And another with a 1972 Sprite Alpine; gas lights, no toilet, no water pump, glass windows; I fitted mains/12 volt electrics, electric water pump, lighting and power points, re-panelled all cupboards and doors - bought it in 1982, and sold it on in 2004 - after many enjoyable years of use!
Oh yes - and fitted a fridge as well!
Gram
------------- What's the difference between a chicken?
Sprite 400 for us. No electrics or heating. It didnt even have a water pump. I remember fitting one shortly after purchasing the van. Really pushed the boat out later on , as I fitted an electric pump, everything run from car battery. I cant remember how old it was when I bought it, but it cost £400. Happy days.
------------- It's not what you take when you leave this world behind, it's what you leave behind when you're gone
Thompson Glenelg was my first gas lights, foot pump for COLD water no fridge & very heavy, the floor was tongue & groove floorboards, towed it with a Rover2000 P6 then a Triumph 2000 then a Capri 2.0 ltr had it 9 years & loved every minute in it & a canvas awning as well
Thats me having nightmares again Almost every friday I would be gaily skipping home from school(you could in the early 60s)--I would turn the corner into my street and it would be there..waiting for me..the dreaded outfit(thats what they were called in the old days)..A vauxhall viva ha and an astral ranger 10.I would be slung in the back seat and carted off to a muddy field in the middle of nowhere to spend 2 days and nights imprisoned in a little box listening to the rain and watching countless others do the same.No electric..gas mantles only.A bucket full of nasty chemicals in a little square tent outside as a toilet...and every meal was smash,mince and peas. Should the sun shine...out with the swing-ball and occasionally on an evening there would be a Barn dance This was where any kids were tucked away in a corner and forced to sit on hay-bales and drink pop and be quiet!!!They didnt like kids those caravanners.I still hide if I see a caravan coming due to being deeply traumatised back in the 60,s
I believe that is exactly the image imprinted on my Sister in laws mind Bryan, she thinks that we are stark raving bonkers for going away for several weeks of the year in our Caravan, and that im somehow cruel to her brother for making him go on holiday in such a fashion!
Sadly shes now too old and frail to make the journey to have a look inside our comparitavely modern caravan for real, we have shown her some pictures of it, but she still has it implanted on her mind that caravans are cold draughty uncomfortable things, and thinks we are telling porkies when we say we have central heating, hot water and a shower, and a kitchen almost as good as the one at home when it comes to preparing food!
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
I never found kids unwelcome on sites in the 80s, but then we were not members of the Caravan Club and didn't therefore use their sites. We had some great times with our three when they were young. Caravanning was the only holidays we could afford, but we all enjoyed ourselves. Which is why we have returned many years later.
We started caravanning in the 80's with our young children, we always went to holiday parks with kids clubs and entertainment. It was all about the kids. They have grown up loving it and both still enjoy camping, although totally different; our daughter walks and carries her tent sleeps when she's tired (she lives in the USA). Our son has a airbeam tent and a very full car with EHU and as many luxuries as he can get!
------------- Started with a motorbike and tent.......my gallery, my life.
Quote: Originally posted by Boston600 on 11/3/2015Kids weren't made very welcome on sites in the 80's. Caravan Club Wardens were a nightmare I was always scared of them. Much different these days😆
That brings back memories of when my eldest three girls were camping with us up on what is now Conwy tourist park. They were around 10yrs old at the time, and we were tent camping for a few days in the start of our main summer holiday. On the second night we wrre there, a young couple with a trailer tent arrived on the next pitch to us, and announced that they were newly weds on their honeymoon. Well you can guess the rest, after a few drinks down the pub they returned to their tent and soon settled down to do what honeymooners do, and were not exactly discrete about it!
After about an hour, they were still at it, and had woken up our eldest one, who decided she needed the loo, so off she goes across the path to the loo, but when she returned, she decided that she had had enough of the racket that was being made next door, and does no more than bang on the metal base of their combi camp, and shout at them to wake up and stop having nightmares!
Needless to say, the next morning a very red faced couple emerged and started to pack away, despite them telling us when they arrived that they had booked and paid for a three night stay.
Im not quite sure who was at fault, them for being so noisy on a family site, or our daughter shouting her mouth off because she was tired and they were keeping her awake.
Julia
Post last edited on 12/03/2015 16:00:05
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: A walk down memory lane
Almost every friday I would be gaily skipping home from school(you could in the early 60s)--I would turn the corner into my street and it would be there..waiting for me..the dreaded outfit(thats what they were called in the old days)..A vauxhall viva ha and an astral ranger 10.I would be slung in the back seat and carted off to a muddy field in the middle of nowhere to spend 2 days and nights imprisoned in a little box listening to the rain and watching countless others do the same.No electric..gas mantles only.A bucket full of nasty chemicals in a little square tent outside as a toilet...and every meal was smash,mince and peas. Should the sun shine...out with the swing-ball and occasionally on an evening there would be a Barn dance
This was where any kids were tucked away in a corner and forced to sit on hay-bales and drink pop and be quiet!!!They didnt like kids those caravanners.I still hide if I see a caravan coming due to being deeply traumatised back in the 60,s
