31. ONE POT COOKERY |
Here's a great cooking pan which my wife discovered recently: the Remoska 'mini-oven' (the website at www.remoska.cz offers an English translation)
an invention from the Czech Republic. The pan sits on a skillet and has an electric element in its lid. It consumes only 500W of electricity.
"Whatever an oven can do – the Remoska can
do better," states the publicity blurb, and having used it on tour, we can attest that it does – we've roasted chicken, lamb and potatoes, and even baked scones in it. The accompanying recipe book is full of wonderful dishes.
We bought our Remoska from Lakeland Limited, in Windermere (tel 015394 88100).
Graham Swainbank
Keswick, Cumbria
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32. CARPET CARING DRIP TRAY |
• Try the website at www.
hoorayforhomecooking.
com/recipe.htm to see a selection of recipes for food you can cook in these pans.
Here’s a tip for stopping the dish water from dripping onto your campervan’s carpet. My small dish rack sits nicely inside a plastic seed tray on my draining board, where it collects the drips of water from the washed dishes without it spilling onto the floor. It can be colour co-ordinated to match the washing-up bowl, too!
Fiona Norton
(via email)
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33. SIMPLE TYRE PROTECTION |
LONG-TERMERS who keep their motorhomes on site for months at a time, on concrete or asphalt hardstandings, often place a barrier between their van’s tyres and the hard surface to prevent oils from leaching out of their tyres. A piece of thick cardboard, plywood, or something similar will do the trick.
Robin Needham
Islington, London
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34. EASY WINDER FOR STEADIES |
Have you got manual steadies at the rear of your motorhome?
I bought a 14v cordless drill with a clutch, and cut an old steady winder just before its crank. I had a friend of mine turn down its shaft on his lathe so that it fitted my 1/4 in drill chuck. Now I can lower the steadies in seconds and I don’t get a sore back. Total cost? £29.99 for the drill, and two bottles of Bishop’s Finger for my friend!
James Holborn
Leeds
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35. STOP STEADIES FROM SINKING |
At a really soggy site recently, during some terrible weather, I noticed my motorhome’s rear steadies were ineffective because the ground was so wet. When I got home, I made two wooden cross-pieces out of old skirting board. Because
I only used one securing bolt through the middle
I can fold them up easily when not in use. When opened to their cross shape they distribute the load on the steadies. I have since had no problem with soggy ground.
John Buchan
Coldstream, Scotland
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36. NON-SLIP TYRE TRACKS |
Touring in France last winter, heavy snow made it hard for me to move off my pitch. So, when I got back to the UK, I made myself some caterpillar-type tracks.
I bought a quantity of 32mm wide x 12mm thick timber and some rope. I cut the timber into 40cm pieces and fixed the rope to the wood with heavy duty staples, spacing the wooden planks about 35mm apart. In all, I made up two sets of 6ft-long track. When not in use, they roll up quite neatly and store in my motorhome’s offside locker.
I tried them out recently while on tour in Switzerland: I simply unravelled the tracks and managed to easily drive off a snowy pitch.
John Robertson
Nottingham, Notts
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37. A DIY FIRDGE BOOSTER |
In southern spain earlier this year, we had temperatures in excess of 40°C. Because of this, our fridge struggled to remain cool. So, when we got home, I broke up an old computer I had and pinched the fan out of its hard drive unit.
It’s a 12v fan, so I was able to wire it in behind the fridge vent.
Now, when the outside temperature rises, I just turn it on using a switch beside the cab door.
I tried it out during
a later trip to Spain and
it works! With the additional airflow the fan creates, it was enough to keep our fridge working efficiently.
Peter Smith
Templecombe
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38. AN OUTSIDE TABLE TIP |
My husband and I love eating outside our motorhome in summer, but often don’t have enough space to pack an extra table. So, we fitted a rail, the same as the one that secures our dinette table, to the outside of our van.
(The rail is white, so it’s not that noticeable.)
You can buy these rails at most dealers’ accessory shops, quite reasonably. Just screw the rail onto the body of the van and seal the fixing with mastic. Then all you have to do do is carry your dinette table outside and clamp it to the wall of the van.
Jean Kemp
Chorley, Shropshire
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39. NEW DECALS EASILY MADE |
Don’t waste your time going back to the manufacturer for decals for your coachbuilt – delivery can take weeks.
I picked up the phone book and found a local graphics shop which was able to reproduce near-identical, weatherproof graphics after just one look at the originals. The job was done in 14 days and cost £60. Bargain!
Kenneth Lloyd
Colwyn Bay, Wales
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40. EASY CARPET CLEAN UP |
Here’s an efficient way of cleaning your motorhome’s carpet when you’re wild camping, say. First of all, lightly brush up surface dirt using a dustpan and brush – but make sure you brush across the pile. Then, using the rubber part
of a car windscreen
ice-scraper, ‘scrape’ the carpet towards you.
We have discovered that it works especially well for picking up dog hairs off the floor.
John Robertson,
Nottingham, Notts
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41. GAIN A BETTER GRIP IN MUD |
Don’t get stuck in the mud when it rains: find yourself two old bread delivery trays and cut away the sides. Place the bases under the drive wheels of your van. They will allow your wheels to get a good grip when you drive off.
Glyn Aston
Ashchurch, Gloucs
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42. PESKY ANTS PROHIBITED |
We’ve worked out a great way to stop ants invading our van. Before setting up, we spread ant powder around the wheels and over our 16A cable along the ground. We also put our steadies into the bottom of used water bottles that we then fill half full of water to form a ‘moat’. This stops ‘em in their tracks.
Tom Lepine
Bromley, Kent
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43. A QUICK FREE BOOT TIDY |
If the weather turns nasty while you’re away and the campsite turns muddy, wellies are a ‘must’. If you haven’t got an annexe with you, chances are you’ll have to leave your wet, muddy boots just inside the van’s door, with the risk that you’ll stumble over them all the time you’re indoors.
Don’t put up with it! Get a couple of sturdy sticks from a nearby wood and stick them in the ground next to your van’s door (one stick for each boot). Then, before you enter, take off your boots, turn them upside down and place them over the sticks. It’ll keep them out of the way, and keep the insides dry, too.
Alexander Beckett
Beith, Scotland
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44. CREATE A DRYING ROOM |
We have turned our motorhome’s shower room into a handy drying area for damp clothes and towels, and a place to hang outdoor clothes.
We bought two shower curtain rails from a DIY store and mounted them above head height. By hanging a windowsill-type clothes horse as shown [in the photo below] many items can
be accommodated.
David Heaney
(via email)
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45. A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP |
lacking a good night’s sleep because your sleeping bag does the twist when you turn over? I was, too, until I came up with this cure:
I sewed two lengths of half-inch elastic across the back of my sleeping bag; one at shoulder height and the other at mid-calf position. Now, before I go to sleep
I stretch these over and under the seat or mattress. The sleeping bag stays secure, and I get a good night’s sleep.
Eve Whiting
Gateacre, Liverpool
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46. EASY-TO-MAKE BLACKOUT PAD |
If your van’s rooflight lets the light through and wakes you up early in the morning, make yourself a blackout pad.
Cut a piece of thick cardboard to fit the roof vent, cover it with dark fabric, such as an old black T-shirt, place the whole thing in a plastic bag to waterproof it, and hold it in place on the rooflight by placing it between the roof vent and the flyscreen. Hey, presto! You’re instantly plunged into darkness.
Sue Morgan
Morriston, Wales
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47. STAY CLEAN TOILET TIP |
To keep your van’s toilet clean, flush it before use to make the surface of the bowl slippery, then line it with a cheap paper napkin. When you’ve finished your visit, flush the toilet, open the waste valve and allow the contents of the bowl, now wrapped in the paper napkin, to flush neatly into the holding tank, leaving the bowl and seal clean. All our friends now use their vans’ toilets in this way.
Richard Bunn
Fakenham, Norfolk
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48. A CLINGING CURTAIN FIX |
Don’t you hate it when the shower curtain sticks to your body while you’re washing? We’ve overcome this problem at very little cost and next to no effort.
Cut a short length of small plastic trunking and fit a rubber suction cup onto each end – the whole thing should be half an inch longer than the width of your washroom. Slide the curtain around in its track and slightly bend the flexible rod: this will tend to push the curtain back over the toilet and out of the way of your showering body. It’s as easy as that. When not in use, the rod can be stored against the back wall of the van.
Ron Derrick
Bristol, Gloucs
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49. ELECTRIC CABLE ARMOUR |
I recently stayed on a site where the electric points forced me to lay my 240v cable across the entry/exit road to the site. Worried about wear and tear on the cable,
I cut two 18in lengths of corrugated waste-water pipe, cut them along their length, and enclosed the cable. The pipe is strong enough to close itself around the cable, it is flexible, and 18ins was long enough for even the widest wheels to roll over. After a six-night stay,
my 240v cable was undamaged. I have even rolled up the cable with the pipe still on it for future use.
Gordon Collins
(via email)
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50. HANDS FREE PITCHING |
…And finally, here’s one of our own tips! If you’re pitching up at night and need to access exterior lockers, or hook up to the mains, a head torch is a real asset as it lets you keep your hands free to deal with exterior services and lockers that are outside the range of your van’s exterior lights.
There are many such torches on the market, but I like the Petzl Zipka head torch (below). It’s small enough to fit into your pocket yet still provides a powerful, LED beam (see our torches test in the Aug 2003 issue).
Daniel Wright
Deputy editor
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