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Some racer-goers at the Champs last weekend will know that I had a few problems getting there, however I thought it deserved a wider audience 
)
I bought myself a new (old) caravan a few weeks ago – it had been standing for a number of years and needs a fair bit of work on it, but it’s basically usable until then. So I thought – why not enter Frankie in the last Champs and make a weekend of it, knowing it will be soon undergoing repair work. So I did.
The previous Sunday – in checking the caravan over – I discovered that although gas and electric were fine – water did not pump through. Realised a new pump was required, bought one Monday in my lunchbreak and fitted it Monday night. Wrongly. Tuesday night I removed and refitted in correctly and it worked! Unfortunately water poured out of the big hole next to the inlet. Back to my friendly caravan dealer during Wednesdays lunchbreak to be told that big hole was where the water filter goes. Luckily he had one, so Wed night I fitted it and water came out of taps just like it should. However water ALSO leaked from a vent next to the inlet, I removed the cover and found it was coming from 2 plastic fittings in what I now know is the boiler. One is a pressure valve – which Thursdays visit to the dealer managed to obtain, the other is a drain valve which is no longer made.
The majority of the leak seemed to be from the valve so Thursday night I tried to fit the new one. And snapped off the old one still inside the thread of the boiler L No time left now to mess around with it as I was due to leave after work on Friday for Moreton, so I decided to go with the pour-water-from-a-container option.
I packed up the van after work on Friday night and set off. One mile further – just through my village’s main street – I began to wonder why my car was struggling to move. I stopped, then saw smoke coming from the caravan wheels – because the hand-brake was on. Now I know what you are thinking – yes I DID notice that the handle was up, but I couldn’t get it down and assumed that the handbrake probably wasn’t operable (bad assumption!) So I set off to get back home – then noticed that I’d left the jockey wheel down and the plastic centre was completely knackered. Nothing I could do when I got back so I went to bed.
Up early on Saturday, I dismantled the handbrake, went to my local dealer to buy a new jockey wheel and FINALLY set off for Moreton – again. Car moving much better now, onto the M25 and things are going well. Until a car pulled alongside me in the middle lane hooting, and the passenger pointing down at the caravan. I pulled over to the hard shoulder, got out and walked around looking for something wrong. The only thing I could see was that the (new) jockey wheel was very close to the ground, so I hitched it up and tightened the retaining screw. Then discovered that I was locked out of my car. Engine running, dogs looking worried in the back, me looking even more worried outside.
After many rude words at my own stupidity (if only I knew …) I rang my next door neighbour who has a key to my house, she borrowed my “get-me-to-work-on-the-cheap-heap “ metro and brought me out the spare key (a mere 30 mile round trip so I was quite lucky really!) The spare key allowed me back in and I managed to get to Moreton without any further incidents. Until coming home that is.
I had got 4/5ths of the way home when I felt vibrations, stopped, looked around but couldn’t see the cause. Started off again, then heard it this time – clang, clang …. I stopped again and discovered that the top part of the (new) jockey wheel had unscrewed itself and leapt from the vehicle some miles back and that the (almost new) jockey wheel had been running merrily along making it’s spindle hole much larger. I hooked it up out of the way and bolted it tight allowing me to eventually get home to my house and a very large scotch and American.
The racing? Out first round. Still I didn’t go there to win – I went for the fun!
)I bought myself a new (old) caravan a few weeks ago – it had been standing for a number of years and needs a fair bit of work on it, but it’s basically usable until then. So I thought – why not enter Frankie in the last Champs and make a weekend of it, knowing it will be soon undergoing repair work. So I did.
The previous Sunday – in checking the caravan over – I discovered that although gas and electric were fine – water did not pump through. Realised a new pump was required, bought one Monday in my lunchbreak and fitted it Monday night. Wrongly. Tuesday night I removed and refitted in correctly and it worked! Unfortunately water poured out of the big hole next to the inlet. Back to my friendly caravan dealer during Wednesdays lunchbreak to be told that big hole was where the water filter goes. Luckily he had one, so Wed night I fitted it and water came out of taps just like it should. However water ALSO leaked from a vent next to the inlet, I removed the cover and found it was coming from 2 plastic fittings in what I now know is the boiler. One is a pressure valve – which Thursdays visit to the dealer managed to obtain, the other is a drain valve which is no longer made.
The majority of the leak seemed to be from the valve so Thursday night I tried to fit the new one. And snapped off the old one still inside the thread of the boiler L No time left now to mess around with it as I was due to leave after work on Friday for Moreton, so I decided to go with the pour-water-from-a-container option.
I packed up the van after work on Friday night and set off. One mile further – just through my village’s main street – I began to wonder why my car was struggling to move. I stopped, then saw smoke coming from the caravan wheels – because the hand-brake was on. Now I know what you are thinking – yes I DID notice that the handle was up, but I couldn’t get it down and assumed that the handbrake probably wasn’t operable (bad assumption!) So I set off to get back home – then noticed that I’d left the jockey wheel down and the plastic centre was completely knackered. Nothing I could do when I got back so I went to bed.
Up early on Saturday, I dismantled the handbrake, went to my local dealer to buy a new jockey wheel and FINALLY set off for Moreton – again. Car moving much better now, onto the M25 and things are going well. Until a car pulled alongside me in the middle lane hooting, and the passenger pointing down at the caravan. I pulled over to the hard shoulder, got out and walked around looking for something wrong. The only thing I could see was that the (new) jockey wheel was very close to the ground, so I hitched it up and tightened the retaining screw. Then discovered that I was locked out of my car. Engine running, dogs looking worried in the back, me looking even more worried outside.
After many rude words at my own stupidity (if only I knew …) I rang my next door neighbour who has a key to my house, she borrowed my “get-me-to-work-on-the-cheap-heap “ metro and brought me out the spare key (a mere 30 mile round trip so I was quite lucky really!) The spare key allowed me back in and I managed to get to Moreton without any further incidents. Until coming home that is.
I had got 4/5ths of the way home when I felt vibrations, stopped, looked around but couldn’t see the cause. Started off again, then heard it this time – clang, clang …. I stopped again and discovered that the top part of the (new) jockey wheel had unscrewed itself and leapt from the vehicle some miles back and that the (almost new) jockey wheel had been running merrily along making it’s spindle hole much larger. I hooked it up out of the way and bolted it tight allowing me to eventually get home to my house and a very large scotch and American.
The racing? Out first round. Still I didn’t go there to win – I went for the fun!
