Nothing else happened until the 8th Jan 2011 when i had a mover fitted.this was a enduro twin axle model about £900 fitted by national vehicle solutions of Ilkeston http://www.nationalvehiclesolutions.com/ who came to the caravan storage to fit it.http://www.wrightstorage.co.uk/ the fitter informed me that the battery wasn't big enough but for some reason it had gone flat anyway....more expense.the battery supplied was an 85 amp when I needed at least a 110 amp.I got a 125amp one off Amazon for £140 and a battery charger from Halfords for £26.
So we are ready for our 1st excursion and decide on a site not too far away for just one night on the 16th Jan,basically its a seeing what plugs in where exercise.We book the caravan club site at Cromwell in Nottinghamshire,a distance of about 25 miles.But first we have to retrieve the van.....but its good to see the battery hasn't lost any charge,the van is hooked on the car,but again when i test the connection by winding down the Jockey wheel to see if the car lifts the jockey wheel is at an unhealthy angle,but the rear end lifts up so electrics are connected,lights checked and we're ready.
So its onto the M18,then the A1,up to 60 mph cruise control on and its a nice steady run as there not much traffic with it being Sunday.In no time at all we are pulling onto the Milestone caravan site http://www.milestonepark.co.uk/ and checking in at reception (16.95 for the night) we are given a swipe card for the barrier and told to pick our spot.We pick a pitch not too far from the toilets and showers and decide to use the mover to park the van.
Again when unhitching i only pull the handle to the upright position(rather than up.slide back slightly and unlock) so again i am trying to lift up the car as well and the jockey wheel slews off at an angle of about 45 deg. But i quickly realise and release it.The van is adjacent to the pitch but the angle is too great for the mover to negotiate,so i decide to hitch it back on the car and reverse it in.This is done with no trouble at all,but to be fair the nearest van was about 50 yards away.
Legs wound down, level it up......the only spirit level i have is on my iPhone...that will have to do,
Better get the heating on as its getting a little chilly,we have a 16 amp feed so can use 3 kw.everything switched on but nothing......i notice a timer,which luckily is similar to the one we had fitted at home just prior to Christmas so its an easy task to get that sorted.
This has taken a good couple of hours since first pulling on the site,so I decide to take the dog for a walk while Martine sorts out the interior,on the way back i call in at reception to enquire where the nearest pub is and am dismayed to learn its a good couple of mile away.So we have to take up the only option we have and go in the car.we find the pub and go in to see a huge plate of some sort of sponge and custard being served up.We order drinks and a menu only to be told they stopped serving food 20 minutes ago ........Brilliant
so we go for the other option that the lady at reception had given us and go to Muskham Ferry Inn Riverside,
Ferry Lane,
North Muskham,
NEWARK,
NG23 6HB
(01636) 704943
Where we have a nice Sunday lunch washed down with a couple of pints of real ale......Quality
We arrive back at the van to find the windows steamed up,condensation everywhere and the dog panting.The heating was blaring out at about 26 deg !!!!blaringblaring
The dog (Jazz) is taken for a walk and then its time to chill bit ,then match of the day 2
Then we're in darkness.........find the torch,go and check the electric box.....everything OK there,in the van one of the circuit breakers has tripped ,reset,everything OK again.10 Min's later,click its gone again,this goes on for the rest of the night,the longest time being about 15 Min's wrong here ? We end up with the heating on 1 kw and one light on but still it keeps tripping.
The next Morning its still happening at similar intervals so we decide to ring Couplands http://www.couplandscaravans.co.uk/ to see if they can help....after much explaining of problems and and possible causes its decided to take the van back the next day so they can check it out,something i will have to do alone as Martine will be at work.
The site info we were given says we don't have to leave bang on 12 so we have a leisurely breakfast and then start packing everything away.at about 12.30 we are ready to hitch up.Again the jockey wheel has a mind of its own but i manage to get the van hitched to the car,but when the jockey is wound up in the storage position it just falls down and wont lock in place for travelling,it appears the long rivets holding the bracket to the tow bar have pulled away from the the tow bar so i decide to remove it all together,and after completing all checks of lights and everything locked that should be locked we are finally ready to leave.
We ring Couplands again to inform them of the jockey wheel problem and decide to take a detour to take the van back to lets them carry out the nesesaryy work.
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