Both clubs have merits and frustrations in equal proportion.

The CC can be a little bit regimental ( I was going to say anal but didn’t want to offend ) and the C&CC label themselves the “Friendly Club” but lack some of the organisation of the CC.  What we need is a hybrid club that’s well organised and friendly and treats you as adults who know what they are doing.  Ask me to park my Motorhome in the centre of the pitch but don’t tell me to park it in the centre of the pitch and tell me that there is a pitch marker in the centre so park the centre of your Motorhome against that and then show me a diagram of the whole thing.  Wow!!

One of my personal hates of the CC is the way they always refer to Motorhomes as Motor Caravans – why is that?  Just because they are steeped in caravan history doesn’t give them the right to create a new category of Motorhome.

The one big advantage of the C&CC is that booking sites is so much easier and the CC is usually always fully booked for the better sites weeks in advance.  Incidentally my home grown theory on this is that if the CC charged a deposit, as the C&CC do, then their advanced bookings would drop considerably.  I wonder how many no shows they have on a Friday night just because there is a no deposit forfeit.

Some of the facilities on the C&CC sites are not as modern as they should be and both clubs have a problem with determining the correct number of loos, showers etc to cater for the amount of customers. Last weekend we were at the CC site at Bladen Chains and the toilet block had more washing cubicles than showers or loos.  Bad planning or what?

These are some of my thoughts and I’d be very interested to hear yours, so please send them through and we’ll see if we can make a constructive list of the good and the bad ( and of course the ugly ).

Related posts:

1. Cirencester Park Caravan Club Site; Part 1
2. Car Hire; a Caravan Club Scheme
3. Cirencester Park Caravan Club Site; Part 2

The Little Roodee is a Car / Coach Car Park located just inside the City Walls next to the Grosvenor Bridge and allows Motorhome parking during the day and overnight parking.

The Little Roodee Cafe has toilet facilities and information leaflets and you can pick up the open top tour bus from the car park.

You can walk into Chester town centre or take a riverside walk.  If you’ve never been to Chester then you’ll enjoy the visit because it’s a lovely old town with some beautiful buildings and it has a strong Roman heritage like York and they are very proud of this.  You can actually take a guided walk with a Roman Centurian and the open top bus tour will entice you with all the Historic snippets to wet your appetite for more.

Here is a great little site that will tell you all about what Chester has to offer.

This kind of facility certainly seems to be on the increase at last and whenever I see one I’ll put it on the site.  If you hear of any others please let me know.

Related posts:

1. Cirencester Park Caravan Club Site; Part 2

Most of the time we’re happy to either walk or to use public transport to somewhere specific but of course distance is a limiting factor with either of these modes of transport, especially the walking part.

Maybe, just maybe, the Caravan Club have come up with a solution.  They are offering a discounted car hire scheme from Enterprise Rent-A-Car.  Members can get 10% discount when hiring a car during their stay at a club site and the best part of this is that Enterprise will pick up and drop off to more than 80 club sites throughout England, Wales and Scotland.

The key points of this service are;

Good

• Free pick up and drop off service at more than 80 club sites
• Cars can be hired with a day’s notice for a minimum of 24 hours – 48 hours at weekends
• All cars are 6 months old or less
• You can drive up to 250 miles per day
• When you make the booking Enterprise will come and collect you from site, take you to the local office, complete the paperwork and off you go
• You return the car to the local office, complete the paperwork and then Enterprise takes you back to the site
• The minimum age limit is 23 or 25  years so I reckon we’re all covered
• Fully comprehensive insurance
• Breakdown recovery service

Bad

• You will need your driving licence and of course a credit card so they can take a £250 deposit in case you run off with the car, or wreck it somewhere, or drive through a bog and they have to clean it.  There’s no trust around nowadays!
• I don’t know how much it costs for a days hire so it may be prohibitive

If you want to make use of the service then ring 0870 350 3000 quoting reference 1UC0626 and your membership number.  Offices are open between 08.00 and 18.00 Mon – Fri and 9.00 and 12.00 on Saturday.

You can also log onto the club website to book if you’d prefer.

You need to check on the website to see if the site you are going to offers the service but here’s a summary;

• Cotswolds – 10 sites
• Cumbria – 3
• Devon and Cornwall – 9
• East Anglia – 8
• East Midlands – 1
• North East – 3
• North West – 4
• Peak District – 5
• Scotland – 4
• South East – 15
• South – 12
• Wales – 1
• West Midlands – 4
• Yorkshire – 6

If anyone decides to try the service or has already done so then please let us know and we’ll publish your thoughts.

Related posts:

1. Caravan Club vs Camping and Caravanning Club
2. Poolsbrook Caravan Club Site

The leaflet is specifically aimed at Caravan Club Sites but it applies to all campsites with the caveat that the Caravan Club usually supplies  a 16 amp hook up whereas other sites will vary and could be as low as 5amps.  This will affect the number of appliances you can use at any one time.  I have published a post on this subject previously but as it is very important and incorrect use can cause a nuisance at the least or serious injury or death at worst I though I’d have another go - see “How to Avoid Power Problems in Your Motorhome” for a recap of the original post.

I’m going to make the assumption that your Motorhome is a standard build, not something you cobbled together on your drive,  and that it has the standard electrical installation at the time of manufacture.  Like anything nowadays, as Motorhomes have improved so has the electrical installation, including safety and availability of internal sockets and appliances such as water heaters, electrical cooker plate, air con, central heating etc.  You should make yourself aware of all of these appliances that are installed into your Motorhome and the power rating of these so that you can determine their amperage – this is the key measurement that you need to ensure site compliance.

I’m also aware that some of  you reading this will be new Motorhomers or may be considering purchasing one soon, so some of the things I say will be quite basic.  (I’d be grateful if my more experienced readers would forgive me for being so thoroughly anal but it’s always best to cover these things assuming no previous knowledge).

You arrive on site, park on your pitch, pick up your connecting cable and proceed to connect – whoa, stop, let’s not take anything for granted.

There are a number of key elements about the cable;

• It’s recommended colour is orange so that it can easily be seen.

• It should satisfy BS6007 or BS6500 or harmonised code H07RN-F or H05VV-F – at least one of these should be on the label.

• You should get a cable that is 25m long in order for it to reach from the socket outlet to your Motorhome because in certain circumstances the socket can be quite a distance.

• You should always uncoil your cable especially if it is on a drum because if not it can overheat.

• Your cable should be 3 core – live (brown), neutral (blue) and earth (green/yellow).

• YOU MUST ALWAYS PLUG THE CABLE INTO YOUR MOTORHOME FIRST AND THEN THE SITE SOCKET.

• IF YOU GO OUT FOR THE DAY NEVER DISCONNECT YOUR CABLE FROM YOUR MOTORHOME AND LEAVE IT ON THE GROUND AND STILL PLUGGED INTO THE SITE SOCKET – THIS IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS.

• Once you plug it into the socket you will need to twist it clockwise until it locks and you’re up and running.

• To disconnect your electrical supply when you leave site you push in the button adjacent to the site socket you are connected to, your cable releases anticlockwise and you then can remove it.  It is then safe to disconnect your cable from your Motorhome.

• When camping abroad you will sometimes need to have an adaptor cable because the site socket may be 2 pins, although these are being phased out buy the adaptor just in case.  This simply plugs in between your connecting cable and the site socket.

• Also when camping abroad you will need to check for reverse polarity although I haven’t come across this for many years.  This is where the site supply may have the neutral and live reversed.  Everything in your Motorhome will work ok but there is a risk that for example if you were changing a mains light bulb then even if you had it switched off the bulb connectors in the lamp standard or whatever could be live. Modern Motorhomes have a reverse polarity checker built into the electrical control panel that will rectify it or you can purchase one that you simply plug into a mains socket in your Motorhome and it lights up to show a reversal.  Again you can also purchase an adaptor cable to rectify this and this plugs in between your connecting cable and the site socket.

Nealy all Caravan Club Sites supply 16 amps but it’s worth checking when you arrive just in case.  The important thing to realise is that this means that that total of all appliances in use at any one time must not exceed 16 amps. Remember, that at busy times the full 16amps may not be available to all site outlets at the same time.  This can apply in winter more than the summer when everyone is using lighting and heating at the same time.

Below is a list of appliances and their electrical values;

• Kettle;   2000 watts;   8.7 amps
• Kettle;   750 watts;   3.3 amps
• Toaster;   1300 watts;   5.6 amps
• Iron;   1300 watts;   5.6 amps
• Microwave Cooker;   1200 watts;   5.2 amps
• Colour TV;   50 watts;   0.2 amps
• Fan Heater;   1000 watts;  4.3 amps
• Motorhome Battery Charger;   100 watts;   0.4 amps
• Refrigerator;   125 watts;   0.5 amps
• Table lamp;   60 watts;   0.2 amps
• Blown Air Heater;   1000-2000 watts;   4.3-8.7 amps
• Air Conditioning;   1000 watts;   4.3 amps

NB.  Mains supply in Europe is gradually being standardised at 230 volts AC so these calculations will apply everywhere.  Once you know the wattage of your appliance then divide it by 230 to determine the amperage, that way you can always be sure.

Please be safe rather than sorry.

No related posts.

It was a statement about Motorhome parking in Ipswich from the Borough Council in response to a question from a Motorhomer:

“ Ipswich Borough Council is currently running a six month experiment (March – August) to allow motorhomes to park overnight in Ipswich on our Old Cattlemarket car park. The experiment has been live for some time now, however, we do not yet appear to have had a single motorhome customer thus far (we have not advertised widely because our agreement to run the experiment was made in response to another request from an organisation representing motorhome interests who said they would advertise to their members).

As such, it is difficult to know the long term future of this offer. I have spoken with our Parking Services team and have agreed that we should continue with the experiment for a longer period of time in order to see how things go. I am perfectly happy for you to also advertise availability and would make the following observations/requirements:-

1. The cost is currently £6 allowing overnight parking from 1800hrs to 0800hrs the following morning. Offer only available Mon-Fri eves. Car park must be cleared by 0800hrs when normal P&D/season ticket parking takes place. Motorhomes still parked past this time limit may be subject to a PCN. Parking not allowed Sat/Sun nights as car park used for other purposes.

2. I would suggest that you print the following telephone number (01473 432426) adjacent to your published information so that any intending customer can speak with our Parking Services team to make sure the offer is still available prior to arrival.

Please be advised that the Council reserves the right to withdraw this experiment at any future point in time.”

This seems to me that another Borough Council is going out of it’s way to provide overnight Motorhome parking but because of some agreement it had with another body the offer is just not being advertised.  I’d hate this to cause them to withdraw the offer so if any of you plan to visit Suffolk then why not consider giving them a call to see if the offer is still available.  Incidentally if you are taking a ferry from Felixstowe or Harwich then Ipswich is a good stopover point.

Related posts:

1. Motorhome Overnight Parking in Chester

I used to see him on a cookery program where he was in a typical Yorkshire market, cooking lot’s of wonderful recipes on a market stall, but the most endearing thing about him was his ability to interact with the people; they loved him and couldn’t get enough.  From these humble beginnings he’s moved onwards and upwards and has written many books and starred in many cookery programs.

I really like his ‘Saturday Kitchen’ show and again I think his culinary skills are surpassed by his personality and his ability to make his guests feel very relaxed and to get the most out of them.  Everyone on the show has a very good time.

I subscribe to alerts from google and whenever anything is written on a web site about either Motorhomes or the Autocruise Starseeker google kindly forward them to me so that I can see what’s happening out there.

It was through this that I received an article written by James Martin for the Daily Mail and I enjoyed reading it very much and thought you’d all enjoy reading it as well so please click here and have a look.

Related posts:

1. Boat and Caravan Show

The Caravan Club, MMM, a number of journalists and of course Motorhome owners with the problem have been badgering Fiat and Peugeot to get a resolution for a long time and I’ve written a number of posts on this subject.

The Caravan Club in their July 2009 magazine have issued a letter from Andy Stothert on this subject and I thought I’d post some of the key points.  Andy writes for MMM, has a book published called ‘Cool Camping’, he writes articles for the Caravan Club magazine and is a professional photographer.  You can see some examples of his photography work if you click here.

• During the last couple of months Fiat and Peugeot have been attempting to rectify the defect in initially very different ways, but both have now embarked on a programme to install a lower ratio reverse gear into the existing gearbox.

• This will prevent the affected Motorhomes from reversing up an incline at a dangerous speed.

• Andy has appealed for and owners with a satisfactory outcome to contact him but to date he has only had tales of dissatisfaction and frustration.

• Fiat now say that they cannot do any more than they have and Peugeot have said that they can only improve the situation, there is no cure.

• Unfortunately these chassis are still being supplied by Fiat and Peugeot for conversion so the risk of further problems on new vans is still there.

This issue will undoubtedly go on and on and although my Autocruise Starseeker has a Peugeot chassis I have never experienced this problem.  Mind you I have a 3.0l engine so I’m not sure if these have the same problem.

Many thanks to Andy and the other journalists for persevering with trying to get an answer to this and I only hope that they eventually succeed.

No related posts.

For those of you in and around Northamptonshire they are worth considering because they are very easy to get to being just off the A5 at Long Buckby Wharf.  You will get a lot more service for your money by using them and let’s face it, the annual Motorhome habitation check plus service is quite a lot of money nowadays.

They are called Corporate Service Solutions Ltd and are based at;

Unit 5 Wharf Works, Long Buckby Wharf, Northants, NN6 7PP.  Contact telephone number is 01327 844551.

They are very friendly, helpful and do a very good job at the right cost.

No related posts.

From the outside it is definitely not very attractive, but on the inside it’s something else and the old adage ” don’t judge a book by it’s cover ” hits you hard.

I haven’t seen anything like this before but maybe you have so feel free to let us know.

Here are the pictures for you to enjoy, gawp at, be amazed by, and yes, it is real.

No related posts.

The changes have now started and will be completed across the whole country in 2012 which seems a long way away but because it’s a spasmodic rollout you will be affected well before then.  As an example Devon and Cornwall be be completed by August 12th this year and a number of areas in these counties have already had the change completed.

There are two ways of approaching this change and of course it does depend on how much you value watching your television when you’re in your Motorhome.

• Get prepared and make sure you can receive a digital signal on your television

• Ignore it until you can’t get a picture and then admit to yourself that it really is happening

Even if you only watch a TV in your Motorhome infrequently it’s best to go for number one because if you don’t you’re bound to miss the program you’ve always wanted to see your whole life.

I’m not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs but for those that haven’t approached this yet I’ll give you a few pointers as to what you need to do:

• First of all you need a good digital aerial, preferably fixed to the roof of your Motorhome and of course if you want to go mad you can use a satellite dish – I haven’t got one of these at home so having one on the Motorhome was not considered.
  

• Secondly you need either an analogue TV with a Freeview receiver, a digital TV with a built in Freeview receiver and a satellite receiver if you go that route.

If you are in this position then there is plenty of available advice from various sources and of course the Caravan Club and Camping and Caravanning Club will also advise you, not to mention the retailers.

Now I would like to say here that I have a digital Status 530 directional push up aerial ( the pointed one ) that came with my Motorhome and I have an Avtex digital TV ( W153D) and they work perfectly on some sites and will pick up all of the channels available at home, both TV and radio.  The problem is that it’s very hit and miss.  On one site I’ll pick up 35+ channels and on another 5.  Now when you get 35+ you’re covered with all your favourites but when you get the 5 it’s always the ones you don’t want.  Quite a few sites are in old quarries or surrounded by hills so you’ll be playing scrabble if you’re on one of these.  Now that’s where a satellite dish comes into it’s own because you point it upwards ( somewhere ) and as long as you know in which direction the invisible satellites are floating you’ve cracked it.  You can get some kind of X-Files satellite tracker I believe to help with this.  So you see it’s not all plain sailing.

For those of you who like to travel around and not stay in one place too long this retuning will become a chore I can assure you; the digital signals come at you from all directions and you either get them or you don’t.

Good luck with this and I would suggest that you make sure you always have a good book or magazine with you and  record you’re favourite programs at home and watch them when you get back.

Here are some links for you to get more information about the changeover and what’s available;

Digital UK

Freeview

Freesat

UK Transmitter information

Freesat from Sky

No related posts.