New Van, New Challenge

No, there is no clue in the title about the make of van and I am going to stay silent (although if you have read my discussion topics you will find out).  We have now had our fixed bed top-of-the-range van for one year and I am recording some of our experiences to help others and I hope for general interest.

We have been caravanning for 25 years, every year in Europe and mainly CLs in this country, although we used Club sites when the children were young. So what did I think of our new fixed double bed and fixed wind-out canopy awning?

Firstly the fixed bed.  What a pleasure not to have to pull out the bed slats and have the whole contraption fall on the floor!  Then turn the cushions over and struggle to get an elasticated bottom sheet over them, tuck the duvet in at the bottom (otherwise I lose my half in the night), and so on – you know the drill. I used to dread going to bed and was often tempted to just fall asleep where I was sat; very easy after a few glasses of vin rouge (oh yes, I am re-learning French as well).  The double bed is bliss – so much more comfortable than inverted seat cushions but we did end up buying a memory foam mattress at significant cost and weight (more of this later).

If you tour on the continent as a couple (no accompanying children) then a wind-out canopy awning is a massive bonus.  The Fiamma takes less than five minutes to fully erect and is all you need if the weather is hot (and you don’t have kids sleeping in the awning etc. etc.). Problem though; when the wind blows it flaps around and keeps you awake.  When the Mistral blows or a French storm arrives with 5 minutes’ notice it is in danger of taking off, therefore storm straps are essential.  Fairly cheap and quite easy to fit, but, yes, adds another five minutes to the set-up time.

Then there is the usual extra cost of changing vans.  Bits and pieces that all add up and you tend not to notice.  In our case we wanted to take advantage of the taller gas locker so ended up buying three 10kg BP cylinders (well we got them on eBay cheap out of season).  Then you have a new van so it is only right to have new cutlery, glasses etc., anyway the old gear doesn’t seem to quite fit and is the wrong colour.

On the technical aspects, it seemed that wheels were falling off our make and model of van so had to buy a torque wrench to check periodically – it tells you to do this in the manual the dealer said.  Well, ignorance is bliss and we managed for 25 years without.  Then the nose felt heavy – my g..  it was.  More money on a Milenco gauge which told us we had 120 kg noseweight.  It helped when we drained the internal water tank. Obvious I suppose but when you have never had one you tend not to think about these things.  We thought it would be nice to have water on tap when we stopped at the Autoroute Aires – another cunning plan fails.

So we still have a big noseweight and I am busy loading the back of the van to compensate and the dealer tells me that in France they can stop you, take you to a weighbridge and then unload all your possessions into the road until the weight is what is says on the nameplate.   Now we have to buy a rating upgrade.  And I thought caravanning was a relaxing hobby.

 Off again in a few days time for a 5 week trip to France.  I expect something or other will go wrong but, actually, I have come to realize that this is what makes the whole thing so enjoyable.  You can write about it afterwards.