New to Motor Caravanning and camping etc etc
I have so many questions I dont know where to start. My vehicle A Bailey Autograph 765 is kept in storage having purchased in March. I have been away 6 times so batteries I am sure are ok but I wonder for the winter. We will use it I am sure once every month
or to but I have a couple of concerns.
1. I have been told that I need to drain the system which I assume is the Alde central heating so that it doesnt freeze so do I drain and then refill every time I go ?
2. If used infrequently during winter should I have solar panels fitted and which ones are recommended ?
3. Without wishing to sound daft. If when I go to France for a couple of weeks I use the vehicle radio on a daily basis would the EHU recharge the vehicle battery ?
I have lots more questions but I think that is enough for now 
Comments
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I have a Bailey Motorhome but pre Alde heating. I thought the Alde heating had some kind of anti freeze added for winter use? You would certainly drain down the normal water system but whether that also applies to the heating I don't know, but someone will!!!
The cab battery is charged whilst the engine is running ,of course, but not charged by EHU on Baileys, but you can fit a device called a Battery Master (I am sure other brands are avaialable) which will divert excess charge from the leisure battery whilst
on EHU.David
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Each time I have left a site I have parked over the grey waste drain and open up all taps inside the motorhome as well as the grey waste outlet so that all the water has been drained. Firstly do I need to do this and secondly would that suffice for the
winter drainage to prevent freezing. I have now purchased a WasteMaster so that I can set it up to drain on a daily basis. Any comments would be apreciated as I am on a steep learning curve0 -
I have a Bailey Motorhome but pre Alde heating. I thought the Alde heating had some kind of anti freeze added for winter use? You would certainly drain down the normal water system but whether that also applies to the heating I don't know, but someone will!!!
The cab battery is charged whilst the engine is running ,of course, but not charged by EHU on Baileys, but you can fit a device called a Battery Master (I am sure other brands are avaialable) which will divert excess charge from the leisure battery whilst
on EHU.David
of course, it depends on how the radio is wired. obviously, before the Peugeot Boxer became a Bailey MH, it would have been connected to the cab (only) battery....
but the last two vans i have owned, have had the cab radi wired into the leisure batteries, which makes far more sense...
it also negates the 'only on for 20 mins before switching off' syndrome which now 'enhances' modern vans...specifically to stop drain on the cab battery.
our pals have a Peugeot Autocruise and the radi goes off every 20 mins....
if it were connected to the leisure battery, then the EHU would replace any charge lost....of not, this would be an easy change to make by any dealer.
if you were considering a Battery Master, as David suggests (which is a good idea as its always good to have the cab battery fully charged) then perhaps they could swap the radio power source at the same time....
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No need to drain fresh water every time you move site, unless you are taking it back to the storage. Waste water in the UK we tend to empty over the MVP when leaving a site. If we are on a CL we ask the owner what they prefer, some say put it in the hedgerow
others ask for it to go down a drain, if its the first we have a hose that we fit to the drain tap and put the other end in the hedgerow. If it s to go down a drain then we use a 20l container and empty it when about half full.Winter drain down is slightly more to it. Drain and flush the waste tank, drain fresh tank, not forgetting the toilet tank. Then open the drain tap for the boiler and dump that water aswell, open all the taps to drain them and if possible try and blow through
them to get as much out as you can (you can buy a device to do that) I don't know about the Alde as like DK we have the Bailey Approach first edition, but I think he's right in that it has an anti freeze solution in it, but best to confirm.0 -
Each time I have left a site I have parked over the grey waste drain and open up all taps inside the motorhome as well as the grey waste outlet so that all the water has been drained. Firstly do I need to do this and secondly would that suffice for the winter drainage to prevent freezing. I have now purchased a WasteMaster so that I can set it up to drain on a daily basis. Any comments would be apreciated as I am on a steep learning curve
Neil
One problem with Bailey motorhome is that they don't use a very large bore waste pipe so draining takes an age with a full waste tank and even longer if you leave the taps running. An easier way to empty the fresh water tank is to remove the drain plug in the tank which can be accessed via the large red screw cover under the floor. Obviously it depend where you are emptying but it would speed things up. Fortunately I can empty mine at home. Decanting into a Wastemaster would speed up the whole process.
David
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Aldi Heating System has Antifreeze in it so you can use it during he winter.
Draining the grey water. We just pull over a drain in the road and pull the handle. Luckily ours has large bore pipe so only takes a few minutes to dump 60 + Ltrs
Vehicle battery will go flat if left for long periods. The onboard computers are still working waiting for you to press the button to get in. Fiat tried to solve the problem by fitting an extra position on the lock with a stop that you had to press. It just cut the battery. Only problem was you had to set everything again. Clock / Date Time etc. So you will need a Solar Panel but the Solar Controller should be one that charges BOTH Batteries. You can tell the difference they have a picture of TWO Batteries on the front. They are set to charge the Habitation Battery and then the Vehicle Battery.
Radio can be run off both batteries by using TWO large Diodes. You can get these from Maplins.
Vehicle Battery + ------->|------- Radio 12v +
Habbitation Battery + --------->|-------- Radio 12v +
The diode will stop power flowing between the batteries and the radio will draw power from either battery.
You can fit your own solar panel. Don't use a MH Dealer they charge an arm and a leg.
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Draining the grey water. We just pull over a drain in the road and pull the handle.
Q4, do you mean the drain on the site or any gullly in the public highway - if it is the latter you have more than likely just dumped all your grey waste into the local stream!
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Think the farmers would polute the water courses more than we would. Not much in grey waste apart from water and a bit of soap. Hardly ever use the sites apart from if we fancy a BBQ. We are pretty much self sufficient. We used to enjoy the cheap no frills
CL Sites but they are becomming a thing of the past. They have realised that putting in electric can be a bit of an earner. Personally I wish we didn't have to pay for it if we didn't want it.0 -
We fitted a solar panel last October on our 2014 Chausson and wouldn't be without it. It is set up to charge both the leisure and the veicle battery so, even if the van is laid up for a bit, for us normally only in Jan and Feb, you don't have to worry. It
also frees you from needing EHU (we don't have a TV so don't need 240v for anything) . In fact, looking back, we haven't used EHU for the last six months and the batteries are both good. It does open up far more places to stop overnight, either on CLs without
EHU or indeed, a bit of crafty wild camping.0 -
You can still find CLs without electric who charge accordingly. There are others who will knock a bit off if you don't plug in although I think they are technically breaking a law that says no one is allowed to resell electricity therfore it shouldn't be seperated from the site charge
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After reading the info from Q4 I was amazed that he can right and tell other members what he does with his waste water, I refer to "pull over a drain in the road"! Does he not realise that this is illegal and also gives motrhomers a bad name, thereby failing
to allow motorhomers to stop over night on car parks and areas. Shame on you Q4.0 -
Emptying your grey water into a drain in the road is no different to those who wash their cars on the drive and let the water run into the street drains. The penalty for both is a fine but the Environment Agency is more interested in targeting the big polluters
such as the car washes that do not dispose of their waste water within the law. Quite a few motorhomers and caravanners empty their waste water into hedges - again no different.0
