An expensive leak!

Last summer we set off in our brand new Berlingo XTR and our faithful old Avondale to (sorry about this) a non CC site just south of Buxton. It was only after setting up that we discovered the harsh winter frost had done its worst with our kitchen tap, so the first morning of our holiday was spent searching for a new tap. Our warden directed us to the nearest dealer in Stoke-on-Trent, where the first thing we saw was a beatiful 2005 Coachman VIP on the forecourt, like new (even smelled like new inside). We spent the rest of the week agonizoning over whether to buy or not to buy. Back home in Weston-super-Mare, we looked at a few local deals, but nothing came near the condition of the VIP in Stoke, so we phoned the dealer, three weeks after first seeing it and put a deposit on. (Apologies to the lady who spent the previous hour looking over it!). I then thought I'd better check that the Citroen would pull it safely and - oops - it was way too light!  So we had two weeks to find something a little more beefy to pull the VIP home. A tour of local dealers gave us a very short list of available and appropriate tugs, a short list of one in fact, a 2007 Hyundai Tucson CRDT. Admittedly we lost a few bob on the Citroen, but we have absolutely no regrets about the car or the van, both are brilliant.  And as for the tap? Well,when we eventually found one they wanted £80 and a search for a secondhand one was fruitless, so I took it off, filled the crack with plastic cement and hey-presto, sorted!

The moral of my tale? Make sure you drain you water system thoroughly before wintering your van!

Rev Geoff Eales, Weston-super-Mare