Newbie from Bristol
Hello Everyone
We are new to the Caravan club and new to caravaning
we pick up our Baileys Unicorn Cadiz sometime in February
we are very excited and tiny bit apprehensive as we have never even stayed in a caravan so we haven't got a clue how things work!
hubby has been on a manoeuvring course and I had a little 15 taster at the NEC
off to look at what to do about insurance soon.
we have bought all of our bedding and we have bought a starter pack too
Going to have a good look around the forum to find out if there is anything else we should know about or buy.
we have been passionate campers under canvas until now but we think we have reached an age when I nice warm bathroom is appealing!
Comments
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Hello, JSD, and welcome.
Beware of buying too much until you've tried the van and discovered what is essential. I'm sure we've all bought useful looking things that have never seen the light of day again.
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Hi jennysheepdog, and a warm welcome to Club Together 2 the Caravan Club. Glad you have found us here and delighted to hear of your new purchase. I agree with Tinwheeler: don't buy too much stuff until you know what you want. Straightforward bedding and kitchen equipment are the main things. You will also need a fresh water container (Aquaroll) and a waste water collectors container (wastemaster). Don't forget the toilet chemical, and a container to fill up the toilet flush tank.
I always think it is a good idea to make your first nights stay on site fairly close to home. That way if you forget anything you can quickly pop back to get it.
Make detailed lists of the equipment you need - it will serve as a useful check list when you go out for trips in the van.
Do post any questions in the appropriate section on here.
All the best.
David
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Hello Jennysheepdog and welcome to Club Together. Good advice above.
Feel free to ask any questions.
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Hi and welcome jennysheepdog, have to agree it's a good idea to stay somewhere local for your first trip, we started out taking items from home in the van and then bit by bit bought the items we found we needed.
Hope all goes well and you enjoy your new caravan.
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If your first trip is to a club site let the wardens know it is your first time in a caravan and I am sure if they have time they will help you. If not do not be afraid to ask others for help as most of us are only too happy to assist.
You will find several videos showing how to site a caravan if you check u tube.
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Hello & welcome to both the Caravan Club & to CT
as well. If you have a browse thro "Introductions" to see
the posts that other newbies have received you will find
lots of them all saying the same sensible things !!
The point of the first run-out being close to home means
that you don't have to take a lot with you, but anything
that you really do need is only a short drive away !
Whatever you take, don't take or discard remember
the Sense Of Humour -- you will generate a few giggles
from all those "Old 'Uns" watching you & remembering
that they made exactly the same mistakes back when
Moses was a New Member
!!Brian A B M
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Hello, and welcome to the world of caravanning. Good advice above. Just remember, we were all beginners once, and it's OK to ask people on site for help. I recall having problems getting the lights on, getting water through the taps, and all sorts of things which, invariably, are easily sorted out by someone with a bit of experience. Soon you'll be someone with that experience to help someone new. Have a great time in your new holiday home.
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What a lovely thing.
we are looking forward to it. We always help tent campers and I do hope caravanners help us. Very excited now
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Hi Jennysheepdog,
Welcome to the club.
We have just returned from Baltic Wharf Caravan Club Site in Bristol.
It's a small site and would be great for your first caravanning trip.
Why don't you call in and introduce yourselves to the wardens, the site is very busy, but I'm sure they would be able to find you a pitch for a couple of nights.
Enjoy your new venture.
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A warm welcome to The Caravan Club and Club Together jennysheepdog. We have some great advice for beginners on the website but as you can see, other members are also always happy to help. Happy 'vanning!
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Hello Jennysheepdog and another warm welcome to the club and Club Together. We echo all the sentiments above and there is no better way of finding out than actually trying your new 'van!! \if you can store it at home, then why not have a practice at home to try out everything before you leave! Best bit of advice is don't be afraid to ask no matter how trivial the problem!! We are off to Baltic Wharf in Bristol this weekend and this would be an ideal site for you except that it is a small site and very popular!! Good Luck and have fun!!
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Stop tormenting the poor soul. Everyone knows you need about a hundred years seniority and a slush fund of a couple of million to stand a chance of a pitch at Baltic Wharf. Welcome to CT, anyway.
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I can virtually see Baltic Wharf from my flat! It is somewhere we will book into when we have family down. We will moving into the caravan and let the family have the fflat when booked our first campsite in Broadway. It is a few miles away from the place we are buying the van from. We called in there today and had a chat with the wardens and told them we were clueless newbies. They were lovely, well actually I think they were assistant wardens. The caravan went into production last week. Exciting
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If they will accept the caravan for warranty work, Chipping Sodbury Caravans will be an excellent dealer to get the service and warranty work done.
There are also some fabulous sites not too far from Bristol. We can recommend the site at Cirencester.
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Welcome, jennythesheepdog. Like yourselves we also have a Bailey Unicorn caravan which we purchased in 2015. We purchased it from Chipping Sodbury Caravans. I can imagine you must be looking forward to the handover. It may seem a lot to take in at first but it soon all falls into place. You'll be able to look forward to visiting many places. Good luck with it!
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I would suggest that you get a notebook and take it with you on the handover. You can then make notes in your own way to help you remember what was said during the handover. There can be a lot to try and remember and the salesman may give you tips that are slightly different to the way it's in the hand book. Good Luck
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