Yep, the heading sums it up. Having a baptism of fire into the world of caravanning. We used to be happy campers but I think the last holiday under canvas when a lot of the rain came in, the wife decided we should look at the idea of caravanning. I was happy with that BUT...we knew we were not going to get anything more than entry budget level due to our very limited funds. We shopped around looking at private sales and realised that not all listings quite turned out as portrayed. Then we found one in Chainhurst just south of Maidstone. I have to admit, the interior had been very well looked after and in a decent order. The outside had the signs that maybe it had been stored under trees for a while, nothing that wont clean up, and a few minor dinks.
Naivety.....that's what I displayed to the happy sellers and have been cursing myself ever since.
Not knowing all the pitfalls, and believing what the gentleman said, I purchased the caravan (an Elddis Typhoon GT) and accessories, and we straight away made plans for a weekend away in the new forest.
That weekend we found the following faults;
*Sink slow to drain...caused by blocked pipes and hole caused by pipe resting on hot/gas pipe across top rear edge of fridge,
*Fridge not working. Flame in pilot hole but nothing else happening even on electric (and caravan was level),
*A strip of sealant lifted revealing cracks in the shower tray whilst wife was having a shower, which after further investigation, showed water traces out onto floor,
*Floor seems a little 'spongy' now between bathroom and kitchen sink. I think now we have been using it, water faults have softened the floor again.
As though that wasn't enough, the Carver Cascade 2 water heater is playing up. Instead of nice blue flames, getting large orange flames and heavy soot deposits above burner and around vent panel.
I am at my wits end and feel I have let my wife down with my naivety. Sellers must still be laughing now.
Apart from telling me to walk away from it and put it down as a learning experience, any ideas please?
Looking at removing shower tray and shower assembly and just keeping the room for the loo. The fridge may have to go but we will for now use our electric coolbox that we had for the tent. The heater, change to electric only type? Only looking at using sites with hook up.
MUG, PLANK, IDIOT, NAIVE, JUST PLAIN STUPID.....Yep I feel like I'm all those so any genuine help and or advise anyone can offer would be grateful please.
Did you leave the fridge long enough to cool down, They can take a while (possibly several hours in this heat) and the best method i found was to check the freezer part, box,shelf or tray. That will get cold first.
Relocate the waste pipes, Just costs time. If you need to replace it a couple of £ a metre.
Caravan was level but is the fridge level in the van also?
Sounds silly but ive seen them kinked over when the whole cabinet was not fitted square.
What is the floor like under the van in that area?
Heater may just need some use or a good clean or a service.
Doesnt seem to be anything that would put me off if the price was right.
Check the fix it threads on here you will see how bad some people have found their new purchases.
The tolerance maybe as little as 5 degrees off level.
Shower tray depends on how much work you want to put into it. Do you want to remove it and replace it or use decent glue on the top surface to bond it all back together and reseal it?
Everybody on here will have been in the same situation at one time or another myself included !
The Fridge ! how blinking big do you wont the flame to be ? on gas . At the most it will be 1" on full No3 and you have to give it chance, it wont happen in 10mins + your suposte to run it EHU before you set of from home! then from your car while your driveing12volt, then when your setup & level on to gas !
So now your back huk up to lecy & see wot happens give it 24hrs, turn it up full & keep an eye on freezer box you will soon see if it's working ! when you are satisfied it works on lecy then switch over to gas & leave on for 48hrs on full No3 if the freezer box stays frozen then it's working !
As for your carver cascade water heater sorry can'nt help you there surjest you get it serviced !
Soft floors can be fixed there's plenty of advice on how to fix on the net & load's of lads & lassess on here that have probably done theirs !
As for shower best fix! dont use it !
not shouting at you anh167 just trying to stear you in the right direction !
STAY CALM it's not the end of the world !
Steve & Ange
------------- Jack of all trades master of none !!!!
Hi anh 167, I had same experience with my first van, though I had to rebuild my van from the chassis up. Don’t feel to bad, your water heater and fridge may just need a good service especially if the had not been used for some time.
Loads of help on the fixit form of this site. Don’t despair hang on in there.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
How much did we get 'shanked'???? £1500. ( less all the accessories thrown in and the awning so about £1100ish )
Fridge...pilot flame OK but nothing happening with fridge and/or freezer box having been on from Friday through to Monday constant. Caravan and fridge level.
Shower...decided going to remove tray and all shower fittings. Just keep area for loo. Replace wall that had shower taps and fixings on and expecting floor will need replacing.
Heater unit... Since posting have contacted arcsystems in Nottingham (found them on this site), and awaiting response from them as for best way forward. Photos sent which hopefully will explain problems better.
* Can electric only water heaters be fitted in place of the Cascade gas units? And if yes, would they just be 240v hook up supplied or off the batteries an option?
All waste pipes will be renewed and have looked this morning at the routing under the body. From the sink it is a long length that I would imagine could create further discharge problems if again caravan not level.
Thanks to all of you who have so far offered advise. I know life if about learning from mistakes but as the header says, they saw us coming and for us, it has been a costly lesson to start to learn. Feeling really gutted at the mo!
Standard repair for a fridge that is not working is to take it out and turn it upside down, leave for a few hours then put back into place. This disturbs the fluid inside it and somehow makes it work. If there is heat coming out of the vent when on gas or on electric then it should sort it out. The soft floor is an easy if messy repair that is described elsewhere. The shower tray should be replaceable, but if you would rather not then just leave it in place and use the area for storage, you gain nothing by removing it.
Gary from Arc systems will be able to tell you how to sort out the water heater, and supply reconditioned parts for it if required. Sometimes when he is busy people find they do better by ringing rather than depending on email.
If you have found a dry van at that price you have done well, the problems with devices is nothing that a good service engineer or even a competent amateur can not solve.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
My shower compartment is now a hanging wardrobe, fitted 2 small spring loaded poles on awning suckers.
I use a table top fridge and a coolbox in the awning.
your sink pipe should be easy to replace.
The main point is the water heater this needs to be serviced without doubt.
Enjoy your caravan and get to know every inch of it, inside and out, and use this experiance when you buy you next van.
Any problems this is the best site to find the answers
If you can run to it, it would be worth getting a proper service done- about £250 from a registered technician. Will sort out most of your minor issues; and tell you if major surgery is needed. Things like pressure testing of gas systems, wheel bearings etc give you a great peace of mind, and make sure you're safe. You've probably got a van for. A good price there, so worth a little investment, I think.
Don't despair , you don't need all those anyway.... We go to weekend long dog shows in an old swift, no working fridge, we fill it with ice packs and use it as a cool box, freeze your milk before you go too, it takes 2 days to fully defrost so keeps the fridge cool too..,...no shower, and no working heater, first thing in morning put 2 pots of water on to boil on the stove, very quickly warms up the caravan and nice hot water for a strip wash....
I love my simple old caravan , no complicated wiring, and systems, just a water pump and a gas bottle !!!!
exactly what everyone else said. Relax..the tin tent we bought has a load of roses around it when I drove 150 miles to see it an then give someone £900 for a 20 year old 'van. then I found all of the nackered bits. BUT ..big BUT.. with the likes of Gary at ARC and some other folks (even the haynes manual) I ended up a feckin' genius at gas heating,gas water heating,removing a shower unit and rewiring most of the 12v system. Even the wheel bearings were stripped and greased and new tyres. I did find that the sides had been delaminated and renewed and judging by the rest of the 'van it was done by someone who loved the old lump. Like we do. the best thing is that it smells damp free and works now. After sorting the bloody lights. We spent xmas 2013 in it and it was bloody hot with the gas fire on. We just use a 'leccy heater. the fridge is fine too. Enjoy it for what it is - drier than a tent! john
------------- Too old to put up a tent but still like waking up to skies and grass...not a cold hotel
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Topic: They saw me coming aaaarrrrggggghhhhh!
