What are you all up to
Comments
-
Yes that is the problem, we have just moved from a MH so got into the habit of short stays. Think we are going to have to get back into the swing of spending 5 days or so. Really don't like having to carry food and clothes in the car a bit of a pain packing and unpacking all the time. Never had to do it with any of our other caravans.
ET, yes we upgraded it, it gave 30 kg extra which didn't even cover the mover
OH said its a Coachman should have remembered they are heavy vans to start with. Just find it so crazy that there is so little personal allowance yet they cram the van with all these extras which just eat up your weight. How we are going to get on with a 3 month trip will be interesting. 
0 -
How we are going to get on with a 3 month trip will be interesting.
Probably not much different than 7 weeks in Scotland with three seasons clothes to carry
I think that our theoretical user payload is around 217kg - BMM (before motor mover)
0 -
Why not think about a roof box. That's what we used we we last towed and did extended trips abroad. It was handy for all sorts of things like the ground sheet, satellite dish, chairs etc.
David
0 -
Most caravan payloads these days seem to be pathetic, and totally unrealistic, another reason why we are hanging on to the van we have, which we had upgraded by 85kg, even though it already had quite a generous payload. And we are pretty much at our max weight......only the 2 of us in a 4 berth van.
Twin axles often can get a good upgrade, but we would prefer to go smaller were we to change vans, however there is no way we would manage with the miserable payloads you get these days.
A roofbox is one solution we have considered, but we do have a lot of space in the car, and a roofbox makes using multistorey carparks impossible, so we would not want to go down that route. It is however a bit of a carry on lugging stuff around in the car all the time.
0 -
Our old caravan had 190Kg available after a 50Kg. upgrade. Although a four berth van, we used it all just for the two of us, with heavy stuff like the awning going in the car. These modern vans with a 100 Kg allowance are ridiculous.
0 -
We upgraded our twin axle before delivery. In 'going away trim' we went to a weigbridge and we were only just within the upgraded weight with just two adults!!! Totally agree with KJ the load allowances are ridiculously low, we could never manage with a single axle I'm sure. We do not take books as we have Kindles, we do not have a satellite dish or bikes. I do take some food for a few days to get us started but that isn't unusual is it? Summer isn't too bad as clothing is lighter but Winter touring means more in car. I'm sure you will find a way to make it work Tammygirl.
0 -
Not the best of days. My aunt passed away, ironically on the same date as my father did 30+ years ago, yesterday. I received an email this morning from my cousin.
The funeral will be a large affair as she had at least 80+ living direct descendants, never mind the rest of us lot and friends.
0 -
Thanks all for your comments.
heddlo, yes I'm pretty sure we will get there in the end
DK, fitting a roof box is a possibility for the longer trips but not for things like chairs and groundsheets as we use them at most stops so would need them to be easy access. Would probably use it for spare bedding, towels, bike kit, and clothes for different seasons to which we would be travelling in. Would like not to have to resort to it though.
Kj, no we didn't not sure it would have helped really as it would just have depressed me from the start
6 years away and boy have caravans got mean with their payload.One of the problems is the amount of extra kit that is added to the caravan after the initial build. In our case dealer special so SP, Alarm, ATC, Mover between them that's 46 kg. The upper MTPLM is 1350 the MIRO was 1196 kg add on the 46 kg of extras, plus battery and gas bottle and you are down to around 83 kg for ALL your kit inside the van.
Looking across the makes they are all the same compared to 10 years ago, what is it that is so heavy now, that wasn't before.
0 -
Wherenext sorry to hear your news.
Tammygirl what can I say? Oh what fun - not. Why isn't this sort of information picked up on when new vans are reviewed? I won't answer that on the grounds I may incriminate myself 😉. No wonder there are more spot checks, there must be hundreds of vans 'overweight' if what I've seen coming out of them is anything to go by! And there's only 2 of you 😲.
Delighted to say my headache went completely before bedtime yesterday.
Lovely welcome again here, site full both nights! It was Quay Day yesterday so we went into town and wandered along. Lots of live bands/groups including one on a boat with the guitarist on the 'cockpit'. Stalls along the Quay, lots of extra places for cuppas and cakes. Then classic cars and a fantastic swing band again with stalls and a few things for the children on the recreation area. We watched the Gig races, tough going with a spring tide and quite choppy waters.
Much warmer today but still a crafty nip in the wind, very grey again! We took ourselves down to the start, almost alongside the campsite, just by the sluice, and watched the yachts. A couple of photos - not good quality as max zoom on phone wasn't enough really, of them returning. You can hardly tell the river from the sky colourwise😲 thankfully Wallesea Island adds some contrast.
Not yet seen the barn owl but there are recent pellets so it must still be about. Plenty of swifts and swallows, almost buzzing us! Havent seen any hares either, if the cloud has gone might be able to star gaze.
1 -
Bit of a sad day for us as we have finally sold our caravan, so after 40 years of caravanning we are no longer caravaners ! My back is not quite as bad as it was, but after struggling with a troublesome motor mover for the past 12 months, which made the the DCOS lose her enthusiasm for caravanning in general, it was time to give up. We have many happy memories of France each summer.
The one thing that I shan't miss is CT. What a wonderful thing it started as, a great way to swap stories and experiences. Sadly in more recent times in my humble opinion, it became the Denison of those who love to dissect the opinions of others, and proceed to try and disprove the opinions given. It became much less of a pleasure to use as a result.
I fully accept that those involved will have a contrary view, and that of course is their right. However. as a direct result of their open hostility I washed my hands of CT some time ago, and I suspect that I was not the only one. That anyone should be driven out for such a reason, I believe to be a great shame, because if properly used, CT has the potential to be great for both the members, and the CC itself.
But that is it now, I am tired of arguments on here, Enjoy the Lifestyle, for despite what I have said, we will undoubtedly miss it.
Best Wishes
TF
1 -
After a long day (the inspector was here seven hours) we are still certified Organic with The Soil Association, and Farm Assured with Red Tractor. Now to put all the paperwork away in its right places.
And meanwhile, we got up to the third water burst in a fortnight.
0 -
TF i have vague idea how you feel at watching your caravan go. We both felt a sense of sadness when we upgraded our faithful previous car of 14 years when we bought our new one 😢 Best wishes for the future however you choose to spend it. Please do drop by on here and give us an update from time to time.
Well done Goldie all your hard work has paid off again. Celebration time? Anyone for gin? Shame about your water supply, again, time to lobby for completely new pipes all the way 😉
0 -
Well done Goldie all your hard work has paid off again. Celebration time? Anyone for gin? Shame about your water supply, again, time to lobby for completely new pipes all the way 😉
I may have a small glass of Gin (just to settle my nerves you understand), but my husband is out at a meeting tonight so has to settle for a coffee when he gets there.
The mains water pipe is due for renewal in three years, but is very ancient and unstable. We’re going to do some serious lobbying of our MP and the NFU. United Utilities are being a bit more helpful now, as long as we get hold of the right person.
Meanwhile a contractor has just arrived to sow grass seeds, so our son and (I think) grandsons have gone down the fields to pick stones.
Back to my book and glass.
📗🍸
0 -
So sorry to hear your sad news WN. Also sorry to her about your elderly neighbour.
Sorry you have given up caravanning TF. In the main I only use this thread on CT and enjoy it as usually (and especially recently) it is just a nice friendly place to have a chat about our day to day activities. A bit like the sort of chat you would have with fellow caravanners on site really. Do keep in touch and drop by every so often to let us know how you are doing.
0 -
So sorry to hear your news, WN. Our thoughts go out to you & Mrs WN.
0 -
Bit of a sad day for us as we have finally sold our caravan, so after 40 years of caravanning we are no longer caravaners ! My back is not quite as bad as it was, but after struggling with a troublesome motor mover for the past 12 months, which made the the DCOS lose her enthusiasm for caravanning in general, it was time to give up. We have many happy memories of France each summer.
I dread that time TF. Best wishes.
Alan
0 -
Surely the van, as a dealer special, should still have its MIRO specified, and the stated user payload still be available to the user?
Anything else just does not seem reasonable! Mover I would accept as an extra on the weight front.
Seems a strange way of doing things.
83kg for bedding, crockery, food, toiletries and clothes is just rediculous!
0 -
Yes the figures were there but to be honest never really sat down and worked it out. Didn't realise things had changed so much in the 9/10 years since we last bought a caravan. The last van we had was a Lunar 7.4 m long and with a big payload. Oh well you live and learn we will make it work for us just have to take less food and put a bag of clothes in the car. Packed the car this afternoon a day early but didn't want anymore surprises
everything in and still a bit of room, so no need for a roof box. Come the Springtime, we won't take an awning and might even drop off the washing machine in favour of clothes and food I thought vans were supposed to be getting lighter so modern cars could tow them, seems the other way round. Goodness knows what families do, maybe that's why so many have twin axles they have to, to get the payload. Crazy world, you can have a PVC with a massive payload but no where to put things or a caravan with loads of room but no payload.
0 -
I think it is down to cars getting lighter, caravan manufacturers are cutting the payload to the bare minimum so the MTPLM is within what more cars can tow.
Possibly understandable, but just not sensible. They need to make vans lighter to start with. What is the point of a van where you cannot carry what you need for your holiday!
0 -
I think it is down to cars getting lighter, caravan manufacturers are cutting the payload to the bare minimum so the MTPLM is within what more cars can tow
Maybe K, but there are many 4 berth caravans with a MPTLM around 1450 kg with a possible 50kg upgrade. If the possible upgrade was 100lg instead that would not affect the range of cars able to tow.
We upgraded our MPTLM by 50kg to gibe theoretical 217kg payload. I would have happily increased it more.
0 -
Is not the reason for the low payload down to the fact that some years ago they included essential habitation equipment(gas bottles,spare wheel, battery etc) in the base weight of the caravan which left a lower (personal effects) payload?
The problem with having a higher payload is I suspect a bit more complicated in that it would require an up rated chassis which would not only add to the price but might put the maximum weight beyond the average family car? When we caravanned we had to make quite a lot of use of the car to carry equipment in order keep within the limits on the caravan.
David
0 -
The problem with having a higher payload is I suspect a bit more complicated in that it would require an up rated chassis which would not only add to the price but might put the maximum weight beyond the average family car?
Cost might be an issue but I really wonder what the cost differential would be?
.
0 -
If it is as you say the gas bottle and battery are included in the base weight then I am mystified as to where the weight has come from ie the meagre items we have in the van.
We have the smallest and lightest of the Coachman range with a top weight of 1350 kg, personal payload 123 kg, (then take off extras) the biggest and heaviest of the dealer special range is 1800 kg giving a personal payload of 170 kg if you take off the extras that will leave 124 kg personal allowance for 5 people. Not a great deal. Vans needed to be made lighter for modern cars yes, but they need to be made strong enough to carry the items that a van needs to carry.
They are classed as touring vans, the idea to my mind is that you pack them with your belongings for the holiday. To me that means essential items like clothes, toiletries, cutlery, crockery, saucepans and food.
Extras in my eyes are TV, books, awning, chairs, tool box, wheel lock, hitch lock. All the extras fine put in the car, the payload of the caravan should be sufficient for the essential items. Folk should not have to carry clothes and general food in the car (tins yes)
The tow car has more than enough capability to tow the heaviest of these vans but we didn't want an 8m van for touring just for the 2 of us, why would we.
0
