SusiBus
2-pedal power Peppa Pig trike
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Where is the highest, remotest, most exposed place that you can have the electric roof to fail when wild camping? Well, I think the Bealach na Gaoithe pass, east of Torridon in the NW Highlands of Scotland must be a contender!
We were ready to move on in the morning and the roof wouldn’t retract! Oh, s..t! What do we do now?
1. Phone VW Assist – yes, they would get to us, but realistically couldn’t guarantee when – understandably.
2. Not wanting to wait all day for the RAC, step 2 - refer to handbook and follow manual closing procedure but the central control panel just won’t come out – what to do now? :?:
3. Ask the audience – no audience, not even sheep want to be up here, there’s no grass.
4. Phone a friend (at least being high up it was one of the rare places we could get a mobile signal). “Hello, is that Alex at SMG? I’ve got a bit of a problem!” Alex talked me through the procedure, but basically it is as it says in the book, although you have to be very careful not to cause damage removing the unit. The secret was, I discovered, to use a thin knife to ease the unit out of the top surround because as well as retaining clips on each side, there are two fixing lugs at the top which also need to be released before the unit will come out. Yes, the hydraulic fluid drain screw is there, but hidden beneath yellow foam.
Lessons learned:
1. Calis are a bit like their older brothers – Splitties and Bays – not adverse to giving you the odd roadside drama, and not always a flat battery!
2. Yes, you can with great care get the control unit out with just a knife and the screwdriver provided in the tool kit. Note - it is double ended.
3. Make sure you have the VW Roadside Assistance number (0800 777 172) with you, or call VW (8am-5pm) (0800 717131) for the nearest Van Centre. (There is no printed list of van dealerships available).
4. Make sure you have got the emergency strap down kit with you – it’s not much use in the garage at home.
5. VW Hawco Van Centre in Inverness is really helpful.
6. How great it is to have the back up of Alex and SMG. He found the telephone number of the nearest van dealer for us which enabled us to set up the repair in advance of us arriving at the dealers. He even phoned us back a couple of hours later to make sure we were sorted – how many dealers would do that? Very many thanks, Alex.
We were ready to move on in the morning and the roof wouldn’t retract! Oh, s..t! What do we do now?
1. Phone VW Assist – yes, they would get to us, but realistically couldn’t guarantee when – understandably.
2. Not wanting to wait all day for the RAC, step 2 - refer to handbook and follow manual closing procedure but the central control panel just won’t come out – what to do now? :?:
3. Ask the audience – no audience, not even sheep want to be up here, there’s no grass.
4. Phone a friend (at least being high up it was one of the rare places we could get a mobile signal). “Hello, is that Alex at SMG? I’ve got a bit of a problem!” Alex talked me through the procedure, but basically it is as it says in the book, although you have to be very careful not to cause damage removing the unit. The secret was, I discovered, to use a thin knife to ease the unit out of the top surround because as well as retaining clips on each side, there are two fixing lugs at the top which also need to be released before the unit will come out. Yes, the hydraulic fluid drain screw is there, but hidden beneath yellow foam.
Lessons learned:
1. Calis are a bit like their older brothers – Splitties and Bays – not adverse to giving you the odd roadside drama, and not always a flat battery!
2. Yes, you can with great care get the control unit out with just a knife and the screwdriver provided in the tool kit. Note - it is double ended.
3. Make sure you have the VW Roadside Assistance number (0800 777 172) with you, or call VW (8am-5pm) (0800 717131) for the nearest Van Centre. (There is no printed list of van dealerships available).
4. Make sure you have got the emergency strap down kit with you – it’s not much use in the garage at home.
5. VW Hawco Van Centre in Inverness is really helpful.
6. How great it is to have the back up of Alex and SMG. He found the telephone number of the nearest van dealer for us which enabled us to set up the repair in advance of us arriving at the dealers. He even phoned us back a couple of hours later to make sure we were sorted – how many dealers would do that? Very many thanks, Alex.
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