 | Home > Camping, Caravanning and Holidays > Caravanning thread |
 
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. Im not a happy boy!!
| bm52 Member Since: 04 Apr 2010 Location: Kent Posts: 2189   
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My solution to this is a good old compromise. Somehow the Defender booked it's own EuroTunnel tickets, no idea how 
Unfortunately i now how to cruise down to southern France where it is bound to be warmer and then trundle around the Rhone Alps, Cevenne and back through the Central Massif. well someone has to! BM52 |
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13th Feb 2012 10:29pm |
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| WarPig Member Since: 04 Dec 2009 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1748  
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Good idea  Though Id need a bit more than a week off work I guess  |
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14th Feb 2012 9:56pm |
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| rossy Member Since: 29 Nov 2010 Location: Co. Roscommon Posts: 1296  
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just back from our first week caravanning with the Defender and while I expected it to be good tow car I didn't think it would be this brilliant.
Hitching up with the back door open sounded like a pain but in practice its dead simple and because the hitch has to be higher than with other cars I've owned its easy to manoevre ie you don't have to position the towball exactly under the hitch in order to hook up properly. On the road it accelerates almost at the same rate as when driving solo (with 1.4 tonnes anyway). On a good road staying in 6th gear is the norm - once your at 2000rpm its pretty unstoppable on any incline. Noseweight isn't so much of an issue as the stiff rear suspension means there's no bucking and bouncing. With previous vehicles I would spend a considerable amount of time distributing, measuring and redistributing stuff to get it just right as the consequences would be very noticable on the road. With this combo around 100kg noseweight (easily achieved by chucking most of the gear to the front of the van) is just right. Finally the effect on fuel consumption is quite slight - about 2mpg in my case. With other towcars it would nearly be half the solo average. In all you really do forget the caravan is there - which is a cliche often inaccurately applied to other outfits but in my experience towing with a Mazda6, Mondeo and a Mitsubishi Outlander (all regarded as good towcars) you bloody well knew the caravan was there and it was white knuckle most of the time ! |
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18th Feb 2012 10:39am |
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| JSG Member Since: 12 Jul 2007 Location: Berkshire Posts: 2412 
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I've towed heavey trailers in the past but never towed a caravan before. I was expecting the first trip to be on the way pack from collecting ours in two weeks but I signed up for a free Caravan session at the ExCel show yesterday.
Went out with an 'instructor' around Docklands and got on fine - just a shame I was driving a Nissan Entrail (they did have Navaras but only auto)  John
http://www.hampshire4x4response.co.uk 2011 Tdci 110 CSW XS |
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18th Feb 2012 12:28pm |
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| WarPig Member Since: 04 Dec 2009 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1748
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ginjez, just been to have a look at this site and have booked for this weekend. Im not a member of the C&CC so I have to pay the higher non member rates  . Certainly looks a nice site though, and it has amazing reviews. Gunna take our bikes as the park opposite looks ideal for a bit of cycling
Thanks for the recommendation |
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27th Feb 2012 1:51pm |
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| rossy Member Since: 29 Nov 2010 Location: Co. Roscommon Posts: 1296
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wow just noticed this is now a separate category.
Thanks Warpig for starting the thread and thanks Martin for making it happen ! |
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1st Mar 2012 7:35pm |
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| WarPig Member Since: 04 Dec 2009 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1748
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Yes, big thanks to Martin
I thought I was being a little cheeky asking him to create one, but hes 'come up trumps' as they say around my parts .
Would be nice to see different threads appear concerning all aspects of caravanning/camping/sites/tips etc |
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1st Mar 2012 7:50pm |
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| JSG Member Since: 12 Jul 2007 Location: Berkshire Posts: 2412
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We should be collecting ours this weekend
John
http://www.hampshire4x4response.co.uk 2011 Tdci 110 CSW XS |
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1st Mar 2012 11:11pm |
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| BruceT Member Since: 01 Nov 2010 Location: South Africa Posts: 518 
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I would like to post some pictures of my rig in areas where we travel in Southern Africa, but dont know how to post pictures. Can someone help me please?
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2nd Mar 2012 7:10am |
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| BruceT Member Since: 01 Nov 2010 Location: South Africa Posts: 518
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Think Ive got it, I hope this works:
These pictures are taken in Botswana where you camp in the wild on what is called a cut line. Sometimes there are fences sometimes not and you need to be careful of predators in some areas. The caravan although very heavy is quite narrow so no need to extend the mirrors thank goodness as they would get knocked off. Not sure if you get these in Europe but they are common with the off road travellers in South Africa although I think off road trailers are more populer. 
Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  |
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2nd Mar 2012 8:26am |
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513 
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We've just picked up the metal man cave - a bailey pegasus.
I too bought the Pro-tec cover. Very easy to fit. The Defender shrugs off the weight (although I still get slightly freaked out by the width). A whole new excuse for me to buy kit! Excellent One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS
+ New Defender 110 First Edition |
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2nd Mar 2012 8:34pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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I know what you mean. We went from an Avondale Landranger to a Pegasus just over a year ago, and the extra width first time I towed it was quite a surprise
 Does make for a nice and roomy interior though  Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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2nd Mar 2012 9:27pm |
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| WarPig Member Since: 04 Dec 2009 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1748
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Dont forget, we need photos of your Defender & Pegasus
Just had to cut our caravanning weekend to Teverrsal Camsite short due to a flood in the caravan  . Pitched up last night in the dark, then woke up this morning with no water in the taps, Aquaroll was still full but noticed water gushing out of the back end of the van!!
Followed the leak back to the bathroom sink where one of the push fit connectors on the water pipe had broke, water spraying everywhere. Packed up and came home so I could fix it. Had to forgo tonights pitch fee as couldnt get a refund. So £50 for a wasted wet weekend. Not a good start to the season |
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3rd Mar 2012 9:13pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443 
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Must admit I used to be paranoid with the presure system on our last caravan especially after seeing a caravan being pitched next to us a few years ago. The people were new to caravaning and a bloke from the dealers had come out to advise them, what great service I thought
Next morning there was such a commotion from next door, a joint on the plumbing had sprung open and activated the pump and emptied a full aquaroll inside the caravan 
I only turned the pump circuit on when there was a need to use the taps, my excuse was that it saved me trips to the water point as my kids were allways wasting water |
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3rd Mar 2012 9:30pm |
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