Well... we are now a "2 caravan family" technically! lol!
I posted ages ago about our ruined Elddis Cyclone Xl (1992). We left it in storage and when we went back it had a catastrophic leak through the centre rail and it was BAD! Anyway, we sealed it with tape and stuck it on the drive, with the hope of one day having a go at it as a little project. Nothing to lose really as we cant make it worse. As an update on that... well we still haven't started the job. It seems to have dried out so hopefully we can start uncovering the big damage this summer.
My sister decided she didn't want her caravan anymore. She has 3 little ones under 6 and another on the way and feels she needs a static for a while until they are a bit older. The upshot is that we looked at it on Thursday and decided to buy it off them. While it has a few little niggly faults, they are minor really, and it is most importantly dry and useable. So we have a 2003 Compass Amazon 505 :-)
I am really excited to have a useable caravan again after a few years back in the tent. Although we will always have our mini tent times, I love being in a caravan.
Now.... the things in it that will need fixing.
Some of the flyscreens and blinds. The door one doesn't coil back up, nor does the rooflight one, and a couple of others. Hubby thinks he remembers taking the mechanism off before and tightening up the rooflight one for them years ago, but is this a regular fault, or do we just need to replace blinds willy nilly? We have a couple that are ripped, so is there a good place that sells spare for the blinds.
There is a front chest which is supposed to be doubled over at the top...you slide it out and then flop it over to fill the gap. Only the flap bit is a separate piece of wood now. I will see if I can attach a photo. There are there special little naily hinge things (technical I know) that have snapped off. Where could I buy these from?
When he just touches a trip in the consumer unit the lights go off. lol! Could the trip be broken, loose wire?
It is now a 12 year old van, should we just start resealing awning rails etc. even though they are not leaking...yet! I really want to learn from the Elddis and try our best to prevent the chance of repeating that kind of devastating mess.
Also... and I will post this on the campsite section too... We now live in the best place we ever found for holidays in the South West. We would like to find a site that does storage, preferably behind a locked gate, within an easy drive of Torbay. We do visit the Newquay/Padstow area a fair bit, which I don't mind. Lyme Regis is ok. St Ives would be too far I think. An hour and a half, or an hour and 45 tops really. Anyone got any ideas? We prefer pretty and quiet to the all singing dancing, rammed in lines, commercialism overload. Don't get me wrong a pool is lovely, but not at £44 a night! If you get my drift. A playground would be nice, but bit of space to move about and cheaper is nice too. Close-ish drive to sea, towns for keeping the kids occupied. Any gems out there for me to investigate?
Im still on the look out for my so called so perfect caravan. no matter how old it is , im going to reseal it, as i want it to last me a few years without having to worry so to speak. least you know its done then :) I mean i'll still check it for damp every so often, but the chances of it leaking are probably a lot less if its been resealed :)
Twelve oaks in Newton Abbot close to you and a nice little site, has a pool thats never been crowded when we've been,and the warmest pool ive been in, the owners are nice too
Thanks for the replies. I have a lot of research to do I think. The Newton Abbot one looks a nice site, but too close really for a holiday. The beaches we would use would be the ones we live right next to, lol. Handy for if we had forgotten something I guess though.
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: Need to pick some brains...
