An 'overbearing' motorhome?
This impressive A-class motorhome started life as a coach, based on a Ford Dominant. The converters (whom I believe to be a couple of Irish lads) built it for a European tour.
First, the original walls were removed and then the hoops were re-skinned to avoid the usual problem of converting
a bus or coach – that is, how
to deal with all those single-glazed windows.
The interior features bespoke cabinetwork and an end bedroom. When I photographed it a couple of years ago, it had been sold to a couple of publicans who did relief work in the UK during the summer, and then travelled abroad to Spain and Morocco during the winter.
Jack cleans up
There are three main problems (or 'issues' as the chattering classes currently say) with cleaning and polishing our own motorcaravan, 'Fenland Princess'. First, I use it as my company car so it gets very dirty. It is rumoured that the leading edge of the Luton overcab is Europe's favourite place for flies wishing to commit suicide. I swear they even hurl themselves at it when the vehicle is standing still.
Second, a busy workload as a freelance journalist and consultant means that I don't clean it as often as I should.
Finally, worsening arthritis and rheumatism in my wrists has made hard polishing by hand a painful exercise.
I've taken advice on this and bought a decent electric polisher. It was quite an investment for me, who is severely challenged at the payment at point-of-sale interface (deep pockets and short arms).
In the past I've tried using various pads and bonnets that fit onto electric drills, and also mono-pad buffers that you see advertised for around £20.
Nothing wrong with any of these, except that I've found they are not really up to the job I want them to do. The problem is that as soon as you put the slightest pressure on them, the thing tries to scoot to one side. In addition, their rotation around a single axis makes it easy to over-polish a certain area.
The proper bit of tackle (pictured below, right) is a Smartool from the AutoSmart range. Essentially, it consists of a powerful electric motor that drives two discs in opposite directions. In addition, the discs orbit eccentrically around their axis, so that even coverage is easy to achieve. The pads attach to the discs
by Velcro for easy removal and washing after use. And, contra-rotation of the two pads ensures that there is no tendency for it scoot across the surface being polished.
See your local specialist bodywork motor factor or tool supplier listed in Yellow Pages for a local agent. Mine cost around £220, including VAT, which I think is slightly under the usual price.
Don't forget to buy all the recommended polishes as well. Any system can only ever be as good as the weakest link, so don't splash out on a posh polisher and then use cheap, multi-purpose polishes which often don't do anything very well.
On the case in the United States
Every year, an increasing number of lucky Practical Motorhome readers fly to America to enjoy a touring holiday in a rented RV. Actually, this is something that seems to be popular not only with families, but also with two or three 'mature' couples who share a six-berth RV and reduce their costs accordingly.
Splendid. But so what? Well, I would hate your holiday to get off to a shaky start by discovering on your arrival at the destination airport that your suitcase locks have been broken or cut off, or that the case itself has been damaged. Worse, this will have been carried out 'officially' and
you have no comeback against the perpetrators.
These activities are a result of recent world events and, it is claimed, for our own protection. The US Department of Homeland Security, through the Transport Security Administration, inspects all bags on arrival in the US without you being present.
This is very likely to mean opening your suitcase and will probably involve emptying and 're-packing' it after they've had a peek. Although the Administration has many master keys, they haven't got them for every make of lock, so they are forced to cut some of them off (yes, it happened to me). The official advice, offered on their informative website, to get around this is to either choose a lock for which they have a key or leave the case unlocked.
Exciting news
I have three appeals for help this month, two reminders and a new project we hope might be useful.
l First, a reminder to send me details and a few photographs of any motorhome that you own, or once owned, which covered a high mileage: that is, anything over 75,000 miles.
l Have you bought a used motorcaravan in the past two years? If so, please fill in our Sovereign Awards form for used motorcaravans which is on page 185. Providing it was built after 1980, it matters not a jot whether it's a giant or a tiddler, an elevating roof model or a coachbuilt, all are welcome, regardless of value, and whether or not it was bought privately or from a dealer.
l Then, there's our new 'Travellin' Man' project. This came into my head when my partner Flora and I were away in the 'Fenland Princess', over the new year period.
As regular readers will know, we spent five nights away with the Lincolnshire area of the British Caravanners' Club, a section of the Camping and Caravanning Club, which welcomes both 'trailer' and 'motor' caravanners. We stayed near Torksey Lock on the Fossdyke Navigation waterway, which joins the River Trent
to the River Witham.
Along with other New Year ralliers we enjoyed strolling along the towpaths. Such areas are often locations from which to watch birds. It also looked to me to be a good spot to indulge in some freshwater fishing (if you go, buy a day pass or licence and avoid areas where the boats tie up).
Many readers use their motorcaravan as a hospitality unit to support and further the enjoyment of a hobby or interest. This might include any, or all, of the following: birdwatching, fell-, mountain, or lowland walking, all-terrain biking, brass rubbing, car or motorcycle racing, (either as a spectator or a participant), sailing, rowing, freshwater and seawater fishing, and so on.
If you know of a good campsite which offers such activities without having to move the motorcaravan off-site, please send me the site details with a pic or two.
The reasons for requiring the activity to be done without moving the motorhome off site are: (a) that one might not want to move the 'van; and
(b) that other members of the party might not feel quite so enthusiastic about your pastime as you do, and would prefer to remain on-site.
If we get sufficient feedback, we'll publish all readers' site recommendations divided by the various activities available close-by. No campsite will be able to suggest itself or buy their way onto the list, it's purely for our mutual benefit.
I'll start the ball rolling the month after next with a look at a site that offers walking, sailing, canoeing, freshwater fishing and bird watching. The reason it is the month after next (July issue, on sale 25 May) is because next month's column is already full, as we shall be celebrating the 40th birthday of Britain's best-loved and biggest-selling commercial vehicle, which also happens to be Blighty's longest-serving motorcaravan underpinning: the Ford Transit.
The picture above, left, shows Torksey Lock (the photo was taken on New Year's day), the picture on the right shows Flora and Pip
(our spectacularly badly-behaved mongrel) listening to a mooring post.
Actually it's not a mooring post but an 'information centre'. By rotating the handle steadily, enough electrical oomph is generated to operate a short, but informative, recorded lecture on the history of the canal and lock.
This facility was immensely pleasing, really novel, and I loved the manual mechanism. It's one kind of wind-up I'm pleased to be a 'victim' of. l–
Happy motorcaravanning!
Gentleman Jack Bancroft |
