What have you bought for your Cali today :-)

Some places do ask to see the book and the book now has a one-use code to access the new app, which is great. It’s £30 inc postage. We’ve bought the book the last 6 years and every year had great value for the money. Although you have to buy the book to access the app it will be good to have the book in the van for when we’re out in the sticks and can’t get internet access. There’s a handy Britstops user group on Facebook where people leave reviews based on the books code numbers, so you can get an idea what a place is like.

You can stay at a Britstops with no obligation to buy or purchase goods/services. We usually do but it’s not always appropriate (like a stove showroom we’ve stayed at) or convenient (like the pub we couldn’t get to before they closed due to bad traffic and weather). A lot of the pubs let non-britstoppers stay on the condition that they eat in the pub, but there are plenty of other places that only let Britstoppers stay. The book does include some “airres“ that are car parks where you pay, but the costs are clearly listed.

During COVID it was advisable to phone ahead but in the new book many are going back to not requiring that, so you can take your chance and just rock up. You do have to be flexible though as even if you’ve phoned, you’ve not booked a “pitch“ so you might need a plan B. We’ve found though that if a place is busy during business hours, after closing time you can just move in to the car park to get your head down In a safe place.

You have to remember that you’re not camping so no chairs, tables or awnings out, no external cooking or other camping activities, but you can pop your top up. Not many have overnight loos, so make sure you have one onboard.

Some places are just convenient stopovers, but plenty are destinations in their own right either for the food, goods, services or location.

As a scheme it’s well run and the organisers sort out issues pretty Swiftly.

We’ve just got our new book so I’m already planning our pre-festival stopovers and thinking of doing a bit of a Britstops tour. Then they’ll be the off-spec sleepovers in the Peak District at the end of the week if we want to get out in the fresh air and don’t fancy travelling too far, cooking dinner, or having to drive home straight after.

I did wonder when we first started if it was all going to be a bit clicky, with the book being like a funny handshake and everybody wanting to be your bessie mate, but that’s not been the case. For us it’s been great and we’ve been to places where we wouldn’t previously have thought of.
Just rang to book a table at our first Britstops of the year and they said, ”just pop in with your book to say hi when you arrive”.
 
I have just disabled the annoying bing! Literally took 10 minutes, and I have never done any mods like that before.

Thanks to Grumpy Grandad about the subscription reminder, I have cancelled it already. The California Time video was the reason for doing it, awesome.
I’ve left the ‘bing’ - never found it annoying :)
Have used the Carista to run reports and to ‘force’ a DPF Regeneration - just to try it out. Worked fine.
 
After watching the very useful California Time video on how to turn off the 6.1's annoying beep, a Carista has just arrived. On offer for £18.75 at the moment.

View attachment 89808
If you purchase using the offer, when can you start the 1 month trial..? Is it as soon as you get it or at some time in the future…? We are still waiting for our Cali.
 
If you purchase using the offer, when can you start the 1 month trial..? Is it as soon as you get it or at some time in the future…? We are still waiting for our Cali.
The one month free offer was when you take out a 12 month subscription - no code in the packaging with the Carista. For me this subscription was via my Google account. As soon as I had changed the settings I cancelled my subscription. Easy peasy.
 
If you don't mind me asking exactly what is it you had done and how much did it cost - looks a great job !
It's called a ceramic coating.
My van is 6 months old and I've only jet washed it, never used a cloth so it was easy to do.
It's like a top coat of clear lacquer that protects the paint. But also means dirt shouldn't stick to it easily.
If your van has any paint imperfections, the person doing it should polish the paint 1st, correct the paint work then add the ceramic coating.
Price can vary depending on your paintwork condition. Mine was in very good condition so was £350. Should last 2 years aslong as I wash it correctly.
This is a side shot from when I picked it up.

FB_IMG_1646162640086.jpg
 
It's called a ceramic coating.
My van is 6 months old and I've only jet washed it, never used a cloth so it was easy to do.
It's like a top coat of clear lacquer that protects the paint. But also means dirt shouldn't stick to it easily.
If your van has any paint imperfections, the person doing it should polish the paint 1st, correct the paint work then add the ceramic coating.
Price can vary depending on your paintwork condition. Mine was in very good condition so was £350. Should last 2 years aslong as I wash it correctly.
This is a side shot from when I picked it up.

View attachment 89860
Seems a reasonable price, looks a good job.
How long do they need the van for?
 
Why no washing it for 7 days? Is rain a problem?
Curing time. Ideally shouldnt get wet, but isn't a problem. Excessive friction/pressure however isn't ideal.

It's only a couple of microns that it adds; but it's harder than lacquer meaning that light swirl marks are a little harder to get. It still wont save the paint being scratched though from anything that would normally scratch it to be fair.
 
Curing time. Ideally shouldnt get wet, but isn't a problem. Excessive friction/pressure however isn't ideal.

It's only a couple of microns that it adds; but it's harder than lacquer meaning that light swirl marks are a little harder to get. It still wont save the paint being scratched though from anything that would normally scratch it to be fair.
Correct. But I'm very lazy in washing any car so hopefully I can concentrate on travelling and not be embarrassed by my dirty van
 
Collapsible washing up bowl (for carrying dirty dishes to on site facilities). £5.99 on Amazon. Found our bucket to be too small.
 
Bought it mainly to transport our inflatable sup on vacation.

i-dmDTtSG-X4.jpg


i-DFc7BBQ-X3.jpg

i-59RDhqn-X3.jpg
 
Back
Top