan Club or Camping Club to stay on a CL.

Anyone ever find if CL's don't let you on if you aren't a member? Looking for something around Farnborough, obviously with electric now!

[Spuffington]

chasingracecars said:

Would love to come and see you but the job is in Surrey, I get the odd job up your way so it might work sometime soon. Right now looks like job means I have to join Caravan Club or Camping Club to stay on a CL.

Anyone ever find if CL's don't let you on if you aren't a member? Looking for something around Farnborough, obviously with electric now!

I'll have a look in my books and see what I can dig out.

Although it's on my doorstep, I found this CL through the C&CC site but didn't book through there and approached the farmer directly. He's never asked about C&CC Membership but there are C&CC signs up.

[chasingracecars]

Thats good to know! I would join but we rarely go to campsites. We go to race tracks and because we are working we staying on the marshall camping site. If we go away for a weekend we have started to use http://tranquilparks.co.uk as they are adult only parks and all new. Hard standing and each pitch has services.

If work looks like I going to use CL's more often then I may well join but Camping Club is around £37 and Caravan Club is £49, Thats at least 7 nights before you save any money.

[Spuffington]

Hadn't quite planned on doing another update quite so soon......

However, last night everything that could go wrong did....!

After a lot of ringing around last week looking for someone to do alignment on the motorhome and all of them saying that their ramps weren't big enough, i struck on the idea of the sign of a business doing Commercial Vehicle servicing over the other side of the farm from me. They duly booked me in with their mobile chap who does all their trucks and then asked me to turn up at 9am today. Fine, apart from the fact my daughter was supposed to be staying with me last night. So in order to avoid messing that up, I went back to the site with the intention of moving Harry up to the house so that that was one less thing to do in the morning and I could take her to nursery and then nip back to take the van over.

Well, best laid plans and all that.......

Firstly, whilst packing up the van into "transit mode", I must've put the generator down on the wrong side as within 5mins I had the overwhelming smell of petrol come into the cabin and had to mop up under the sofa, then clean off with a cleaning spray and locate the generator in the car boot (upright) for fear of it happening again. So far, so bad. Didn't realise it was about to get worse....

Fired up the van, wanting to get it warmed up whilst I took the silver screen off and decided to roll it back off its levelling ramp so I could pack all that away. Duly did this, although felt like the van was skidding gone the mud, so went to reverse it back a little further and heard a big thump and the van lurched. ops: Turns out I had reversed UP onto the Wastemaster external grey water tank, which unfortunately had then rammed itself into the valve housing for the fixed internal grey water tank and ripped this housing off the underside of the habitation floor.

So cue then half an hour spent under the bloody van trying to work out how best to attach this. The screws which originally held it had either bent under the pressure of the force or were so rusty that it was impossible to do anything with them. With no hacksaw on board, the best I could do was lever out what I could and leave the rest in situ. By this time it was dark, I had laid some matting out on the muddy field and was laying under the van with a head torch! In the end, I managed to connect together several zipties and wrap these around the leaf suspension arm to hold the waste tank pipes up. Bad photo, but you get the idea.....!



So, tomorrow's job will be removing the old screws, reform the bend metal housing, some ease and adjustment on the valve actuator arm (seems a little bent and there is some tiny leakage from the pipe), drill some new holes, apply Silkflex adhesive/sealant to the housing and then secure it all with some new screws. I think I should be able to manage it all on my own, but put the farmer on notice who's a bit of a dab hand mechanic.

In the meantime, the zipties held on the journey back to the house and again to the mechanics this morning. Was visited by the superb mobile alignment chap who was really pleasant and did a great job; particularly given Harry requires a bit more effort in hanging the various alignment devices due to its different body pan vs. the standard Sprinter. He was done in an hour. Result - right wheel out by 10mm and left wheel out by 30mm!!! He reckons that just a 5-6mm differential will give noticeable characteristics and a busy time at the wheel!!




Anyway, what he also spotted was that the front discs are warped and when I mentioned it pulls noticeably to the left under braking, he suggested the calipers might need looking at. Thankfully, the chap running the Commercials garage promised to take a look today, so I've left Harry over there. If nothing can be done until beyond Weds then I'm going to be forced to take the 530d. No hardship but I've been looking forward to the trip in Harry.

Looking back on the two years we've had him, it's always the same. Just before a long trip is planned, something always crops up which needs attention. You'd think that I'd get so fed up of it, that I'd have chucked it in by now. But whether he's my home now or not, he's got under my skin and I really love driving him. I'm just hoping this is something which can be fixed cheaply and effectively and in good time before Weds. In the meantime, I'm back in the marital home and spare bedroom.

[Balmoral]

oblio said:

Spuff

Have you thought about one of these for your washing? There's a chap who sells these cheaply from time to time on a MH forum I am on...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Washing-Caravans...

Sorry to be negative, but we had something similar when we full-timed in our Kontiki (4 years) and found it to be largely a waste of time and space, all it really did was agitate, so if you can't be bothered hand squishing in the sink, it was OK'ish, but in all other respects, filling, draining, rinsing, draining, space, effort, tiny capacity etc, a real faff. It got given away after just a few weeks.

Alternative opinions are available.

[chasingracecars]

Sorry to hear about the tribulations last night spuff, at least the van will be running right again. I hate manoeuvres in the dark. It's ok in a car because most stuff will bounce off but GRP and fibreglass smash soo easily. Turning the caravan round outside the house missed the wall at the back by mm's that would have written it off had we caught it!

It may have been loose and about to come off anyway!!

Generator I would always keep in an outdoor locker in a motor home . Boot of car if with caravan and wedged tight between stuff.

[mini95]

Just a thought, do you have a bike rack? A lot of people on a camper forum I am on have bought a storage box from Homebase that fits nicely on a Fiamma bike rack. It is 145L and only £15 so could help with storing some stuff!

[Jonmx]

I'm glad I spotted this thread and I've now bookmarked it as I'm planning to either move into a motorhome or a small boat at some point in the next couple of months due to my current circumstances. It sounds like a bit of a challenge but one you're dealing with very well.

[custardkid]

Spuff

right a check list of things you need to do, before moving off, and stick it the the sun visor

-close roof hatches, lock fridge etc

i check it every time before starting
99% of the time its a waste of time, but once in a while it reminds you of something you've forgotten

custard

[Spuffington]

Thanks for the support, chaps.

Thursday's event was a classic case of less haste, more speed. Also taking the time to check that everything is stowed etc. @custardkid - you're right, I'll get a checklist drawn up and stick to it.

As far as luck is concerned, you make your own. Things are looking better today. I'm back at the house, which is difficult, but best place for getting stuff sorted (also do at least get cuddles with my little one who lets herself into my bedroom in the morning and slips into bed ).

Today has been a good one. First thing in the morning I headed out with Tilly for a long walk. Helps get that "chore" out of the way, but also a good head-clearer, time for reflection, get the old body moving and just generally enjoy the simple things in life like 1hr walk around the farm. Got back and took at trip to Homebase to pick up some appropriately sized screws to replace the ones I'd ripped out of Harry's underside , went back the long way home in the 530d - only to keep the DPF warm you understand(!) , and then set about sorting Harry out.

First job was to make sure I at least had somewhere to lie down, get all the tools ordered out around me and get down to work....



Then I realised I'd forgotten a few tools from the toolshed. Only way to get to those was to pull out the other "toy"...........reminded me of what I'd been missing, so left it out and mowed the lawn late afternoon!



Back to the van and the reinforcement arrived..... :ROFLMAO:



Once under the van, the first job was to remove the old screws. Some of which could be removed with a pair of long-nose pliers. Others needed to be sawn off with a junior hacksaw and pieces removed with pliers. The old sealant from around where the metal housing had been fixed was then removed. Perfect tool for the job - an old wallpaper scraper...



Once I'd got rid of the sealant, I used some large pliers to gently bend the metal back into shape. Particularly around the 90deg bend at the point to which the metal was mated up to the van. This took the worst of the force on Thursday and took some gentle easing back into shape. Once I'd done this, I sanded back the wood floor underneath to give me a good surface to work with. I cleaned off all the road crap from the metal housing and painted the underside with creosote I had lying around. Once touch-dry, I added a bead of Silkaflex 512 sealant & adhesive to the fixing surface and mated the housing up to the underside of the van with a hydraulic jack, having moved the housing about 5mm towards the front of the van to ensure I had good wood to tap into, given the previous screws had been pulled out and left quite big holes.





It was at this point that Quality Control appeared to check that everything was in order.....!



But once the housing was mated up and held tight against the bottom of the van, I was able to use an electric screwdriver to drive in 4 x N5x25mm zinc-coated woodscrews to hold it all tight in place. Once finished, I then applied a bead of Silkaflex to both bond and seal the outside and then smoothed it (not terribly prettily) with my fingers around the fixing.



Once the jack was removed, the whole thing was bearing its own weight and felt very solid indeed. Just as solid as the previous one.......before it was torn off by yours truly!!!

All in all, a good job done. I was pleased to be able to fix it myself (job satisfaction) as well as money saved. (y) Just as well as Harry is going back to the Commercial Vehicle mechanic on Monday to have new sliding caliper pins fitted. They seem to have seized on the front callipers which is causing a mix of pulling to the left and strange pad & disc wear. I'm presuming the discs & pads will be changed a the same time.

Anyway, once that's all done, he'll hopefully be as right as rain for Weds big trip to Scotland.

[chasingracecars]

Good news Spuff. Always nice when you can do these jobs yourself.

Enjoy the trip.

If I am up your way I will pop over!

[oblio]

Balmoral said:

Sorry to be negative, but we had something similar when we full-timed in our Kontiki (4 years) and found it to be largely a waste of time and space, all it really did was agitate, so if you can't be bothered hand squishing in the sink, it was OK'ish, but in all other respects, filling, draining, rinsing, draining, space, effort, tiny capacity etc, a real faff. It got given away after just a few weeks.

Alternative opinions are available.

No worries

I haven't used one so would bow to your better judgement. I know the chap sells loads of them so someone somewhere mus like 'em

tbh on a long trip I use a bucket of hot water and some handwash soap and another bucket to rinse off.

[Kneetrembler]

Sorry to hear the sad news about damage to your Hymer plus the costs fir your brakes, hope all turns out ok and that you have a wonderful time away in the van.

Look forward to reading about your travels.

KT