The camping and caravan thread

[Scruffy Bodger]

How serious is damp in a touring caravan?

Terminal. It'll be fucked in the matter of a few months if not caught in time. The bits that you can't see, sandwiched between the bits that you can are made from materials that succumb to water and rot very quickly indeed.

[DodgeRover]

Bastard wet in Scarborough last week.
IMG_20220407_171022112_HDR.jpg

It's been dryer so far this week, nice yesterday, a lot quieter than we thought. Filey was empty! Going to Scarborough itself after bacon and eggs for lunch.

[Hooli]

Weather is glorious in Prestatyn this morning.
16497523864135016675215511726706.jpg

We needbto find a pound shop. When we called the other day I told my wife to get a cheap umbrella for the caravan for shower and loo runs in the rain. She said no. This morning she seen the weather and said "you know what,we should buy a cheap umbrella and keep it in the van"

Why didn't you think of that before you went away?

[LynehamHerc]

Bastard wet in Scarborough last week.
IMG_20220407_171022112_HDR.jpg

It's been dryer so far this week, nice yesterday, a lot quieter than we thought. Filey was empty! Going to Scarborough itself

It's quieter than normal around here as well.
I wonder if the fuel shortages are keeping people at home and avoiding day trips.

[mercrocker]

I was thinking that over the weekend....Brighton marathon was on and I still managed to park in Hove on Sunday afternoon. None of the usual queues coming home either except a short one on the Selsey roundabout usual suspect. Lot of Goodwood-looking traffic too, DB6, DB4, Bristol 403 and various Jaggery. Maybe the roads will once again become the preserve of the idle rich?

[bub2006]

Are trailer tents as shit as I imagine them to be?

I think they are the worst of both sides of camping and caravanning. You have the tent fabric which needs to be dried like a tent ir awning if it pisses it down,you don't have the warmth and space of a caravan either or the security. We douldnt leave our dog in a trailer tent if we had to nip to shops or pub for an hour which we can do in a van.
These are just my opinions, other opinions may differ!

[bub2006]

Regards awnings,we haven't got one for the van we have now as older vans tend to be shorter in height than more modern ones so end up with a lot of flapping. WE found this out after having purchased a porch awning when the original awning was beyond repair. Couldn't buy a new one as all seem to be for 2.35m and up in height. Our van is 2.21m tall.
Regards damp,the monza we bought had bad damp. Could have been repaired with the right knowhow but beyond my skillet which would have made it not cost effective. Our ABI ju ilee had soft spot on the floor which can be fixed and our current ABI pioneer has 2 soft patches around the front window. Looks like water ingress through the seal at some point but the window has been resealed at sone point in the past and the patches haven't got any worse. After our experience with the monza which also had soft floors near the wind down legs and also found more along behind the cupboards I've learnt to leave things alone. No water ingress and not got any worse in the time we've been in it and it rained heavy in Wales and Yarmouth.
If you have the skills anything is repairable but be careful. I highly doubt there's any vans out there with 0 damp,even the new ones have plenty of issues with skylights letting water in and damp being quite bad when only a year or so old. A big cause of damp is condensation. I was always taught never to use the showers in a caravan and people I know now with newer vans still don't use the showers even though the more modern ones have proper shower trays and sealed doors. Also when cooking I keep plenty of ventilation flowing. Small porthole window in kitchen is opened along with one of the side windows or skylight.

[mercrocker]

Heating can cause condensation issues too, we found moisture in cupboards after using fan heaters on shore electric. I'd sooner be cold (or fuck off home) than be putting moisture down the back of cupboards into the van structure. On occasion I've used electric dehumidifiers before putting the van away and always been amazed how much moisture it is possible to pull out of an apparently dry interior.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Weather is glorious in Prestatyn this morning.
16497523864135016675215511726706.jpg

We needbto find a pound shop. When we called the other day I told my wife to get a cheap umbrella for the caravan for shower and loo runs in the rain. She said no. This morning she seen the weather and said "you know what,we should buy a cheap umbrella and keep it in the van"

Thanks for that picture and description of having to go out to use the facilities.

I was starting to consider my Mrs’ suggestions that we get a camper. She can fuck right off, 25/30 years ago when I had lots of kids, no money and a company car and fuel card it was just about bearable having a caravan. Now at 58 and needing to piss 3 times a night, why would I even consider it, caravan sites charge almost what you’d pay in an Air BnB or Premier Inn FFS.

Every time I pass one of those £150k Range Rover/ giant caravan rigs, driven by a smiling older couple ,I work out how many decent holidays the value of that crap would pay for and inwardly scream WHY?

[bub2006]

We have a toilet in the van but as I said with older vans it's not wise to use shower. Newer vans are meant to be sealed better with extraction fans. Price wise,we've found named sites like haven and parkdean to be a damn sight cheaper than privately owned sites. For example haven thorpe park in cleethorpes,2 nights with electric,waste and water all on the pitch was £24. We could have had a cheaper pitch at 16 quid for 2 nights. Vauxhall Yarmouth was 50 quid for 3 nights with hook up etc and Prestatyn where we are now was 68 for two nights but that's due to being Easter week and prices go mental for pitches or accommodation in general.
Regards larger new vans and 4x4 tow vehicles,I can't see the point in financing anything like that. Our 36 year old van keeps us warm and dry with cooking and toilet facilities and the van itself was free. We spent a few quid on extra sockets and wired them into the breaker box and a couple of tyres at 80 for the pair. Tow car is a 19 year old focus 2.0 that cost us 600 quid. I think the expensive vans and cars is seen as a look at me status symbol.