Odd jobs

Part of the reasoning behind the shakedown trip to Bodmin was to make sure everything works as intended, giving me chance to sort out any problems before our main weeks holiday at the end of the month.

One issue is the current position of the TV Aerial plug, which is currently placed over the main work surface, which is not ideal, as it requires a long extension lead to put the TV in a more suitable position.

It was decided that an additional Aerial socket should be installed at the front of the van, this involved splitting the signal with a 2 way splitter in the gas locker, which will enable the original socket to stay usable.

The second socket was put on the window sill at the front of the van.

Its hidden nicely when the cushions are in place, The TV sits perfectly on the pull out shelf, and no more extension lead to trip up and pull out!

Wheelie Smart!

A bank holiday weekend, and an ideal time to clean up and respray the scruffy original wheel trims that had suffered kerbing damage at the hands of the previous owners.

Using paint that I had left over from previous jobs , I set to work, repairing the damaged areas and after a quick sand over, I gave the trims a coat of grey primer.

As I was using paint I already had in the garage, I had a choice of silver, silver or silver!

After adding the silver coat, I sprayed on some clear lacquer to give the trims a shine and to protect them.

The newly refurbished trims were refitted to the caravan on my latest trip to the storage yard, and I think they look wheelie smart, don't you?

Time for some luxury tasks

My wife will not manage next weekend, on our shake down trip, without her TV. How would she know what happens in The Mentalist and Over the Rainbow!

And so, as all good husbands do, I am trying to make her happy by fixing the aerial cable and wires ready for the trip.

I am using an old aerial we had at our static caravan, and have no idea if it is a digital one or not, but I'll soon find out...

having cleaned out the spiders web from the internal workings, and wired up the cable....


I bought a TV signal finder this afternoon, as everyone told me this was a must with all of the moving around the country you tend to do - it supposedly saves time in finding a TV picture.

The moment of truth ...... and it's not a digital aerial - Boo! Now I need to buy a new aerial -

Nothing is ever simple is it!

Spring Clean Fever

With our shakedown run to Bodmin getting closer, now seems like a good time to start working on the list of jobs that are still left to do!

A good vacuum of the interior was first order of the day, making sure nothing was missed.

The Aqua roll was filled with water, and Puriclean powder added to clean the fresh water system and pipes, this was left in for 24 hours to do its stuff.

The power hook up cable was connected, to enable the electrics to be fully tested and the water heater to be run up to temperature, the vacuum doubled as a handy means of testing the wall sockets!

Grease was added to the brake override system with a grease gun

And finally.....

It took a while for the water to flow from all of the taps....

But eventually it appeared!

Good news! Everything seemed to work as it should, however I did find some cracks around the shower tray drain plug that are in need of repair. We hadn't noticed them before as they were covered with a carpet mat!

I'll repair this, and connect and test the gas system over the next couple of weeks and fill you in on how it goes soon....

Until next time ...

#2 The Electrics

To be able to tow anything you have to have power that reaches the towed vehicle so that the indicators etc are live. I already had the basic set up in order to tow my trailer, and just needed to top it up a little.

Pulling a caravan also requires auxiliary electrics in order to power the fridge, charge the leisure battery and power the reversing lights.

I purchased a universal kit, so that it can be transferred to my next car, as and when I swap this one.

It was not a hugely complicated job to take on, but in order to do a 'good' job I wanted to make sure that all of the wiring was hidden inside of the car underneath the interior trim, this meant removing it very carefully to route the cable.

Having fitted it all, I nipped over to the storage unit where the vara is kept, and made sure that all of the power was getting through to the right places.

Success! and onto the next job.....

#1 And so it Begins.....

There are many, many jobs that I have to take on before we can try our first trip away. I decided to begin with something easy!

Because I have one spare number plate and now need it to fit 3 different requirements I decided to go for these sprung loaded number plate brackets, so that my plate can be removed or added as needed.

I found them here, on one of my many Internet searches for parts that I will be needing to purchase.

They fitted really easily, with a couple of rivets for each bracket. Not bad eh! Needless to say, my number plate does actually have my car reg on it LOL