Success at last

Dometic have contacted me with the details of someone who will carry out the urgent recall work on the RV’s Fridge, Yay--hay….action at last, But the location is sadly in Pontyclun, South Wales, not exactly what you’d call local or on the doorstep for Cheltenham.

Still it will give the RV a good run and we can then see if the LPG problem has been solved or not after our last week’s visit to the Autogas centre in Stonehouses.

We also had a jaunt out to explore a roman site at Great Witcombe and some of the local villages around Cheltenham and by accident we found a little gem of a Cotswold village called Painswick, (how quaint is that for a name?) Kay indulged in her tomb-stoning passion at the local church while I enjoyed the village and its architecture and a chance to stretch my legs.

Painswick

Painswick post office

Painswick Church yard

Painswick church

On Friday Kay and I took a run back home to Port Talbot in the toad, this also gave us the opportunity to check out the route to the Auto-masters garage that’ll  be carrying out the work on the RV’s fridge. 

It turns out that it’s great run i.e. its Motorway and duel carriageway all the way until we hit the village of Pontyclune then it will be a bit of a nightmare weaving through the narrow streets and very small entrance to the garage.

We went to collect the BBQ from storage in Bridgend then to collect our mail and a gas bottle from Kristina’s and to Tax the RV and visit the girls and grandson. We first had lunch with the girls and Gavin in Swansea and to get the Tax done, then it was back to Samantha’s to visit Rhys when he came home from his after school club. Kay really missed the grandson and the girls but they know where we are and we will be having plenty of visits.

It also gave us the opportunity to visit the old house in passing and we discovered just how small the old cul-de-sac where we use to live now feels….living in the RV really lets you feel as if the world is your home and not just one small patch of land. Our windows on the world changes with each new location and we’re not just staring out into the same little street anymore, it comes as a bit of a surprise.

The site has been packed this weekend with caravans, tents and motorhomes and of course the kids as it’s a bank holiday. Not a single bay was free, sadly the weather has done its usual Bank holiday trick and the rain is now pouring down. I think the weather waits until I have my BBQ and then decides it’s not giving me the chance to use it or Sod’s Law as its better known.

Great Witcombe church

Millennium Mosaic Great Witcombe church

Great Wicombe Roman villa

Heritage site

Kay avoiding a rain shower at the Roman villa site Great Witcombe

More photos can be viewed on the Animal and Blod's scrap book page on Facebook

click here:---- http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.491902563301.261309.518003301

More Anon

Typical Britain

If the problem we're having in getting our refrigerator inspected and modified had happened in the USA, a service engineer would be knocking my door like lightning, as the companies over there know the hassle of million dollar law suits.
Here in the UK you have to dig up the dead bodies and go through the courts and then wait for a group of judges to have a think on it ten years later for anyone to get anything done!

We have been chasing up Dometic UK for six days now to get someone to visit our RV to carry out a safety check and to do the modification to our refrigerator to make it safe....what a joke this has become. The local service engineer can't do it because he's not trained on our model...The service engineer that Dometic Technical gave us can't come cause it's not his area and it's too far away. In the meantime we could have been burned to death in our sleep.

To make our unit safer, I have turned off the gas supply to the fridge. OK we are still using it on electric so there is less likelihood of a fire, but this means that when we travel the fridge is now turned off. Hopefully the food won't spoil by the time we get to our next location before we get it back onto electric.

There is a big debate on the RV forums about this problem and it seems we're not the only ones being given the run around.
After the posting of the fire was first raised on the RVOC forum more RV owners have become aware of the danger these units can be unless they are inspected and modified.

For anyone in a similar situation I have put photos of the procedure on how to manually turn off the gas supply to these units below.
It may not totally stop a fire but it will cut down the risk of one until the unit is inspected and modified.

To access the rear of the refrigerator remove this panel below by turning the two black plastic clips on the bottom left and right of the photo from vertical to horizontal.

Rear Panel

The inside of the panel looks like the photo below. If there is yellow staining or a smell of ammonia it means the cooling fluid is leaking. Turn off the refrigerator immediately and do not use it then call out a service engineer ASAP. (That's if you can get one!!!)

Inside the panel

If no leak is present but you want to sleep better at night, or you feel safer with the fridge turned off when travelling. You can turn off the gas supply manually by turning the small screw indicated by the yellow arrow below.
It only takes half a turn, the slot will be in the horizontal position when its turned on and you will need to turn it clockwise to the vertical as shown in the photo to turn it off.

Gas shut off valve

The procedure above is from the guidance given in my owners manual, the photos are supplied to give you a help in locating the parts, but also refer to your own models manual just in case there are slight differences.

If this helps save one life its been worth it.


More Anon

Flaming Hell

Just as we thought that we were getting all the little and not so little niggles sorted out of the blue came a warning of severe danger.

An owner of a similar vehicle as ours has had a catastrophic fire (see photo) it came about as the result of a defect in the refrigerator.

Now I was aware of a recall of the refrigerator (ours is a two door Dometic one) last December and we had contacted the manufacturer giving our model and serial number only to be told that our model was not on the recall list.

Flaming HELL

I've now discovered that the list was altered this April and our unit is on the list. So you can imagine our fears…So I immediately contacted a local Dometic service engineer.

And this below is how easy it is to get things sorted  in the UK when your life is in danger. 

My 1^st email

Hi

I have an R-Vision Trail Light American Motor-home and this unit has a Dometic two door refrigerator Model No RM 2862 Serial No 40403072. On the Dometic web site it has informed me that our refrigeration unit is a potential Fire Hazard and that a recall notice has gone out to get these units fixed ASAP with a simple modification.

We are on site at the Brarfields site just outside of Cheltenham and that you are our nearest service engineer. Could you get back to me ASAP please to let me know if you are able to carry out this recall notice???

Or call me on my mobile XXXXXXXXXX. We are extremely worried as one RV unit has just posted on an RV forum that it has gone up in flames nearly costing the owners their lives.

Local Engineers Reply

Hi Stuart,

Sorry I missed your call this morning.

I am not aware of any recall for a 2 series fridge. The only outstanding recall is for the 7*** series which requires a check on the gas valves. If yours is one of these the information is that they are safe to use on 230V and 12V but there is a potential risk of a gas leak from the gas valve. It is therefore recommended that the gas isolation valve to the fridge should be closed and you should contact Dometic on 0800 3663 8420. They are open from 08.30 to 17.30 Monday to Thursday and 08.30 to 15.30 on Friday.

Dometic are dealing with this recall "in House" and not involving the Area Engineers so I'm afraid i cannot help you in this instance.

My reply to him

Hi

Thanks for the quick reply please see the link below

(The Dometic USA web site link)

I typed in the Model No and the Serial number and it did confirm that my unit needs to be looked at. I was surprised you mentioned 12v as these units only work on mains and Lpg they are not 12v units!

The picture on this forum that recently issued a warning about a fire that occurred while on mains hook up emphasises our concerns as our unit is identical to the one in the photo.

(The link to the Motorhome forum with picture of the fire)

I had contacted Dometic UK last December and they stated that my unit didn't need to be fixed!!! Yet the new information on the web page obviously contradicts this, but that will be no consultation for us if we lose our lives.

At least I have a record warning of our fears.

Thanks

Stuart Smith

His reply

Hi again Stuart,

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I am only kept informed of UK developments from Dometic / Waeco and as yours appears to be a US spec fridge fitted to an import I am unaware of this recall.

You are correct that the US 2 series only works on mains (120V) or gas. I am guessing there must be a transformer fitted to allow the standard electrical fittings to work on 230V.

All i can suggest is that you contact Dometic on the number given first thing tomorrow and they should be aware of the situation and advise accordingly. In the meantime I would avoid using the fridge.

Good luck

My email to Dometic

Dear Sir

I recently contacted you (December 2010) about a recall that was issued on the model of refrigerator I have fitted to my American R Vision Trail Light RV. Model No RM 2862 Serial No 40403072 initially I was informed that the two door model I have was not part of the recall, but I have since found out that it now is part of the recall notice.

I am concerned that this unit could be potentially lethal.

A warning from another R Vision Trail Light user who has had a lucky escape from being burned to death when their Refrigerator caused a fire is published with photo on link below.

See Link

(Link to web site forum with photo)

I have the same vehicle that is shown in the photograph and I would not like to be in the same position. Could you please inform me of what action I should take?

I am onsite at a caravan park just outside of Gloucester. I have contacted the local Dometic service engineer a Mr XXXXXXXXX of XX services but he is unaware of any recall or how to proceed.

My Contact Tel No XXXXXXXX

Your advice will be welcome

Stuart Smith

Dometic's Reply to me

Hello

We have checked and your unit will need a safety check performed. We have a website dedicated to our technical side where you can find manuals, product information, care and servicing tips. From this website you can also find details of our Dometic Approved Network. Which is our nationwide list of service engineers who can carry out both warranty and none warranty work. If you click the “find an engineer” tab and type in your post code you will find all the details you need to contact the engineer. Once you have this you can call and arrange times and a date. If you need to call one of the engineers please have your products model, production and serial number ready as this will help the engineer. Please visit the following website. (link to Dometic and the manuals were for only for the UK models !!!!!)  
Please let us know if you have any questions or queries. Thank you for your enquiry, We hope this information has helped 
Many Thanks

I then forwarded this information to the service engineer after checking as advised above that I had the only service engineer in this area

Hi

I have just received this email back from Dometic.

Which advises that the unit is in need of a safety check and is on a recall list, I have followed their request and you are my nearest service engineer.

Could you please contact me either via email or telephone to arrange a visit ASAP.

Your assistance will help put our minds at rest that we are not in any danger. We are at this site until the Xth of June and will be off to Spain in September where obviously getting an engineer is not an option.

Model No RM 2862 Serial No 40403072

Thanks

Stuart Smith

Conclusion

As of yet we have had no contact from the engineer, so potential life and death situations are treated more relaxed and blasé in the UK

Yet if I was in the USA this is what the American RV owners are offered not only the advice as what was wrong with the refrigerators but are also informed that they will fix it free of charge.

Quote from Dometic USA

“These refrigerators were installed in certain recreational vehicles as original equipment and sold as aftermarket equipment. A fatigue crack may develop in the boiler tube which may release a sufficient amount of pressurized coolant solution into an area where an ignition source (gas flame) is present. This release of coolant under certain conditions could ignite and result in a fire.

There are potentially 926877 units affected.

The vehicle manufacturers will notify owners of recreational vehicles that had the refrigerators installed as original equipment and Dometic will notify the owners of the aftermarket refrigerators. Dometic will install a secondary burner housing free of charge.”

Dometic UK have not bothered to notify owners even though owners have previously contacted them!!! and they only offer a safety check when what is needed is a part replacement!!! Rip Off Britain again?

More Anon 

RV Body Language

We have been at the Briarfields Site now for one week, we would like have done a lot of sightseeing but this week it has mostly been about preparation visits and resting. The weather has been relatively good but a bit on the cold side. Gratefully the Briarfields site is surrounded by trees so the wind has been kept very much under control, well until today that is as it’s just been forecast gale force winds are on the way.

The site this weekend was invaded by a group of tent campers complete with shed loads of kids, but to be fair to them the kids have all been very well behaved and the group have organised themselves very well with organised games for the kids and their own marquee, I would go so far as to say they are a credit to other tent campers.

The Campers packing up

Their marquee & BBQ

The site has seen plenty of RV’s arriving this week some very old ones and one cracking brand new 40’ machine, now Kay and I are the type that will talk to anyone whether they live in a caravan, tent,  Euro-van or RV. There is often a complaint by the owners of RV’s that the other groups ignore them, but some RV owners don’t help themselves when it comes to making friends. Example, two RV’s turned up on Friday and they parked on adjacent pitches door to door, out came one large awning to fill the gap between and then they erect a wind break across the gap effectively sealing themselves off from the rest of the camp.

This gave the impression of ‘this is our spot were friends and we don’t want visitors’, OK we all like our privacy but the body language this puts out can be quite off putting, I did think it would be nice to get to know them but now I’m not so sure.

Motor-homes & Caravans

Motor-homes & Caravans

Our preparation visits were to an Auto-gas centre near Stonehouses to see if they can fix the gas issue we have and to get the RV booked in for the LPG system to be serviced. We then made a trip up the road to Motorhome Medics to book the RV in for a general service. The reason we have done this now, even though the RV was serviced by the previous owner in December, is that it makes sense to get everything organised (that we have to do annually) in one location and for it to occur at this time of year. This means that when we return from Spain next March / April we can get the RV serviced, MOT’d and Taxed all at the same time at a location just off the main motorway and close to a site that will take RV’s.

This week I have also made contact with an old army friend (I know they get everywhere) who is helping me with one of my novels as an expert in police procedures. Sadly he’s not well at the moment so we hope to have a visit once he’s back on his feet. The novel is a murder mystery and the friend is a serving Investigation officer who previously served with the CID, so he’s the just right the person to tell me when I’m going wrong in my story lines.

More Anon

Sightseeing

Well something had to go wrong!!!! Hmm yesterday after I had filled the water tanks and bled the system of air, (The usual run of the mill setting up lark for RV’s) I found that the flow to the kitchen sink was extremely poor.

Hmm thinks me! I have an air lock, as the water to the bath tap and bath sink was good and the pump was working fine. Ah well it was too late to do anything about it then so I decided to sort it out the following day.

OK this morning I completely drained the hot water tank, making sure the relief pressure valve and the kitchen hot water tap were fully open. Tank now drained I then refilled the tank as normal from the pump, OK let’s try the hot tap in the kitchen…..It was worse than before hardly a drop was coming out, then the cold same here… what the hell was going on. Water was still running fine in the shower and bathroom.

Time to get thinking cap on, OK! Where’s that phone number for Duncan at Star Spangled Spanner (he’s the Guru for all things RV in the UK).

A quick chat with Duncan and I’m back at the kitchen sink unscrewing the filter from the swan neck and as Duncan had warned me the filter was choked with lime scale.

The Red Lion’s water supply was very hard and we’d had a build-up of lime scale, even though I had cleared this particular filter not long ago it had soon built up again. Filter now clear and the water were running fine.

That’s another lesson learnt, this RV lark is an on-going education believe me.

Time for a spot of sightseeing…we’d been to Cheltenham two years ago for a book festival and decided to revisit the town and so we hopped onto the Park & Ride bus into town. I had always wanted to visit the birthplace of Gustaf Holst the composer of the Planets suite (a favourite of mine) and the regency house at No4 Clarence Road was now a museum to the composer.

No 4 Clarence Road

The Promenade

The visit was very rewarding for me, as many years ago (1970) I had the pleasure of being in the orchestra at Kneller Hall where we had been under the baton of his daughter Imogen Holst.

I won’t bore you with all the details of this visit to what was a lovely Victorian house but if you’re interested you can pop over to this web site www.holstmuseum.org.uk  and have a butchers.

Kay and I then went for lunch at the Tailors bar and later took a walk to the Montpellier gardens where there is a fine bronze statue of Gustaf Holst.

Holst's Statue

Statue in the town

After a bit of shopping in the town and taking some photos we headed back to the Briarfields Caravan Park. There are quite a few overnighters coming and going on the site from Belgium and the Netherlands.

A fine 40’ American RV has turned up and it looks as if the owners having some work done by the Motorhome Medic up the road. I did wave to him but the chap seemed to want his own space so I left him to his own devices.

Well that’s all for the moment let’s see what tomorrow brings.

More Anon

On the Road Again

We left the Red Lion Farm this morning after saying goodbye to our new found friends Zita, Phil, Kelvin, the two Graham’s, & Alison and her mother. We'd just had enough time for a cup of tea and my last Oatcake fix before departing. The animals all crowded round by the fence as we packed up the RV this morning as though to say their own farewells, well we had become attached to them. One of the Wild Highland cattle made an escape bid which involved the two Grahams and Alison running around and herding it back into the field.

Bye Red Lion

We hit the road at about eleven o'clock, left Haughton and travelled down through the village of Gnosall and then onto the A41. We thought we had the RV’s Gas problem solved but no it struck again just as we started down the A41 the gas button beeped and over it went to petrol Damn, Damn & Double Damn.

It was a good thing Kay had insisted on filling the petrol tank when we left Signature at least it meant we had enough fuel to proceed and being Sunday all the garages were shut so we carried on down onto the M54, M6 and then the M5.

We had decided to halt at the Strensham services on the M5 for a cup of tea and a short break as travelling is supposed to be part of the fun, so what’s the point in rushing? When we pulled away from the services the gas button worked!!!!! And it remained on gas until we reached the Briarfields site at Cheltenham how weird is that!!!

Briarfields is our stopover for the next three weeks and all morning it had rained off and on so setting up when we arrived was a bit of a damp affair. Still that’s the joy of camping.

Settled in

Briarfields

We then took a stroll around the site, it’s not a massive site but the washrooms and laundry are first class, as good as any Caravan Club or Camping and Caravan Club site.

The sites well protected on all sides by trees and bushes but there is a slight noise from the surrounding roads but it’s not too obtrusive. The sky above is filled with executive jets and light aircraft descending into Gloucester Airport this would be a brilliant spot for aircraft spotters.

More Anon

The RV's New Logo

We've had an interesting day today, this morning we met up with another relative, my first cousin Barbara with her daughter Margaret and son-in-law Mick.
Kay and I had met up with them for a nice lunch at the sites tea rooms and we talked for ages about our families and of motor homes, I think I've seen more of my cousins in this past week than I have in all of my 63 years.
I hope to put some photos of them on the Blog when Mick sends me some copies of the ones he took just before they departed.

At the lunch Graham Jnr presented me with a nice selection dish of free ice creams that the farm produce as this is our last day here, I was a bit miffed that he handed out five spoons as well.... damn and I thought they were all mine!

Phil and Zita called over and Phil put the new Logo on the RV for us just as it was about to poor down with rain, so if you pass us on the road remember to beep your horn and give us a wave.
It looks really classy and we use the Lancer as our handle on the American RV forums so those who contact us on them will know who we are when we travel the highways.

As Phil was putting the Logo on the RV Graham Jnr was passing in the field next to us and I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photo of him doing his mother goose act as he ushered the gees towards their pen, I have never seen him without a smile on his face, we will defiantly be back to this site.

Lancer Logo

Lancer logo

Graham Jnr leading the gees into their pen

Well its time to get organised for the journey tomorrow so keep a watch for our post of the new location on Monday.

More Anon

The worlds smaller than you think!

Kay has been doing research into our family tree for some years now and not long ago she’d discovered that I had five first cousins still alive in the west midlands, Edward, Betty, Jean, Margaret and Barbara. Edward and Barbara we had met three years ago in Trentham and now we had the opportunity to meet up with them again.

Edward and his wife Brenda arrived at the RV on Tuesday and we all departed to the Bell Inn in Haughton village for lunch. During the meal they informed us that there were even more relatives living in the local area. Some we later found out were so local that they’d actually been on the site with us in a campervan and that we’d sat next to them having lunch without even knowing who they were.

On Wednesday Kay wanted to do some Tombe-stoning (researching the local records and grave yards) as I had an elder brother George who died in 1935 in Hanley, so off we went to Hanley Library to delve into the records of deaths and grave locations. We found the record of his death quite easily and also the map of Hanley cemetery where he was buried.

So the next stop was a visit to the cemetery; the graves were mostly overgrown as the cemetery has been declared a conservation area (I think that is technical jargon for ‘we can’t afford to maintain the graves’). It took quite a while tramping through the long grass and crumbling grave stones searching for the site and eventually we did find the grave but not the stone (if there ever was one).

Hanley Cemetery

Kay Tombe-stoning

George's Grave

Today we had a surprise visitor, Graham Crook who lives in Gnosal the next village where we had eaten lunch and cycled through several times. Graham is another relative ‘a second cousin’ so he and Kay swapped notes on who was or was not on the family tree.

From Edward and George we now know that a local retired vicar ‘Terence Coyne’ is also related to us and we hope to be in contact with him before we depart on Sunday (it really is a small world). On Saturday we will also have a visit from Barbara as it turned out it was her grandson who was on the site with us in his campervan and they will come and join us for lunch in the tea rooms.

On the RV front… the cycles have now been fitted onto the cycle rack on the back of the RV and that job became a bit of a mensa test. Why you may ask! My cycle has the standard cross bar so that was no problem but Kay's is a woman's cycle a frame without a cross bar so to get that to fit I had to raise the front end quite high as you can see in the photo to get it to clip into the clamps.
Three of the wheels have been removed and they will be stored in the back of the IQ on the trailer, it looks a mess but they are secure. The long vehicle sign has arrived, but mounting it will need some thinking out. Philip our neighbour has taken it into work to add a stiffer back to the sign so it’s just a matter of where to site it.

MENSA Test

More Anon

Donner und Blitzen

What a start to our last week here at the Red Lion Farm, wind, rain, thunder& lightning and with a bit of sunshine thrown into the mix.

Still work has gone to plan on the trailer it has now been fitted with an extra clamp for the jockey wheel and that now solves the problem of the cycles getting hooked up, as the wheel can be stored in the horizontal position when on tow.

Horizontal clamp

I've ordered the long vehicle hazard board that will finish off the needed bit of regulatory equipment that will be compulsory for Spain.
How to fit it? well that's anouther problem to overcome, as I can't use the magnetic version that I had originally  planned to use as the legal requirement is that it must be on an aluminium board 200mm X 1130mm, I just hope it arrives before we depart.

I will be sad to leave this site as the people we have met like Zeta and Phil have become good friends. The owners are a very nice family and we will miss the sons regular smiling face as he bounds about the farm leading the animals like Dr Doolittle with his dog Buster close at heel, there will be just one character here that I will be glad to see the back of and that's Graham's new Rooster Rambo and his early morning crowing, I still have dreams of him sitting on a nice nest of Sage and Onion stuffing at gas mark 4.

Rambo

The site looks quite empty at the moment but no doubt it will fill for the weekend.


More Anon

MOT, MOT, MOT,

Yes it passed yipeee….but not after a few scares, read on.

To get ourselves fit Kay and I set off on Tuesday morning on our cycles and completed ten miles of the Millennium Way. In the afternoon after washing, cleaning and lubricating the cycles till they shone, I then completed all the small jobs I had to do on the RV ready for the MOT and by Tuesday night (me thinking it was Wednesday) I was shattered.

Then it dawned on me tomorrow wasn’t the MOT it was the day after, what a plonker!!! So the following day I took it all a bit slower, well the ache in the back was telling me to slow down, you’re not twenty (and there was me thinking I was.)

Thursday morning organised and ready to go we left the site and headed off down towards the A41 when ding, ding the gas switch started to sound telling me it had switched over to petrol and it wouldn’t switch back. Oh no, not again, we thought we had that problem sorted out but alas no it was back. So on we trundled on petrol to Signature arriving an hour early for our appointment with the hope of caching up with some old friends who were having their RV serviced that day.

Thank god we were early firstly the MOT looked as if it would fail as the emissions test was reading only petrol emissions as the engine wouldn’t switch over to LPG, then luckily one of the mechanics noticed something to do with the ECU and wahlla it switched over and all the emissions fell to correct levels and the RV passed with flying colours.

OK now the young lad tried to reverse the unit out of the workshop and crunch he’d forgotten to shut the door and retract the steps. One step forward two back came to mind; this meant the mechanics feverously banging and hammering to get the steps back into shape and working.

Eventually the RV was backed out of the workshops now complete with a new Hitch-plate that allows me to drop the trailer height to the correct level, all the wheels torqued to the correct tightness and the front wheels valve extenders fitted.

You have a problem

Signature has a good reputation among the RV fraternity but to be honest I had the feeling that the boys were under a lot of pressure and they rushed the work. They had forgotten to sort out some spare locker keys I’d asked for and the lad who was going to show me how to change the headlights for Europe disappeared onto another job.

We met up with our old friends Pauline and Dave that afternoon and it looked as if they too were having a few nightmares with jobs on their RV and eventually they ended up staying the night there.

Still to be fair we drove all the way back on gas (YES) but to be safe Kay insisted that I fill up the RV with petrol to be on the safe side.

We arrived back starving hungry as we’d missed lunch just as our neighbours Zeta and Phil called over asking would we like to pop over for a drink. But we’d passed the Navigation Inn on the way back and had already decided we were heading straight back out for a meal. We asked if they wanted to join us and so within ten minutes we were all dressed and ready to go and off we headed  to the Navigation Inn at Gnosal.

We all had a great time the meal was excellent and plentiful but I should have stopped and refused the sweet but no, I ended up making the same mistake eating a lot at a late hour which never does me any good but I don’t learn.

Food glorious food

Tell Em to shut up

There was live music on offer and we had intended to stay until a lad near us with a baby in a pram decided he was there for the night! Babies should be in bed before nine o’clock in the evening not sitting in a noisy pub, the poor mite was tired and started to create a noise.

Not only was it disconcerting for the musicians but it annoyed the hell out of us as well so we up and left.

That night I hardly slept at all, first it was too hot, then too cold, sleeping with a belly full of food is not comfortable so when I did eventually drop off to sleep I snored the roof off Kay was not a happy bunny with me, so much for all that cycling.

Today we moved the RV to get the trailer hooked up on the back of the RV to see how the bikes would fit and it was a good job we did. The first thing I noticed was that the bike rack would hang the bikes right over the raised Jockey wheel and this could be a potentially dangerous situation as the jockey wheel stem could hook itself on the cycles even with the wheels removed from the cycles. So tomorrow I will have to pop down to a caravan shop to see if a can get a removable jockey wheel clamp that will allow me to remove the jockey wheel altogether.

Then it was paint tin in hand to paint the step where the mechanics had been hammering the steps back into shape.

bike rack

New Split clamp

If anyone thinks RV’ing is just sitting back and relaxing all day!  (right..... think again)

More Anon

Getting the escape pod ready

The wind has dropped at last so it was time to get out and start tidying up all the little jobs ready for Thursday when the RV goes in for its MOT.

Both the toad and the RV had a good wash down and small items like making sure the windscreen wipers are clean and the washer water bottle was full. Removing and storing the wheel covers, clean all the windows and check everything is working. I think we will leave emptying of the waste and water tanks till the morning.

The animals on this farm are real characters. As you work the Guiney fowl pester you, the cows come to nosey through the fence. The lady next door will have a fit when she gets back the Jerseys have just wrenched her smalls off the washing line, we managed to rescue her bra and the rest of the washing but her nickers are hanging from mouth of a cow and that’s where they’ll stay.

I had to run out again five minutes later as another decided to eat their electric lead to the hook-up and started to munch through it. Luckily I managed to scare the daft animal off before she electrocuted herself. They will poke their noses into everything even their cycles were licked and chomped.

BANG, I had the shock of my life, at first I thought Kay had dropped or blown something until she hollered out from inside that it was from the other side of the RV. When I went to investigate I found that I had left my tool box in full sunlight and in the lid of the electric box I had a gas soldering iron.

The heat from the sun must have expanded the gas in the small reservoir in the handle this had exploded and blown the lid off the box scattering all the electric connectors.

Lesson learnt do not leave tools in open sunlight, especially on hot days. Ah well back to finishing off any small jobs while the weather is still good

More Anon.