Fulltiming in a motorhome - a blog
Discussion
Grahamdub said:
Spuffington, I'm sure someone must have said before, but you really should consider putting your blog into print, even if only as a Kindle book. I've been gripped by your exploits as I'm sure many beyond the realms of PH would be too.
Thanks! Not sure how I could construct it but nice to know it's entertaining. So a quick update:
Ordered the tyres and ended up going with Conti Campers. Chap turned up to fit them on Friday and promptly had a sense of humour failure. His jack is only rated to 2.5t and although he tried lifting the rear axle, it just farted and barely moved it. So in spite of me listing the vehicle as a Sprinter 616CDI, no one thought to kit their drivers out with heavy duty jacks. Chap left pretty angry. I tried to buy the tyres off them to take them to a local truck place. But there was barely any profit in them so wouldn't relinquish them!
I'll sort out tyres with ATS Euromaster when i get a chance.
I finally managed to track down the urine smell. It was a failed seal on the old cassette. If you filled the pan with water and then went back about 5mins later, it was all gone. Given how old the cassette looks, I'll just replace it as I'm not fishing around in it to replace the seal!
Ordered the tyres and ended up going with Conti Campers. Chap turned up to fit them on Friday and promptly had a sense of humour failure. His jack is only rated to 2.5t and although he tried lifting the rear axle, it just farted and barely moved it. So in spite of me listing the vehicle as a Sprinter 616CDI, no one thought to kit their drivers out with heavy duty jacks. Chap left pretty angry. I tried to buy the tyres off them to take them to a local truck place. But there was barely any profit in them so wouldn't relinquish them!
I'll sort out tyres with ATS Euromaster when i get a chance.
I finally managed to track down the urine smell. It was a failed seal on the old cassette. If you filled the pan with water and then went back about 5mins later, it was all gone. Given how old the cassette looks, I'll just replace it as I'm not fishing around in it to replace the seal!
Thurbs said:
I have a sprinter 518 based van and could only get van tyres for it. The camper tyres were not in the right size. Do you remember what size you got?
Sorry, I didn't end up sorting out the tyres. Still on the to do list once I sort out logistics. Also wondering in view of the fact I'm a bit skint whether, given the van won't be moving any significant distance for a while, whether i leave the tyres until the finances improve.From memory, the sizes I was looking at were 215/75 R16.
So by way of a quick update - Harry is now sold. I will post the full info on the "Harry Blog" but suffice to say I'm happy as it removes one vehicle from the drive and a whole lot of weight (and financial attachment to my ex) from my shoulders.
Life with Carrie is very good, I must say. She's clearly still a motorhome rather than a property, but it's more like living in a flat rather than a motorhome. The highlights so far are the separate bedroom and the very useable, powerful and hot shower. The kitchen is also great and for pure comedic performances, the fact you can pull a beer out of the fridge without leaving the sofa.......priceless!
Realistically there's still a lot to do. The seal on the garage door still needs replacing as moths have found their way into the cavity where the seal should block off. The shower pipe probably needs some Fenwicks unblocker pouring down it. I need a new toilet cassette, need to somehow get the guts and motivation to remove some of the kitchen units to get to the Nature Pure water filter. I'm sure it hasn't been replaced since new and although there've been no upset tummies, with me travelling regularly (on planes weekly) and little one staying with me, I can't afford for either of us to get sick.
It was only upon tidying Harry for sale that I realised how cosmetically good condition he was in and how relatively poor Carrie is for her age. It's going to take all my detailing experience, time and some money to get her into the same state. But I'm playing the long game and the priority is clearly keeping her safe first and foremost and then comfy for me and little'un.
I have just received a pack full of LED bulbs to replace each of the bulbs in the van - all of which are warm white. Probably the only bright white I'll leave plugged in are the ones in the kitchen.
Anyway - currently life is great. I'm feeling positive about my living environment, I've severed another crucial tie with the ex wife, all of which is having a positive effect on my mental state and I've taken up running again after a long hiatus and in just a fortnight shaved nearly 1m/km off my time and loving it.
Hopefully there's beginning to be light at the end of the tunnel........
Life with Carrie is very good, I must say. She's clearly still a motorhome rather than a property, but it's more like living in a flat rather than a motorhome. The highlights so far are the separate bedroom and the very useable, powerful and hot shower. The kitchen is also great and for pure comedic performances, the fact you can pull a beer out of the fridge without leaving the sofa.......priceless!
Realistically there's still a lot to do. The seal on the garage door still needs replacing as moths have found their way into the cavity where the seal should block off. The shower pipe probably needs some Fenwicks unblocker pouring down it. I need a new toilet cassette, need to somehow get the guts and motivation to remove some of the kitchen units to get to the Nature Pure water filter. I'm sure it hasn't been replaced since new and although there've been no upset tummies, with me travelling regularly (on planes weekly) and little one staying with me, I can't afford for either of us to get sick.
It was only upon tidying Harry for sale that I realised how cosmetically good condition he was in and how relatively poor Carrie is for her age. It's going to take all my detailing experience, time and some money to get her into the same state. But I'm playing the long game and the priority is clearly keeping her safe first and foremost and then comfy for me and little'un.
I have just received a pack full of LED bulbs to replace each of the bulbs in the van - all of which are warm white. Probably the only bright white I'll leave plugged in are the ones in the kitchen.
Anyway - currently life is great. I'm feeling positive about my living environment, I've severed another crucial tie with the ex wife, all of which is having a positive effect on my mental state and I've taken up running again after a long hiatus and in just a fortnight shaved nearly 1m/km off my time and loving it.
Hopefully there's beginning to be light at the end of the tunnel........
So a quick update......
Life in Carrie remains good. The little one is always excited to come and stay and having the extra space is perfect for us both being able to relax, for me being able to cook a proper evening meal, to have space to cuddle up on the sofa and for us to have our own separate beds. All of this counts when I am on my own in there too and the thermal insulation and heating is already coming into its own now that the temperature has started to drop of an evening. It's been registering 6-7degs C outside over the past few evenings, whilst knocking the heating only gently into life keeps the internal temperature easily up around 22degs C and I can plod around in my t-shirt as I would do in a normal house - or maybe even comfier than in a house since there isn't the temperature differentials. Have no doubt that it will still be 22degs C in there quite easily when the temperature is in minus figures outside.
I've managed to tick a few things off my to do list, but inevitably the list remains long:
- stuck some gentle drain unblocker through the shower tray which has helped it to drain freely so no more backing up;
- bought myself a new EcoCamel Jetstorm Plus showerhead as the original has a small crack in it and throwing out water;
- given the bathroom a DEEP clean and it's come up lovely;
- replaced the valve extenders on the rear wheels with some rubber hosed ones with brass fittings, so will be much more durable than the plastic ones which broke when I bought the van;
- cleaned the fresh & grey water tank with Elsan fluids and since not having the time to get to the Nature Pure filter yet, I have started using Elsan water purifying fluid with each tank;
- started replacing the spot lights with LEDs. Managed a few but the trims are hard to get off the spotlight surrounds so decided to do them when I have more patience and won't wreck them!
- found some spare bits for my old Fiamma bike rack from Harry and managed to fit two extra carrier trays for two bikes in the Garage to the existing Fiamma rack which is in there. Can now carry four bikes propery secured in the back there.
I'm away this coming weekend to Shropshire on a Mountainbiking holiday, which will be another good test of her underway. I believe the brakes are binding at the rear as I get a squealing sound at low speeds after about 10miles and the rear hubs appear quite warm. I have asked my local Commercials place to price me up new pads & discs all round, plus slider pins on the calipers to give the whole thing a full overhaul. This work will be important since I'm taking Carrie back up to Scotland at the back end of October for a week of travelling around Glencoe and the Trossachs. Want everything tip-top before making that long journey and also want the hab stuff tip-top given the weather is unlikely to be great. So work scheduled for next few weeks:
- new set of tyres. I think I've settled on Michelin Agilis Alpin, but the Continental VancoFourSeasons is also in the running. Oponeo are doing 7 for 924quid and my local Commercials place said they'd fit for 10quid a Pop;
- sort out the brakes (as above);
- booked into MG Caravans for some work - fridge service (it's fine, but always worth doing IMO), check and adjust one of the hob rings (which doesn't light properly), change thermocouple on oven (doesn't stay lit properly), replace seal on toilet blade (leaks fluid into cassette even when closed), replace water pump (this is pulsating and struggles to maintain a constant pressure - I've sourced the pump from eBay for 55quid new inc. filter).
I reckon I'll be in for about 2.5k by the time the above work is complete, but one of the reasons I'm happier piling money into it at this stage is that 1) I'm fundamentally enjoying it and it's a great van, 2) I'm going to be using her properly for big road trip(s) and 3) it looks very much like she will be my home for the next couple of years now!!!
Yes, that's right - the decision has been made to sell the Family home in the New Year. I can't really afford to keep it going on my own, nor can I justify the amount of time and money required for its upkeep when it's just me living there. The chances are, I'll be continuing my weekly/fortnightly commute to Frankfurt so there is no point shelling out the thick end of 3k per month for a house I barely live in. It's also cleaner this way for the divorce.
So Carrie will likely be my home fulltime for the next year or so. It seems silly given I have her and can live in her, to do anything different until I know both where I want to live as well as where I might need to live. And the potential to save 3k per month for a year is pretty enticing! I know it won't be easy, mixing it up between campsites and all the factors which go with proper fulltiming, but to me, it's worth 36k over a year to try.
So there we go - update done. I'll try and get some more photos up
Life in Carrie remains good. The little one is always excited to come and stay and having the extra space is perfect for us both being able to relax, for me being able to cook a proper evening meal, to have space to cuddle up on the sofa and for us to have our own separate beds. All of this counts when I am on my own in there too and the thermal insulation and heating is already coming into its own now that the temperature has started to drop of an evening. It's been registering 6-7degs C outside over the past few evenings, whilst knocking the heating only gently into life keeps the internal temperature easily up around 22degs C and I can plod around in my t-shirt as I would do in a normal house - or maybe even comfier than in a house since there isn't the temperature differentials. Have no doubt that it will still be 22degs C in there quite easily when the temperature is in minus figures outside.
I've managed to tick a few things off my to do list, but inevitably the list remains long:
- stuck some gentle drain unblocker through the shower tray which has helped it to drain freely so no more backing up;
- bought myself a new EcoCamel Jetstorm Plus showerhead as the original has a small crack in it and throwing out water;
- given the bathroom a DEEP clean and it's come up lovely;
- replaced the valve extenders on the rear wheels with some rubber hosed ones with brass fittings, so will be much more durable than the plastic ones which broke when I bought the van;
- cleaned the fresh & grey water tank with Elsan fluids and since not having the time to get to the Nature Pure filter yet, I have started using Elsan water purifying fluid with each tank;
- started replacing the spot lights with LEDs. Managed a few but the trims are hard to get off the spotlight surrounds so decided to do them when I have more patience and won't wreck them!
- found some spare bits for my old Fiamma bike rack from Harry and managed to fit two extra carrier trays for two bikes in the Garage to the existing Fiamma rack which is in there. Can now carry four bikes propery secured in the back there.
I'm away this coming weekend to Shropshire on a Mountainbiking holiday, which will be another good test of her underway. I believe the brakes are binding at the rear as I get a squealing sound at low speeds after about 10miles and the rear hubs appear quite warm. I have asked my local Commercials place to price me up new pads & discs all round, plus slider pins on the calipers to give the whole thing a full overhaul. This work will be important since I'm taking Carrie back up to Scotland at the back end of October for a week of travelling around Glencoe and the Trossachs. Want everything tip-top before making that long journey and also want the hab stuff tip-top given the weather is unlikely to be great. So work scheduled for next few weeks:
- new set of tyres. I think I've settled on Michelin Agilis Alpin, but the Continental VancoFourSeasons is also in the running. Oponeo are doing 7 for 924quid and my local Commercials place said they'd fit for 10quid a Pop;
- sort out the brakes (as above);
- booked into MG Caravans for some work - fridge service (it's fine, but always worth doing IMO), check and adjust one of the hob rings (which doesn't light properly), change thermocouple on oven (doesn't stay lit properly), replace seal on toilet blade (leaks fluid into cassette even when closed), replace water pump (this is pulsating and struggles to maintain a constant pressure - I've sourced the pump from eBay for 55quid new inc. filter).
I reckon I'll be in for about 2.5k by the time the above work is complete, but one of the reasons I'm happier piling money into it at this stage is that 1) I'm fundamentally enjoying it and it's a great van, 2) I'm going to be using her properly for big road trip(s) and 3) it looks very much like she will be my home for the next couple of years now!!!
Yes, that's right - the decision has been made to sell the Family home in the New Year. I can't really afford to keep it going on my own, nor can I justify the amount of time and money required for its upkeep when it's just me living there. The chances are, I'll be continuing my weekly/fortnightly commute to Frankfurt so there is no point shelling out the thick end of 3k per month for a house I barely live in. It's also cleaner this way for the divorce.
So Carrie will likely be my home fulltime for the next year or so. It seems silly given I have her and can live in her, to do anything different until I know both where I want to live as well as where I might need to live. And the potential to save 3k per month for a year is pretty enticing! I know it won't be easy, mixing it up between campsites and all the factors which go with proper fulltiming, but to me, it's worth 36k over a year to try.
So there we go - update done. I'll try and get some more photos up
Seemingly ok. It's intelligent so only charges when it needs to. I ran Carrie for a few nights off grid last weekend and also used my Nespresso machine a good few times on the built in Inverter and the batteries handled it no problem and everything worked as it should do.
She will have a good run out up to Scotland in about a months time and will be offgrid for the whole week. I don't anticipate any issues though.
She will have a good run out up to Scotland in about a months time and will be offgrid for the whole week. I don't anticipate any issues though.
Getting there.......
Since the last update I've managed to get all the Hab work done at MG Caravans. That set me back 475quid but now have a fully working oven, hob, fridge (needed a new burner and ignitor for the gas side), water pump installed and has made showering an absolute pleasure (almost worth the 475quid in itself!
) and a few other bits and bobs screwed down and tidied up.
I then broke out the spanners last weekend, took apart one of the cupboards, removed a load of panelling and gained access to the water filter. Given the faff to get to it, I was concerned it had never been replaced (should be generally every 12-24months depending on use). This bad boy had been in since leaving the factory in 2005..........and it showed!
Lots of grime and mouldy looking sludge in the filter housing and the filter itself was grey/green. I took the opportunity to completely sterilize the housing and then placed a new filter in there, popped it all back together (after also cleaning out all the cupboard space behind which was very dusty) and now have wonderfully clean and pleasant tasting water.
Getting the Brakes sorted has been a nightmare - I'm hoping I'm close to having it resolved, but the biggest issue is the size of the vehicle itself and the fact few people are willing (or able) to take it on. MG Caravans have come up trumps and said they'd do it. They're doing the rear discs and pads for 460quid inc. VAT supplied & fitted. Considering Mercedes quoted me 900quid for the rears only, this is an absolute bargain. It's booked in for next Thurs.
As far as the tyres are concerned, few places could accomodate the truck either. MG Caravans offered to do them but couldn't get close to Oponeo Prices and came in 60quid per tyre more inc. fitting. I've managed to find a tyre place locally who will supply and fit for 40per tyre less than MG Caravans and will be fitting all seven on Friday. Total Price - a tad over 1k. I've decided to go for Michelin Agilis Alpin given I wanted winter tyres to run all year round. I figured this was the safest option as I would like to use her potentially in Germany/Austria over the winter. I doubt I'll ever do the miles to wear them out, so it's just a useful insurance policy and also useful for travelling on wet and muddy campsites.
Once all that is done, I'm pretty much there. One thing which has come to light is that the vehicle is maybe a bit heavier than I anticipated. Looks like I only have a payload of around 650-700kg
, which isn't very much when you consider how big the water and gas tanks are and how much space there is to stow stuff. I'm going to get her weighed next week and fully prepared to have to have her up-plated to 6.5t to give me another 500kg of payload. This should be a paper exercise, coordinated by SVTech who specialise in vehicle weight platings and uprating. May cost me around 300quid. Won't have an impact on tax or insurance though.
All in all, loving her and the latest bits of servicing, maintenance and tidying up touches will make her the perfect companion.
19 sleeps until Scotland! And once I'm there. It'll be 7 nights in the wilderness, camping wild with noone else around. Can't wait!
Since the last update I've managed to get all the Hab work done at MG Caravans. That set me back 475quid but now have a fully working oven, hob, fridge (needed a new burner and ignitor for the gas side), water pump installed and has made showering an absolute pleasure (almost worth the 475quid in itself!
) and a few other bits and bobs screwed down and tidied up.I then broke out the spanners last weekend, took apart one of the cupboards, removed a load of panelling and gained access to the water filter. Given the faff to get to it, I was concerned it had never been replaced (should be generally every 12-24months depending on use). This bad boy had been in since leaving the factory in 2005..........and it showed!
Lots of grime and mouldy looking sludge in the filter housing and the filter itself was grey/green. I took the opportunity to completely sterilize the housing and then placed a new filter in there, popped it all back together (after also cleaning out all the cupboard space behind which was very dusty) and now have wonderfully clean and pleasant tasting water. Getting the Brakes sorted has been a nightmare - I'm hoping I'm close to having it resolved, but the biggest issue is the size of the vehicle itself and the fact few people are willing (or able) to take it on. MG Caravans have come up trumps and said they'd do it. They're doing the rear discs and pads for 460quid inc. VAT supplied & fitted. Considering Mercedes quoted me 900quid for the rears only, this is an absolute bargain. It's booked in for next Thurs.
As far as the tyres are concerned, few places could accomodate the truck either. MG Caravans offered to do them but couldn't get close to Oponeo Prices and came in 60quid per tyre more inc. fitting. I've managed to find a tyre place locally who will supply and fit for 40per tyre less than MG Caravans and will be fitting all seven on Friday. Total Price - a tad over 1k. I've decided to go for Michelin Agilis Alpin given I wanted winter tyres to run all year round. I figured this was the safest option as I would like to use her potentially in Germany/Austria over the winter. I doubt I'll ever do the miles to wear them out, so it's just a useful insurance policy and also useful for travelling on wet and muddy campsites.
Once all that is done, I'm pretty much there. One thing which has come to light is that the vehicle is maybe a bit heavier than I anticipated. Looks like I only have a payload of around 650-700kg
, which isn't very much when you consider how big the water and gas tanks are and how much space there is to stow stuff. I'm going to get her weighed next week and fully prepared to have to have her up-plated to 6.5t to give me another 500kg of payload. This should be a paper exercise, coordinated by SVTech who specialise in vehicle weight platings and uprating. May cost me around 300quid. Won't have an impact on tax or insurance though.All in all, loving her and the latest bits of servicing, maintenance and tidying up touches will make her the perfect companion.
19 sleeps until Scotland! And once I'm there. It'll be 7 nights in the wilderness, camping wild with noone else around. Can't wait!
Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 11th October 10:29
You're right, it's quite a bit of payload but given I'm living in there, I have perhaps a bit more than most. If it's a real problem, I'll just have to rethink the clothes I have in there (i.e. move out summer jackets in winter and winter jackets in summer, etc). But I will be removing the two gas cylinders from the locker, given I exclusively use the underslung 120L tank for my gas supplies.
The fresh water is 245L and grey water is around 150L. I tend to travel up with a full fresh water tank (empty grey) and certainly will do for my trip to Glencoe as I don't anticipate on picking up or dropping any water or toilet waste over the week. I have 3 x toilet cassettes so that will be fine. The fuel tank is an extra large on at 120L vs. the usual 80L for the standard Sprinter.
Think I just need to give it a good review and be quite disciplined in Terms of what I have on board and then go and get it weighed. Might try for tomorrow afternoon if the tyre fitting doesn't take too Long. The Weighbridge is only about 15-20mins drive away. In any event before I apply to SVTech, I need a recent certificate.
The fresh water is 245L and grey water is around 150L. I tend to travel up with a full fresh water tank (empty grey) and certainly will do for my trip to Glencoe as I don't anticipate on picking up or dropping any water or toilet waste over the week. I have 3 x toilet cassettes so that will be fine. The fuel tank is an extra large on at 120L vs. the usual 80L for the standard Sprinter.
Think I just need to give it a good review and be quite disciplined in Terms of what I have on board and then go and get it weighed. Might try for tomorrow afternoon if the tyre fitting doesn't take too Long. The Weighbridge is only about 15-20mins drive away. In any event before I apply to SVTech, I need a recent certificate.
techguyone said:
Water is quite heavy at 1kg per litre, so you're looking at 245kg for your fresh water, fuel is a little bit lighter, fully loaded I bet youre looking around 345 KG ish just for those two consumables. No idea what 120l of gas would be.
Yeah, therein lies the problem. Add in 80kg for me, 50kg for the girlfriend, foodstuffs (plus a few bottles of alcohol) and it doesn't take long to get close to the max. I was spoilt with Harry - even loaded to the gills, I still have nearly 1t of payload left over. I knew the Concorde was heavy, but I assumed it would weigh around 4.5t empty, not 5.3t on a 5.99t plate.Water = 1kg per litre
Diesel = 0.85kg per litre
Propane = 0.51kg per litre
So I reckon conservatively I have around 115kg for all my sods and sods. But given I have a ratchet set, toilet chemicals, blankets, duvets, clothes etc. I'm pretty much up against it.
I'll empty the water tank before I go tomorrow and see where it comes in. That will at least show me how much I've got to play with (if anything) and will have to expedite the SVTech up plate before Scotland.
Edited by Spuffington on Thursday 12th October 15:34
Peanut Gallery said:
I know some Scottish sites charge for water (they are metered) but I think Scottish water tastes better anyway - and we have too much of it often...
Saving 200 kg is worth a thought?
It'll be my only option if it comes in overweight and I can't get it up plated in time for the trip. The only thing is, the whole trip is supposed to be a wilderness trip and want to be fully offgrid and self sufficient. But let's see.Saving 200 kg is worth a thought?
So annoying for such a bloomin complete van to be so tight on payload.
Best I can hope for is that that 5.3t weight that's on the certificate includes fuel and driver (which I assume it should do)? If that's the case, I've saved 180kg right there.
Thanks Oblio. I agree, 200-odd kg is a lot of weight to be schlepping around and will also have an impact on mpg. We'll see.
I've just spoken with SVTech and they say that providing I give them all they need straight away, they can get me all the info required to send to DVLA for the up-plating in around 5-7 days and although technically it needs to go to the DVLA for updating the V5c, if I am in the UK and just have their info with me, if I were to get stopped, I should all be ok as it is demonstrable that the chassis has been approved for the higher excise weight.
We shall see. I'll update tomorrow once I get back from the weighbridge.
I've just spoken with SVTech and they say that providing I give them all they need straight away, they can get me all the info required to send to DVLA for the up-plating in around 5-7 days and although technically it needs to go to the DVLA for updating the V5c, if I am in the UK and just have their info with me, if I were to get stopped, I should all be ok as it is demonstrable that the chassis has been approved for the higher excise weight.
We shall see. I'll update tomorrow once I get back from the weighbridge.
Busy day today - turned up at the tyre fitters around 10am and had to wait 40mins before they started work on Carrie. Took a while to get Carrie in a position on their forecourt and then trying to get enough height on the jack to get the wheels lifted.
Good news was - rear discs look fine - nicely evenly worn but the nearside does have a bit of a blue-ish tinge in the middle where the pad may have been binding. But I have decided to leave the discs as they are and instead get MG Caravans to give the calipers a bit of a strip/service and replace the pads.
Bad news - the front discs are badly scored and pitted. They'll need replacing. Gggrrr. So I've asked the garage today to quote on that.
On a better note - the tyres are awesome. Fresh from the factory wk35 build so only about 5wks old. Although I went for winters, they felt just as good as the Michelin Agilis Camper which came off it, in spite of the 25degs C temps we had this afternoon!! No noticeable increase in noise and no squirming in the high temps.
Headed straight off from the tyre place to the Weighbridge. Was fearing the worst as I pulled onto the scales. My MGVW is 5,990kg. Together with me at the wheel (81kg), 100% fuel, 10% water (c 25kg), 50% gas (c 30kg) and all of my clothes, food, beer, bedding, tools and all kinds of crap. I weighed in at 5,420kg!
So even if I fill with another 250kg of water & gas on board and any passenger I would have plus their luggage of another 75kg on top of that, I'm at 5,745kg and still have 245kg of payload remaining.
To say I'm relieved is an understatement - particularly as that £300 I'd have had to spend on SVTech will now have to be diverted to front brakes.
Getting there!
Good news was - rear discs look fine - nicely evenly worn but the nearside does have a bit of a blue-ish tinge in the middle where the pad may have been binding. But I have decided to leave the discs as they are and instead get MG Caravans to give the calipers a bit of a strip/service and replace the pads.
Bad news - the front discs are badly scored and pitted. They'll need replacing. Gggrrr. So I've asked the garage today to quote on that.
On a better note - the tyres are awesome. Fresh from the factory wk35 build so only about 5wks old. Although I went for winters, they felt just as good as the Michelin Agilis Camper which came off it, in spite of the 25degs C temps we had this afternoon!! No noticeable increase in noise and no squirming in the high temps.
Headed straight off from the tyre place to the Weighbridge. Was fearing the worst as I pulled onto the scales. My MGVW is 5,990kg. Together with me at the wheel (81kg), 100% fuel, 10% water (c 25kg), 50% gas (c 30kg) and all of my clothes, food, beer, bedding, tools and all kinds of crap. I weighed in at 5,420kg!
So even if I fill with another 250kg of water & gas on board and any passenger I would have plus their luggage of another 75kg on top of that, I'm at 5,745kg and still have 245kg of payload remaining.
To say I'm relieved is an understatement - particularly as that £300 I'd have had to spend on SVTech will now have to be diverted to front brakes.
Getting there!
Edited by Spuffington on Tuesday 17th October 08:39
So in terms of this particular unit, it is plated at MGVW of 5,990kg plus 750kg towing capacity (mainly due to the autobox since the manual version can handle up to 2,000kg).
My license is pre-97 which grants me C1 so I can drive anything up to 7.5t MGVW. Anyone post-97 would need to do C1 to drive above 3.5t.
I personally have chosen to steer well clear of 3.5t rigs in the past since the build quality is IMO dubious in order to stay under 3.5t and the payload is correspondingly rubbish too. I like to be able to pack all I need (inc water) and not be worried about being overweight. Hence how happy I am that Carrie has passed the test.
My previous van had a stupidly large payload - c 1.5t.
If you're considering fulltiming, payload is particularly important given how much extra stuff you have over just Camping.
My license is pre-97 which grants me C1 so I can drive anything up to 7.5t MGVW. Anyone post-97 would need to do C1 to drive above 3.5t.
I personally have chosen to steer well clear of 3.5t rigs in the past since the build quality is IMO dubious in order to stay under 3.5t and the payload is correspondingly rubbish too. I like to be able to pack all I need (inc water) and not be worried about being overweight. Hence how happy I am that Carrie has passed the test.
My previous van had a stupidly large payload - c 1.5t.
If you're considering fulltiming, payload is particularly important given how much extra stuff you have over just Camping.
Worthy of update time. If I get a chance to load photos onto a Photobucket replacement, I'll pop up a bit of a write-up on the latest trip, but a quick summary here......
Set off up to the Highlands last week. I had my daughter for the Weekend and hand her back at around 4pm so did that and got straight in Carrie and set course for Scotland. Quite tiring driving so late in the day and with only candles for headlights (fine on main beam on country roads though) and did N Essex to Wetherby in one hit for dinner then carried on to Gretna where I overnighted at the Metal Bridge Inn by the side of the M6 - arrived about 10pm. A bit noisey but perfectly located for heading northwards.
On the Monday I headed to Edinburgh Airport to pick up a friend and then we headed to Glencoe via Loch Lomond. Was fairly "interesting" negotiating the northern part of Loch Lomond given how tight it is. I had sworn never to do it again after driving Harry down there in April, but it was the first time my friend had seen the Loch so only right they got a spectacular view. Found a lovely spot to overnight looking straight down Glencoe, opposite the tiny little white house featured in Skyfall. Perfect. Only issue was manouvering off the mound I had parked on - in my excitement at finding the perfect spot, I had forgotten about my rear overhang and grounded out lightly when reversing off quite a steep incline!! No damage apart from a scuff to the underside of the bumper and my pride! Sadly the fridge decided to pack up on gas with only the freezer providing cooling, so we lost all the Food but importantly still had the ability to cool tins of tonic water, beer and bottles of wine & champagne!
Tuesday threw it down with rain and spent the day walking in waterproofs around Kinlochleven then headed to Signal Rock for an overnight in a car park by a river and dinner at the Clachaig Inn.
On Wednesday we headed for Loch Claunie further North and found a beautiful spot by a Loch to wildcamp. On Thursday a beautiful sunrise over the Loch was captured on a timelapse camera and breakfast in the blazing sunshine. Took the opportunity to climb a hill nearby and moved on to the Claunie Inn for sunset and overnighted in their carpark in exchange for dinner in the Restaurant.
Friday we headed south via Invermoriston (beautiful little village overlooking a river and woodland walks) and Fort William to pick up fuel and water (200litres!) from Morrisons and then parked up at the Holly Tree Inn between Ballachulish and Appin for dinner in exchange for overnighting in their car park next to the Loch!
Saturday was the final full day. Had breakfast at Castle Stalker Cafe overlooking Lismore and Appin. Then drove south to Sutherlands Grove Forestry Commission area where we had a beautiful walk in the Woods and drove south via Inverary and Loch Fyne and over Rest & Be Thankful before stopping at Fiskin Point on Loch Lomond to catch sunset and sunrise the following morning.
Sunday, drove back to Edinburgh Airport to drop off friend and then embarked on 7hr drive done in 8hrs (1hr stop at Wetherby) to get home for 8pm.
In total Carrie did 1350miles in 7 days. We avoided any form of campsite for the entire trip. I emptied four toilet cassettes - once at Glencoe Village toilets and once at Invermoriston Village toilets. I only use Elsan Green so no issues with septic tanks etc. Filled with water at Morrisons. The only issue we had with batteries was when the onboard Inverter for the roller blind for the windscreen struggled with low voltage at day five. So we stopped using it for the last two nights, which made the cab a little colder, but no problem. We didn't go particularly light on the batteries - using the Nespresso machine on the Inverter several times a day, the toaster every morning and hairdrier twice during the week. Notwithstanding that, the two leisure batteries were showing 11.5v upon departure south. We used c. 35litres of gas for the trip. Lowest temperature was 3degs C overnight but the van was set at a toasty 18degs during the night and 22.5degs during the day.
Carrie proved a brilliant companion and at no point did we feel like we were roughing it. Quite the opposite - we actually had a Hotel booked for the midweek to break it up a bit but we cancelled that after night two as the van was so comfortable and the scenery so great that we wanted to keep going. Although the grounding out Episode focussed the mind on making sure laybys and parking spots were appropriate, we never felt like the size of the van was a particular hinderance to where we wanted to park overnight, which was my biggest fear.
Carrie ran beautifully. Her rear brake issue seems to have disappeared since I kept an eye on how hot the rear wheels were getting and there was no issue throughout the trip. Fronts will need replacing as I'm getting some judder through the brake pedal but I know that's down to the pitting. She returned about 18mpg over the trip. Only thing I may do is get a third toilet cassette and also a third leisure battery wired in to avoid issues with the front thermal blind over longterm offgrid camping in future. Oh and also get MG Caravan to see how them fitting the new ignitor and burner has led to the fridge now not working on gas!
Otherwise I'm over the moon and can't wait to get back out and use her in anger again. For now, I'm back at the bottom of the garden but with a bunch of new memories created in her and she's beginning to rival Harry for the happy memory bank.
Set off up to the Highlands last week. I had my daughter for the Weekend and hand her back at around 4pm so did that and got straight in Carrie and set course for Scotland. Quite tiring driving so late in the day and with only candles for headlights (fine on main beam on country roads though) and did N Essex to Wetherby in one hit for dinner then carried on to Gretna where I overnighted at the Metal Bridge Inn by the side of the M6 - arrived about 10pm. A bit noisey but perfectly located for heading northwards.
On the Monday I headed to Edinburgh Airport to pick up a friend and then we headed to Glencoe via Loch Lomond. Was fairly "interesting" negotiating the northern part of Loch Lomond given how tight it is. I had sworn never to do it again after driving Harry down there in April, but it was the first time my friend had seen the Loch so only right they got a spectacular view. Found a lovely spot to overnight looking straight down Glencoe, opposite the tiny little white house featured in Skyfall. Perfect. Only issue was manouvering off the mound I had parked on - in my excitement at finding the perfect spot, I had forgotten about my rear overhang and grounded out lightly when reversing off quite a steep incline!! No damage apart from a scuff to the underside of the bumper and my pride! Sadly the fridge decided to pack up on gas with only the freezer providing cooling, so we lost all the Food but importantly still had the ability to cool tins of tonic water, beer and bottles of wine & champagne!
Tuesday threw it down with rain and spent the day walking in waterproofs around Kinlochleven then headed to Signal Rock for an overnight in a car park by a river and dinner at the Clachaig Inn.
On Wednesday we headed for Loch Claunie further North and found a beautiful spot by a Loch to wildcamp. On Thursday a beautiful sunrise over the Loch was captured on a timelapse camera and breakfast in the blazing sunshine. Took the opportunity to climb a hill nearby and moved on to the Claunie Inn for sunset and overnighted in their carpark in exchange for dinner in the Restaurant.
Friday we headed south via Invermoriston (beautiful little village overlooking a river and woodland walks) and Fort William to pick up fuel and water (200litres!) from Morrisons and then parked up at the Holly Tree Inn between Ballachulish and Appin for dinner in exchange for overnighting in their car park next to the Loch!
Saturday was the final full day. Had breakfast at Castle Stalker Cafe overlooking Lismore and Appin. Then drove south to Sutherlands Grove Forestry Commission area where we had a beautiful walk in the Woods and drove south via Inverary and Loch Fyne and over Rest & Be Thankful before stopping at Fiskin Point on Loch Lomond to catch sunset and sunrise the following morning.
Sunday, drove back to Edinburgh Airport to drop off friend and then embarked on 7hr drive done in 8hrs (1hr stop at Wetherby) to get home for 8pm.
In total Carrie did 1350miles in 7 days. We avoided any form of campsite for the entire trip. I emptied four toilet cassettes - once at Glencoe Village toilets and once at Invermoriston Village toilets. I only use Elsan Green so no issues with septic tanks etc. Filled with water at Morrisons. The only issue we had with batteries was when the onboard Inverter for the roller blind for the windscreen struggled with low voltage at day five. So we stopped using it for the last two nights, which made the cab a little colder, but no problem. We didn't go particularly light on the batteries - using the Nespresso machine on the Inverter several times a day, the toaster every morning and hairdrier twice during the week. Notwithstanding that, the two leisure batteries were showing 11.5v upon departure south. We used c. 35litres of gas for the trip. Lowest temperature was 3degs C overnight but the van was set at a toasty 18degs during the night and 22.5degs during the day.
Carrie proved a brilliant companion and at no point did we feel like we were roughing it. Quite the opposite - we actually had a Hotel booked for the midweek to break it up a bit but we cancelled that after night two as the van was so comfortable and the scenery so great that we wanted to keep going. Although the grounding out Episode focussed the mind on making sure laybys and parking spots were appropriate, we never felt like the size of the van was a particular hinderance to where we wanted to park overnight, which was my biggest fear.
Carrie ran beautifully. Her rear brake issue seems to have disappeared since I kept an eye on how hot the rear wheels were getting and there was no issue throughout the trip. Fronts will need replacing as I'm getting some judder through the brake pedal but I know that's down to the pitting. She returned about 18mpg over the trip. Only thing I may do is get a third toilet cassette and also a third leisure battery wired in to avoid issues with the front thermal blind over longterm offgrid camping in future. Oh and also get MG Caravan to see how them fitting the new ignitor and burner has led to the fridge now not working on gas!
Otherwise I'm over the moon and can't wait to get back out and use her in anger again. For now, I'm back at the bottom of the garden but with a bunch of new memories created in her and she's beginning to rival Harry for the happy memory bank.
Antony Moxey said:
Good write up Spuff, enjoyed reading that. Regarding batteries, do you have solar panels fitted. We haven’t wild camped to the extent you have, but four days at a festival in August with fry-ups for four each morning, lunch each day and two showers a day made no difference whatsoever to our batteries thanks to having a solar panel on the roof. Might be something to look in to perhaps?
Thanks! Do have a solar panel fitted and was concerned I wasn't getting topped up from it as much as usual but I guess 2-3 things were at play. Firstly the sun was a lot lower and more frequently obscured than usual. Lots of cloud, rain and shade from mountains etc. Secondly, the heating was on most of the time and whilst not blown air, it does use a pump to circulate the warm water for the central heating, so we had a continuous draw which I think meant even if there was charge from the solar Panel, we were using it rather than charging. Thirdly, we didn't do a massive amount of driving so topped up the van battery but never really the hab batteries.
On top of all that, the draw from the hairdrier, nespresso machine and toaster is quite a lot through the inverter, so think those items took their toll. Clearly they are very much luxury items which I'd never have used in Harry. But when in Rome.....!
A tiny update as I've taken the thread slightly away from Fulltiming and more onto getting the new van up to scratch....
As you all know, Carrie the Concorde is the perfect substitute for a house and can be lived in very comfortably indeed. Most of the time I don't feel much in the way of compromise; probably assisted by the fact I spend every other week in Frankfurt on business, so I'm not in the van "fulltime" anyway. But some things do still grate and a few off the top of my head:
- although I have space (and much more than I had before), coming back from a work trip or weekend away; packing or unpacking a suitcase is a bit of a nightmare, since it just fits on the seats - trying to stow things in the right locker is a challenging logistical exercise of manouvering around table, climbing on bed, trying not to nudge the suitcase which has one corner hanging off the sofa etc. Space is the issue here;
- emptying the toilet. It's not a massive issue. But I can guarantee that the toilet cassette will get brimmed just at the most inoportune moment (middle of the night, when throwing down with rain, just before you're about to go out etc.). I do have the spare in the Garage which I just whip out and pop back in but then there's some decent planning involved then in emptying two to ensure it's not left until the last Minute. I empty directly into the septic tank but the manhole cover frame has started falling apart due to the frequent lifting, so it's not just wear & tear on the van which has come about from not living in the house;
- the oven - it's great to have an oven. I really missed it in Harry. But the oven being not exceptionally efficient does tend to unevenly cook food and it's difficult to get things cooked just right. Also need to ignore the cooking times on packets, since it rarely gets hot enough all over to cook within a specified time.
- heating - it's brilliant. Believe me, having central heating is an absolute godsend compared with Harry. But I like to sleep in a cool environment, so dial down the heating overnight to around 17degs C. But in the morning, trying to get out of a nice warm bed when it's really cool outside is a nightmare. It would be so much nicer if I could have it on a timer to warm up for when I get up. I know the new Alde wet central heating systems have this functionality but I'm not sure mine can be upgraded effectively. It's a niggle rather than a gripe.
But what I did find out on Monday was how much of a load I'm placing on the house. I woke up Monday morning, walked into the bathroom via the Nespresso machine. Turned it on to pour the coffee as I was having a pee and was rather surprised not to hear it working. Went and checked back on it and it wouldn't turn on. Strange. Looked at the fridge and it was showing on gas and looked at the control panel and the "Mains" had disappeared from the screen. Assumed a power cut (which happens frequently on the farm), switched on the Inverter and ran the coffee machine from the batteries and went to work.
As I was outside, I noticed the lights were on in the house so no power cut. Therefore, in my mind a tripped fuse in the van or the summerhouse (where I power the van from). When I got back that evening, I had a good scoot around and couldn't find any issue with tripped fuses in either vehicle or summerhouse so assumed a rodent had eaten the cable. Nope. So I unplugged the cable to try a different socket. Upon doing so I saw a singe mark on the plug socket and looked at the plug - only to find that it had midly melted around the fuse!!
It had melted so much that the fuse holder wouldn't accept another fuse. Thankfully I had another mains adaptor in the van, so swapped over and had it all working again.
Lesson is - clearly the van is chugging a lot of power. With the heating on, fridge on, charging mobile devices, water pump etc. there's a lot of amps being consumed so a bit of a different tactic is needed. Thankfully the Alde heating system allows you to vary the heating draw on AC between three Settings. I have dumbed it down to the lowest (which I think is if you only have a 3amp supply) which will hopefully allow enough capacity for the fridge and ancillary items to draw without overloading the socket.
Goes to show that fulltiming, even with all the life support systems in place is not as straightforward as house living and attention still needs paying to living "offgrid" in the loosest sense of the word.
In other matters - we're now pretty much 12 months on from when the casms started appearing in my marriage. I have learnt an awful lot about myself and the issues involved in that time and after a lot of navel gazing, I'm pretty sure that things had been going wrong for a long time previous and I was either too blind or too proud to see it. Things are still amicable with the ex-Mrs Spuff and we are continuing to co-parent effectively. Mediation kicks off next week for no other reason than to draw up the MoU required to instruct the Solicitors on the divorce without any further argument over settlement etc. And I would hope that going into the New Year we'll be able to petition for divorce early in January. No visibility yet on when she will be able to move out of the family home, but no rush on that since I will likely be moving to Germany at Easter. I will commute back every 10 days to spend 4-5 days with my daughter (living in the van still until I can either sell or move back into the house).
All in all, everything is fine if not slightly odd compared to the "norm".
As you all know, Carrie the Concorde is the perfect substitute for a house and can be lived in very comfortably indeed. Most of the time I don't feel much in the way of compromise; probably assisted by the fact I spend every other week in Frankfurt on business, so I'm not in the van "fulltime" anyway. But some things do still grate and a few off the top of my head:
- although I have space (and much more than I had before), coming back from a work trip or weekend away; packing or unpacking a suitcase is a bit of a nightmare, since it just fits on the seats - trying to stow things in the right locker is a challenging logistical exercise of manouvering around table, climbing on bed, trying not to nudge the suitcase which has one corner hanging off the sofa etc. Space is the issue here;
- emptying the toilet. It's not a massive issue. But I can guarantee that the toilet cassette will get brimmed just at the most inoportune moment (middle of the night, when throwing down with rain, just before you're about to go out etc.). I do have the spare in the Garage which I just whip out and pop back in but then there's some decent planning involved then in emptying two to ensure it's not left until the last Minute. I empty directly into the septic tank but the manhole cover frame has started falling apart due to the frequent lifting, so it's not just wear & tear on the van which has come about from not living in the house;
- the oven - it's great to have an oven. I really missed it in Harry. But the oven being not exceptionally efficient does tend to unevenly cook food and it's difficult to get things cooked just right. Also need to ignore the cooking times on packets, since it rarely gets hot enough all over to cook within a specified time.
- heating - it's brilliant. Believe me, having central heating is an absolute godsend compared with Harry. But I like to sleep in a cool environment, so dial down the heating overnight to around 17degs C. But in the morning, trying to get out of a nice warm bed when it's really cool outside is a nightmare. It would be so much nicer if I could have it on a timer to warm up for when I get up. I know the new Alde wet central heating systems have this functionality but I'm not sure mine can be upgraded effectively. It's a niggle rather than a gripe.
But what I did find out on Monday was how much of a load I'm placing on the house. I woke up Monday morning, walked into the bathroom via the Nespresso machine. Turned it on to pour the coffee as I was having a pee and was rather surprised not to hear it working. Went and checked back on it and it wouldn't turn on. Strange. Looked at the fridge and it was showing on gas and looked at the control panel and the "Mains" had disappeared from the screen. Assumed a power cut (which happens frequently on the farm), switched on the Inverter and ran the coffee machine from the batteries and went to work.
As I was outside, I noticed the lights were on in the house so no power cut. Therefore, in my mind a tripped fuse in the van or the summerhouse (where I power the van from). When I got back that evening, I had a good scoot around and couldn't find any issue with tripped fuses in either vehicle or summerhouse so assumed a rodent had eaten the cable. Nope. So I unplugged the cable to try a different socket. Upon doing so I saw a singe mark on the plug socket and looked at the plug - only to find that it had midly melted around the fuse!!
It had melted so much that the fuse holder wouldn't accept another fuse. Thankfully I had another mains adaptor in the van, so swapped over and had it all working again.Lesson is - clearly the van is chugging a lot of power. With the heating on, fridge on, charging mobile devices, water pump etc. there's a lot of amps being consumed so a bit of a different tactic is needed. Thankfully the Alde heating system allows you to vary the heating draw on AC between three Settings. I have dumbed it down to the lowest (which I think is if you only have a 3amp supply) which will hopefully allow enough capacity for the fridge and ancillary items to draw without overloading the socket.
Goes to show that fulltiming, even with all the life support systems in place is not as straightforward as house living and attention still needs paying to living "offgrid" in the loosest sense of the word.
In other matters - we're now pretty much 12 months on from when the casms started appearing in my marriage. I have learnt an awful lot about myself and the issues involved in that time and after a lot of navel gazing, I'm pretty sure that things had been going wrong for a long time previous and I was either too blind or too proud to see it. Things are still amicable with the ex-Mrs Spuff and we are continuing to co-parent effectively. Mediation kicks off next week for no other reason than to draw up the MoU required to instruct the Solicitors on the divorce without any further argument over settlement etc. And I would hope that going into the New Year we'll be able to petition for divorce early in January. No visibility yet on when she will be able to move out of the family home, but no rush on that since I will likely be moving to Germany at Easter. I will commute back every 10 days to spend 4-5 days with my daughter (living in the van still until I can either sell or move back into the house).
All in all, everything is fine if not slightly odd compared to the "norm".
So - brakes have been done. Fronts that is. Couldn't afford right now to get the rears done, so I just purchased the rear discs & pads from MG Caravans and will keep them until such time as I can afford to get them fitted. Good job I got the fronts done though. I knew they were in bad condition when we had the wheels off for the new tyres - discs were scored and pitted. But when the pads came out, they pretty much almost disintegrated!!!
Anyway, the brakes feel a lot more positive now (unsurprisingly) and it's a weight off my mind. Although at the same time a large weight out of my wallet. I dropped 850quid at MG Caravans last week on new front discs & pads (fitted), new rear discs & pads (parts only), new side marker and a couple of bulbs.
Now setting about trying to source a door seal for the habitation door frame, which I'm convinced is missing as there's a bit of a draft and it looks like the previous owner tried to botch in some draft excluder around the door. I've asked other Concorde owners to post pics of their doorframe and they appear to have a seal there, so I've written to Southdowns (Concorde importer in the UK) to get a quote and part number. Not quite as straightforward as it might seem as before 2007, their systems weren't as good as they now are in terms of keeping a track of parts used in the build etc. They rely a lot on photos of existing parts when needing replacing, which doesn't help when I don't have anything to actually show them.
In other news, the divorce is gathering pace and the family home will be put on the market in the New Year, so I will be moving off the plot and back onto a campsite to prepare myself mentally for the move, together with also trying to make the house and plot look less
by having the van hooked up on it.
Next year will be a year of trying to save every penny I earn in order to try and build up the finances again as I won't get anything from the sale. The van will be an even more welcome companion as I try and scrimp to start again. Not letting it get me down though - new start. I have my health and job so things could be a lot worse and I'm grateful for what I do have and the support I've got from family & friends.
Anyway, the brakes feel a lot more positive now (unsurprisingly) and it's a weight off my mind. Although at the same time a large weight out of my wallet. I dropped 850quid at MG Caravans last week on new front discs & pads (fitted), new rear discs & pads (parts only), new side marker and a couple of bulbs.
Now setting about trying to source a door seal for the habitation door frame, which I'm convinced is missing as there's a bit of a draft and it looks like the previous owner tried to botch in some draft excluder around the door. I've asked other Concorde owners to post pics of their doorframe and they appear to have a seal there, so I've written to Southdowns (Concorde importer in the UK) to get a quote and part number. Not quite as straightforward as it might seem as before 2007, their systems weren't as good as they now are in terms of keeping a track of parts used in the build etc. They rely a lot on photos of existing parts when needing replacing, which doesn't help when I don't have anything to actually show them.
In other news, the divorce is gathering pace and the family home will be put on the market in the New Year, so I will be moving off the plot and back onto a campsite to prepare myself mentally for the move, together with also trying to make the house and plot look less
by having the van hooked up on it.Next year will be a year of trying to save every penny I earn in order to try and build up the finances again as I won't get anything from the sale. The van will be an even more welcome companion as I try and scrimp to start again. Not letting it get me down though - new start. I have my health and job so things could be a lot worse and I'm grateful for what I do have and the support I've got from family & friends.
Thank you to the most recent posters for your kind comments and support.
Looking back over the last 12 months, my life couldn't be more different. I'm on the verge of being without a property for the first time in 10years, down to my last few k's in the bank, living in a motorhome, and a single Dad. But I actually couldn't be happier and I am genuinely happier than I've been in a long time.
Back to Carrie for a second though - I'm beginning to learn how to use the heating a bit more effectively. After the cold stint over the weekend, I'm even more grateful for the Alde wet central heating. The van has been toasty and warm at 23degs C, whilst outside being minus 4. It's such a subtle and cosy warmth compared with the blown air heating of the Hymer, it makes such a difference to the ambience and comfort and does feel like I'm "home" rather than camping. But managing the fuel demands has been learnt.
Since blowing the fuse on the hookup, I generally keep the heating set to the middle electric setting (c. 6amp draw IIRC), but I have learnt that it takes quite a while for the van to heat up using this setting. I've also noticed that the hot water is hot, but not steaming hot. So in the last few days I have started turning the electric off in the morning (I turn the heating down to around 17-18degs C overnight), turning it on to gas and then upping the thermostat to around 23degs C. On gas, the van warms up very quickly. Once up to temperature, I turn the gas off and switch back to the middle electric setting.
Same thing before showering. I turn the electric off, gas on and leave it for 10mins before jumping in the shower. Means that the water is steaming hot, which also makes my shower longer as I'm not draining the hot water tank as quickly.
Little things, but just goes to show how much you learn about your life support systems when you're in full time.
Looking back over the last 12 months, my life couldn't be more different. I'm on the verge of being without a property for the first time in 10years, down to my last few k's in the bank, living in a motorhome, and a single Dad. But I actually couldn't be happier and I am genuinely happier than I've been in a long time.
Back to Carrie for a second though - I'm beginning to learn how to use the heating a bit more effectively. After the cold stint over the weekend, I'm even more grateful for the Alde wet central heating. The van has been toasty and warm at 23degs C, whilst outside being minus 4. It's such a subtle and cosy warmth compared with the blown air heating of the Hymer, it makes such a difference to the ambience and comfort and does feel like I'm "home" rather than camping. But managing the fuel demands has been learnt.
Since blowing the fuse on the hookup, I generally keep the heating set to the middle electric setting (c. 6amp draw IIRC), but I have learnt that it takes quite a while for the van to heat up using this setting. I've also noticed that the hot water is hot, but not steaming hot. So in the last few days I have started turning the electric off in the morning (I turn the heating down to around 17-18degs C overnight), turning it on to gas and then upping the thermostat to around 23degs C. On gas, the van warms up very quickly. Once up to temperature, I turn the gas off and switch back to the middle electric setting.
Same thing before showering. I turn the electric off, gas on and leave it for 10mins before jumping in the shower. Means that the water is steaming hot, which also makes my shower longer as I'm not draining the hot water tank as quickly.
Little things, but just goes to show how much you learn about your life support systems when you're in full time.
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