CMC Longleat

Yesterday we returned from a four night stay at the CMC site Longleat.

Of course the main reason most people visit this site,especially for the first time,is to visit Longleat itself especially as the entrance is about a 50m walk from the site and there is a CMC member discount if booked online.

Naturally we didn't deviate from the above and bought a two day ticket and without rambling on in"what I did on my holidays" style ( which I try to avoid ) let us just say it was a worthwhile investment.

The site itself,on part of the Longleat estate,is neat and tidy and well cared for but spoilt in my opinion by lots of very large overhanging trees which leave pitches in the shade and damp for prolonged periods after rain.

As far as I can see they will have to be cut back at some stage as it will become a jungle so why not do the job while it is relatively easy.

Other people may of course think differently.

The wardens are very approachable and friendly,SWMBO even got two bottles of wine given free.

I was surprised that in the middle of June how quiet it was,there were plenty of spare pitches.


It was a long tow ( 233 miles each way ) from Wakefield but there were no complaints from the Cadiz who behaved herself all week through periods of very heavy rain,lets be frank it absolutely pissed it down on a frequent basis.

The spare wheel,after the recent hoo-hah,stayed in place and didn't deposit itself on the M5.

The only problem was a broken extending mirror clamp as we were setting off but luckily I carry a spare so that was soon sorted.


Whilst wandering around the site I noticed that there seems to be a proliferation of new VW Transporter/California type motor homes,there were ten on site at differing times,at round about £50-60K a time that is a lot of investment.

I was reading a post  on CT recently from a member of the Bailey Owners Club who reckoned that the Bailey Unicorn 3 will become a style icon so hold onto those vans they may be worth a fortune some day.

Anyway I digress,give Longleat a go if you haven't already visited,you won't be disappointed.

Ian

Spare Tyre Woes Contd.

This is another posting of misery but like a massage in a brothel it has a happy ending..

If you recall from my previous posting about the trials and tribulations of the spiked post decimating the spare tyre  we survived the journey home,well if you don't include the caravan TPMS alarming on the outskirts of Castleford indicating too high tyre temperature which I put down the descending a lot of steep hills resulting in hot brakes,anyway it stopped alarming eventually and we made the two miles to our storage safely,checked the tyre pressures since and all seems OK and it motor movered into storage OK.

Whilst we were away Mr.Roscoe had miraculously sourced an exact replacement tyre which was £70.34 fitted,an expensive post.

As mentioned previously there were spots of rust on the rim so I lathered copious amounts of Finngans Waxoyl onto both sides which should protect it for a while.

Now all that we needed to do was attach the spare to the securing cable wind it up and all would be OK. right ?

Sadly that is not what happened.

Somewhere in the winding/unwinding process the cable had become stuck and despite tugging and pulling wouldn't shift..

My next bright idea was to consult the Bailey manual and there tucked away on Page 23 is the advice to keep some tension on the cable when winding/unwinding to avoid it chavling up on the drum which is what appeared to have happened.

The gubbins is bolted to the underside of the floor with just the winding hoop protruding into the van through the locker floor and the cable passing down a funnel to the exterior.

My next bright idea was to contact Prima Leisure ( Bailey Parts ) to see if a new unit was available.

I spoke to a very pleasant lady called Gemma who said she would have a look and get back to me which she duly did within the hour to say one was available but it was a dealer part at the princely cost of £116 plus presumably a dealer add-on..

Oh dear.

Mr.Roscoe then had the idea of unbolting the unit from the floor for a closer inspection which we ( he ) did and we came to the conclusion that it was indeed knackered.

Sadly I do not have the best back in the world so crawling under the van is no-go at the minute.

Part placed in car for trip home during which journey Mr.Roscoe said he would see if it could be fixed..

Now Mr.Roscoe has a garage better equipped than most main car dealers and he set to work on it,involving grinding the rivets off to eventually open up the unit and yes indeed the cable was firmly jammed fast never to move again under its own steam.

It does seem a complicated system for such a simple manouvre.

He released the cable and rebuilt the unit which involved drilling,tapping and bolting where the rivets had been.

Not bad for an ex food technician.

I could have done this myself of course given the tools [ sic].

Then it was back to the van to rebolt it to the floor,attach spare wheel,wind it  up and Bob's your uncle it all worked.

I would just like to thank Mr.Roscoe who saved me £116 for a new unit.

I can see why Bailey used an under floor fixing as it doesn't take up room in the locker but I think a simple "fishng reel" type of device would have been simpler and easier to untangle if necessary perhaps hidden by a cover.

Also a sticker on the locker floor next to the black plug warning to keep some tension on the cable wouldn't go amiss instead of tucking it away in the handbook.

So,the spare won't be seeing the light of day for a good while unless in anger.

One last word or words:-

"IF WINDING UNWINDING THE SPARE TYRE,KEEP SOME TENSION ON THE F*****G CABLE OR YOU WILL BE UP SHIT STREET..

( Thank you to Mr.Roscoe for flasks of tea )


"Go caravanning,it is so relaxing"


Ian