Motorhome Hire - Funny Story
Two hours from Calais we pulled in to an Autoroute Aire behind a rather nice Bailey Autograph rented by a young couple with two toddlers. As we were about to move on the guy hurried over to me and asked whether we could help as they had an electrical problem with the motorhome. Having checked that the main control panel was switched on I asked what the problem was. “The electric kettle doesn’t work” said his wife. I tried to briefly explain why so she asked what she should do to make coffee when touring. “I guess” she said, “we would have to use the gas kettle”?
Not much of a handover I thought but it has made me chuckle for the past fortnight.
Comments
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I do worry!!!I have had a similar query with a touring caravan microwave!!!
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Despite the humour, I do find it quite worrying that hired vans seem to be taken out by people without the first idea about vanning and who are given very little information or instruction.
I've heard a few site wardens despairing at antics such as trying to empty the cassette into a grey water drain or blocking a site road to use the ordinary service point. I reckon there’s many a hired van returned without the hot water/heating having been used because the controls aren't understood.
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It's not just those who hire them! Route out of Rowntree Park was blocked to everyone by a new caravan owner who was having trouble hitching up. He'd worked out how to get off pitch with his little remote control for the mover, but was not getting the hitch up right. One or two politely offered assistance, but no he got a touch defensive and wanted to do it himself. This being being Yorkshire, it wasn't too long before the queue got fed up and there was a cry of "just move the ******* thing!"
Total chaos for ten minutes. I bet he's practised at home now though!
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OMG! That’s a perfect example of what we're saying.
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A bit like the on hire motor caravan who asked a warden if he knew how to turn the red light off on his cassette toilet(he thought it was a fault)as it had been on for a few days, when they had been at a festival and had stopped for one night at a club site on their way back and had noticed it was not flushing away very well
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Having recently gone through a really comprehensive handover of my new caravan I wondered how on earth newbies manage from scratch. I have only been through 3 handovers in the last 10 years or so before that it was a question of working it out which is a good way of learning the basics of not the sophistication of modern vans. I should have taken notes!
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The last site we were on had a queue of half dozen units trying to pass the toilet block while a halfwit in his motor home had decided that it was the ideal spot to detach his Smart & leave it bang in the middle of the road while he dealt with his motorhomes water/grey waste. He didn't look like a new starter ....
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Not just hire firms at fault, even members of the same family. A young lady saw me filling my aquaroll, when we were at Malvern in August, and came over to ask if that was where you put the fresh water. Turned out she was in her brothers van with her two young daughters, which he had towed to site, set up and left.
She said, we only arrived last night and the taps have already run dry. I explained you have to be a lot more careful than at home and particularly watch the kids don't leave the tap on.
When I went to empty the waste master, she was getting fresh water. She asked if the wastemaster was for the toilet. I explained what it was for, told her about the cassette she would find behind the little square door in her van and not to empty it down this drain but in the room alongside. He had at least mentioned about charging it with fluid, but wether that would have gone in the wastemaster or cassette, if she had not talked to me, is unknown.
Perhaps she just did not listen when her brother explained it, but it does make you wonder.
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I wonder if there is a "check list"or instruction sheet given to Newbie highrers when getting the vehicles ,or is it that like most people even when in doubt still do not question or read information,when given ,its like( i understand) when arriving on club sites the site staff will normally advise site information and give out paper work with it on, but the majority of people will still go back to the office and ask although most questions asked are already "advised" by the information given on arrival
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Steve
I think your post explains a lot. I still remember when we had our handover for our motorhome at White Arches. Mike the guy who dealt with the sale gave us a very comprehensive handover and allowed plenty of time to ask questions. Now bearing in mind we had previously caravanned for 30 years by the time we had got home a lot of what we were told had not completely sunk in. We had the advantage of the van sitting in the back garden so we had plenty of time to work things out. The poor souls who either hire or borrow don't have that advantage so there are bound to be things that in the mind of the experienced seem silly but we all have to start somewhere. Good that you were on hand to offer advice which hopefully all of us would do presented with the same situation.
David
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Agree that there is a lot to learn and it has taken us quite a while to discover the extra features of a motorhome against a caravan. Discovered a whole set of lights yesterday that we didn’t know about despite 2.5 years and 8000 miles with the motorhome.
It must be quite difficult to take everything in for a first hire and some instruction sheets would definitely be beneficial. I am sure we have all had the experience of renting a holiday place and struggling to find how to work the hot water, lighting etc. Some thoughtful landlords do leave detailed instructions of course.
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I wonder if it was the same one I saw at Royal Vale at the beginning of the week - the one with the open grey waste tap while touring and the flattened waste bucket . . ! Lots of gaffer tape holding the near-side together.
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Not just motorhomes! I remember when we moved from our flat to our first house. I was hunting high and low for the water stopcock only the eventually discover that it was behind the open front door!!!
David
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Prior to retirement I spent 18 years working fot a caravan dealership.Apart from workshop and sales part of my job involved handovers.A minimum of 1 hour and sometimes 3/4 hours!!.The worst handovers were when the buyer brought with them a friend who had been caravanning for years.The second worse was couples who brought their children,childrens friends,pet dog and grandma/grandpa.!!!I could always tell those people who would be on the phone first outing!!!!I used to assume that the buyers had a basic knowledge of electricity but always advised about low wattage appliances etc.The most satisfying handover was to a couple who video recorded the handover.I used to enjoy my job but I am really pleased to be retired and away from people who are still on a search for a village
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I had to smile (well split my sides actually!) at a couple we met on their first m/home outing. After purchasing their pride and joy they were pitched next to us on a Club site and were exceedingly friendly, the female being very chatty and particularly excited, proudly asking us if we'd like to see inside their new mobile home.
We nodded and 'Oooh'd & Aaah'd' as she proudly demonstrated each cupboard & drawer and it was only when she got to the bathroom door her excitement dropped. "That's the only thing I don't like about camping" she said " The toilet smells"
After confirming they had filled the header tank with water and "pink" and that the cassette had " blue" in it, I pointed out to them that on conclusion of one's ablutions and after flushing - it was a very good idea to close the flap!!
She made us a lovely coffee 😉😂
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Many moons ago now, on passing through a hedge into another part of a crowded campsite, I came across a chap sitting, knees apart, in front of a 6kg gas bottle. The reason he also had a bucket of water and a cup, which he was using to pour the water over the bottle, was that it had flames shooting out of the valve! Suggested he get people to move away and call the fire brigade but received advice to go forth and multiply. He 'knew what he was doing' apparently! Reception were just as unconcerned but eventually did the right thing. Apparently firemen read them the riot act when they turned up. Couldn't work out how he set the thing alight and didn't have the courage to ask.
Reckon it was the same bloke? Scary to think there might two of them about!
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Strange things can indeed happen. We were on a well known and well equipped club site a year ago when a newly purchased motorhome parked up in between ourselves and another van. To our disbelief, out came a generator and the occupants proceeded to set it up and run the van on it. Several hours of loud generator noise later our neighbours and ourselves decided enough was enough. The neighbour contacted the wardens and help arrived. It turned out that the occupants didn't understand about EHU or how it worked even though it was included in the pitch fee. The wardens leant them a cable, the owners went shopping for the right kit and peace and quiet descended!
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I guess we were all newbies once and many of us benifited from the help of seasoned fellow members. In my early days, although dad taught me well, I recall a couple of laughable mistakes. One being filling the on board water tank which appeared to be bottomless. It was only when a kind lady passing by the service point showed me the stream of water running down the site road and suggesting that the drain tap must be open.
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There’s a sticky on another motorhome forum advising what to do if you put fresh water in the diesel tank. Or maybe its diesel in the fresh water tank!
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