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First trip: Baptism of water!

Zizzy

Zizzy

VIP Member
Messages
30
Location
Hull
Vehicle
T5 SE 180 4Motion
Back from our first trip in the 'Van. We booked for two nights deep in the Dales, it was our first time playing with all the equipment and the accessories and it was certainly tested to the limit by the atrocious weather! We were two adults and my daughter, Isobel, who is a wheelchair user.
The Good:
The 'Van. (JCT600 York) Amazing! Everything is so neat and well thought out and it all worked. In contrast to many, I love the wardrobe, I stashed everything but undies in it. I am entranced by the sink - how civilised is that tap? We aren't using the waste water tank (an idea stolen from Hubert) and it was a doddle with the washing up bowl. The amount of storage space is amazing, we have to take loads of quasi medical supplies for Isobel (incontinence pads, liquid feed etc.) plus her wheelchair and we have bought lots of bagged accessories but there was still loads of space. The fridge is generous and could take many more bottles of Cava than we brought, Hooray!. Thanks to this forum, my cupboards are lined with rubber matting and ingeniously filled and we had no rattles!!!
The Mutze cap. (Campervantastic)I don't know what it would have been like without it but we were warm and dry up top during two nights of horizontal rain and high wind. It didn't flap and it dried quickly so we took it off in a rare dry interval to reveal bone dry bellows for us to lower the roof. It packs away small and reputedly fits in the tailgate although we didn't try this as I am nervous about stretching the tailgate bag or damaging the chair.
Brandrup Second Skin Seat Covers: (Steve Mann from SMG - very helpful) Achingly expensive I know, - but they look amazing and for us they are a necessity as they will inevitably get some hammer from Isobel. We are getting the matching Brandrup cushions from Steve as soon as they are in stock again, with the white covers so they can double up as pillows for us up top.
Taylormade Screen: Easy to put on and dries in a flash. Again I can't compare using it against not using it but we didn't run the heating overnight and the temperature was fine in the morning despite the appalling weather. It was certainly cold outside.
Vango Kela: (Rob at BMVS - very helpful) Didn't turn a hair at the wind. It feels very well made and seems to repel water, drying very quickly. It is very roomy, - I'm glad we didn't go for the Sapera. It took us a while to put up but I'm sure it will be quick now we know what we're doing!
Micro Fibre Towels: big but pack up teeny-tiny, and they dry you effectively before drying themselves in a nanosecond.
Outwell Collapsible Kettle and washing up bowl: practical AND pretty. The kettle has a good capacity and seems to boil quickly compared to other kettles we've had when tent camping.
Kampa Easylock Wood effect flooring tiles: these were a godsend in the wet weather. We put them outside the side-door on the grass in the gap between the main awning with groundsheet and the Van. At the end of the trip I rinsed them under the outside tap.
The Bad:
The weather! It rained, and rained, then it got bored of raining and decided to dispense with raindrops and escalate to buckets. Did the van/Mutze/Vango leak? No they didn't. Did Isobel fall on her arse in the mud when being helped into the van? Yes, a couple of times. My fancy pump dispenser for the washing up liquid leaked. It took ages to get the Vango awning and Mutze on for the first time. In their defence, this is a reflection on us not them. Unlike most people on this forum, who seem to be ingenious and resourceful, - we are like Laurel and Hardy. If we were shipwrecked after a plane crash we would quite rightly be the first to be killed and eaten by our disgruntled companions. Now all the bits and pieces are in place and we know what we are doing, the Mutz will be on in 5 minutes and the Vango Kela in 15 or 20 including pegging.
The Ugly:
Yours truly didn't realise that it is the inside fly-screen bits rather than the outside doors that secure the doors to the groundsheet on the Vango Awning (in my defence it was late and getting dark by the time we got it up). I didn't do it up after my last loo trip on the first night. The next morning there were pools of water in the awning thanks to the horizontal rain coming in under the door. All Kev's clothes were soaked (he had spurned the wardrobe) as was anything else left on the floor of the awning. Bailing out water with a mug and then mopping up with a pair of Kev's underpants hadn't formed part of my fantasies about California ownership. I got to try out my portable rotary dryer prematurely and Kev got to wear pyjama bottoms for 24 hours. The next night in equally foul weather the awning remained completely dry with the doors properly secured.
Love the Van, it really proved itself. We all slept like logs and as I walked back from my rare ventures to the toilet block, peering out from my hood through the rain and mist, I was taken by surprised at how beeauutiful it looked.
No photos of it yet as standing around in the rain wasn't tempting but next time I promise!
 
Next time you just need better wearher :thumb
 
Glad to hear your van worked for you and your family. sorry to hear the weather was against you
When you have a dry week you will forget all about it :thumb although I several years time you will look back with fond memories. :thumb keep us posted about your next adventure
 
Hi Zizzy, it cant get any worse so hopefully your next outing will be better weather for you. Cant get the picture out of my head with you mopping up using Kev's underpants!! :laugh2
Been there ourselves.
 
Don't worry I'm not discouraged, the opposite really. We've had rain like that in the Lakes in a tent and it was wretched. Sitting in the van, brewing up in the warmth with comfy seats, headroom and music or Radio 4 on reading was bliss.
In decent weather it will be terrific and setting up will be easy now we know the ropes. The soaked clothes were a daft, one-off accident. It's amazing how comfortable we were sleeping up top in all that.
I can't wait for the next outing!
 
On the plus side, it didn't rain so much that you had to be towed out of the campsite :D

Welcome to campervan life :hello
 
With a baptism like that, things can only get better. Glad to hear you still enjoyed it :D
The weather was pretty atrocious "up North" over the weekend.

Enjoy the van !!

Hubert
 
What a lovely post!

I sat in Albert in a Dumfries town centre car park this lunchtime, as the heavens opened. The monsoon was so heavy it even put me off driving. What a lovely lifestyle it is, in those circumstances! A gallic shrug of the shoulders, on with the kettle, a rummage in the fridge, pickle, cheddar, bit of old salad, a ploughman's, cups of tea, all warm and fugged up inside whilst the weather did it's worst outside.

Then, when the sunshine broke through an hour later... "Onwards Albert! we have touring to do!"..

Welcome to the Cali in all it's glory Zizzy, gorgeous, lovely vehicles.
 
It's trips like that you will remember forever :thumb hope your looking forward to your next adventure :thumb
 
Hi Zizzy,

It's great to hear about your fun trip - despite the weather! I can't wait to take my own Cali on her maiden voyage, British rain or not :D

I hope your next trip is a dry and sunny one to make up for the rain and wind this time!

Maud
 
Hi Zizzy,
At least you enjoyed the weekend, it sounds like the weather couldn't of been worse!! I notice you are Located in Hull, we are from Cottingham the weather was not a lot better here over last weekend, maybe a bit more vertical than horizontal rain though and drier pants!
 
Hello Muppet,
I'll look out for you! I haven't seen many California's in Hull although there was one parked on Holderness Road the other day.
I still get overexcited every time I see a metallic or even just clean T5 van. I need to finesse my Cali-spotting.
Zizzy
 

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