We keep our van on the drive so it's easy for us to do things with it over the winter. When we decide it's time to winterise it we drain everything down & leave taps open. We put the cassette from the toilet along with the water containers up in the attic. I keep the battery in the garage & keep it charged. We remove all the soft furnishings into the house for the winter. We also place dishes of salt in the caravan to absorb any moisture. We bring these in to change or dry them out when they need doing.
We leave all blinds up & curtains open. When we get a nice day during the months it's laid up, we like to go out & open it up to allow air to flow through it.
Doing this just leaves an empty box out on our drive over the winter & up to Whitsun. This must have come as a shock to the scum that stole our last one because that was all they got, an empty box. Served them right!!
For us, drain down, salt bowls on surfaces, blinds up. Everything out including bedding and cushions. I hate drying out at the start of the season as no matter what anyone says, the soft furnishings get damp over winter. Leave fridge slightly open to allow air to circulate.
For us, drain down, salt bowls on surfaces, blinds up. Everything out including bedding and cushions. I hate drying out at the start of the season as no matter what anyone says, the soft furnishings get damp over winter. Leave fridge slightly open to allow air to circulate.
dont do this as the gas given off the salt will damage the finish on your worktops.place the dishes of salt on the floor.i remove all cusions and bedding wrap them in old quilt covers and put them in the attic for the winter.takes about one hour to do.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
We have the van on the drive so keep it hooked up to the power so we can set the heating on frost protection. We do drain down the water system as well.
All bedding etc removed, but we have to leave in the cushions and fixed bed matress as we have nowhere to keep them.
Not long back from our last trip for this year and still emptying the van, amazing all the stuff there is in there!
Why not use your caravan throughout the year? Most caravans have good heating nowadays so there is no reason not to use the van in winter. Caravans cost a lot of money and it seems silly to only use them in the summer months. We went away for New Year a couple of years ago and we were away early December last year and we were lovely and toasty in the Bailey Ranger we had then. Our new van is likely to be even warmer!
Gee, I strip EVERYTHING out of mine, there isnt a single thing left in it becasue a) I dont want things getting cold/damp over the winter, b) I dont want the damage from potential mice coming and visiting, c) if anyone nicks it they are just getting a shell!
Everything comes out and goes up in the loft!
------------- Enjoying caravanning, realising what an expensive hobby it is and spending the family’s inheritance before they can get their hands on it!
we just take out any perishable foodstuffs and some clothing leave everything else in the van stand the cushions on end drain down the water give the outside a good clean remove the battery , its already on axel stands so we just put 2 caravan covers on and dont go inside untill feb/march i certanly wouldnt put any heating on as it can cause condensation. the van is well ventilated and we have had no problems over the last 4 winters .
Quote: Originally posted by Fat Bum on 17/9/2010
Why not use your caravan throughout the year? Most caravans have good heating nowadays so there is no reason not to use the van in winter. Caravans cost a lot of money and it seems silly to only use them in the summer months. We went away for New Year a couple of years ago and we were away early December last year and we were lovely and toasty in the Bailey Ranger we had then. Our new van is likely to be even warmer!
Yep, sure our van would be fine any time of year, but we are retired so can go away when we want, and we prefer to be at home over the winter, especially over Xmas/New Year so we can spend it with our children/grandchildren.
In the last few years we have been away July 2007-October 2007, April 2008-June 2008, September 2008-October 2008, April 2009-June 2009, 1 week in July 2009, August 2009-November 2009, May 2010-September 2010.
I think we are averaging 4 months per year, so not bad.
We do need some time at home to do the dusting, hoovering, garden, Tax Return, and visit the kids!!
Gee, I strip EVERYTHING out of mine, there isnt a single thing left in it becasue a) I dont want things getting cold/damp over the winter,
SNIP
Everything comes out and goes up in the loft!
Anyone else see the flaw in this argument..?
It depends, I suppose on the condition of the loft, or what is being referred to as 'the loft'
If it is a 'loft conversion' then the temperature of it will be similar to the rest of the house, but if just a standard loft then the cold damp conditions will be the same or perhaps worse than the caravan (our caravan was quite warm last winter - even without heating).
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
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Topic: Preparing for winter
and still emptying the van, amazing all the stuff there is in there!
