Caravan Sites
Wardrobe hanging line up the ball
and hitch
Get in the car and put a small mark on the lower rear window. I lined these up with two small dots that I made on the front of the caravan. Now when I reverse, all I have to do is to line up the marks and the ball fits under the hitch without the need for pulling or pushing. OIL
If you've ever struggled to get stuck boxes or doors open, perhaps made even worse if it's in the pouring rain, then you may find this tip useful. You will find it a lot easier to close and open your battery box and wet locker doors if you smear a small amount of cooking oil around the rubber seals. This will also help to keep the seals in good condition as it will reduce wear Blinds
While the caravan is parked up and not being used, instead of pulling down the blinds we have fitted white pieces of cardboard the same size as the blinds that fit just inside the track of the blind. This stops any prolonged tension to the blinds, prevents sunlight from discolouring the soft furnishings and stops people looking in. Contacts
Over the years, I have read many articles about poor contacts on the 12N and 12S sockets. These range from the intermittent light circuit to a plug and socket melting with the heat generated from high contacts resistance. The cure has often been to clean the pins and tubes with either wet-and-dry paper or emery cloth. This process is time-consuming and very abrasive. It will reduce the size of the pins and the contact pressure. a I have found a better method, with the aid of an artist paint brush, Magic Touch Instant Brass and Copper Cleaner, clean water in a hand sprayer and a can of WD40. Paint a small amount of the cleaner on to each pin and down each tube on the connectors, and leave for a minute or so. Rinse off with clean water and spray with WD40. Result: perfect contact all year long. Winter
When preparing my van for the winter, I always lower the jockey wheel as low as possible, allowing the front of the van to be lower than the back. Any rain or snow over the winter simple runs off the sloping roof, keeping it fairly dry. Flip
Flops
The easiest way to avoid foot infections while using site showers is to wear a pair of flip flops. This is the method I used in the Royal Navy for 25 years and still use to this day on caravan sites ? and I have never yet caught an infection from public showers. This is much easier ? and more practical ? than carrying around your own duckboard. Stainless
steel surfaces
that get hot such as an electric toaster can get stained very easily if they come into contact with something when they are hot, such as a plastic bag for example. Stains like these can be removed very easily by rubbing with nail varnish remover Salt
& Pepper pots clogging up ? - Simple -
Keep them dry by adding a few grains of uncooked rice to them. The dry rice will absorb any moisture present. Dried peas work as well ! Also when they start rattling excessively it's a good indicator that they needtopping up before they run out HANG-OVER:
Eat honey on crackers. The fructose in the honey will help to flush out the alcohol in your system. Net
curtains
can be tricky and time consuming to take down and put up again when it comes to cleaning. Instead of using conventional fixings, fit some white Velcro strip to the top of the curtain, the other part of the Velcro strip being fastened to for e.g. the top of the window frame. This enables the curtains to be removed and fitted in seconds. Wine Stains For fresh wine stains while still wet, soak with soda
water and dry with a clean dry Get
Off Wet Grass
I always carry a tow rope with me in the boot .And when a downpour has made the grass to slippy to tow your caravan off the pitch I simply put the rope around the hitch and pull the caravan on to the tarmac road |
Packing
the awning Security
It isn't unusual for determined thieves to carry around a set of wheels in order to remove a caravan they really want. So, if you lay your caravan up for the winter by setting it on axle stands and removing the wheels, as an additional deterrent it's worth investing in a set of locking wheel nuts and inserting them back into the hubs. Awning
Rail
For years I struggled when feeding my awning into the rail. Someone suggested using a special lubricant, but instead of shelling out more cash on that, I tried rubbing the beading with a candle instead. It worked a treat. Flies
I don't know how many hours I've spent in my caravanning life trying to scrape, scrub, and pick squashed flies from my caravan's front window after any long-distance trip. Then I remembered the old saying "prevention is better than cure". Now I cover my windows with cling film (attached with masking tape). Then, when I get on site, I simply peel it off ? along with the creepy crawly road kill. Hitching
Up
Avoid damaging your vehicle when you reverse to the tow hitch by buying a cheap plastic chopping board, the sort you get for £1 in Woolworths, and cut it into a 'T' shape. Slide it into the gap between the towball and bracket. Make sure your jockey wheel is wound up higher than the level of your towball then start to reverse your car. When the hitch taps the board you know you've gone far enough. Storm
Straps
If the storm straps on your awning vibrate in the wind, put a couple of twists in the strap from the corner of the awning to the ground on each side. It really does stop the vibrations. Stickers
The easiest way to remove adhesive stickers is to pour a small amount of petrol or lighter fluid onto the offending item, leave it to soak for about 30 seconds and the sticker adhesive will melt, leaving no residue. Toilet
Rolls
To prevent the toilet roll unravelling in transit, slip an elastic band over the paper. When you arrive on site, just slip the band to the side of the holder so it's ready for the return leg. Black
Lines
Keep the marks off your caravan where water has run from the roof onto the sidesGet a length of awning beading and thread it into the awning track. This 4cm beading overhangs the sidewall and deflects water and dirt from the roof, away from the sidewall. L-Shaped
Our new van's L-shaped layout makes it tricky to put a sheet on the bed. We solved this problem by using a thin summer-weight quilt in a duvet cover as a sheet, because the extra weight keeps it in place without it needing to be tucked in. It takes no time at all to make up the bed at night and put it away again in the morning. The added bonuses is that you have extra insulation which can be varied depending on the weight of quilt you use ? useful on colder nights. Baby
Monitor
If you store your caravan at home you can make it more secure by leaving it connected to the mains electricity supply. Then plug a baby monitor into a socket in the van and keep the other part inside your house. You will be able to hear if anyone breaks into the van, and most baby monitors sound an alarm if the power is switched off. So if the mains cable is disconnected to tow the van away, an alarm will sound inside your house and alert you Before
taking to the road you should ensure that your car and
trailer combination is correctly matched and equipped. In order to continue
safely, regular servicing is essential - some checks need carrying out
every trip and a caravan certainly needs a main service once a year.
Make
those windows sparkle
A Tip for sparkling and clean windows, Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar into 1 pint of water, using the mix take a lint free cloth and wash windows, ensure the glass does not dry out and whilst still wet, take a sheet of newspaper, make into a pad, and start to dry off, continue to buff with newspaper until dry, if paper starts to disintegrate simply throw away and continue drying with a new sheet. If the glass dries off before you have finished drying it, simply wet it again. Result: sparkling shiny and clean windows. Keep
Your Windscreen Clean and Frost Free
Do you have to leave your car outside overnight in the winter Combine 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water and cover the windows with this solution. Result: frost free and clean windows Heavy
Items
Carry heavy items (E.g. Awning) its a good idea to carry this and other heavy items over the axle. The one thing you should not do is carry heavy items in the overhead cupboards. Water
NEVER leave water in the caravan pipes over the winter, find the drainage point positions from your caravan handbook (there could be more than one) and ALWAYS drain both the hot and cold water systems Tents
With a little care your newly purchased tent will last many years. Make sure that your tent is dry before storing. If stored wet, mildew will form and quickly ruin your tent. Mildew will also form if a tent is stored on concrete. Wellies
Keep your wellies ready for use and dry outside the van (or tent) by keeping them over a couple of stout sticks knocked into the ground by the door to the van or awning. This way there is no need to keep them either under the van or inside. I've found that a the stumps from a kid's cricket set are ideal - found in the garage after my boys had grown up and moved out! Level
The Caravan
To improve your chances of a good night’s sleep, always ensure when placing the caravan on site that you have checked that it is level (both side-to-side and front-to-back). Equipment (especially the refrigerator) must be level to operate satisfactorily, but it is surprising how much more comfortable it is to sleep on a level bed. Use a purpose designed level indicator attached (correctly) to the caravan, or carry a small spirit level and check using the centre of the floor of the caravan. There are a number of levelling aids available as accessories to raise one wheel by up to several inches. Black
Pepper Uses
Stop small leaks in a car radiator. Add a teaspoon of black pepper to your radiator. The pepper sinks to the bottom, finds its way into small holes, and expands, filling them. Stop colors from running. Add a teaspoon of black pepper to the first suds when you are washing cottons. Keep dogs, raccoons, cats, rabbits, and other animals away from your garden. Sprinkle black pepper around your hedges and flower beds. You can also use mothballs. Repel ants. Sprinkle black pepper in cracks and crevices. Repel moths. Use black pepper as an alternative to moth balls. Fill a cheesecloth bag or the foot of a nylon stocking with pepper and use it as a sachet. Place muslin bags filled with aromatic plants in drawers. Smells nice Rainy day cure for dog
odor....Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe
down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your
dog smell springtime fresh.
Eliminate ear mites....All it takes
is a few drops of Wesson corn oil in your cat's ear. Massage it in,
then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes
the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing. Plant marigolds around the yard, the flowers give off
a smell that bugs do not like, so plant some in that garden also to
help ward off bugs without using insecticides. If you have problems covering
up the wheel in the awning like me, and don't want to drill holes in
the side of caravan, then read on. I had tried many ways to cover the wheel but they always fell off, i did have the cover that you can clip on but no poppers on the van and the rail that connects this to the skirt. What i found was if you get suckers- the type that you lock on with a lever,you can remove the locking arm(mine were hooks) by removing the pin that holds it on. Then you make small holes in the cover, push the sucker part through then replace the arm and pin. Before you do this though make sure you mesure where you want the suckers to be_ must be on smooth surface. My cover stays up in very windy conditions and no more bluetack/tape marks ect.. Kills fleas instantly. Dawn dishwashing liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Goodbye fleas Toothpaste
Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns |
None
Slip Matting Mothballs
Farmers use mothballs to keep mice away from the wiring looms of comlines that are over-winterered in sheds. I use mothballs not only for the caravan but for the tractor mowers, too. For the caravan, I use the string bags that come with washing machine detergent: place five or six mothballs in four bags and deposit one in each corner of the caravan. Security
You can improve the security of your caravan without spending more cash. If, like me, you have a caravan mover, simply use this to position your caravan nose-first in your driveway. Then place your wheel clamp and hitch-lock in position, lower the steadies and remove the jockey wheel. Taking these simple measures makes the caravan much more difficult for a thief to take it off the drive before he can hitch up and drive off. Mirror Straps We recently bought a Citro?C5 V6 Exclusive to tow our new van. We love the car, but our strap-on towing mirrors never stayed in place on the C5's mirrors. My wife's lateral thinking rescued us when she suggested we cross the mirror straps over at the back of the car's mirror. It worked a treat. Having used the motorway to its fullest on a recent trip, they were even steadier than when fitted to our last car. Hiding
Place
Before leaving for a holiday in Cornwall, we came up with this idea for hiding items like credit cards, cash and passports. Cut a piece of chipboard which will sit behind the lip of one of your van's shelves. Place your valuables on the shelf and under the chipboard, so that the lip hides everything from view. The board has a screw in the centre to lift it with. Awnings
To avoid damage to your awning when putting it up in high winds, feed it through the awning rails and peg out the canvas before you assemble the frame. When you have done this, you can move the pegs to their correct positions. Likewise, to take down the awning in high winds, leave the canvas pegged out until you have fully dismantled the frame. Leisure
Battery
If you use or own a leisure battery then the one thing
you should not do is Windows
SUNBURN:
Mix 2 tsp. tomato juice and 4 Tbls. buttermilk. Apply. Wash after 1/2 hour Unhitching
After locating the caravan on its pitch, and before uncoupling, apply the caravan handbrake and then move the car forward gently by an inch or two. This will remove the compression on the caravan towbar, so that when it is uncoupled from the towball it will not extend slightly and creep into contact with the rear of the car. Condensation
To prevent this from happening simply wipe down the mirror with a damp cloth with a spot of washing up liquid on it and let dry naturally. The mirror should remain clear for up to 6 weeks. Not only does this work with household mirrors it will also greatly assist with internal rear view mirrors in cars and also when applied to the inside of a car windscreen has a very good effect. Taxi drivers have been doing this for years especially in winter months. Scrabled
Eggs A handy tip for scrambling eggs is to use an old jam jar. Simply crack the eggs into a clean jam jar secure the top and shake well. The eggs will be ready in seconds with no mess. Not only a handy tip for the kitchen but is very good when camping as well. |