Frozen caravan water problems

N1805

What did the report say? I hope no further postings here isn't a bad sign? It all seemed very promising!

Sorry to keep you dangling thus! (Sudden arrival of other stuff needing even more urgent attention.)

We got it    Delighted to say that we're now the proud owners of one  Rapido Club32T Evolution, only 16 years old.

The engineer's report hignlighted the need for replacement tyres - they were in excellent condition, just old: the dealer replaced all three. It mentioned wear on the pads in the Alko hitch - he replaced those too. By now the engineer's paid for himself!
(Excellent friendly man called Dale Leach, in the CC scheme, in Bedworth. ) [Moderators: while naming and shaming isn't done lightly, I take it naming and praising here is OK?!]

He highlighted three small areas of damp which the dealer's own engineer hadn't remarked on, but our engineer phoned me and said that these were so small, and the test had been done following that most torrentially wet couple of days, that he felt the van was
still a very good buy, and all that was needed for now was to check them again next year.

So we shook hands, paid, and collected it, and it's now sitting on our drive, waiting for our first trip together.

There are two small matters of accessories promised still to be sorted, but I'm confident they will be. And the dealer voluntarily extended the warranty, so that it gives us a chance to test things out in Spring and early summer still under its cover. (Once
he's sorted those, I'm quite happy to name him here, too.)

Meanwhile, following my OP here, I have drained all the fluids I can from the van!

And we're grateful indeed for all the help given here and in a couple of similar forums - it made a real difference in what we knew, which gave us confidence when talking to the dealer, almost as if we really knew what we were talking about!!

Now I've got new batteries for my camera I'll try & get a photo or two to post, though still sorting out the other matters which distracted me earlier.

Best wishes to all,

Richard

Certainly sounds like you are a happy new owner & had a good experience when buying from your dealer.  Hope you don't have to leave it too long before starting to enjoy your new purchase.

Hedgehurst

Great news congratulations. Sad to hear you've drained it down, it's not too late to refill and try on your drive.

  I wasn't going to drain it, but with the extremely cold nights recently didn't want to risk any burst pipes even before we'd had the chance to play. We're involved in musical and storytelling events, and it's That season of the year, so between rehearsing
and doing things, unlikely to have too many chances of a trial before Christmas now. I can always learn how to refill what I drained

KjellNN

Sounds good, and you are wise to take precautions, keep us updated!

Hedgehurst

Loving the way that everyone, from you kind people here, to our neighbours, and even a passing regular dog walker, seem so pleased, and convinced we've done the right thing and will greatly enjoy it!


I spent a happy afternoon washing it fairly thoroughly, then found it was getting too dark & moist in the air for more than the nose end to get waxed. Still forgot to take a photo!

nelliethehooker

Glad to hear that you're happy with you van. Have you any idea when you'll be able to get away to try it out properly?

Hedgehurst

There's a Rapido Club gathering in March, only about 50 miles or so from where we live. This seems like a good event to take it to, when there will be others with experience of these nicely idiosyncratic caravans. We may well try a night or two before then on our own -  the temptation may just get too strong! It will depend on weather, and other commitments too. I don't know that we'll be regular Rally-ers, but we've appreciated help given by the club organisers when deciding on our purchase; it'll be nice to make some contacts, and also a fun way of kicking off our new mode of holidaying.

Then we plan to go for the Scotland 500 route, or something close to it, late in April. Other plans are in mind to follow... we'll not have to forget that we have a life at home with commitments here too!

nelliethehooker

Your plan looks like a good idea. There should be plenty to help on the rally.

P J Duffy

I stupidly delayed draining the water tank and toilet flush systems thinking I might be hesading off for a late trip in November. However, a significant and sudden drop in temperature before Christmas froze water in both systems and I couldn`t drain them obviously. Does anyone have advice how I can proceed and check for leaks as I need to do that before jeading off in a few weeks.

I have drained them now a few weeks ago but havent been able to test the systems out for any leaks or frost damage. 

Any advice or help gratefully received. I`m a club member. 

Cornersteady

I would do a full test, fill up the hot water tank (and any others) get all the pipes and taps full of water and under 'pressure' for a few hours and/or overnight/full day at home or storage before going away. Sit inside constantly checking everything under the sinks and taps, toilet... for quite a while,  then go in every 5/10/15... minutes from then on. If there is a leak you should then spot it before it does any damage.

If you didn't shake the water pump that goes into your aquaroll that might have broken - ours did even though we had drained everything.

Hope all goes well.

  

ABM

BLIMEY  !! ?? Where was this thread hiding over the last few years then  ??

watto64

Assuming you have the pressurised system (most common), If you have developed a major leak then you may find your water pump will  be cycling on and off when the taps are closed as it will be trying to pressurise the system.

We found this out when the external feed pipe from the barrel had disconnected inside the whale external connector, the pump was quite happy running away as the pressure switch in the inlet gave a demand signal. Some of the water got inside the caravan through the poorly designed non-water tight connector housing in the caravan wall..

We always switch off the pump when away from the caravan when on site.

Hedgehurst

As someone said, "Blimey, where's this thread been hiding these years?!" 

I confess I've not just now read all the posts between, but am happy to report, after my original query, that we bought our caravan, it's still going strong, has been round Scotland, the Outer Hebrides, France, and hopes to  head to France again later this year. And the water system hasn't frozen yet, though I have been draining it down during frozen winters.

But I hope the other related questions which arose have been sorted!