Wet Floor Continued

Took a trip up to storage today to put something temporary in place in the hope that the wet section of the floor may dry out a bit.

Fistly I liberally coated the wet areas with Black Waxoyl ( thank you David Mantell for that suggestion ),that was a messy job.

Secondly I taped some plastic sheet across the rear of the van in order to prevent ( or certainly reduce ) water running underneath and secured it with Gorilla tape.

Having had a close up look underneath I think the problem is in the centre section of the van.

The end section bodywork doesn't actually touch the floor so I don't think the problem is there.

The centre section bodywork however is not attached to the floor but to a piece of wood that fills the gap between the bodywork and floor giving something to screw the bodywork to.

This piece of wood was very wet,presumably from rainwater clinging to the bodywork and wetting it as it was very wet indeed.

I think this wood gets wet and the excess water runs off to the corners where it can go no further and soaks the floor.

There were some gaps in the corner trim which I filled with Waxoyl but whether these contribute to the problem I don't know.

My long term plan is to get a piece of L shaped aluminium and secure it under the back of the van in the centre section to act as a 'drip strip' so the bit of wood doesn't get wet.

Needed to get something in place as there was a possibility we would get locked down again but we seem to have escaped.

Secondly I had an e-mail from John who suggested that the problem may lie with the cassette locker door seal letting in water in driving rain,he has had the same wet floor problem,changed the seal and all was well.

I have heard similar things on forums as well

Having checked it I couldn't see a problem and was going to leave it at that but as the seal is only about £20 or so I will swap it anyway for peace of mind,thanks John.

Will leave if for a few weeks and see if the floor dries a bit.

Will keep the blog posted on events.

Ian

Scotchgard + Wet Floor

More for something to do than anything else I decided to apply Scotchgard to all the soft furnishings to guard against spills etc..

Suppose I should have done it before but never got around to it but anyway it's done now.

If anyone else wants to do it,to give two coats it needs five cans,easily available from E-Bay.

Secondly, I have noticed that the underside floor at the rear offside is very wet.

There is nothing showing inside,have had the panel off under the bathroom sink and all is bone dry.

All seems dry around the toilet,flush tank is empty,the only thing I can think of is that rain is running down the panels,sticking to the GRP as it extends underneath and wetting the floor.

Anyone else had this problem and if so how did you remedy it ?

Last year at service that corner was 18% when the rest of the floor was about 13-14% so it wasn't too bad then,it's certainly more than that now.

Perhaps it gets wet like this every winter,never gets chance to dry out till spring and has dried sufficiently to be OK for the May service after some ( hopefully ) warmer weather.

Could do with drying it out really with a hairdryer or the like but it is in storage with the wheels off and no electric so will  to wait for better weather and see what happens.

Anyway Happy Christmas and a good Covid Free new year to all my followers,or should that be follower,who knows.

Ian

A Bit of Protection

 SWMBO has remarked,often,that the corner piece of wood forward of the semi-circular kitchen cupboard keeps getting kicked and marked,perhaps from when we put the chairs in between the front seats to travel.

Thought I would sort it out so purchased a plastic angle piece from E-Bay ( about £7 or so ) and stuck it over  the corner.

Had a bit left over as I bought a metre and the corner length is about 80cm so stuck that to the corner near the fuse box.

If you want to follow suit the depth of the corner protector is15mm and the colour I used was "Walnut" which seemed to match up pretty well.

Ian

Floe Induratec

 Just a bit of an early heads up.

When the Cadiz is due for a service next May I have arranged with my service man to have one of the above fitted.

Floe Induratec

At the minute I use a manual Floe which works fine but involves a bit of running about whereas with the Induratec you can flush the water from inside the van in a few minutes so I can do it every time we vacate a pitch or back in storage.

It is light in weight,under one kilogram,and I can make this up by removing the tyre compressor and manual Floe I now carry.

Anyway when the time comes I will do a review of it.

As usual I have nothing to do with Floe,only as a purchaser/user.

Ian

FOR SALE : Isabella Net Front

 I have got an Isabella Net Front for sale.

Will fit an Isabella Magnum Coal and I believe an ordinary Magnum as well as the difference is in the depth from the van not the width.

Brand new,never even been unfolded.

Retail price £104.00

Net Front Price

Price: £70 inc.P&P

Ian

That's All Folks.....................

 We have decided to call it a day for this year in the van.

We should have been at CMC Chapel Lane this seek for the NEC show but of course that has gone.

We had CMC Barnard Castle booked for this week plus CMC Poolsbrook in a couple of weeks but as we appear to be in a high risk Covid area it's not worth the hassle sadly.

Anyway I have shut the van down for winter and thought I would list what I have done in order to help newbies who may be thinking of doing the same,old hands will have their own routine I am sure.

Not everything will appeal to everybody so you can take your pick.

Bear in mind that our van is in storage.

1.Road wheels removed and replaced with winter wheels,wheels taken home and cleaned etc.

2.Water system drained ,I use a Floe.Don't forget toilet flush as well.

3.Toilet cassette removed,taken home and cleaned with Thetford Cassette Cleaner.

4.Door/locker locks given a squirt of lubricant.

5.Window and door seals treated with silicone spray.

6.All perishable food and liquids removed.

7.All sheets etc.taken home to wash.

8.All cupboard and locker doors left open to allow air to circulate.

9.Cushions upended for same reason as above.

10.Some people place condensation crystals around the van,we don't and have never had a problem.

Here's looking forward to march next year and let's hope things have looked up a bit.

Ian

CMC York Beechwood Grange

 Away at the minute on the above site,which is our "local" CMC site as it is only about 45 minutes from home.

Lovely site which is well tended and cared for.

Weather much better than our last outing.

Nothing much to report,the only minor disaster is the clip-on handle for our Tefal Ingenio pans called it quits,tried to repair with a video on You Tube,another ordered and coming Friday.

The site has been just about full each day so people are starting to get out and about again.

Ian

CMC North York Moors

 Returned yesterday from three nights at CMC North York Moors,it should have been four nights but it rained so much Noah would have been proud so we decided to cut our losses.

Taking the Eclipse canopy down in what was a giant puddle with rain lashing down whipped up by the wind wasn't a load of fun but we survived and all is now dried out and put away.

If ever the Cadiz was going to leak then this would have been a golden opportunity but all fortunately remained dry.

There is no facilities block on this site so we used the van shower and toilet without any problems.

As seems usual now there was a good smattering of U3's on site and only one U4 Black Edition.

Was talking to the chap with the Black Edition who hadn't had it long and as per usual it needed to be returned to the dealer to cure some faults.

£25K or so for a new van and there always appears to be some problem or another that needs fixing.

When we bought the Cadiz I made the salesman aware that I would have a check list when we picked it up and I wasn't taking it away till I was satisfied,seemed to work as there were no immediate problems to sort out,perhaps thats the way to go when buying a van.

Anyway I hope our next trip out is a little drier than this one.

Ian

CMC White Water Park Teesside

 Well here we are for our second post lockdown trip to the above site.

As per usual with the CMC this is an immaculate and well run site well up to the standards of the CMC in general.

One slight irritation:there seems to be a lack of standardisation within the CMC as regards Covid precautions.

At our last CMC site in Norfolk about a fortnight ago,the site shop was stocked as normal,the information room was full of the usual books and pamphlets and visitors were allowed on the site.

Here it is the exact opposite,shop empty as is the information room and no visitors allowed.

We are away to CMC North York Moors in a week or two and that doesn't allow visitors either,all a bit confusing.

Anyway the place is very busy with,I noticed,a good number of Unicorn 3's which still seem very popular,only one U4 Black Edition seen.

My only misdemeanour this time was forgetting the end panel for the Eclipse canopy,it is still safely tucked up in the garage,which is better than last time we were here when I forgot the water pipes for the serviced pitch so paid extra and carted water about

Hope the weather remains as it has been so far.

Ian

Expensive Little Buggers

We lost one of the rubber bump stops from under the front of the glass cooker lid

Over the years it has had a habit of coming out, even after being glued, but this time it was lost. 

Now the object of this post is to steer anyone away from Prima Leisure where they are an underwear filling £14 for two including postage,£7 for something that must cost coppers, 

As we say in Yorkshire 'how much'. 

I suppose we must be grateful that they are at least available but I think that is taking the piss, 

Eventually found some on E Bay for £3 something for two, still expensive for what they are. 

Ian

CMC Norfolk Broads

Well here we are on our first outing since the end of the Covid restrictions on CMC Norfolk Broads just outside Ludham in Norfolk.

The site is very busy and is a credit to the wardens and the CMC who have really thought out the social distancing protocols.

Just one example is the restriction of only three people in the wash blocks at once which is regulated by each person being allocated a wristband on arrival.

There are three hooks outside the washblock on which you hang your band,if there are three already there you wait until someone comes out,unhooks their band,you hook yours and in you go removing it on exit,genius.

Well as per usual things haven't gone exactly to plan with one or two minor hiccups to report.

Fistly we arrived at storage,opened the car tailgate and a very full bag of groceries tumbled to the ground spilling yogurt and Lord knows what all over the ground,needless to say this was "my fault".

I usually put a litre of flush in the flush tank for toilet stops en route,came to one such stop,flushed toilet only to realise I had put a full litre of undiluted Elsan Organic in the tank which came at as a consistency of runny treacle.

When we arrived at the site the motor mover wouldn't work as the leisure battery was as flat as fart,for which read,dead.

Found this a bit strange as it worked OK in storage and had been charged on the car for nearly 200 miles.

Anyway kind hands came out to help us to manually manoeuvre the Unicorn onto the pitch.

Meanwhile we had had calls from Phantom to say the battery was flat,............mmmmmm.

Now the battery is nine years old so I presumed that it had bitten the dust,so next day I sat down with the laptop to order another but before doing so I thought I ought to measure it as it needs a lower profile one to fit in the box.

On removing the battery box lid all became clear,the positive lead had come adrift probably due to me not fixing it properly when I swapped the battery over before leaving,reconnected it and all OK

Oh how we did chuckle.

Next,came to set up the satellite dish which I plugged away at for about three quarters of an hour with no result until I discovered that it was connected to the signal booster for terrestrial TV,a quick switch round of cables and all OK.


Yesterday got a further call from Phantom whilst out to tell us the alarm was going off,turned out it was a fly.


Anyway apart from these minor inconveniences the Cadiz has behaved itself as usual,hope it continues to do so for the remainder of our trip.


Ian

Service Time

Today was the day of dread,otherwise known as service time.

I am happy to report that the Cadiz passed with flying colours,everything dry,no damp and no problems reported.


Ian

2020 NEC Caravan & Motorhome Show

In case anyone isn't aware the caravan show at the NEC in October has been cancelled for this year.

Practical Caravan NEC Show


Ian

Lock M Out Contd.

Managed to get to storage today by appointment,a bit unnecessary I thought but there it is,and got the Lock M Out window securers fitted.

They are well made and fit easily.

Now an admission,I never realised that there are three catches on the offside front window and only two on the nearside.

I only ordered fifteen of them so if you want a full set you will need sixteen.

All in all an excellent product.

Ian

Bailey Service Extension

Just in case anyone isn't aware,Bailey have extended the service deadline for in-warranty caravans from four months to six.

So,for instance,if your service was due at the end of May then you have till the end of November to get it done.

Bailey

I wonder if when the next service is due in 2021 this will be taken from the original service date or the now extended service date ?

Our AWS service man has already booked me in for next year on our usual date so the decision has already been made for us.

Ian

Lock M Out

Whilst browsing the latest Practical Caravan there was an article on caravan security which mentioned the Lock M Out security devices for caravan/motorhome window catches.

Lock M Out

There is a video if you look for it which shows how shockingly simple it is to undo the catches from the outside ( I won't tell you where the video is for obvious reasons ) and it only takes about two seconds per catch.

Yes they could just lever the window out or smash it but it would cause a bit of noise and nothing is going to keep the determined thief out of a caravan but it just might make things a little more difficult.

Anyway I have ordered some,from memory it should be fifteen, and will give an assessment when we can get to the van,whenever that may be.

In case anyone thinks otherwise I have no connection with Lock M out at all,just a customer.

Ian

Strange Times

Well how is everyone faring under the lockdown ?

Personally I have not seen the van for a few weeks as it is locked up in storage but at least I can keep an eye on it remotely to a limited extent via Phantom,at least I know it is still there.

There is a lot to be said for having the van at home and had we been given more notice I may well have squeezed it in in front of the house but we are where we are.

Strangely the virus has come at an oddly "good" time for us as I had spinal surgery a fortnight ago and my physical activities are severly limited for at least two or three months or perhaps more so we wouldn't have been caravanning anyway.

Our next outing is,in theory,booked for the first of July to CMC Nunnykirk but of course we will have to see what occurs both nationally and personally.

In case people aren't aware the CMC have opened bookings till the 30th June next year,I have all our outings booked from March next year until then.

Anyway to all those camping on the drive,enjoy yourselves,the weather has been excellent,why is it rarely like this when we go away ?

Ian

CMC Beechwood Grange

We are at present sited on CMC Beechwood Grange near York as our first outing of the year.

We usually make this as our initial trip as it is not far from home plus should something not work or break there is Ebor Caravans just down the road.

It is an excellent site which is a credit to the wardens who keep it so.

It has not been a trip without incident.

Over the winter I had checked all the caravan services,water,electrics,wheels and tyres etc,one thing I didn't check was the breakaway cable attachment on the car.

About three months ago the rear bumper on the car was replaced after some damage.

When trying to attach the breakaway cable I discovered that the carabiner that I have attached to the the attachment point was firmly jammed behind some plastic trim so neither the carabiner or the attachment point was available for use.

I tried to free the carabiner with my fingers and some pliers but it wasn't going to shift.

After a selection of expletives I opted to loop the cable over the towball for the short trip,not ideal but needs must.

When we arrived in York I decided to ring Mayday/Green Flag to come to our aid as I have the option where they will come out to sort problems on site.

Credit to Green Flag,a recovery chap was there within three quarters of an hour and,yes you've guessed it,managed to free the offending carabiner within two minutes.

Oh well,job done,


As the day progressed the wind got stronger and stronger.

We had brought just the Isabella door canopy as it wasn't going to be particularly warm for sitting out.

By the time we were in bed the wind was howling along with torrential rain.

I have never been in the van in such wind,not predicted of course just simply 'windy' according to the forecast but this was something else,the van was rocking and not for a good reason.

Having reassured SWMBO that the door canopy was perfectly safe there was an almighty bang and the thing was flapping in the wind with the metal frame banging against the van after the peg securing one side had pulled out.

SWMBO managed to hang out of the window and grab the canvas whilst I heroically went outside and managed to remove the canopy and frame and stuff it under the van for later retreival.

My it was wild out there,

We also had a wind screen up but that seemed OK.

The following morning with the storm being the talk of the site,I retrieved the canopy from under the van to discover there were two areas of stitching which needed attention and two of the poles were damaged beyond repair so it is back to Isabella next week to be sorted out.

When I went to the car I discovered that miraculously the peg must have shot over the van and speared the car point first into the gap between the roof and the tailgate like a dart,what are the chances of that,I should have taken a pic but I was so amazed I forgot.

It was out with the touch up paint and the offending big chip is now sorted.


Anyway things have quietened down since,it was my birthday yesterday [13th] so SWMBO treated me to a slap up feed at the local Toby Carvery,and very nice it was.

Our next trip is to CMC Knaresborough,I hope it is slightly more incident free than this one.

Ian

FOR SALE

For sale ,a set of ten Colapz pegs to support the grey waste water pipe when on a serviced pitch.

This arrangement gives the pipe a bit of fall so enabling better drainage.

Only suitable for soft or grass pitches,not hardstandings.

Comes with a grey nylon drawstring bag.

£10 inc.postage.

Payment by PayPal preferred.

Ian

A Couple of Handy Hints

Here's a couple of mid winter tips to keep you off the Prozac until the season starts ( yes I know some people caravan all year, but for normal mortals bear with me).

I recently bought, from an internet advert, some 'waterproof seamless adhesive hooks' and have been really impressed.

They hold up to 10kg,adhere to any flat surface, can be removed and repositioned without leaving a mark and are cheap. 

Have distributed them generously throughout the van.

Available on E Bay using the search term above. 

Just a note, don't forget to remove the backing first, do not ask how. I know this. 

Secondly, the metal surround on the door catch on the semi-circular door under the sink has always been cock-eyed which, let's say, has irritated me over the years.

I had always thought it was glued on but took the bull by the horns today and prised it off, readjusted it and pushed it back straight. 

I know have peace of mind, so if yours is on a slant ( ooh er missus) the fix is easy.

Ian