Saying Farewell

This will be the last week that we will be staying at Kristina and Gavin's for a while as the big moment to head out onto the road approaches.

So this is going to be a week of goodbyes, 

We will be having the occasional last luncheon with friends this coming week, Kay with her Sliming world pals and me with the Neath writers group and we will miss all of them, but we hope to pop back now and again to visit family and anyway they'll be keeping tabs on our adventure through this blog.

Today its been preparation day, loading our clothes and sorting where things will go.Fixing a few item, spraying silicon lubricant on the slide out rubbers and spray grease on the rollers tracks.

Final preparation the side outs out, sorting the storage and the toad waiting to go onto its trailer.

What is wrong with Insurance firms!!!!!        

(Jumps onto soap box)…….One of the big nightmares on traveling around this way is getting the right insurance cover. There are only a handful of Insurers that will cover RV’s such as Caravan Guard, the NFU, SureTerm Direct, Whittlesea, Comfort, Sheild, to name the few.

You start off by being as honest and forthright as you can by explaining what you need to have covered I.E.you have  big American Motorhome ‘OHH my god what is that?’ you have to explain every detail of what the vehicle is only to get the sound of someone chewing their nails.

But here comes the problem, some like Caravan Guard will charge you for twelve months cover but will only let you live in your RV for eight months and no longer. This it appears is because of the problem of Gypsies or “Travellers” using these insurance companies and then ripping them off with bogus claims.

So for the pleasure traveller who has no intention of ripping them off and is only interested in securing his vehicle. he’s treated as one of the above.

Then other firms lump huge increases on the cost of the cover if they regard you as a Full-timer or Long-termer, or they restrict the time you can use the RV abroad and limit your breakdown cover.

Surely it is less of a risk if the owner is living in the RV than one that is parked unattended in a compound. Hmm I think they need to re-evaluate how they work out risk assessment.

So you dream of retiring and to tour around and stay in a warm climate for six or seven months a year  in a nice large motorhome without the nightmare of being regarded by insurance firms as an unwanted minority group. All we want is to have decent insurance cover without being grouped as Gypsies.

The galling thing is that Gypsies or “Traveller's” who have never paid into the system are regarded by the government as an ethnic minority group and as such can claim loads of benefits from the state. Yet we “the even more minority leisure traveller” can’t claim anything (not that most of us want to) and we have paid into the system. How daft is that?

(OK Rant over)

We are fortunate that we are on the electoral roll at our daughters address and that this is our main base when not travelling (which we hope we will not use very much.) Well what's the point of staying in one place all the time when you want to travel?

 

More Anon

Is that Spring in the Air?

Saturday morning and we have both just returned from a nice long walk up the Afan Valley stopping at our usual watering hole the Afan Resource Centre for a cup of hot tea and a bacon bap.

The centre was full of the usual mountain bikers from all over the UK and some very fit looking GB Riders. The valley was alive with bird song, the sun was bright and warm (although the air was still frosty and cold) Joggers and riders constantly passed us enjoying what defiantly felt like a spring morning.

Now I've said that watch out for the next big freeze!!!

I've just purchased some Led bulbs to replace the old 12v filament ones for the RV so I'm gradually getting rid of the old power hungry bulbs.

So now its just a matter of finishing the little jobs in the RV and we are ready to roll.

We have been scouring the big pitch guide and the Internet for some sites to stay at over the next few months so that we can keep travelling down to a minimum and enjoy the new surroundings.

If you have stayed at a particularly nice site let us know so that we can add it to our growing list of stop overs.

More Anon. 

D-Day getting closer

Well things are finally falling into place, tomorrow we are off to collect the trailer for the Toyota IQ and then its just the final packing of clothes and food before the trip North.


The tyres although appearing to be in excellent condition are approaching seven years old and we have decided to have all seven replaced (these things are not cheep). Luckily one of the members in a forum we are members of, is a tyre supplier and fitter for RV tyres and as he is not that far from where we intend to stay after visiting Signature so we have booked in with him to have them all replaced.
We feel that we will be a lot safer having a good set of wheels under us that will last us for the seven years we plan to travel, even if it does seem to be all expense at the moment, but our safety naturally is of paramount importance.

We have also decided that we need to have European type seat belts fitted instead of the standard American lap belts presently fitted, we both feel we would be a lot safer with those and this could also help with any future MOT legislation. (These will be part of the work carried out at Signature.)

A trip today to the doctors for a final consultation and to make sure that we have a plentiful supply of any medication that we need has now been completed and some final bits and bobs have also been purchased.
The black tank has been flushed and a few litres of water with some Calgon has been added, (this helps when travelling to loosen any particulates off the sides of the tank that can be then be dumped at the end.)
The Grey tank flushed and some bleach added to the water to kill off any bacteria then re-flushed.
And finally the fresh water tank with some Milton to sterilize the insides of that. Even though we are having a full habitation service with Signature every little helps.

I have had a letter and email from the courts informing me that I am now excused Jury service (Yippee). Kristina and Gav are safely back home from their sad visit to Scotland, so its nearly all ready for the big moment.

So now we are  looking forward to the adventure.

Keep watching

 

Good News.... Bad News

First the bad news...



Yesterday we received the devastating news that my son-in law Gavin's father had passed away, needless to say we are all in a state of shock. Gavin and Kristina departed  first thing today for Scotland along with our deepest sympathy for him and his family.


"May your flight to heaven be on the wings of angels and in the arms of all those who have gone before"



On the RV front we've had some good news at last.....

The weight of the RV (which had been a major problem in our minds) turned out to be nowhere near as bad as we had originally thought.
This morning we drove down to Bridgend to use the  LPG facilities of the Countrywide stores and topped up the two long range LPG tanks. Each tank holds 100Ltrs though they never fill to more than eighty percent (due to expansion) so we loaded a total of 160Ltrs.
It was desperately needed as we ran out of Lpg just short of the Pencoed turn off on the M4 and completed the final section on petrol only. This was our first experience of topping up with Lpg and though at first daunted by the task, it went as smooth as clockwork.

Kay rode in the right hand seat (known as the death seat) of the RV for the first time and found it very alarming to see cars and lorries coming at her head on, to which I had a constant stream of her shouting  "get over, get over, get over."
Being left hand drive I have an idiot strip (and its needed) on the windscreen to keep me well left in the carriageway but for the person in the right hand seat it feels intimidating as everything is coming right at you, I've told her it will be far better when we get over to France.

Then we drove over to Swansea's municipal weighbridge and received the good news that we were well under the 7.5 Ton limit by 1 full Ton at 6.5 Ton and that included ourself the full tanks of fuel with nearly all of our equipment. The only items we need to load now are clothes and food of which we will be keeping to a minimum anyway.

Then it was back to the compound to store the RV, where we decided to take the Toyota back over and get it weighed as well to be on the safe side. The weight of the car came to 900Kg with a full fuel tank. As we are allowed a combined vehicle and tow limit at 8.25 Ton we can go back to our original plan and get the Smart Trailer and still have some weight allowance to spare.

Due to our uncertainty over weight issues and then the technical  issues of using an A Frame with the electric starter on the Toyota IQ (which could have caused steering lock problems) our departure date has been set back by one week to the 7th of February.

Light it seems, is at last at the end of the tunnel

Or is it some clown with a torch bringing us more problems?



More Anon

Good Days..... Bad Days

Well one day it's all doom and gloom, the next things happen so fast your feet don't touch the ground. Yesterday we met up with the nice couple from Bedfordshire who have purchased our caravan at the storage yard where our RV is also stored and helped them hook up the caravan for their return home.
In the rush we forgot to turn off the tracker and half an hour later my mobile went off with a message that my caravan was being stolen. I then returned the call informing them of the situation and sent a message to the new owner to stop and turn off the tracker which it turned out he had managed to do in the meantime as I had visions of them being chased down the road by several police cars.

We had to collect the keys for the yard from the yards owners to open up and on returning them asked him if I could hook up the RV to their electrics in order to keep the batteries topped up which he agreed. While in conversation I mentioned that I was now selling my 4 X 4 as without the caravan there would be no need for such a large car as I had small Toyota on order as a toad (towed car) for the RV.
He immediately made me an offer on the 4 X 4 that I accepted, having planned to sell it to carbuyerswales the following week anyway. As I said something's happen so fast your feet don't touch.

After we popped over to Swansea to visit an old work colleague (get well Geoff and keep your chin up) and then it was back to organising and planning.

So this morning its been up and out early to get an insurance cover note over to the Toyota garage for the new car and to get the last of our items not required in the RV into our storage container.

On our return we were greeted with the sad news that my son-in-law Gav's father is very ill and that he's had to rush off up to Scotland. We will keep our fingers crossed for his fathers recovery and for Gav's safe journey as we couldn't wish for a nicer son-in-law.

For anyone planning to do something on the same lines that we are, please be aware that somethings go to plan but you can bet your bottom dollar a spanner will jam the works at some point.
You try to plan for all eventualities but it is never that simple, we have had moments where we have thought 'god this is turning into a nightmare not a dream.' But you have to soldier on keeping your eyes focused on what you want to achieve and hopefully we will look back later in the summer and have a laugh at our panic days.
Our eldest daughter has already booked the grandson in for his Easter and summer holidays so now its down to planning where we will be and are there any sites we can stay that will be fun for a little seven year old.


More Anon

Welsh Caravan, Motorhome and Outdoor Leisure Show 2011.

If you plan to go and see this show! save your money and time and give it a miss as it was the biggest load of rubbish I have ever had the misfortune to waste good cash on.


They advertised this as:-
The seventeenth annual Welsh Caravan, Motorhome and Outdoor Leisure Show. This years event will be held at Cardiff International Arena on January 14 2011. With the massive redevelopment in Cardiff now complete, the Cardiff International Arena is the perfect venue to host this great event in what is now a leading city of Europe. With now ample parking within 5 minutes of the Arena and mass amenities, shops and restaurants in the surrounding area this years show is more than just an event it is a weekend away.

With all the leading caravan and motorhome manufacturers under one roof and a host of outdoor leisure stands and accessories this show will not be effected by weather and will give you a perfect start to the new touring year.


End Quote:.........

Apart from the usual few Caravan and Motor home dealers (that you could visit free within a few miles of your home.) There were no Outdoor leisure stands and the host of accessories stands numbered just two.
The rest were adjustomatic bed sales stands that were intended more for the home use than caravans Oh and a man demonstrating dry cleaning fluid.

I was gob smacked at the gall of these organisers, they were taking money under false pretence. We spent less than thirty minutes at the show, well that was how long it took us to walk around all the stands and have a good chin-wag with the man from Blazers caravans and the tow car chap.
We went out into the foyer, wrote out a complaint form informing them of our disgust (No refund was offered) and surprise, surprise we were the forth couple to do just that and the show hadn't even been open for thirty minutes.

If you plan to go to a caravan and motor home show give this one a miss!!!!!!

More Anon

One step forward...... Three back

One step forward... the caravan is now sold, which means that's one less thing to worry about being left in storage after we depart.





And three steps back......




It has come to light that the licence I hold is restricted to towing a combined weight of vehicle and trailer to only 8250kg, which has come as a bit of a shock.

I have the right to drive a mini bus as I hold a D1+E without weight restrictions which allows me to drive with a combined minibus and trailer weight of 12000kg. But my C1+E with a 170 code (something to do with grandfathers rights.) won't allow me to tow over 8250kg on the motor home.

I received bad information from the DVLA when I enquired at the main office. I was informed that my D1+E without restriction superseded the 107 code on the C1+E part.
Wrong!!! a later Telephone conversation with their customer enquiries said I had been given the incorrect information.
Seems like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in the DVLA.

Unfortunately the Toyota weighs 845kg and the trailer 300kg total of 1160kg and when you add that to the RV's Max GVWR of 7500kg the total comes to 8660kg I'm 410kg over weight.
Damn Damn Damn........
So is there a solution..... I could resit the C1+E course and hopefully get the 12000kg limit or try to lose weight somewhere else on the RV.
To resit the test would involve a medical and its costs, re-doing a theory test (more expense) four or five days training (even more expense) and then the test itself (yet more cost.) As Kay said 'do you really want all that extra expense (we worked it out at over £600 pounds or more) and the hassle to go with it at your age?'
I must admit I'd rather not, I just want to enjoy life.
So it meant a grovelling call to the trailer people to see if we could cancel the trailer for an A Frame hopefully they can and the weight saving would be immense some 280Kg.

IQ with A Frame

It also means some culling of items we planned to take, fortunately the GVWR of the RV includes full tanks of fresh water six passengers and full petrol tanks.
As the RV will never be driven with 56Gal's of fresh water (I tend to empty tanks, why pay to tow water?) or more than the two of us and the petrol is never more than half full as the LPG is the main fuel.
We should then be under the weight limit, so I think our first step is to a public weighbridge to weigh the RV and to see what we can and can't do without.

The A frame for the Toyota will be a lot less heavier than the weight of the trailer so it seems to be the answer but their could be issues when using it in Spain or Germany.

Strange that I can drive a bus full of passengers and tow a trailer combination up to twelve tons, but not just me and Kay in a motor home with a small car on a trailer.

As Bob Monkhouse once said "I want to die like my dad peacefully in my sleep , not screaming in terror like his passengers" unless of course it's a bus full of DVLA staff.

More Anon

Things you need and Things you don't

Well plans are moving at a pace now, we have been visiting the RV each day and getting things in order. We have booked the RV in with Signature Motor homes for some habitation servicing and for the Air assist units to be fitted along with other items.
The Trailer for the Toad (Towed Vehicle) has been ordered and we hope that will arrive before the end of the month. So the next step is the sale of the 4X4 and purchase of a Toyota IQ.

IQ on Trailer

It soon becomes apparent that some of the items that we have purchased need more work than we originally planned, for example:- we purchased a Macerator, this is a 12volt pump that connects to the 3" waste outlet of the RV and will chew up and pump black waste (smelly poo) and grey waste (sink waste) down a small 1.5" hose to the waste dump which could be up to 30 meters away from the RV.

Macerator

This equipment saves a lot of hassle in that you don't have to move the RV to the waste dump or have to dump the smelly waste into containers and then drag them to the dump every time your tanks fill up.
What the blurb doesn't tell you is that you need to have a 12volt connector close to the 3" outlet to connect the unit to, and that the wiring must be able to handle the steady voltage demand. As with many things they then tell you that the hose is of course a separate purchase from the Flowjet.

Flowjet Hose

Ah well that's another job for Signature booked in. We have also purchased a DRY-MAT this is placed between the beds mattress and its solid wooden base to stop condensation building up and therefore preventing the formation of mould and mildew. This will help prolong the life of the mattress. 
The thousands of individual micro springs promote constant airflow under the mattress while you sleep.
As you move in your sleep your mattress yields to your pressure points. This gently compresses and releases the springs in the DRY-Mat, forcing the air around and out. 

The Dry Mat

We also found out that American RV beds are Queen size, so getting the right sized fitted sheets without paying a fortune meant a visit to IKEA.

There are loads of little jobs that are building up as we are preparing to hit the road but that's all part of the adventure.

My main gripe at the moment is that there is no water close to the RV and the outside is in desperate need of a good wash and clean. So it could mean transporting buckets of water down to the storage area.

More Anon

Start of a New Year

Here's hoping that things start to fall into place as we have now just four weeks to get organised for our departure date.
The exact day will depend on a few things like weather conditions and all the items we need to depart falling into place on schedule.
Our aim is to firstly travel to Daventry to get some work done on the RV with Signature Motor homes (date to be confirmed) then to spend three weeks getting to know the in's and out's of the unit at a site nearby.

But that's for later, today our New Years resolution was to start getting fit and to kick off the remnants of the dreaded flu bug, so it was a good brisk walk up the Afan Valley to the Resource Centre and back.

No Snow at last

It was great to walk without slipping and sliding on ice and snow for a change but we soon found out just how out of condition we were due to the flu.
Plenty of walkers and mountain bikers were out all trying to burn off the fat built up over the festive period.

Kay getting into the stride

The weather was still cold and damp and by the time we made it to the centre both of us were perspiring quite heavily.

Its still cold!!!

Kay hates having her photo taken.

Kanji Wood

The pagoda

Wood sculpture

View down to Pontrhydyfen 

Looking up the valley

Kay exiting to the Rhyslyn car park

Come on!!!

A Stone inscription

Notice

The Afan Forest is twinned with another wood in Japan, and a small area is dedicated to this event, this small copse is called Kanji wood. 
It’s near to the Pontrhydyfen end of the forest and the best place to park is in the Rhyslyn car park (a tarmacked clearing in the forest) which is free. This is signed from Pontrhydyfen and is a turning down by the viaduct which spans the road. It’s a short walk into Kanji Wood from the car park, across a metal footbridge. From Kanji Wood you can continue along the path for two miles until you get to the Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre and cafe further up the valley unfortunately a large landslide has closed the walk on this side of the valley.


More Anon