New motorhome - what do I need?
Comments
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If you want to avoid that sinking feeling don't forget to buy some mats to put under the wheels. These will help you get off the pitch in adverse weather conditions.
When on grass we put mats under the levelling blocks, it does make a difference.
Our "must haves" are.... Three lengths of water pipe(5,10,15mtr plus inter conector) selection of connectors (never any on the taps), 15m and25mEHU, levelling blocks and External Silver Screens.....Keep your hands in your pocket until you have a few trips
under your belt. 'm sure we all have stuff in the garrage that was bought on a whim, before buying ask yourself..."do we really need it?" I'm sure you know the old saying , if you buy rubbish you buy twice ? This is particularly important with external screens,
a friend of mine bought cheapo screens which fell to bits after a couple of uses. Internel screens do give an awful lot of condensation... Enjoy, and don't be afraid to ask questions if in any doubt....
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CAn anyone advise what the difference between the long screen covers are and the regular ones? Is the long ones covering the air vents at the bottom of the windscreen?
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The long screen covers the air intake - it stops water getting in to the engine area and cuts down draughts in to the cab.
If you have the Screen cover fitted on a cold night, make sure you turn the heater control to Recirculation as it stops fresh and cold air getting in.
We bought a screen cover from Taylor - not cheap but good quality.
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Re levelling blocks, good idea to have some, the "cheese wedge" ones are fine, as are the milenco stepped ones. Some people make their own from light wood, I think DK has a photo he might post?
The other thing is, if you intend touring in the Winter months, (and to be honest with our uncertain Summer weather) then if you choose to widen your site options some quality waffle boards for placing under drive wheels on grass pitches will keep you out of trouble! These are available from 4x4 websites and might be called bridging boards. Basically they are very strong plastic mesh boards, around a metre in length, that you drive onto to keep drive wheels from spinning and getting stuck. If you only intend using HS pitches, Club Site type sites, then you won't need these. Sorry I can't post a picture of ours.
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Also, screen covers are quite bulky and can be wet after a night in the rain.
You have to find somewhere to store it whilst travelling!
Silver Screens come in a storage bag, a quick shake to get most of the water off, roll up and put bag in the bag, no problem.
I store mine on the bed because it is the first thing and sometimes the only thing that comes out at every stop. You could equally keep it in a shower compartment if you have one.
peedee
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I roll ours up while still on the screen, using a microfibre cloth to dry as I roll if wet, then put in bag and do as pd does, if it's throwing it down then it is stored in the shower....
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My list of essentials:-
Level ramps
EHU connectors and a spare EHU cable
Hose for fesh water
10 lire mineral water container for short stay waste
Decent heavy duty tent pegs and storm straps
Heavy duty material ground sheet
Small set of manual steadies if staying more than 1 night
If stopping on grass, a big set of traction matsIf I'm on my own or just with my son setup is basically a 2 min excercise, stop roughly level, turn gas on , make a brew!!
Biggest silly thing to check? Does the towing eye actually fit!!!! Check it before you need it!!!
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Well....we are back!!
Thank you to everyone who suggested the "must have's" - in the end we bought(and remember we already have some stuff from the caravan):
The grippy mats for under the wheel
The grippy stuff for the cupboards - £1 per roll - Poundland
Storage plastic crates for the cupboards - £1 each
Things we already had and used- gas bottle, EHU cable, aerial booster (but completely pointless as our built in drop down tv is brand new and Bolton Abbey have analogue TV!!) levelling blocks (and used them, thank you for the nose weight up/down reply).
Things we definitely need to get:
Didn't buy the hose as we fllled up at the dealer and wanted to make sure we go the right one but obviously that's a must
Sticky out of the window towel airer - ours would have taken the paint off in seconds - think we need a new one!I think that was it.We had the BEST weekend - I absolutely love the motorhome, we were off this morning in ten mins - the loo carttridge and the waste water disposal. I have jsut booked Hebden Bridge and am now going to work out great sites near villages/towns - we do like a pub!One extra question - I saw some M/H'ers had put chocks behind the wheels when they'd driven on to the first ramp - anyone comment about this?0 -
Lovely to read your reply kdee, it's great when someone says thankyou! Pleased you had a good time.
Chocks, yes it's sensible to use them, we keep them to hand, it's a belt and braces job and worth doing. Good luck with the next trip
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One extra question - I saw some M/H'ers had put chocks behind the wheels when they'd driven on to the first ramp - anyone comment about this?
I usually chock rear wheels if the van is on levelling blocks at the front or two on one rear wheel if blocks are on two wheels on one side.
This has probably more to do with keeping my OH happy then reducing a risk because with the handbrake up tight and the van in gear its unlikely to move.
Incidentally its difficult to level where level if off in two planes. Sometimes moving forward or back or a little to the side can help (with practice you will get better at "reading" the pitch) but you can put one block further back than the other
to get less lift on the furthest forward side0 -
Glad you had a good time kdee, so easy with a MH isn't it? We set off on our next big tour soon, looking forward to it, but looking forward most to just finding a quiet spot adjacent to a beach, and using our MH as our own beach cafe! Let the good times
roll!
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In same boat here, first trip took nothing extra other than a 5 M water hose and selection of fitting, only things we have had to add are another 5 M of hose and fitting to join Easer to you the 5 M if it will reach then add on the other 5 if to short so
far 10M seem to be more than enough.Also added a watering can to keep tank topped up after a few days, we did find the water tank filling up a bit faster than expected (suspect 120L of water on tap make us a bit more wasteful).
We have started to use the old waste master though; we plan to move of every 3 to 4 days Max sometimes less but found we were getting close to full by then. We find it easy to use the waste master and empty every morning, just our choice.
Other than that everything much the same except we are ready to move on in 5 minutes and on our way to explore somewhere else.
Must also say so far absolutely no regrets at the change form caravan to motor home, we stay on site close to public transport, it is heaven to let the bus or train drive have the hassle of getting us there and not havening to park, wished we had done it
2 years ago when we replaced our van to another van.0 -
Just got back from our second European trip since buying the AS in March. Altogether 7 weeks and about 4000 miles - France, Switzerland and Italy. I don't think we were ever completely pitched level once but we have got used to it. Funniest thing in Switzerland
near Zermatt we were on a lovely site that had no level ground at all. One Motorhome moved three times and still wasn't level. Funny to watch experienced motorhomes mess around so much! Biggest problem with not being level is that the bathroom and wardrobe
doors can keep swinging open so you bump into them. All part of the fun.Intersting how people use differing amounts of water. I reckon 100 litres last at least a week and the 70 litre waste even longer (but it smells so you need to empty more frequently). We wash up in the MH but use site showers.
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re: water usage, I'd agree that when using site showers, we get by on around 10 ltr a day....shower in the van and this will double to 20 ltr...
with 110 ltr tank, thats either 11 days or 5/6 days without the need to fill.....100 ltr waste easily matches either scenario.
some get by on even less and some seem to need around 40 ltr a day.....it must just be flushed down the sink
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but you can put one block further back than the other to get less lift on the furthest forward side
Just noticed this is wrong way round if you are driving onto blocks.
Van will hit and start to lift when it reaches first block i.e furthest back.
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Getting the van level is one of the niggling problems with a M/H (although some don't bother too much.) We usually have to say "near enough" when it's not easy, gravel or mud can sometimes be difficult due to the slip element. The chocks are useful just
to help further movement.0
